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Ordinary people called to an extraordinary mission

By Mark Grace, CCCNZ AmbassadorKa mea ia ki a raua, haere mai kia kite.‘Ona tali mai lea o ia, “O mai e matamata.”“Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”John 1:39In Western literature from Jesus’ time, ordinary people were not normally featured prominently. Usually, the only way ordinary people were written about was as the butt of jokes. Historian Tom Holland writes that during his years of studying classical antiquity he was struck by the apparent assumption of most people...

We're part of CCCNZ

Left to right: Dorothy Goodwin, Bruce Carr and Nerida Carr.After seeing an item featuring a 'we're part of CCCNZ' sign in the Wrap a few months ago, Bruce Carr and the elders at Pakuranga Christian Fellowship decided they'd be keen to have a copy to put up outside their church.   CCCNZ Auckland Enabler Richard Fountain was pleased to deliver the sign a few days ago to Dorothy Goodwin, Bruce Carr, and Nerida Carr who were attending a lifegroup at the c...

Immense gratitude for theological studies

Scholarships Enabler Liz Hodge had the privilege of catching up with two groups of past and present theology students in Auckland this week.Hazel and Jeremy Tattersall from Lincoln Road Bible Chapel hosted at their home on Wednesday evening, welcoming Abbey Grainger from Mt Wellington Community Church, Bivin Mathew from Manurewa Bible Church, Steph van Wijk from Tāmaki Community Church and Chris North...

CCCNZ Staff Conference

Front row, from left to right: Liz Hodge, Jan De Lange, Richard Fountain, JC Marais, Paula Almada, and Ray-Anne Cahill. Back row: Grant Birks, Jackie Millar, Sophia Sinclair, Julie McKinnon, Tim Hodge, Mark Grace, Nick Goodwin, and Craig Barrow....

Waitangi Day

It was a privilege to attend Waitangi Day Commemorations this week. While there were a couple of moments of tension, thousands of us enjoyed what felt like a family-friendly festival atmosphere. A highlight was seeing all the ways people across our wider movement and beyond were reflecting the love of Christ throughout the commemorations. I am grateful for Maria Henderson and Jeremy Dempsey from Riverbend Bible Church in Hastings (and OAC), along with ...

For he himself is our peace

By Mark Grace, CCCNZ AmbassadorNa, inaianei i roto i a Karaiti Ihu, ko koutou, ko te hunga i tawhiti i mua, kua meinga e nga toto o te Karaiti kia tata.Ko ia hoki to tatou maunga rongo, nana i mea nga mea e rua kia kotahi, whakahoroa iho e ia te patu e arai ana i waenga;A o lenei, ‘ona o Keriso Iesu, o ‘outou sa vāvāmamao ‘ua fa‘alatalataina mai i le toto o Keriso. Auā o Keriso lava ia na ‘aumaia le filemū ia i tatou, ‘ina ‘ua fa‘atasia e ia tagata Iutaia ma tagata o Nu‘u �...

We Do Not Lose Heart

By Mark Grace, CCCNZ AmbassadorNa konei, i te mea kei a matou tenei mahi minita, i te mea ka tohungia nei matou, kahore matou e ngakaukore;O le mea lea, matou te lē fa‘avaivai i lenei fe‘au, fa‘apei ‘ona tu‘uina mai ‘iā te i matou i le alofa tunoa o le Atua,Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.2 Corinthians 4:1“We do not lose heart”. Paul begins and ends 2 Corinthians 4 with this statement. It’s a remarkable statement, especi...

Paraguay Partnership

Julian Goodsir, Matt Cameron, Josh Cameron, Michelle Silver, Carlos Garrido and Nathan Agnew from Church Street Bible Chapel in Timaru have just returned from a mission trip to Paraguay, connecting with GC3 Mission Partners Frank and Jo Fleitas (and their son Benjamin)....

Growing young leaders with NZ Rally

Monday to Thursday last week, cadets from around NZ gathered to take part in the Rally Cadet Camp at Woodend Christian Camp in Canterbury.Cadets (teenage leaders) from Manurewa Bible Church in Auckland, Rutland Street Church in Christchurch, and Rosedale Bible Chapel in Invercargill participated in the camp which focused on growing and equipping young leaders with the skills they need to support their Rallies in the mission of preparing kids for life. ...

Youth Groups Getting Together

Last Friday, the youth from Church on Ingestre (Whanganui) headed to New Plymouth for a day trip, and to make the most of it, Pastor Doug Benn contacted Youth Pastor Jake Moir from New Plymouth Community Church to invite their youth group to join them. The two youth groups came together for a classic fish and chips dinner at Pig Out Point before heading to Pukekura Park to see the lights show. ...

The Seventh Seven

By Mark Grace, CCCNZ AmbassadorHeoi, ko nga whakatupuranga katoa o Aperahama tae noa ki a Rawiri tekau ma wha nga whakatupuranga; o Rawiri tae noa ki te whakahekenga ki Papurona tekau ma wha nga whakatupuranga; a no te whakahekenga ki Papurona tae noa ki a te Karaiti tekau ma wha nga whakatupuranga.O le aofa‘iga o tupulaga mai ‘iā Aperaamo se‘ia o‘o mai ‘iā Tavita, e sefulu ma le fa. O le aofa‘iga o tupulaga mai ‘iā Tavita se‘ia o‘o i le taimi na ‘avea fa‘amalosi ai i la...

Christmas outreach events

I'm deeply encouraged to see how churches across the movement are pointing people to Jesus through the gospel, bringing the biblical story to life.One of our movement's convictions from Scripture is that God has gifted and priested each individual believer. For this reason, it’s a joy to see so many using their gifts and abilities in making Christ known at Christmas....

Youth Service and Baptisms at Hope Community Church

It's such a blessing to hear that last Sunday the Youth at Hope Community Church led the service, which was followed by the baptisms of David, Carter, Helena, Pieter, and James, and a picnic lunch at Aniseed Valley in the Tasman/Nelson region.Pastor Daryl Bay writes:“We've been so encouraged by the fruit in our youth ministry this year with a steady stream of baptisms through the year, eight this past month. The youth ministry has bee...

Christmas outreach events

It’s so encouraging to hear how churches around the movement are pointing people to Jesus through the gospel by bringing the biblical story to life at Christmas.Events like these, whether large or small, involve everyone using their gifts and abilities to point people to Christ.A huge thank you to all of you who are involved....

A new beginning

By Mark Grace, CCCNZ AmbassadorKo te pukapuka o te whakapapa o Ihu Karaiti, tama a Rawiri, tama a Aperahama.O le tala lenei i le gafa o Iesu Keriso le atali‘i o Tavita, le atali‘i o Aperaamo.This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:Matthew 1:1In the first century, your genealogy told a person almost everything they needed to know about you. It was almost like a resume or a CV today.What’s fascinating is that in the genealogy that Matthew presents, Jes...

A Foundational Year of Study

Xavier Giles (third from right) celebrates his graduation.I was grateful to have the opportunity to celebrate with students, their mentors, and their church families at the Pathways Graduation in Tauranga on Friday night.  A particular highlight was seeing the growth in students like Xavier Giles (above) through the mentoring and ministry at Rutland Street Church, complemented by his studies at Pathways. Xavier completed his NZ Diploma in Christian St...

Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Tegan Hill

It was deeply moving to join hundreds of others in celebrating the life and legacy of 25-year-old Tegan Hill at Hukanui Bible Church in Hamilton on Tuesday.Tegan died from injuries sustained in a car accident on Saturday 23 November. Tegan is a daughter of Geoff and Sandra Hill. Geoff is a pastor at Lakes Church Rotorua. I was incredibly moved to hear of Tegan’s love of Jesus, love of others and love for life. What a privilege to hear of her deep fa...

Grief will turn to joy

By Mark Grace, CCCNZ AmbassadorHe pono, he pono taku e mea nei ki a koutou, Ka tangi koutou, ka aue, ko te ao ia ka hari: e pouri ano koutou, otira ka meinga to koutou pouri hei hari.O le ‘upu moni lava ‘ou te ta‘u atu ‘iā te ‘outou, e fētāgisi ‘outou ma taufai tagiauē, ‘ae ‘oli‘oli le lalolagi; e fa‘anoanoa ‘outou, ‘ae liua lo ‘outou fa‘anoanoa ma ‘oli‘oli. Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your...

Lunchtime Prayer Conversations

What an encouragement to hear about the Lunchtime Zoom Prayer conversations that Prayer Enabler Jackie Millar has been facilitating.These are 30-minute conversations where a topic is introduced, there is a chance to hear directly from a church about what they are doing in their context, to ask questions, and to pray together. Some of the recent conversations focused on:Creating Dedicated Prayer SpacesPrayer and FastingGetting the corporate prayer gathering off the groundJackie say...

A Journey South

In October Camping Enabler Richard Davis and South Island Enabler Tim Hodge took a trip to Canterbury, Southland and Otago to visit some different church leaders and campsites, what an encouragement to see how connected churches are with their local camps, taking active steps in gospel partnership.  ...

Church-based Internship at Fenton Park Bible Church

Caleb Mills is an intern at Fenton Park Bible Church, where he serves in their Kids Rally, church holiday programmes, the youth group, and street evangelism, all while doing some theological study under the guidance of one of the elders....

From darkness to light

By Mark Grace, CCCNZ AmbassadorKo koutou ia he iwi whiriwhiri, he tohungatanga kingi, he iwi tapu, he iwi kua riro pu mai ma te Atua; hei whakapuaki i nga pai o te kaikaranga i a koutou i roto i te pouri ki tona marama whakamiharo:A o ‘outou o le nu‘u ‘ua filifilia, o tupu ma ositaulaga, o le nu‘u pa‘ia, o tagata lava o le Atua, ‘ina ‘ia ‘outou fa‘aali atu galuega ofoofogia e lē na vala‘auina ‘outou mai le pouliuli i lona lava malamalama ofoofogia. But you are a chose...

Acknowledging the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care

To all the churches in the CCCNZ/Open Brethren Heritage movement:  On Wednesday 24 July, the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care released the final report of the inquiry, called Whanaketia: through pain and trauma, from darkness to light. (1)   The Royal Commission met for six years and heard from more than 3,000 survivors of abuse. Horrifically, the report estimates that between the years 1950-1999 up to 200,000 people were abused in c...

Nelson Regional Summit

We long to see independent churches (and the regional campsites and national ministries that serve them) working together to point people to Jesus, through the gospel from the Bible. For that reason, I loved being at the Nelson Summit on Saturday.More than 90 leaders from 4 churches along with leaders from two camps gathered in Grace Church, Richmond, for the event....

Christ's supreme authority

By Mark Grace, CCCNZ AmbassadorA tukua ana e ia nga mea katoa ki raro i ona waewae, meinga ana hoki ia hei i runga i nga mea katoa mo te hahi, Ara mo tona tinana, e ki tonu nei i a ia, i te kaiwhakaki o nga mea katoa i roto i te katoa.‘Ua tu‘uina fo‘i e ia mea uma lava i lalo o ona vae, ma ‘ua faia fo‘i o ia ma ulu o mea uma lava mo le ekalesia, o lona tino lea, o le tumu o ia o lē na te fa‘atūmuina mea uma lava i mea uma.And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head ov...