Whānau News: 28 October

You have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. - Matthew 23:10-11 
He came to serve, not to be served - Mark 10:45
Jesus, our standard of leadership. May we daily imitate Him and humbly take part of His work as leader-servant.

Robust Leadership | Tim Palmer
Intro to our Gospel Renewal series, looking at 5 focus areas in the Baptist movement.
Robust Leadership with Christ at the head. Ephesians 4:11-13. Join us at 10AM in-person or online.

For the Kids this Week...  
Wonder Kids (Preschool aged)
This week we are continuing with our programme on how God loves us and the plans He has for us. We will also be completing our emergency evacuation practice. Parents may wish to stay with their children this week as they practice the emergency evacuation procedure. 

Discovery Kids and Explorers (Primary aged)
+ FBI (Intermediate aged)
Due to the emergency evacuation practice (see below) we will be combining our school aged and intermediate programmes. We will have a fun, interactive bible verse treasure hunt after we have practiced our evacuation. 

All programs this week:
All programmes this week will be practicing our building evacuation procedure with the children. This is so they know what the plan is if there was a need to leave the building while they are attending Kid’s church. This will also include how we connect back with parents/caregivers at the meeting area. If you have any concerns about how your child may react to this, please contact Carol at carol@fbc.nz. 

Urgent update about the "Zion" cult
Sadly, we need to inform you about a cult that is having a damaging effect in our nation, and recently has been seeking to influence a few individuals in our own church.
We need to be aware of the damaging nature of this cult, sometimes known as “Zion Christian Mission Centre”, “Zion Church / Bible study” or “Shincheonji”.  It begins as a friendly Bible study, but becomes a very forceful and manipulative distortion of truth. 
 
I’ve attached an important letter and information from another Baptist pastor who has had to navigate this. (Link to the letter) Please take time to read, and to keep this on the radar for yourself, family members and other Christians. 
 
Please let me know if you’d like to discuss this.  It is important to understand that there is no need to feel embarrassed if you have been affected by this group, as they are very deceptive in the way they operate and portray themselves.
 
Please also pray about this situation, for the church of our nation, and for opportunities to share the gospel truth of Jesus Christ.

Chinese Alpha Course
华人启发课程
时间：10月21日 - 12月16日，每周五，10:30am - 1pm, 为期九周。
报名联系人：Jackie 027 9389182； Sally 021 0798176

We started the Chinese Alpha course last Friday 21st October and we had a fantastic morning! It is not too late to join! Please invite your family and friends to join Jackie and Sally for this exciting new venture. This is an Alpha course in the Chinese language (with English subtitles).Held in the church cafe from 10.30am to noon followed by a light buffet. Book your place on the course through FBC office - Paul 

Baptist Hui and Missions Day  
Our next Baptist Hui will be held at Bethlehem Baptist Church in the first week of November.  Here’s a link if you’re interested in learning more about it.  https://hui.baptist.nz  There is also info and registration details for the Baptist Mission Day on Wednesday 2^nd November. It’s $20, open to all and it would be great to have a few representatives from Franklin Baptist Church there https://hui.baptist.nz/whats-happening/mission-day/.

Christmas Craft Market
12th November, 9-2pm Cafe running. Various Christmas/birthday gifts to purchase. All handmade with love. If you make things and would like to sell them, click this link  to register your stall. For more information please contact Sandra – sandra@fbc.nz

High Tea/Picnic for Friends, Fun and Fundraising
Saturday 19th November 2 - 4.30pm Set in Caldwell’s beautiful garden in Karaka with High tea and live music. Tickets available at the info desk. $45 for two people (bring a friend) or $25 one person. Diary the date and watch and listen for more details.

Covid Reminder/Update
We are aware that there is a lot of Covid-19 and flu cases in the community at present. We would love to have you join us online for the service if you are unwell.

Prayer Chain
If you would like to submit a prayer request to the Prayer Chain, please email Arlene Hutcheon on arlene@ps.gen.nz or send a text to 0274726198. All prayer requests are treated as confidential.

Giving
You can give online, by automatic payment or direct debit. Our church bank account: 01 0403 0013842 00 or click here to donate now.

As an encouragement to all of you while you're at home...check out some of the songs we're currently singing on Sundays and a few new ones we might sing in the future. If you have a Spotify account, this is the link to FBC Worship on Spotify