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Baptisms at Crossroads Church

On Sunday, four people were baptised at Crossroads Church in Palmerston North. Lead Pastor Reuben Porter writes: "It was such special day worshiping together. Hearing the stories from those being baptised was incredibly encouraging"....

News from Whanganui

On Sunday 1 October, elder Keegan Easton and pastor Doug Benn at Church on Ingestre had the joy of baptising Pati Leiataua.Doug remarks: “We are deeply encouraged by this young man's hunger for the Word, his desire to serve and, of course, his desire to be baptised”.On that same Sunday, Church on Ingestre started an international service. Doug comments:“Thiago Girao (left, standing below) and his wife Mara were pastoring in Brazil and he has a deep passion to serve the immigrant community ...

Wellington Visit

It’s been a privilege this week to meet a number of church leaders and leadership groups in Wellington.It was lovely to spend time with Simon and Jenny Gill from The Street Church. I appreciated touching base with Pete Rhodes-Robinson from Onslow Community Church.I valued touching base with Henare Whaanga, an elder at Pathway Christian Centre in Lower Hutt and Clint Craig, pastor at LifeSwitch in Upper Hutt.I very much enjoyed meeting the elders from Broderick Road Chapel (pictured above from ...

Auckland Leaders Dinner: South, Central & East

53 leaders from 15 churches around South, Central and East Auckland gathered together last night at Auckland Bible Church (Ngaire Ave Campus) to build relationships and connections.Pictured above: Ane Ponifasio, Carmel West, Mele Siaosi, and Nesi Ulugia from LifeChurch Manurewa....

Christ is our Hope

John 11:33A, no ka kite a Ihu i a ia e tangi ana, i nga Hurai hoki i haere tahi me ia e tangi ana, ka ngunguru ia, ara tona wairua, ka koingo.Ua silafia e Iesu o ia ua tagi, ma Iutaia ua o mai ma ia ua fetagisi, ona tiga tele lea o lona finagalo, ma ua ātu lava o ia;"When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled".In John 11:28-37, Jesus walks into the midst of weeping.After meeting Jesus on the road to Bethany, Mart...

Churches, Camps and Support Ministries Working Together

We love to see churches partnering with local campsites for gospel ministry! CCCNZ Camping Enabler Richard Davis shared this vision with CCCNZ Auckland church leaders this morning at Willow Park Christian Camp over breakfast. Thanks to Kelston Community Church pastor Paul Long for sharing this photo on the CCCNZ Auckland Community Facebook group, saying:"Very encouraging and challenging early morning meeting on the CCCNZ camping ministries; the ministry successes, opportunities, and partnership...

Willow Park Hits the Road

In the recent school holidays, 130 campers and leaders gathered from a range of Auckland churches for the Willow Park Kids Camp. Some of the churches involved were Mt Wellington Community Church, Auckland Bible Church, and Manurewa Bible Church....

South Island Regional Summit

Our vision is to see churches working together, to point people to Jesus, through the gospel from the Scriptures.It was a real joy for the team to serve amongst ministry leaders from 11 churches at the Central-Upper South Island Regional Summit at Rutland Street Church on Saturday....

Holiday Programme at Kingston Community Church

Joel Birkin is the Youth and Community Worker at Kingston Community Church and says: “Our heart this week at our school holiday program has been to engage our community in the truth of the gospel through the narrative of creation, fall and the good news of Jesus. It has been encouraging to work alongside our leaders to engage with our community with the good news of Jesus Christ.“The children love engaging with the Bible and exploring big questions like how was the world created, what's brok...

Mission Sunday at LifeChurch

On Sunday, LifeChurch Manurewa commissioned a team travelling to Uganda on a short-term mission, led by Pastor Lui Ponifasio. The team of nine people will be part of a medical mission, renovating a church building, launching a new church plant, sharing cultural items, songs and testimonies; and conducting live gospel evangelical crusades....

Equip Evangelism at Hillcrest Chapel

On Friday night and Saturday afternoon, Hillcrest Chapel hosted an Equip session about how to share the gospel. Sarah Chalmers, Youth Pastor at Hillcrest Chapel, writes: “We looked at seven myths of evangelism that sometimes hold us back as well as lots of practical tips. This is in anticipation of sharing door-to-door around our community over the next few months”.If you'd like to know more about Equip, contact Sarah Chalmers....

Jesus Wept

By Mark Grace, CCCNZ AmbassadorJohn 11:35“Tangi ana a Ihu.”“‘Ua tagi Iesu.”“Jesus wept.”This week, I'd like to do something a little different with the devotion. I'm going to quote at length from a sermon by Chad Scruggs, entitled "Jesus wept". The sermon was given in March 2023 on John chapter 11—the story of Lazarus."What makes Jesus so angry is the same thing that makes him weep," said Scruggs, in the online video of that service. "It is the revulsion of everything in him agai...

Celebration and Thanksgiving

We are a movement of ordinary people in ordinary churches. The history of our movement is of ordinary churches sending ordinary people to plant churches who will speak and live the extraordinary message of good news. For this reason, it has been a profound joy over the last two years seeing Clark Road Chapel plant The Lighthouse Church in Northland, and Manurewa Bible Church plant Franklin Bible Church in Pukekohe in South Auckland....

Invercargill News

A couple of snapshots of activities Rosedale Bible Chapel in Invercargill has been participating in. Ministry Coordinator and Elder Nigel Winder and Administrator Hannah Winder write: “At Rosedale, during our Sunday morning service time, we split into groups and moved around prayer stations that had been set up with different areas to focus our prayers on. The opportunity was given to meet again and pray around the interactive stations during the week at our Men’s Prayer Breakfast and our fo...

Growing Leaders

From left to right: Dan Tyler, Roger Osbaldiston and Alex Pope.I’ve had the privilege of participating and contributing in a small way to the NZ Christian Network Leaders' Congress this week.A stark workshop (which was excellent) was titled The Leadership Crisis in the Church and Ministry Training, highlighting the lack of churches growing next generation leadership.Sitting through the workshop I couldn’t get out of my mind Alex Pope, the youngest attendee. Alex is a youth pastor at Birkenhe...

Kerry Rickard concluding with CCCNZ

The elders at Kingston Community Church let me know in June that Kerry Rickard's two-days-a-week secondment agreement with CCCNZ will come to an end at the end of the year. Kerry and the eldership are encouraged by what God is doing in the church family and recognise that Kerry's time and input are needed in this coming season.We are incredibly grateful for Kerry and the contribution he makes to both the churches and to us as a team.Kerry, you are such a blessing to each of us. We are grateful t...

Confronted and Comforted

By Mark Grace, CCCNZ AmbassadorJohn 12:5 “He aha tenei hinu te hokona ai ki nga pene e toru rau, ka hoatu ai ki te hunga rawakore?”“Na lē fa‘atauina atu aiseā lenei suāu‘u manogi i tenari e tolu selau, ma tu‘uina atu le tupe mo ē e matitiva?”“Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” Jesus is both a comforter and a confronter. We know Jesus cared for the poor. At the beginning of his ministry, Luke records Jesus opening ...

Waikato/Bay of Plenty Churches Working Together Through Rally

I love the way Paengaroa Bible Chapel, Greerton Bible Church, The Orchard Church and Fenton Park Bible Church are working together to point children and families to Jesus through the gospel from the Scriptures through Rally.On Saturday night the four churches and their Rally leaders came together at The Orchard Church in Te Puke for connection and encouragement....

7 Months On From Cyclone Gabrielle

Working Bee at Esk Valley on Saturday 9 September.On Saturday 9 September, volunteers from different churches gathered at Esk Valley in Hawke's Bay for a Working Bee. Some of the churches involved were Onekawa Bible Church, Riverbend Bible Church and the local Assemblies of God church. There were also volunteers from various areas: Napier, Hastings, Te Kuiti, New Plymouth, Tauranga, and Rotorua....

Kirikiriroa Hamilton Prayer Breakfast

From left to right: Jackie Millar (CCCNZ Prayer Enabler and Raleigh Street Christian Centre), Werner du Plessis (Tōtara Springs Christian Camp), Richard Davis (CCCNZ Camping Enabler and Raleigh Street Christian Centre), Bruce McDowall (Hillcrest Chapel), Mark Forrest (Raleigh Street Christian Centre), Ashley Cooper (ITeams Coordinator and Raleigh Street Christian Centre), Chris and Sarah Chalmers (Hillcrest Chapel), Jason McKinnon (Hillcrest Chapel), Kum Lan Brennan (Agora Church). On Wednesday...

Hosanna!

By Mark Grace, CCCNZ AmbassadorJohn 12:13“Ka mau ratou ki nga manga nikau, haere ana ki te whakatau i a ia, me te karanga, Ohana: Ka whakapaingia ia, e haere mai nei i runga i te ingoa o te Ariki, te Kingi o Iharaira.”“O lea sa ‘ave e i latou lālā o le la‘au ma ō atu e fa‘afeiloa‘i ‘iā te ia, ‘ua ‘alalaga fo‘i i latou: “Osana, ia manuia lē o afio mai i le suafa o le Ali‘i, o le Tupu o Isaraelu!””“They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “...

Canterbury Church Leaders Meet Together

We love seeing churches working together to point people to Jesus, through the gospel from the Scriptures. It was a delight to see representatives from Canterbury churches meet together last Sunday afternoon, hosted by Lawson Scott and Rutland Street Church. There were 10 churches represented: Bryndwr Chapel, Redemption Church Christchurch, Riccarton Community Church, Rutland Street Church, Springs Community Church, Wairakei Road Bible Church, Westchurch, Rowley Bible Church and Glentunnel Chape...

God’s Power at the Cross

By Mark Grace, CCCNZ AmbassadorColossians 2:15"Pauhua ake e ia ki raro nga rangatiratanga me nga mana, whakakitea nuitia ana e ia, a waiho ana e ia taua ripeka hei mea whakataka mana i a ratou.""‘Ua tu‘u‘eseina e ia o ali‘i sili ma faipule, ‘ona fa‘aalia mai lea o i latou ‘ia iloa uma, ‘ua manumālō fo‘i o ia ‘iā i latou i lea lava mea.""And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross."In Colossians 2:6-8...

City to City Learning Community

On Thursday, it was a real privilege to gather with 10 pastors from CCCNZ/OBH Churches (along with 20 others) in Auckland to hear more about the City to City Church Planting 18-month Learning Community starting in 2024....

A Far North Visit

It’s Saturday afternoon and I’m meeting Matt Scott (pictured below), youth leader at Clark Road Chapel and camp staff member at Marsden Bay Christian Camp.What a joy hearing about Matt’s heart to see churches working together to reach their communities through camping. A blessing to hear that the community in the area is knocking on the door to register kids for holiday programmes....