Last Sunday @ Newlife

Last Sunday morning Orrell preached our sixth message on the ‘I am’ statements in John’s Gospel; Jesus’ claim to be the True Vine. Orrell is our Church Plant Minister, and in his message he shares some of the exciting news about the opportunities God is unfolding before us.

You can download Orrell’s message here: www.stucameron.typepad.com/

God’s Provision

On Sunday I shared about God’s amazing provision for our church plant vision. Last November we launched the Vision 1000 appeal which sought to raise $100,000 through 2011 to fund our church planting movement. Already we have received almost $25,000 in gifts from church members. Completely unexpectedly we have also received a cheque for $40,000 from our Presbytery, with the promise of the same figure in 2012 and 2013. Praise God! But the news gets better...a small congregation has promised us an additional $40,000, which we should receive soon. And then this last Wednesday we received an anonymous bank cheque for $50,000 for the Vision 1000 appeal. All in all we have already been gifted $155,667. What a great and generous God we serve!

Easter @ Newlife

We are now in the holies week in the Christian Calendar. What a special time of the church year it is as we celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord and all it means for us and our world! Our theme this year is ‘The Tree’. We will celebrate Good Friday at 7.30am and 9am and Easter Sunday at 7.30am, 9am, 10.45am and 6pm.

On Easter Saturday (April 23) we will be holding our special Family Service at 4pm, lead by our wonderful Kidzlife team.

Specially printed cards promoting our Easter Services are available from the office. Why not drop in and take some and invite your friends, neighbours and family?

Anzac Day Service

On Anzac Day there will be a special brief service held in our Memorial Garden at 8am. This will be a time of remembrance, prayer and reflection. All are welcome.

Easter Baptisms

On Easter Sunday afternoon (April 24) we will be offering the opportunity to publicly declare their faith though baptism, or reaffirmation of baptism. Hundreds of us will gather on the shores of Currumbin Creek at 3.30pm (by the Pelican statues on Duringan Street, Currumbin) at 3.30pm to celebrate resurrection faith. All are welcome! At 6pm we will be back at the church to celebrate Easter and to hear the rich testimonies of those who have been baptised.

Time to Build – Date Claimers

Straight after Easter (Sunday May 1) we will be commencing an incredibly exciting journey through our Time to Build program. After four years of planning, praying and decision making we are now ready to embrace God’s vision to extend our worship facilities in order to make room for those still to come. Very soon you will be receiving a whole bunch of information that helps you to fully be a part of this process. There will be a DVD, booklet, small group resources and daily devotions made available.

In addition, we would love you to take up the opportunity to be praying for our church through this time. You can receive (free of charge) daily SMS prayer updates direct to your mobile phone. If you would like to register for this service, just email your mobile number to Matt at matt.mcnamee@newlife.unitingchurch.org.au. Finally, mark June 11-12 in your diary as we will be holding an all-night prayer vigil through this time.