A group of people from across locations at The Street are leading a refugee resettlement group to welcome refugees from overseas and help them establish a new life in Wellington. This is a practical way for us to be known for making a difference and to be Jesus' hands and feet through these tangible expressions of love.

In the coming months, The Street Church will welcome two refugees to Wellington to help them establish new lives here—one from Iraq and one from Palestine. We all can be involved in this initiative, so check out this video from Mark and Jerram of the Refugee Resettlement Group.

Karina Mulvad Cole from East works for an organisation called “Hapai Taumaha Hapūtanga” or “Crisis Pregnancy Support” and she would like to invite you to an evening to find out more about their valuable work:

Thursday 28th September at 6pm

Willis Room at Life Centre, 21 Hania Street, Mt. Victoria, Wellington

“We would be delighted if you would come and learn more about our organisation, the work we do, and ways you can support our Vision. During the event, we will provide an overview of Hapai Taumaha Hapūtanga and our mission to help women facing crisis pregnancies in the Wellington and Lower Hutt region. Refreshments in the form of canapés and drinks will be available throughout the evening. We kindly request you to RSVP by September 22nd to lowerhutt@crisispregnancysupport.org.nz”

Fathers Day is this week and it’s a tricky day in church. We want to celebrate and honor fathers while acknowledging how polarised our experiences of fatherhood are. Some are celebrating today while others are grieving bereavement, abuse, miscarriages, and neglect. This list goes on and every one of those experiences will be represented as we gather on Sunday. 

Whatever our experiences of fatherhood, I don’t want to miss the opportunity to reflect on God as our heavenly Father. Even if you have the most amazing experience of an earthly father, it pales in comparison to Him. There are few things in my pursuit of Jesus that have been more transformational for me than contemplating the love of the Father.

David wrote:

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful…” (Ps 139:13-14).

Before you had any sort of success. Before you took a step. Before you spoke one word. Before you were born. In fact, before your parents had any inkling that you existed - God knew you. He is the pre-eminient relationship in your life. He didn’t just set his affection on you and choose to love you. He made you. He imagined you. The thought of you existing brought him joy. And when you sinned, and failed, and struggled, he had already sent His one and only Son to make a way for you to be set free, cleaned up, and brought into His family that you might enjoy Him forever.

You are wonderful. You are incredible. You are so valuable. I know it because you have a heavenly Father who says so.

And so whatever your view of Father’s Day, take some time to step back and look up. Read and re-read Psalm 139 until the truth sinks in. The works of the Father are wonderful and one of those works is you. May you know His deep affection for you today.

Much love,

Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

Hopefully, you are aware by now that we have been asked to find a new venue for our Sunday services, and our last service at Miramar Uniting will be on Sunday 8th, October. We have approached Miramar Central School, but their hall has work being done on it, which means it isn’t available until February next year. It could potentially be a solution next year though. Please pray over the continuing conversations with the Principal about that.

In the meantime, we are continuing to make enquiries with all the potential venues we can think of, but please do let us know if you have a helpful connection anywhere. And keep praying! We’re trusting that the Lord will come through for us like he always has done before.

Caitlin moved here from the UK to work for Tertiary Students Christian Fellowship which is an organisation that supports students to share the Gospel with fellow students and help them explore their faith. Caitlin is part of our East Leadership Team and a special part of our East Location. Check out the video to hear her update and please be praying for her as she serves the Lord in this way.

Video link

Last week, I shared a concept that is core to the New Testament and yet has been MIA in church conversation in recent years. It’s the concept of the ‘one anothers’.

In the Old Testament, Israel had 613 laws that were reinforced by many more rules and traditions to help keep the 613. However, it’s clear from the ministry of Jesus that all 613 hang on just two. Love God and love people.

Fast forward to the famous foot washing scene in the Upper Room, Jesus shows what loving people looks like in the context of the church.  “A new command I give you: love one another. “As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35).

The context of this is that Judas betrayed Jesus and Peter was about to deny him. When they did what they did, they did so with clean feet, washed by the King of the universe in human flesh.

This way of love is radical. And our love for another is to be no less radical because we are to love one another AS he has loved us. This command becomes the hallmark of Christian community. The world should be able to look at the way we care for and serve one another and know that we belong to Jesus.

So how are we doing? Does the way we honor others show that we belong to Jesus? Do we serve others in a way that reflects him? Do we forgive others like we have been forgiven? I wonder what step Jesus would have you take today that we would be a church that more accurately reflects him.

As we head into a series called One Another this weekend, it’s the beginning of a journey for us. It’s a theme we will return to again and again. Loving in this way is not something we’ll ever master. But imagine if we could consistently grow. Just imagine what an incredible community we would be.

Much love,

Simon

Questions to ponder:

• What are some moments you can recall from your own life where you have felt loved by other Christians?

• What are some specific ways you sense God calling you to show love to others in the Church family?

• Is there anyone you have an unresolved issue with? Do you need to forgive someone, or ask someone to forgive you? Make a plan today to do all you can to set things right between you.

• The way the Church loves one another is meant to be a witness to the world. What do you want the world to see when they look at the Church? Does your church community currently look like a place that non-believers would be drawn to? Why/why not?

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

Over the last month, you’ll have heard about our good friend and gifted speaker, Brad Carr, coming to share his Panorama Bible Seminar on Saturday, 16th Sep. Brad will also be with us on Sunday the 17th to open the Word and teach us on the important topic of “When We Feel Inadequate”. We are so grateful to have him share his heart and understanding with us. Registrations close for Panorama on 7th Sep, so register via the APP today.

Watch a short message from Brad about what he’ll be talking about that weekend. Click here.

We want to be a church constantly learning to love one another like Jesus has loved us. This is the hallmark of Christian community. In fact, the term ‘one another’ comes up around 60 times in the New Testament so it’s an important theme we’ll continue to revisit again and again. Loving like Jesus loved us can’t be practised if church is just an event on Sunday. This has to go deeper than simply a shared faith. This can only be worked out in the intimacy, joy, and mess of real church community. In this series we begin the journey by looking at three areas that need to be informed by a sacrificial love for one another: hospitality, conflict and singleness. Join us from 27th August for this important new series.

Our missionary couple in Mexico, Rachel Duff and Nelson Carreño need to increase their financial support for the coming year. This is for a number of reasons, for instance, the exchange rate has dropped by 20% since 2019, which has had a big impact on Rachel's budget. Their living costs have increased with them now shared between 2 people, not a group of flatmates as previously. Also, all outreach expenses are covered by Rachel and Nelson themselves. Rach is involved with the Medical Ship ministries and when the ship is deployed, it costs her up to USD$20 per day for ten-day voyages.

If this is something you would like to do, either as a one-off or as regular support, get in touch with Merrie at missions@thestreet.org.nz and she can pass on the details for GC3, who manage their funds in NZ.

There’s a theme in the New Testament that we’ve neglected over the years and I’m not sure why. It’s the area of ‘one anothers’. Jesus made our sacrificial love for one another the ultimate measure of how we interact as a church community when he washed the disciples’ feet and told them to follow his example.

I don’t think he was making a rule of foot washing (although that would make Life Group interesting). Rather footwashing was the most humble and sacrificial way of serving someone else and putting their needs ahead of your own. The question that arises for us is, what ‘foot washing’ needs to be done for the people around you? As pastor and author, Andy Stanley often says, “what does love require of me?”

It’s in this light that I’ve reflected on the relationship of David and Jonathan this week. Over the years, I have found encouragement that when David was in a dark and difficult time he “found strength in the LORD his God” (1 Sam 30:6).

It’s something I’ve tried to emulate when I am in a dark and difficult time. But this week I’ve noticed something deeper. You see, it wasn’t the first time David had been distressed. Not long before, David was fleeing for his life and, “Jonathan went to David…and helped him find strength in God” (1 Sam 23:16).

Finding strength in God was something that Jonathan knew how to do and he showed David. In fact, he showed him so well that, from then on, David knew how to do it for himself. The Psalms are full of David’s songs about finding refuge with God. Could it be that the gift of this theme in the Psalms to us is the result of Jonthan’s service of David? Do we have more to thank Jonathan for than we’ve realised?

David and Jonathan’s relationship was rich and deep but we shouldn’t be surprised by this because it was a relationship forged in trials. I wonder how much richer church community will become as we seek to serve one another in and through times of distress. Who are the David’s in your world right now? Who are the followers of Jesus in your world who are struggling? How can you help them find strength in God? 

Much love,

Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

The apostle Paul was a man who knew what it was like to be pushed and pulled by different circumstances and yet it was this movement that led hm to a profound conclusion:

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere” (2 Corinthians 2:14).

Paul knew that while he was being pushed around by circumstances, God was at work spreading the message of Jesus through his ministry. As we emerged from the most significant Covid restrictions in the early part of this year, there is a sense in which we have been pushed around. And yet our confidence is in how God has worked through the very circumstances we would never have chosen and has done so for his own purposes and glory.

It was therefore important for us to learn everything we could about the church from what we had been through. Times of trouble often lead people to turn in or shrink back and we were determined to do neither. We were concerned at how much Covid revealed a lack of depth in discipleship and in connection with one another. Rather than try to bring back everything we did pre-Covid, we felt that the future needed to be focused on the main things like a simple devotion to Jesus, a commitment to discipleship, a determination to share the Gospel more broadly, and a deepening of our service of the poor and marginalised in our city.

Covid also brought about an opportunity to progress our multi-site strategy more quickly than we could have previously imagined. The local gatherings that began as a response to vaccine passes gained traction and afforded deeper connection among people and greater accessibility to people in the local community. By the end of the year, there was a determination to keep these going alongside a great need to develop and establish strong and sustainable local leadership.

2022 was a year that we would not have designed for ourselves and it did not pass without significant challenges. Yet there is a sense that it was a year we needed because it enabled God to bring about a direction that we would not have thought possible. As he continues to build his church and use us to spread the aroma of him everywhere, may he grant us the faith to keep trusting him in the midst of uncertainty and change.

Much love,

Simon & Jenny Gill
Senior Pastors

Hopefully you’ve caught up with the news that we will lose the use of the Miramar Uniting Building after 8th October this year. We have begun to make various enquiries and don’t have anything to report so far. Please keep praying for this process that the Lord would provide the right place for the next season for us as a Location.

Thanks to those who came to St Aidan’s last Sunday evening to pray together with the other churches of our local area. It was a really precious time of prayer and worship as we united our hearts as followers of Jesus across our suburbs. Please look out for the next one of these events as we continue to strive for unity with the other churches around us.

“I completed a trip from Brisbane to Cairns on a push bike in July. It was 1903 km. The trip was a test of my gear, my physical strength, and my mental capacity to take on a much bigger trip: An overland bike tour from New Zealand to Denmark, where I grew up. The test trip was a success, so when you read this, I will be biking through Indonesia heading north through Southeast Asia.

I’m planning to go to church every Sunday if circumstances allow. I’m aware that some of the countries I will be travelling through are not as friendly towards Christians as New Zealand is. Today, 360 million Christians face persecution for their faith. Believers may be rejected, abused, imprisoned, or even killed – simply for following Jesus. If interested, there are ministries that support the persecuted church by providing Bibles, discipleship training, socio-economic development, and trauma care. They strengthen the most persecuted believers in some of the most difficult places to follow Jesus. I’m excited about the adventure ahead and all the people I’m going to meet and the stories I will get to tell.

I will be writing a blog here: https://gunillaelleholm.wixsite.com/blog. The blog will have no obvious mention of my faith, political opinions or position on women’s rights to protect those I meet on my way, and enable me to cross borders into certain countries. However, it is my hope that I may raise awareness about these things and inspire others to take on projects they didn’t think they could do. It would be great if you support me on my journey by praying for me.”

Everyday in our culture, there are challenges to the gospel. Was Jesus real? Did he really die? Do you actually believe he came to life again? 

But recently, I’ve noticed another challenge sneaking up. It’s not about how someone gets saved but whether we actually need saving at all.

I watched a video by a guy with cerebral palsy asking the question “Should I want to be fixed?” I write this not to call the guy out but because he asked some good questions that are worth considering.

For the most part, he was simply looking at the benefits of certain treatments to alleviate symptoms in the absence of a cure. But then came the conclusion. If I could be fixed, should I even want to be?

Let’s be clear. People with cerebral palsy are wonderful people and at the same time they have a condition involving the development of or damage to their brain. But our culture struggles to hold these truths at the same time. We are desperate to accept people for who they are - which is a good thing. But in doing so, we have collapsed our value and our health into the same thing. As such, it becomes offensive to call an aspect of ourselves imperfect - it feels like we are insulting our very identity.

Moreover, if our worldview has no future hope, we have to make the most of here and now. If this is all there is, we should embrace it and call it good.

As Christians, we offer something better in both cases.

We believe that every single human being is made in the image of God irrespective of age, stage, size, or condition. The person in front of you has inherent and infinite dignity, value and worth. The way we treat them is a reflection of how we treat God.

Secondly, we don’t need to pretend there’s nothing wrong. We can call out sickness as part of the fallen world. When we sense that things are not the way they should be, God agrees with us. You’re right, pain and suffering are real but it’s not the way things should be.

That’s the reason Jesus came. On the cross he paid the price for our sin and when we rose again, he gave us the sure hope that he will one day raise us too with bodies better than they have ever been and prepared to live forever in the suffering-free world he is bringing about. That’s the nature of Christian hope.

That’s the beauty of the gospel. Humanity is more valuable, this world is more broken and our hope is more incredible that any of us could imagine.  This is why our culture’s posture here is so dangerous—it dulls our desire for Jesus!

Where are you noticing the consequences of the fall being minimised? I wonder what God might lead you to do as you pray about that. Is there a question you could ask to promote conversation that moves people towards seeing Jesus afresh today?

Grace and peace,

Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

We will be gathering as a whole church “TOGETHER” again later this year. So get it locked in your calendar - Sunday 29th October! More information nearer the time.

We were notified recently that there may be some cults door-knocking in the Strathmore area at the moment. This is just a reminder to be wise and ask many questions if you are invited to an event or Bible Study. If they are a genuine Christian church, they have no reason to be secretive or to avoid your questions. They should be able to tell you the name of the church and exactly who they are and what they do.

If you are ever in any doubt about a religious group's motives, practices, and teachings, ask questions, expect answers, and tell a friend.

You can also check out these videos we made a few years ago in response to the Shincheonji cult to help you spot a cult.

When we greet each other, it’s easy to use casual, throw away language that we don’t really mean. People say things like, ‘Hey, how you going?’ ‘Good, you?’ ‘Good.’ We’re not really asking how people are. We don’t want their life story, it’s just an extended hello.

We can make the same mistake with Scripture. At some point in the greeting of each of Paul’s letters, he includes the words grace and peace. They appear so often, it’s easy to skim over them. To assume there’s nothing really there. But rather than an extended hello, these words are laced with meaning.

Grace is God’s great enabler. I love this word and I know I talk about it a lot. But that’s because it’s so important and appears all the time. Grace is the way God works out everything in your life as a free gift. It’s the way He chooses you, justifies you, equips you to serve Him, changes you to be like Him. It’s the way He’ll raise you when Jesus returns. Grace is how God does everything in a way that comes our way for free.

Peace is another rich word. Peace is the condition of perfect prosperity and security. It is everything as it should be. It’s the condition of the world our souls long for and that Jesus is bringing about. It’s the state of our relationship with God. And whereas earthly peace is fleeting, God’s peace in your life enables a calm to resonate deep in your soul even when all around you is in turmoil.

It’s hard to imagine Paul could give a stronger greeting. It’s hard to imagine praying a more powerful prayer for one another. In fact, it’s the prayer I’ve been praying for our church this week. May God work powerfully in each of our lives as a free gift. May God give you a glimpse of the world to come in the inner recesses of your soul. I wonder what you’ll notice as God answers this prayer? I wonder what He’ll do as we pray it over one another.

Grace and peace,

Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

We are delighted to inform you of some pastoral roles that we have available. Please find more details below on these roles and get in touch with the office if you would like more information or if you would like to have a conversation with someone about these roles.

Children's Pastor Role:

We are actively searching for a passionate and caring individual to join Emma Roche in supporting our Children's Ministry. This part-time position will play a significant role in shaping the spiritual growth of our children across all of our Locations. If you have a heart for children and a calling to guide them in their faith journey, we encourage you to prayerfully consider applying for this position. Applications for the Children's Pastor role will be open until the 14th of August.

Part-Time Location Pastors:

In line with our multi-location direction, we are appointing part-time Location Pastors for our East, Hutt, Porirua, and Mt Vic locations. If you sense that God is leading you to serve and lead the people of your Location, we would love to hear from you. The role involves being the primary leader of your Location and leading the location leadership team. This role will be under the guidance and support of our Senior Pastor, Simon Gill. These roles can be fulfilled on either a voluntary or paid basis. Applications for the part-time Location Pastors will remain open until the positions are filled.

We believe that each of these roles is an opportunity to serve and grow within our church family, and we are excited to see how God will work through these new additions to our team.

If you feel called to apply for any of these positions or desire more information about the roles, please contact the church office. We will be more than happy to provide you with the necessary details and, if needed, connect you with someone for a conversation about any of these opportunities.

I had the privilege of working with Nick Field for almost ten years and there was a phrase he would often say, “don’t drag the start line with you.” His point was that we can easily get discouraged at a lack of progress in our lives and the things around us. Change happens incrementally and we can fail to notice progress unless we look back far enough for a true comparison.

One of the ways that we can combat this is to take moments to reflect and celebrate along the way. When Israel crossed the Jordan, they stopped and built an altar to celebrate the progress and remember what God had done (Joshua 4:1-9). The job wasn’t finished—they hadn’t conquered a single territory within the promised land—but they stopped to celebrate that they had moved forward.

This is important for us as a church. Sunday’s whole-of-church announcement was not the end of the journey. We’ve managed to establish Jerram as a Location Pastor for West and yet there are still East, Mt Vic, Porirua and Hutt to go. I have found this discouraging in my own life.

And yet when I reflect back over a longer period of time I realise the things God has done to get us even to this point. The redeployment of a staff team to better serve all Locations was months of work. The number of people leaned in and enthusiastic about being part of the solution at Locations is far higher than last year. Each Location has wonderful teams of people taking the lead who are passionate about seeing God move in their local area. And the stories of people who have come to faith or are growing closer to Jesus are new compared to last year. These examples are like stones on the altar next to the Jordan. Stones that would be missed if I was only comparing what’s going on with last week. Instead, by looking back over a longer period of time, we get a better picture and find reason to praise.

It’s also true in our personal lives. We’re prone to discouragement because we feel like we’re still praying for the same problems and still wrestling with the same shortcomings. But I wonder how this might change if we were able to compare ourselves and the situations we’re in now with the beginning of this year, or even a year ago. If you keep a journal or a prayer diary, maybe have a look back to see what you were processing or praying for back then. If you don’t record things, maybe take a few moments to think back. For me, I keep things I’m praying for daily on a small card in my wallet (no fancy prayer app for me!) and it’s been so encouraging to see the prayers I’ve been able to cross off—not in the last week—but since January.

Can I encourage you to take a few moments this weekend and reflect on how the Lord has led you and how far you have come.

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>