Two thousand years ago, a group of people gathered in a room, and the bible says they prayed constantly for ten days. At the end of that prayer meeting, the Holy Spirit was poured out, and the church was born!

With all the challenges the church faces today, we are invited to humble ourselves, seek God in prayer, and ask Him to pour our His Spirit afresh on the church.

Kicking off on the 14th May we are joining with other churches from all around New Zealand to pray in the lead up to Pentecost Sunday. We want to be people devoted to God in prayer. We want to be a church where our story cannot be explained without the powerful ministry of the Holy Spirit through people. This is an intensive period where we will set aside time to draw near to God through daily prayer, praying with our bodies through fasting and praying together as a community.

Throughout this period there will be daily prayer gatherings happening around the Peninsula and we want to encourage you to take a stretch step during this 10 days of prayer. If you’ve never prayed out loud with others, why not come along to one or two of our prayer gatherings during that time and make that your goal. If you love to pray with others, why not aim to pray with others every day during those 10 days. Or maybe a stretch for you will be somewhere in between. Whatever it is, let’s cry out together “Come Holy Spirit”.

We’d also like you to consider joining in with a corporate day of fasting on Monday 18th May. That could involve only drinking water for that whole day, or it could be missing one meal. Or if you’re not able to fast from food, is there something else you could give up for that day? What would be a stretch for you? There is something powerful when God’s people fast and pray together for God to move.

All the details of times and venues for the prayer gatherings are in the newsletter email this week!

This week, Kids Zone is beginning a new three-part series on the Holy Spirit. This series is in line with the wider church teaching on the Holy Spirit. Kids will learn that God is working in us today, building on Jesus’ teaching, the origin of the church and their understanding of Gospel Salvation. They will understand how the Holy Spirit was given to us and supports us to continue God’s Rescue Plan today!

The memory verse for this series is: John 14:26 NIRV: “But the Father will send the Friend in my name to help you. The Friend is the Holy Spirit. He will teach you all things. He will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

You can check out any of the in-house teaching videos as they are published on our YouTube Channel.

Together is on 24th May! The kids (3yrs-Yr8) will gather for their own time of community and festivity, including pizza, live worship and guest speaker/storyteller Ray Cooper! Please register your kids for Kids Zone by May 11th.

Kids Zone Junior is finishing their I Can Love Jesus module by learning about Miriam’s praise in the desert after being freed from slavery. They will then move into their I Can Love Other’s module, and take a week to celebrate Mother’s Day!

Please keep our kids and leaders in your prayers during this season. Please pray:

• That children would grow in their appreciation of the Holy Spirit

• That children would understand their role in the church/world today, and how Holy Spirit equips and empowers them

• That children would encounter Holy Spirit

• That leaders would be challenged and encouraged about their own relationship with the Holy Spirit

• That families would be used by Holy Spirit to work out Jesus’ mission

5.30pm Wednesday evenings at the Strathmore Community Centre / Te Tūhunga Rau. We provide a free dinner each week, but the next few weeks we are likely to be short on help with the food preparation. If you would like to help with this please get in touch with Andrea andreamteng@gmail.com. Big thank you to all our helpers.

We use the acronym BLESS to help us as we engage in the mission that God has given us to go and make disciples. B = Begin with prayer. L = Listen. E = Eat. S = Serve. S = Story.

As we build relationships with people who are far from God, there will be opportunities to share a story with them. Either the story of what God has done in your life, or the Gospel story of how Jesus came to save us. We need to be ready!

One way you can be ready is to prepare your 100-word testimony. There aren’t many moments where someone wants to listen to the 30-minute version of your story, but the 100-word version is easy to listen to. Sharing your story in 100-words is harder than you think, so we need to prepare. Write it out, and learn it so that you are ready to share it when you get an opportunity. It doesn’t need to be about how you came to faith, it could be about what God has done in your life, something he has helped you with - anything that communicates God’s work in your life.

The other way you can be prepared is with the Gospel story - the Bible says it is the only message with the power to save. We have found the Three Circles Gospel Presentation a great way of sharing the Gospel. We have stickers of the diagram you can stick on your phone so you always have it with you and can use it to share the Gospel with others as God opens up opportunities. Watch this video to learn how to do it, and then practice it until you can share it yourself.

Here are some challenges for you this week:

• Write your 100-word testimony and learn it

• Watch the video of the 3-circles Gospel presentation and practice it every day this week

• Look out for opportunities as you BLESS others to share one of these with someone who doesn’t yet believe in Jesus.

This week, Kids Zone is beginning their two-part Easter series. Our heart for this series is that kids would gain a foundational understanding of the historical events of Easter. After hearing about Jesus’ teachings and life for 4 weeks during our Sermon on the Mount series, kids will now learn how this same Jesus died on the cross and rose again FOR THEM!

Once we return after the school holidays, Kids Zone will spend one Sunday unpacking the concept of ‘Salvation’. Kids will discuss the broken state of the world and the impact of sin on our relationship with God. They will learn how Jesus is the answer and how the events of Easter secure our salvation, and have an opportunity to learn about the invitation to follow him—and potentially accept it! This is the crux of God’s design, human rebellion and God’s big rescue plan! You can check out any of the in-house Kids Zone teaching videos as they are published on our YouTube channel.

Kids Zone’s Memory Verse for these two series is Romans 10:9 NIRV: ‘Say with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord.” Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Then you will be saved.’

Kids Zone Junior are taking a break in their ‘I Can Love Jesus’ series to reflect on Easter too. They will use Beginner Bible stories and crafts to hear about how Jesus was arrested, died on the cross, rose again and lives with us today!

Please keep our kids and leaders in your prayers during this season. Please pray:

• That children would understand the Good News of Easter

• That children would accept Jesus’ invitation of relationship with him

• That parents and children would discuss the meaning of Easter at home together

• That the events of Easter would become more real for children

• That children would have an understanding of ‘salvation’ 

• That children would understand it well enough to explain it to others 

• That children would accept Jesus’ invitation of relationship with him 

• That children would share the gospel to their friends

As you may remember, last year we combined forces with the other Peninsula churches to prayer walk the entire eastern suburbs in the lead up to Easter. This year we want to do the same thing but this time, partnering with a national initiative led by The Hope Project.

The Hope Project has joined together with 24/7 prayer, Long Story Short, and Alpha to mobilise our entire country to prayer walk our streets, deliver booklets containing the message of Easter, and inviting people we know who don’t yet know Jesus to find out more.

Easter is such a great opportunity to share the greatest message ever, and it’s a wonderful way for us to partner with other churches.

The way we will do that at East is this:

• Next time you’re at a service you can grab a map and a bundle of booklets, and you can commit to prayer walk those streets as an individual, a family, or a Life Group before Easter

• We will have a shared lunch on Sunday 29th March, followed by some prayer walking to finish off any streets we haven’t managed by then

• We’re actively working on getting an Alpha Course up and running to kick off after Easter so be praying for that, and praying about who you could invite.

• Over the coming weeks, we’ll take some time in services to upskill in engaging with people in spiritual conversations

• We’ll also up the ante on prayer

If you’re going to be hitting the streets to pray and deliver booklets, please watch this health and safety video from The Hope Project before you go.

We’re so expectant for what God is going to do in this season as we pray and intentionally reach out to people who don’t know Jesus.

“Little prayer, little power. Much prayer, much power!” - Isaac Shaw

Prayer is not just important, it is the engine room of everything we do as a church. We long to be a church that prays and sees God move in power as a result. There are so many opportunities to pray with others here at The Street Church.

Sunday 1st March, 9.30am- weekly prayer gathering before the service

Sunday 1st March, 7.30pm - Combined churches prayer and worship at Gateway Baptist

Thursday 12th March, 7.30pm - fortnightly prayer meeting at Chris and Elwyn's

Also, watch this space as we will soon be starting a weekday morning prayer gathering - venue to be confirmed!

We also have a 24/7 prayer room in the Life Centre at Hania Street that you can book through the link: https://signup.24-7prayer.com/signup/d6b3da

Let's be people of prayer and expect great things of God.

In the lead-up to Easter and mirroring the wider church series, Kids Zone will learn more about the person of Jesus, what his life on earth was like, his teachings and how he calls us to live. This will build on the Family of God series in terms of relational skills and grow a love for Jesus and his words. You can watch the Kids Zone teaching videos on our Youtube Channel below.

Kids Zone Junior is moving through their ‘God Loves Me’ series and then beginning their ‘I Can Love Jesus’ series. They will read core Bible stories and learn foundational truths about their identity and that they can have a relationship with Jesus today!

Please pray with us:

• That children would gain an understanding of living for God’s Kingdom

• That children would learn practical ways to relate well to others

• That children would grow in their love for Jesus and his words

• That children and leaders would grow in their discipleship to Jesus  

• That kids would grow foundational understanding of their identity in God

Strathmore Community Centre are running a fundraising raffle. The prizes are beautiful handmade picnic quilts made by their “Stitching lounge”, and the first prize also comes with a picnic hamper!
Tickets are $5 each. Talk to Jenny on Sunday or email east@thestreet.org.nz if you’re keen to buy any.

Thank you for an incredible 2025! We pray you have a wonderful Christmas and a restful summer break, whether you're staying in Wellington or heading away. The newsletter will also be taking a break over the summer so there will be no updates being made over the summer period. See you in 2026!

If you are exploring faith and would like to learn more about Christianity and who Jesus is, we’d love to invite you to our next Alpha course. Starting early 2026 email east@thestreet.org.nz for more info or to register your interest.

If you missed last Sunday, we had a great time celebrating together all of you, and all that God has done in our church this year. We also talked about some of the things you can expect to see next year.

1. Prayer - We want to strengthen the growing culture of prayer

2. Holy Spirit - we'll be pressing into ministering more in the power of the Holy Spirit

3. Church as family - growing in loving one another, and what it looks like to be family together

4. Gospel Ministry - We want to grow in our commitment to sharing the Gospel with the people around us, and making a difference in the eastern suburbs

5. Multiply disciples - we want to equip more people to be able to disciple others

6. Leadership - We want to invite you to pray with us that the Lord would provide Location Pastors for East so that Simon and Jenny can focus on the Senior Pastor role, and leading The Street Church towards the vision the Lord has given us. (Please note, The Gills will continue to be part of East, they just need someone to take over the leadership from them). If you know someone you think we should shoulder tap, or if you sense the Holy Spirit calling you to this please let us know. The role will be 12 hours per week.

Let's be praying for God to move in 2026 beyond what we can ask or imagine!

We have our Christmas service on 14th December which is the perfect opportunity to invite friends, family, colleagues and neighbours to come along and celebrate Christmas together. The kids will be performing a nativity production for us to enjoy. We'll worship together with some carols and we'll enjoy a special Christmas morning tea after the service. If you haven't already invited someone, grab an invitation or 2 this Sunday. If we all aim to bring someone along, imagine the seeds of the Gospel that will be sown this Christmas.

There are also some other ways we can all help make it a success. You could come and help decorate the hall the day before, or maybe make something special to contribute to morning tea. If you'd like to help with either of those things there will be sign up sheets at the service on Sunday or just email me to let me know on east@thestreet.org.nz

Thanks for helping make the most of this incredible opportunity we have to share the message of Jesus with the people in our lives. Let's be praying that the Lord moves powerfully!

It is that time of year again when we put together hampers for people in our community to bless them. This year we will be making 4 hampers for CAP clients in our area. We will also be partnering with Salvation Army, Miramar and Gateway Baptist to make some hampers for Strathmore Community Centre to distribute.

Many of you life groups are teaming up to make a hamper, but you could also make one as an individual, a family, or a group of friends. Click here for more details on what the hamper needs to contain.

If you'd like to make a hamper, please pick one up from the service this Sunday and bring it back to church no later than 7th December.

Kids Zone continues through the series ‘Timeless: Great Prayers of the Old Testament. On November 23rd and 30th we dive into the Christmas series.

Kids Zone Junior spends the first two weeks of November finishing the God Loves Me series looking at the stories of Jesus Walks on Water and Jesus teaches on a mountain. The last three weeks is a Christmas series focussing on An Angel visits Mary, Baby Jesus is Born and Shepherds Visit.

We will be holding our annual Christmas service on Sunday 14th December so please make sure you put it in your calendars. There will be a nativity performance from the kids, carols, and a beautiful Christmas morning tea. It will be really fun and accessible for those who are not used to church, so please also be thinking about who you could invite. Last year we filled the Miramar Central School hall with friends, family, colleagues and neighbours - let's do the same this year! More information to come later this month!

Kids Zone has a unique month over October. We begin with a school holiday weekend, where some Locations have an All In service, and some have a holiday style programme.
October 12th is Together! This will be a super fun Sunday when we can do things that we can’t when we meet in smaller Locations. We have a guest speaker and HEAPS of fun planned - with live worship too.
We then begin a series called ‘Timeless: Great Prayers of the Old Testament’. This is the same series as our adult services. Locations will be looking through five Old Testament prayers (David, Hannah, Hezekiah, Habakkuk and Jehoshaphat). These will not be in the same order at every Location, and Kids Zone will line up with the adult service at your Location. A wonderful opportunity to learn together as a family and have a conversation on the way home in the car or around the dinner table.

Kids Zone Junior will join with the rest of Kids Zone for Together. The programme is suitable for a wide range of ages and there will be leaders looking out for our younger children and helping them have a super fun and fruitful time.
On the 19th of Oct we take a look at the Fruit of the Spirit, and finish the month starting a God Loves Me, three week series.

Kids Zone Continues through the Parables series. The 7th of September is Father’s Day and we take a look at the parable of the Prodigal Son. On the 14th and 21st we look at the parables of the Unmerciful Servant and the Good Samaritan.

Kids Zone Junior also begins the month with a Father’s Day focus on the Prodigal Son. Then finishes the ‘I Can Love Others’ mini series looking at the stories of The Hole In The Roof and The First Church.

September ends with the first week of school holidays when we take a break from our regular Kids Zone programme.

There is a couple that come to the Wednesday night dinners at Strathmore Community Centre that have asked if we have anyone that may be able to help them. The husband has a brain injury and the wife is his full-time carer. She asked us if there is anyone from our church who would be willing to go and spend time with the husband to give her a break maybe one morning a week. Any amount of time you could give would be a help for them, even if it was just a one-off. If this is something you think you could help with, or you'd just like to know more, please email east@thestreet.org.nz

Miramar Central School is fundraising to help send their Year 5 & 6 students to camp at the end of the year. They are selling frozen donuts for $24 per dozen. If you would like to order some, please complete the order form before 29th August and email to office@miramarcentral.school.nz 

Instead of the student name and class just write "The Street Church". You can either pay by cash or eftpos in the school office or you can pay via bank transfer using the following information:

Miramar Central School
12-3481-0042642-00
Reference - Purchasers Name
Particulars - Donuts

The school will inform you of the date you will need to pick up the donuts once they have placed the final order. You will need to pick the donuts up on that date as they are frozen.

What a great way for us to show our love and appreciation to this school!

Order form

Donut flavours