What an incredible time it’s been in the 24/7 prayer room. We’d love to hear your stories of how it has been for you and can make space in a service for you to share your experience. There is still time to get in there. You can book your slot here
As the whole church gathers together on 21 May, every location will be pulling together to make everything run smoothly. As this will be a regular event (2 or 3 times a year), the kids' programmes will be run by different locations each time - this time it will be the Mt Vic and Hutt kids teams.
From East, we need to provide 5 people to help direct cars in the car park! If this is something you think you could do, please get in touch. Just email east@thestreet.org.nz Thanks!
I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Split Apple Rock (or at least Googled it) but it’s a marvel. A giant sphere of granite perched on rocks in the sea and split almost precisely in two. It makes for good photos and a great spot to jump into the ocean. But it’s a reminder of a principle in prayer because of this quote.
"I look at a stone cutter hammering away at a rock a hundred times without so much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the 101st blow it splits in two. I know it was not the one blow that did it, but all that had gone before." - Anon.
Jesus says something similar in a parable about an unjust judge and a persistent widow. He didn’t really care what she wanted but he gave in to her request because she bothered him again and again. Was it the first time she complained that worked or the final time? Or was it that she just kept going? Jesus taught the parable to show that God will bring about justice for people who cry out to him day and night (Luke 18:7).
I find this fascinating because Jesus assures us of answered prayer and at the same time he acknowledges that sometimes the answers take time. Our role is faithful persistence.
I give you this picture because we’re coming towards the end of a month of prayer. I’m amazed at the things we’re seeing God do from progress in outreach to healing to random things for which we’d never think to ask. I’m also hearing of people simply growing in their practice of prayer. But I’m also acknowledging that there are prayers we’ve prayed that still don’t seem to have been answered.
Can I encourage you that a no answer now doesn’t mean no forever. Can we take comfort in the fact that Jesus warned us this would happen and can we commit to keep praying even if nothing seems to change. Every prayer matters. Who knows when that 101st strike will come. You might even want to find a photo of Split Apple Rock and put it somewhere to remind you to not give up.
Much love,
Simon
This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>
The Street Church partners with Christians Against Poverty to help people in Wellington get out of unmanageable debt, while at the same time sharing the life changing message of Jesus with them! Each year we as a church congregation donate food, vouchers and treats to make up Christmas hampers that get given to CAP clients around the Wellington region.
Merrie and the team would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who was involved in the Christmas hampers last year. We delivered over 150 of these amazing treat boxes to families and individuals in the greater Wellington area. We know these people were absolutely blown away by the generosity of our wonderful church family, who get behind this every year. So thank you all so much for your contributions; it was such a blessing!
Here is some of the feedback we received about our hampers last Christmas:
“I was chatting with a lady from our neighbourhood who with tears in her eyes was telling me about a hamper she received from a church that "made her Christmas". As she described what was in it I realised it was one of our hampers! She proudly showed me what she had bought herself for Christmas with the Warehouse voucher. She said there were some things in there she could wrap and give to her grandchildren too. It was so special getting to see with my own eyes the impact of these hampers.”
"I didn't realise I was going to get a Christmas hamper, aw I feel so blessed, thank you!!"
"Oh wow that's amazing ❤️❤️❤️ thank you so much!"
"Thank you for your email and for blessing my family with a hamper. It is very much appreciated so thank you and CAP for this gift!"
"What a wonderful surprise! Thank you so much for thinking of us!!"
If you would like to get involved with the Christians Against Poverty ministry at The Street, please get in touch with Merrie, our Missions & Outreach Pastor.
We are continuing to press into God through prayer in this 30 days of 24/7 prayer, all the way through to Thursday 6 April so there is still plenty of time to book a slot.
We have the room booked for our East Encounter night on Thursday 30 March from 7.15 - 9pm when we’re going to take time to pray and worship together as our East church community. There is no need to book in the system, but just show up and be ready to encounter the Lord together! What a powerful time it will be as we gather to call out to God together.
Note: If you’ve been to the prayer room and are wondering how we will all fit, we’ve booked the room next door to use, a) so we don’t disturb the lady that lives in the adjoining apartment, and b) so that we can fit loads of us in!
Please continue to pray for God’s provision as Simon and Jenny prepare to transition out of the Lead Pastor role at East. As part of your prayers, please also continue to seek the Lord as to whether He would have you play a part in the leadership team of East. If you’ve sensed the Lord stirring your heart but haven’t had the courage to reach out, please do. We’d love to talk and pray with you. Here’s a reminder of the message from Simon and Jenny that was sent out a few weeks ago. Click here
A summary of it is here:
Last year was a year of incredible, although unexpected progress, in launching new gatherings of The Street.
The way these can become full locations like East, Night and City is through the implementation of visionary and sustainable leadership.
Before the summer we asked you to take the time to pray about the role God might have you play in this.
Now, we’re inviting expressions of interest from people wanting to get involved in the leadership across locations, not only at the new gatherings but at Mount Vic and East too.
We’d also love to hear about anything the Lord may have laid on your heart over the summer.
You can get in touch at simon.gill@thestreet.org.nz
At the eastern suburbs prayer night last Sunday, Phil Coates introduced the Hope Project for 2023. The aim of Hope Project is to put Christ back into our cultural festivals of Christmas and Easter in the public square and a big way they do this is to partner with churches to deliver booklets to houses all over New Zealand.
The areas that are still available to deliver in our area are:
Seatoun Heights, Strathmore Park (2), Lyall Bay south/Houghton Bay, Hataitai (2), Roseneath
If you would like to deliver to one of these areas please get in touch as soon as you can to let us know.
Save the date - Sunday 21 May for our whole church to gather all together for one service! To worship together, to pray together, to hear stories of God moving - so that together, we can take the next steps on this adventure to reach our city for Jesus. Check out this message from Simon and Jenny to hear why it’s going to be awesome!
Sometimes you have to hear something several times before it actually sinks in. I had that experience a couple of weeks ago when the Harneys were with us. I heard Kevin and Sherry speak about seven times in different venues over that week. I heard them say something several times before it finally sunk in. “There’s more to discipleship than me and Jesus.”
I know this. I’ve known this for a long time. And yet I suddenly realised we have inadvertently fallen into the trap of ‘me and Jesus’ language. For example, I’ve encouraged people towards Life Group so many times by saying that it’s a great place to get connected and find an environment where you can grow. It all sounds so nice but it’s also deeply flawed.
Augustine spoke of sin as someone curved in on themselves. Jesus is the opposite. God so loved the world - not himself - that he gave his Son (John 3:16). When we follow Jesus we turn from serving self. We allow God to restore us towards the ultimate goal that we would love God with everything we are and love others as ourselves. This is surely what it means to be fully like Jesus.
As we grow to live more like this, we create the environment in which others can thrive. If we all approached church community in this way, we would inadvertently create the best environment for us to grow too - not by focusing inwards but through everyone focusing outwards. This aligns with the maturing church in Ephesians 4 where the body builds itself up in love as each part does its work (Eph 4:15-16).
So here’s the challenge today. Do you have someone who is helping you to grow in your love for God and for others? If not, who is further along than you who you could ask? But then, who are you helping to grow? As you step out in this endeavour, God will use it to grow you too.
Much love,
Simon
This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>
The Massive is our High School age youth ministry at The Street Church. Here are a couple of ways that we as a church family can support them:
Prayer
Here are some things you can be praying for.
That our youth would meet Jesus, grow in Jesus, go with Jesus
That our youth would have a hunger for his word.
That our youth would have a passion for prayer & worship.
That our youth would have a burden for those who don’t know Jesus.
Financially
Any donations you give will go towards the following:
Helping our youth and leaders get to Easter Camp.
Helping our youth and leaders get to Camp Massive (September)
Helping us provide events and activities where our youth meet Jesus, grow in Jesus and go with Jesus.
If you’d like to give financially:
Pay to: The Street Church
Account Number: 02 1269 00 16157 25
Reference: TheMassive
Thank you!
We only have 2½ weeks of 24/7 prayer left and it’s been awesome so far. If you’ve been and prayed in the prayer room we’d love to hear your stories of how it’s been for you, and the answered prayers!
There are still plenty of spaces to book over the next couple of weeks, particularly on the weekend. Have a think about who could you invite to pray with you this week and get it booked in.
I’m not known for joy. Enthusiasm, yes. Passion, plenty. Positivity, sure. Joy? Um… not so much. I love Jesus and I do see spiritual growth. I just don’t see much joy.
In John Mark Comer’s The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (disclaimer, I only went through the 5 day You Version reading plan rather than the actual book it’s based on), he shows how core fruits of the Spirit like love, joy and peace are incompatible with hurry and busyness.
Oh the moment of realisation. I wonder if you can relate. Could it really be that I don’t experience joy because I am just so busy?
I’m always looking ahead, looking forward to the next thing, planning for how to improve things. I also love history and the nostalgia of the past. But the past is gone and the things I hope for in the future may never happen. John Mark’s point is that if we never really engage in the present, we can’t actually experience joy because this moment right now is the only moment we can actually be present in.
While I’m not cured, I do have some tangible things I can do and if you’re struggling for joy maybe you can join me.
Firstly, I try to start each day writing 3 things that I am deeply grateful for. It forces me to stop and focus on the positive things. I realise that even on the darkest days, I can be grateful for something. If you try it, you’ll be amazed at the number of good things that you would have forgotten ever existed had you not taken the time to notice.
Secondly, I make time for small moments of silence. It can be as simple as setting the timer on my watch for 5 minutes and sitting in silence, inviting the Holy Spirit to come. It can also be actually stopping and enjoying a cup of coffee with no device or conversation. Just being present in the moment and appreciating it for what it is.
Maybe you can think of another way.
One thing is for sure, our culture is not going to help us slow down. Only we can make a choice to pull out and pause. Could it be that our busyness is more destructive to our spiritual growth than we’ve realised. I wonder what you can do today to allow God to work more joy into your life?
Much love,
Simon
This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>
In Kevin’s message on Sunday 12 March he encouraged us all to fill in a self-assessment survey to discover which of the Seven Markers we are strong in, and where we most need to grow. We’d really encourage you to do this now, while it’s still fresh in your mind. Here’s the link to complete it!
It’s been wonderful to hear from Kevin and Sherry Harney this weekend. If you would like to buy a copy of their book “Organic Disciples” for $15, please email east@thestreet.org.nz
Our 30 days of 24/7 prayer kicked off on Tuesday and it has been awesome so far. We want to challenge every person to book in to go and pray in the prayer room for at least 1 hour in the coming week. We know that if we’re going to see the Lord move in the ways we dream He would, we need to be praying. Grab a friend and book a slot this week. Book here
We support a number of missionaries serving all around the world, and the latest Missions Newsletter is out now. This will help inform our prayers as we continue to lift our missionaries before the Lord.
Paper copies are available in services, or if you would like a copy in your inbox, please email
missions@thestreeet.org.nz
Have you read Simon and Jenny’s Senior Pastor update email yet? If you haven’t, please search your inbox for it and have a read.
Let’s all keep praying that the Lord would speak clearly to those He’s calling and provide leadership for East.
If you have college-age kids and you haven’t yet registered them for Easter Camp; today (Sunday 12th March) is the last day to register before the price goes up again. You can find all the information you need in this Parent info doc including how to register.
The tone of this post will be quite different to usual. It’s because there’s a burden on my heart that I want to invite you into. Recently, I was in a room of prayer when the Lord directed my attention to Psalm 24 and in particular, verse 8.
“Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up you ancient doors,
that the king of glory may come in.”
- Psalm 24:8
There’s debate over what exactly the Psalm was referring to for the original readers but there is little doubt as to its ultimate meaning. This Psalm foreshadows The King of Glory entering Jerusalem as Jesus did when he rode in on a donkey.
What the Psalm suggests to me is that a city can be closed to the presence of God. That it can close its gates to the entry of the true king. Certainly this was true of Jerusalem in Jesus’ day because within a week of that entry, they had crucified him. If the literal gates were open to his entry, the gates of their hearts were not.
If you haven’t noticed it, Wellington is a notoriously difficult place to share the message of Jesus. There is a spiritual darkness and resistance to the things of God. It’s like over the years, giant gates have been closed to Him and they’ve been closed for so long that they’re stuck that way.
But as I was praying, there was a sense for me that we’re praying for these gates to be opened. We’re praying against the long term opposition to the things of God and the inauguration of a new season. A season where Jesus is welcomed in a way we’ve never seen.
Can I invite you again into the 24/7 prayer room or at least to bring a greater focus to prayer where you are. And as we do, to join in with the millions of prayers that have already been prayed over this city and pray that these ancient gates be lifted up so that the King of Glory may come in.
Much love,
Simon
This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>
In our services this weekend we shared an important message from Simon and Jenny our Senior Pastors, as we continue taking steps toward implementing long-term leadership for the new local services around the city. We are also looking to implement new leadership in a similar way at East as Simon and Jenny seek to transition out of their role here to fully devote themselves to the Senior Pastor role. If you’re on our database, look out in your inbox for an email from Simon on Monday (6 March). If you don’t get the email get in touch and we’ll get you added to the database. Most importantly, if you have a sense that the Lord might be calling you to get involved, please get in touch.