In 2009 Rosebank Union Church did a four week study entitled “Faith @ Work” which dealt with the significance of work from God’s point of view, bringing our faith life and our everyday life together. Before she did this study God had been working in Joanna Coetzee’s life with regard to this important truth and the study confirmed what the Lord had been doing in her heart and mind. Wanting to use her profession to actively show the love of Christ to all she treated, Joanna had begun to run her biokinetic practice along these lines.

After my hip surgery at the end of 2011, I was one of the patients Joanna treated. I wanted to do hydro-therapy so chose to go where my recovery would be the easiest. It wasn’t long before I had a strong sense of God being very much a part of this practice. 

Outside her rooms at San Sereno Retirement Village is a notice board with a Bible verse on it that is changed regularly. A page on the board has the words “I am thankful for….” and anyone walking past can write something on the by this board. People have written some wonderful messages and it’s been a means of encouraging people as well as identifying other Christians. 

Patients know that they will never get an appointment between 8:00 and 9:00 on Thursday mornings because that’s the time Joanna and her colleagues pray for each other and for their patients. I have been fortunate to be included in those prayers! They record what they are praying for and praise God as they see Him answering those prayers. 

While I’ve been doing my exercises in the water, I’ve seen some of the very sad and heart wrenching circumstances of other patients, such as those crippled by rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson’s and other degenerative diseases. As a result of a motor cycle accident, a very severely handicapped young man is unable to function normally but Joanna works with him regularly in the water with the hope and prayer that she can help him have a better quality of life. Sharing Christ and his love with her patients is Joanna’s deepest longing. How powerful it is for someone to know that the person treating them is asking God to help and heal them, both physically and spiritually.

Twenty-nine year old Stephen, a Zimbabwean, was severely disabled in a car accident. Not having medical aid, Joanna and her team treated him for an entire year at a very reduced rate. Their prayers and treatment worked miracles and Stephen has improved significantly. One can’t help but wonder what quality of life Stephen would have today if he had not been able to be under Joanna’s care and influence.

Joanna is taking her desire to do even more for Christ through her practice by letting one of her staff, Riana, work every Wednesday at Park Care Frail Care Centre, helping to rehabilitate residents who can’t afford treatment. They’ve set up a rehab centre with equipment that’s been donated and this enables the residents to do their exercise/rehab programs on their own when Riana is not there. At a time when our culture is very money orientated, it’s remarkable that Joanna is willing to pay Riana to help those at Park Care.

Joanna is now in the process of registering as a NPO “Christcare Therapies,” intending to recruit other professionals (biokineticists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, etc.) to donate their time to help more of the residents at this centre. Their hope is to set up similar facilities at other centres around Johannesburg. They’ve even been approached by the Biokinetics Association of SA to assist them in setting up basic biokinetics centre in government facilities as part of the new NHI (National Health Insurance) drive.

Why does Joanna, a young mother of two small children, do this? In her own words, “to have more and more exposure to spread the Word and the love of Christ through our work.”

Joanna is learning to listen to God and go where He leads. She is truly merging her faith in God with her career as a biokineticist.

Note:

If you are a professional who would like to be part of Christcare Therapies - please contact the church office on (011) 7846214 and we will put you in contact with Joanna. 

So, imagine for a moment! Eye Witness News (EWN) sent me to Palestine to cover events the day after the crucifixion of Yeshua - popularly known as Jesus. In all likelihood some of his followers gathered at Mary's house - it's the Shabbat, the most important day of the Jewish week. The town is quiet, today is the day of rest.

The disciples, mainly women, were busying themselves with light chores around the house. Normal loudish laughter is no more. Mary, occasionally braved her usual infectious smile, yet behind her beautiful and radiant face lies sadness, grief and pain. I wondered what was going through her mind. I was told Joseph died few years earlier and now her son and her Saviour is gone too. One of the ladies, named Salome, reminded me that Mary's strength was her memory. She recalls how she used to tell them about the deep things that Yeshua uttered and shared with her. But today she seems subdued and tired; yesterday was a tough day and today is not any different. Her son is dead and buried in a cold cave.

Salome introduced me to Mary, and she was gracious and pleasant; her voice was firm and sweet. She welcomed me and offered me a glass of goat milk and a piece of bread topped with slices of cheese.

Now, my face to face moment with the grieving mother of the Saviour of the world had come and frankly, I did not know what question to ask first. She looked at me and smiled as if to say, 'relax young man, Jehovah's shalom is here.' She pointed me to the table across her modest and spacious living room, she sat next to me with her hands clasped together. She volunteered her feelings even before I could fire my first question.

Interestingly, I wanted to know how she felt when she saw her son take the last gasp of his life. Wisely, she did not start there but she took me back to the great and the happy days, and the scary and the painful moments they experienced as they raised and nurtured Jesus of Nazareth. Both of them counted it a privilege and honour to have been assigned guardians and earthly parents of the God of the universe.

But yesterday, standing at the foot of the cross, listening to the jeering and the insults of the crowds - seeing the agony and the suffering of Yeshua especial in the last third hour, she barely could take it. Credit to John, the beloved disciple, who anchored her through that dark period of her life. "I tried throughout my life to ponder and to reflect on the things our son Yeshua did and said." She remarked. "There I was in my moment of weakness," Mary continued, "feeling nauseated and disgusted, I remembered the penetrating words of the aging and dying prophet that Joseph and I met at the temple court in Jerusalem. We marveled how in the midst of the multitudes he found and recognised us, and how he took our baby in his arms, praised God and blessed him. He said some of the beautiful words about our child that would make any young mother swell with pride. And then..." Mary paused, "he said something that only made sense to me yesterday." "What was it?," I asked her out loud for the first time. "He said that our son would be a misunderstood and contradicted figure, a light for God's revelation to the Gentiles and of the glory for Israel. And that he was destined to cause the falling and the rising of many in Israel...And that a sword will pierce my own soul too." 

Amazingly her face lit and she looked me in the eye and related what she had learned when darkness covered the whole land. "It was in the midst of darkness when few of us were standing closeby the cross that I saw the light of salvation God had promised our people and the nations. Oh yes, it was scary! But for some reason all my fears were dismissed and I have never felt so close to my God as that moment. The place of the Skull shook and the earthquake ripped off the terrain and it was reported late last night that even the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The tombs broke open and Miriam over there, can't stop praising God for bringing his son back to life. By the way, I was not only the one who saw the light in the midst of darkness. As the people were running for cover, I heard something amazing, the Centurion who towered most of his men in stature, shouted at the top of his voice, proclaiming that Yeshua was truly the Son of God. Talk about someone who saw what I saw. Sadly, another painful moment came, the soldiers approached the three men. They cruelly started breaking their bones as it was traditionally done. They came to Yeshua, but they did not break his bone. One of them took out his sword, I barely could take, and I may have passed out as he shoved it to his side. Dr Luke said that water and blood oozed from his side. Oh, how appropriate for our salvation."

Tears started rolling her chicks. I could tell, these were tears of joy not sorrow. I was about to offer her my partially used tissue but refrained when she ably used her fingers to wipe out the tears. Then in a gentle and confident voice, she assured me, "It's ok, I am fine." I sensed she did not want to be singled out as some heroin. She saw herself simply as part of a larger story about God and His plan of salvation for mankind.

My time was up. I thanked her and the ladies for their time. Joanna saw me out and told me that they will be spending the rest of the afternoon preparing spices to anoint the decaying body of Jesus the following morning. This raised another question I wondered how Mary and the ladies would answer: Did they believe that he would rise from the dead the next day, as he predicted? I think not. I think they believed that they would find the body still wrapped in stripes of linen and beginning to decompose. Today, we know better and His story in a nutshell is: '...that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures...' (1 Corinthians 15:3).

March is here!

It has been a crazy 3rd Quarter of school. So now I get a chance to sit down and write to you all.

A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

One of the hardest things for me here in Manila, is seeing all the animals at the side of the road without homes. One Saturday, while driving, there was a tiny kitten in the middle of the road. It was all confused and panicked and cars and trikes were just driving past. I knew I couldn’t rescue this kitten forever, but at least I could remove it from the middle of the road. So I stopped the car, got out and picked up the kitten. It was all muddy because it had fallen in a puddle so now I was all muddy. I put it down on the side of the road, looking around for its mother because it was such a little thing. When I got back to my car, I realized I had locked my keys in the car, with my bag and cell phone and, to top it all, the car was still running. Now what to do? I prayed that someone from Faith Academy would drive by, but unfortunately no one did. I had to abandon the car (still running) and walk the few kilometers home, praying all the time that my friends, with the spare key of my flat would be there. I arrived at their apartment 30 minutes later muddy, sweating, crying and just generally looking pathetic, but at least they were home. When I finally got back to my car, with its spare key, I was so grateful it was still there and still running. But the little kitty was also still there, and there was still no sign of Momma cat. I eventually made my way up to school, but was still feeling so emotional about all that had transpired and about the little lost kitten on the side of the road. But very gently God reminded me that not a single sparrow falls to the ground without him knowing. He knows and cares about the kitten and he certainly knows and cares about me. We all have bad days, but God sees these moments in our lives that are hard and gently reminds us of his love and care.

International Week

International Week is a big part of our 3rd Quarter at school. This year I was on the committee helping to organise it. Our theme this year was Around the World, Around the Throne. Our goal was to celebrate all the countries and cultures that our children are from, but also look towards one day where every tribe, tongue, people and nation will be around the throne of God praising and worshiping the Lamb of God. There are still people groups in the world, who need to hear the Good News and be part of the celebration around the throne one day. The 2nd Graders learn all about the continent of Africa. I love teaching about Africa to my class and sharing with them some of my heritage. Sadly, this is the last year I will be doing that, because I will be moving down and teaching 1st Grade next year. Next year I will be teaching North America.

Prayer and Praise

As I have been seeking, amidst the busyness of daily life, to prepare my heart for Easter I have been impressed afresh by the resoluteness of my Saviour in going to the cross for me.

From all eternity this had been the divine plan since he was “the Lamb slain from the creation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). His incarnation and his whole life on earth had been focused on the cross. As his footsteps meandered around the Holy Land during the days of his earthly ministry he knew that they would, in his Father’s time, be pointed in the direction of Jerusalem and, more specifically, of Golgotha. Luke tells us that “as the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem” (9:51). This fulfils the prophetic word in one of Isaiah’s Servant Songs—“Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame” (50:7).

As Jesus neared Jerusalem we see this same resolution in a conversation he had with his disciples in Luke 18:31-33—“Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.’” He was unwavering in his determination.

His determination reached its agonizing crescendo beneath the gnarled olive trees in Gethsemene where he prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke adds, “An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:42-44).

All this for me!

And it is in the light of his resolute embracing of the cross that he calls me (and you!) to resolutely follow him in a life of sacrificial discipleship. Again Luke brings these two truths together in 9:22-23—“And he said, ‘The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.’ Then he said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’”

 Students are sent out to plant more churches

Joseph Banda has started off from his home going to Mwanza district to plant and start a church. He had already gone to Mwanza to survey the land and had found a house for rent where he will be residing. Another student who has been sent out in February is Joe Banda who has gone to Nsanje district in Southern Region of Malawi.

A member of Blantyre church gets healed from H.I.V.

Brother Wasili was once Moslem and he came to know Christ a year ago when James Chiumia, a member of Peace Ministries, who is studying at Polytechnique- the University of Malawi met him in the street and witnessed about Jesus to him. Mr Wasili received Christ and started attending Peace Ministries Church. After receiving Christ, he told James that he was H.I.V positive and that he was also on medication of A.R.V. After hearing that James started praying for the healing of this case to God and one day James boldly called Mr Wasili to come to college where James resides so that he could pray for him. James then prayed for him and told him that he should believe that God has healed him and that he should take the next step to go to the hospital so that the doctors should test him and verify that he is now negative of H.I.V. Mr Wasili came out of the hospital rejoicing when he was told that he was not found with the H.I.V virus. When James heard this, he could not believe and he thought he was lying to just please James. Then James checked his hospital book where the doctor had written the results. So for him to verify and really prove that he was healed, he demanded that they should again go to the hospital to be tested for the second time together with him. And the second results also showed that Mr Wasili who had the H.I.V. virus was now free of the virus because Jesus healed him. May God receive glory for this work of grace upon His people.

A new team of students join the church planter’s school

When the first group had finished their one year course of learning how to plant churches, others are also motivated and those who have sensed a call in their lives to serve God have joined the school and will start their course in April.

Prayer for upcoming events:

1. Easter is ahead of all of us. And during this time, the youth in Peace Ministries from Southern Region are gathering in Mulanje for a conference.

2. Some of our women will hold the Women’s Conference in Mozambique.

3. Soon after Easter, we will have a training for Pastor’s in Mzuzu and about 50 leaders will be theologically equipped with Gerhard Venter from RUC.

4. Do not forget that this year from 20 to 23 December we are cerebrating the goodness of God in our lives for the vision of planting churches for 25 years now. This Silver Jubilee cerebration will be held at Shelfer Conference hall in Lilongwe. Remember that we are also requesting you to plan to come and attend this cerebration besides praying for it.

I have just read the report at one sitting (click the links on the left to download the full report and financial statements). The cumulative impact on me of that reading is profound. All at the same time I feel joyful, thankful, amazed, impressed, proud, humbled . . . and exhausted! 

Wow! What a church! What a Saviour!

 As I read the report I was impressed by the diversity of our church—diversity of people and ministries. In these pages you will encounter people old and young, rich and poor, male and female, black and white, new believers and seasoned ones—so much diversity, yet “all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). And the diversity of ministries! On page after page you will be reminded that the Holy Spirit has given us different passions and gifts to do different things, all for the purpose of reaching the lost, building up the body of believers, and influencing the world for Christ. 

As I glance back over 2011 I am deeply thankful for the unity in our church. This fact is not readily discerned in the pages of a report but it is sensed and seen in our daily and weekly interactions with one another. It is experienced in our small groups, it is heard in the happy babble of voices in the sanctuary and the Street before and after services, it is enjoyed in committee meetings and task groups where tough issues are hammered out yet we leave as friends. Sure, we have our hiccups in this area because we are sinners in the process of being sanctified, but we are learning to say “Sorry” and “I forgive you.”

And then, as I glance back over 2011, I am thankful for our mission as a church. For 106 years we have had a mission, but 2011 has seen a sharpening of the focus of that vision. As a result of the Lord’s working in the hearts of the leadership and membership over the past year we have a clearer vision of why we exist. We exist to “make disciples” (Matthew 28:19). All the ministries mentioned in these pages must in some way contribute to extending the kingdom of God, developing the body of Christ, and influencing our world. In other words we exist to call disciples, teach disciples, and send disciples. We are committed to this. We will not deviate from it! In this regard, pay special attention to page 30 in this report. Keep it where you can refer to it often and measure your life and ministry against its content and challenge.

On a more personal note, I have loved serving as your pastor in 2011. Thank you for granting me the privilege of a refreshing sabbatical. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. Thank you for your hard work for Jesus and RUC.  With Doug away studying, Dennis presently side-lined due to illness, and Roger having retired at the end of July, it has been a year filled with extra demands and pressures. I could not have coped without the support of a great pastoral and leadership team, the help of a servant-hearted PA called Shelley, the constant encouragement of a wise Council Chair called Derek, the love of my amazing wife called Irene, and the grace of my glorious Saviour called Jesus! 

Your friend and pastor,

Leigh Robinson

Two students from the church planter’s school have started planting new churches. David and Shadreck have been sent to Thyolo and Ndirande in Blantyre to start new churches and they have already started the mission by witnessing and evangelising the Community. On Thursday this week I stood alongside Shadreck to help him with Evangelism in Ndirande by using the Jesus Film. Roughly 250 people attended the crusade which ended with the Jesus film in the evening and about 110 people gave their lives to Jesus. Pastor Shadreck is now busy following up the new converts and discipling them.                 

How do we plant new churches?

We usually send one person to a place where we want to plant a new church and the church planter will first survey the place and start building relationships with the people in the community as people do not join strangers. Then he starts witnessing and those who receive Jesus Christ are discipled. In most cases he starts the church as a home cell in his house with those who have received Jesus and have joined him and the church grows from there. The Jesus film equipment is the most effective tool of evangelism that makes church planting easy.

The Jesus Film attracts many people without advertising and in most cases it’s the whole family that comes to watch the movie. Besides watching the movie, the gospel is also preached and an altar call is made and those who do have a church are the people you start the church with.

News in the ministry and around our churches:

1. 2012 is a year of Jubillee and silver Jubillee to Alick

On 23 January Alick turned 50 and this day was celebrated with prayers and worship to God in his house. “I am as young as I was 25 years ago when I started the ministry. So I will pray like Caleb that God should give me grace to walk with Him and serve Him. I thank God for trusting me with the gospel, for his anointing, for spiritual gifts and family.”

2. The youth are holding another conference

After closing 2011 with a Youth Conference in Ntchisi in the Central Region of Malawi, the youth in the Southern Region also want to hold a youth conference from 6-8 April in the Mulanje District.

Upcoming Events

1. With a vision to equip leaders for the work of ministry we will have leadership training from 22 to 29 April in Mzuzu with Pastor Gerhard Venter from Rosebank Union Church.

2. This year from 20 to 23 December we will have the Silver Jubille in Lilongwe where all our Churches from Mozambique, Zambia and Malawi will celebrate the grace of planting churches.

Remember, the Bible tells us that there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repents. If heaven rejoices, we also need to rejoice here on earth for His saving grace. So plan to attend and join us as we celebrate and worship for what He has done amongst us.

What a mission!

“Missions”. Let me guess... you’re thinking that this sounds like a great idea but practically it’s not viable. What if I told you that through saving and support from individuals and the church we were all able to go? So you may say... well I’m not sure I can get the leave. What if I told you that God answered prayer and he helped in communications with the powers that be, to allow all of us the appropriate leave needed for the trip! Now I guess you’re thinking.... I don’t think I really have anything to offer, no specific talent or gift, what use would I be on a mission trip? Well then I tell you that God wants people with a willingness to help and get involved and he will provide the work you need to do.

We were each called in many different ways to join the trip to the Philippines. Some of us overcame great obstacles and hurdles to get there, yet God was with us in all the tiny details. The team included Joan Venter (team leader), Melissa Le Roux, Audessa Woods, Elrine Woods and Caz Shutte and we were joined later by Heidi Jackson.

As a group of teachers we had fun planning the lessons and coming up with the activities and songs. We went into the urban slums in Manila and began our ministry by connecting with the community members already established there. We shared our ideas and ministered in the playschool. We ventured into the slums and with the barrier of language began to play and make crafts with the children. These people have nothing, yet they rely on God fully and when we took clothing parcels to them they began to minister to us. Wherever we went God was there and his love abounded in every difficult situation. We lived from day to day on a rough schedule and where God needed us to be, we went.

We had the privilege of visiting the missionary kids’ school – Faith Academy. Their facilities are state of the art yet they need teachers willing to serve. Are you willing?

God did amazing work in each of us on the trip and we each learnt things that are hard to explain.  We had fun, we laughed, we worked hard, we bonded, and we grew deeper in relationship with the Lord. God needs your hands and feet! Go on... try it! You’ll never be the same again!

Discipleship can be dangerous. Let me explain what I mean . . .

Over the past few weeks, from the pulpit and in our small group studies, we have been challenging every person who is part of the Rosebank Union family to a life of deeper discipleship. We have focused on Jesus’ mandate to make disciples (the Great Commission) and have sought, in broad terms, to describe what a disciple of Jesus looks like. We have taught that a disciple of Jesus will be characterised by—

• Personal DEVOTION
• Corporate WORSHIP
• Significant COMMUNITY
• Sacrificial SERVICE
• Redemptive INFLUENCE

You will undoubtedly have noticed that certain activities are involved in each of these areas. For example, we read the Bible and pray, we attend worship services, we belong to a small group, we are involved in a ministry in the church, we give to missions, we seek to share our faith in the workplace. All these things, and many more that we have mentioned and will suggest, involve doing. Discipleship demands doing. It is active. It can be measured in terms of time and energy and money.

That’s fine. That’s biblical.

But the truth is that unless those activities are the overflow of a vital and growing relationship with the Lord Jesus we can end up being nothing more than religious professionals--even religious fanatics-- driven by the need to impress God, look good in the eyes of other people, or compensate for our own feelings of guilt or inadequacy. This is the danger of discipleship.

While it is true that discipleship activities have the potential to feed our relationship with Jesus, it is also true to say that they must be fed and fuelled by that relationship. To use Jesus’ analogy of the vine and the branches, the fruit on the branch must be the expression of the life of the vine. As born again believers we are "in Christ” – branches in vital union with the Vine—and our discipleship activities need to be the fruit of that union, an expression of the grace of God and the life of Jesus in us. That’s why we talk about “Gospel-Centred Discipleship” and have the cross at the very centre of our illustration depicting the different characteristics of a disciple’s life.

I will say (and perhaps write) more about this later, but for now think about this and chew on Jesus’ words in John15:5-8

 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains (abides) in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing . . . This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

Join the Family of Discipleship

Jesus knew the importance of living in community. He was born into a family, with parents and siblings. And when he launched into ministry, he called people to be his followers, his disciples, to be with him, to support him and, ultimately, to fulfill his purposes. It was within this community of disciples that Jesus found both the best and the worst of times. But despite knowing that Peter would deny him and Judas betray him, he still underlined the importance of living and working in the context of community.

When we respond to Jesus’ call to follow him, to be his disciples, we also commit to belonging to his family. Jesus himself referred to his disciples as his family (Mark 3:31-35) and friends (John 13:13-15). When we respond to God’s call to become his children (John 1:12), we also enter into a relationship with other followers of Jesus Christ.

Christmas time was a reminder to me that it takes some time and effort to connect with my family. We had to make arrangements, appointments and come to some agreement about where we would meet and what we would do for Christmas. It may sound like a great effort but now that I’ve been with my family, I treasure the memories of love, laughter and fellowship.

It’s no different in our discipleship. We all need the fellowship of believers, fellow-disciples, to help us grow in our relationship with Christ. Although it takes some effort to reach out to others, the joy and fulfillment it brings cannot compare with a life lived in isolation.

Rosebank Union Church provides me with the family in Christ that I need in order to become what God has called me to be. In a church the size of ours, there are many different ways in which we connect with others. The worship services on Sundays, as important as they are, do not provide enough opportunity to connect deeply with our Christian family. Therefore, we need to look for additional ways of making sure that we belong. The small groups (and other groups, such as Bible studies and ministry groups) provide us with the means to ensure that every member and adherent of RUC is connected to some other Christian friends and family. 

Rosebank Union’s vision is to see person in our church involved in a significant discipleship relationship!

Why is community so important to a life of discipleship?

There are several dynamics within the small group or other groups at RUC that provide us with the opportunity to be good disciples of Jesus Christ:

• A place to grow. Discipleship is about growing closer to the Lord Jesus Christ. My family in Christ stimulates this growth by praying for me, giving me opportunity to raise my questions and helping me to deal with the difficult issues in life.
• A place to serve. True discipleship results in a desire to give my time and resources back to God in gratefulness for all he has done for me. In the small group and the larger church I find opportunity to serve others with the gifts that God has entrusted to me.
• A place to be held accountable. Disciples of Jesus need encouragement, direction and input. Members of my small group (my Christian family) ask the hard questions about my relationship with God, which helps me to grow closer to God, to live life for God and to deal with sin in my life.
• A place to connect with others. Discipleship means belonging to Jesus Christ and his wider family. My small group members remind me that I have a family that cares for me, where I can receive help and where I can help others.
• A place to be encouraged to reach out to those outside the family. Jesus called us to make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). In our small group we encourage one another to live for Christ in our own circle of influence. The small group also provides me with a relaxed, informal place where I can invite an unsaved friend, colleague or family member to experience the warmth and love of Jesus.
• A place where I can be myself. Discipleship is not always easy, but my small group understands that I need them to listen to me, to love and accept me as I am, to support me when I am weak.

As a disciple of Jesus Christ, YOU NEED to belong to a Gospel-centred community where you can build significant relationships and grow in Christ together. Small groups (or other similar groups) in the church provide one such opportunity.

So, GET PLUGGED IN!