Annual Report 2024

This year has been one marked by consolidation. Having had some years of volatility, we entered 2024 with clarity on the way we wanted to go about making disciples, a new Vision statement, and new Location Pastors for Porirua, Hutt, East and West. We believed we were heading in the right direction but with significant work to do.

“He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy that Christ so powerfully works in me.” Colossians 1:28-29

These verses were used as a backdrop for our first leaders’ orientation where we gathered the Board, staff, pastors and local leaders from across the whole church. They describe the dual pursuit of working strenuously to make progress towards our goals and seeking God for the enabling and empowering that only He can bring.

This pursuit of God can be seen in our progress in a couple of areas. We’ve loved seeing a growing intentionality with and dependence on prayer. We completed a dedicated prayer room at the start of the year which is accessible 24/7 by our church community and other churches around the city. We also developed a relationship with 24/7 by joining with their Pentecost Prayer Initiative in May and hosting 24/7 New Zealand’s first public gathering in September. There has also been a pronounced emphasis on the glory of God throughout the year whether it be themes of our whole-of-church Together gatherings or the series we did on following Jesus wholeheartedly. All of these point to the critical nature of prayer and worship in our desperate need for God to move in power.

On the work side, we made some important additions to the team as we welcomed Emma Roche and Josiah Nevell to lead the Night and Mt Vic Locations, respectively. We are grateful to Melissa Rowan who led Night in the interim and pray that God blesses her as she heads back to teaching. We also welcomed Pete Crosson as the new Youth Pastor, Piper Clare as an Associate Youth Pastor and Anna Watson as our Life Groups Pastor. These new leaders are vital for investing in the disciple-making culture for both our young people and wider church. A key part of Anna’s role has been to begin implementing our new disciple-making rhythms for Life Groups which will help to both strengthen and multiply followers of Jesus.

Finally, 2024 saw the launch of a new Emerging Leaders program. This reflects a commitment to invest in the next generation of leaders for this church, new churches we may plant, and the wider church across the country.

2024 has been a year of consolidation that provides a good platform to begin looking ahead to where God is leading us. We continue to be amazed at the people God has gathered at this church and for all that people contribute in terms of their time, talents and treasure. May the Lord continue to enable us to strenuously contend for the things he cares about.

Much love,
Simon & Jenny Gill
Senior Pastors