Wow I can’t believe that it is 6 months since Engage City Church launched publicly in Norman Park. Here are a couple of videos that will paint the picture as to the journey that Jesus has had us all on together. Thanks Rob for your work on the videos, you’re help has been tremendous!
Engage’s 6th Month Anniversary from Will Henderson on Vimeo.
Engage City Church 6 months celebrations from Will Henderson on Vimeo.
Been great to spend the past few days with some exceptional men and women in Sydney. It has been fantastic to gather around our Lord and celebrate the work Jesus is doing in and through us.
From Left
Andrew Heard, Dave Taylor, Donna & Mike Gunn, Wilma & David Fandey, Jeff Vandersteldt, Adam & Amy Witanowski, Steve Addison, Will & Nerida Henderson.
Since the launch of our Mission Teams I’ve been really excited about the impact that we’re going to have on the people of Brisbane. Not only are our Mission Teams intent on reading and applying the Bible together, praying and encouraging one another, but our Teams will be intentionally serving the people of Brisbane and engaging them with Jesus. Here are just a few ideas we brainstormed how we can intentionally share the love of Jesus with our community:
* Give away free bottles of water
* Run a free BBQ at a local kids sporting event
* Host a block party for your street
* Buy boxes of chocolates and drop around to elder shut ins
* Visit a nursing home and just listen
* Help outer community based groups out
Can you think of others?
I’m so pumped up about Celebrating this Sunday our six month anniversary at Engage City Church!
Jesus has done so much amongst us since we launched publicly on Valentines Day past.
* Our launch team of 23 has grown to around 65 adults and 20 kids!
* We’ve launched four mission teams intent on engaging the people of Brisbane with Jesus.
* We had a blast with our first annual Easter Egg Hunt at Norman Park State School.
* Building renovations were unanimously approved.
* Men have been chosen for our Leadership Team; Rob, Sam, Tim and Ian.
* We’ve had our first baby born!
* We’ve been gifted with playground equipment by Norman Park State School.
* We’ve grown in our relationship with Jesus as we’ve worked through the books of Ruth, Luke, Psalms, 1 Thessalonians and now James.
* Had a mission team from Georgia visit and serve.
* Ran a bible camp for 200 Karen Refugee children.
* Rachel visited and served the Karen people for four weeks.
* Approved our first annual budget and building renovation plans/budget.
* Donated piles of blankets to refugees throughout Brisbane.
* and the list goes on…
Join us this Sunday and better yet bring a friend as we share some key announcements that will change everything as we seek to push forward in seeing people far from God engaged with Jesus and the life He offers.
Please pray for the family and congregation of Pastor Rashid Emmanuel who was shot dead in Faisalabad, Pakistan, yesterday. Pastor Rashid, a partner of the Acts 29 Network, was shot leaving court after being exonerated from accusations of blasphemy against the prophet Muhammad. Pray for God’s grace, comfort and peace.
Click here for BBC Newsreport.
Please also pray for those involved in murdering Pastor Rashid and the nation of Pakistan which is 97% Muslim. Pray that the love and grace of God will be revealed to them in the good news of Jesus Christ.
Pakistan’s blasphemy law has been critiqued for being vague and subject to exploitation by those hostile to Christianity:
Section 295-C: Use of derogatory remarks, etc; in respect of the Holy Prophet. Whoever by words, either spoken or written or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.
It was fantastic to see the people of Engage come together yesterday to serve Refugees in Brisbane. It was so encouraging to see the pile of blankets growing at front of the room. If you missed out on being a part of it all yesterday and want to express your love for God by giving to those less fortunate, why not bring along a blanket to Engage City Church this coming Sunday.
- Pastor Will
Today was amazing.
- We launched our brand new series 100% James. I talked about how everyone will face trails and temptations, what makes the difference is our decision to either trust Jesus and lean into Him OR disengage from Him and embrace sin. I think it went well. There was a fair bit of positive feedback and I’m pumped to preach again next Sunday on James’ letter to the Church.
- Tim, Yoriko, Sam and Jess did a great job on music and Steve as usual made everyone sound sweet.
- There was a huge pile of blankets at front of the room as people kept bringing in blankets for our Refugee Care push.
- I got to have lunch with a visitor and it’s always great to hear people talk about Jesus stretching and growing them
- My beautiful wife played the piano for the early service, she still has got it :)
- The kids had a great time in Engage Kids. They especially loved the game Lauren had them playing where they got to read out sentences from the Bible. It was cool to go and pick them up and they were all still sitting around in a circle quietly praying.
- Looking forward to Tuesday night and our first ever Mission Team get together. Exciting times.
- Archie wore his Pirate hat to church, he so wants to be a Pirate. So do I.
by Pastor Will H
What can a $1000 get you these days? Quite a lot really. A new camera, a Maton guitar, a weeks holiday down the Gold Coast…or what about running an entire Bible camp along the Thai-Burma border?
Thank You For Changing Children’s Lives
A few months back, around 160 refugee high school kids spent the week sweating it out in sweltering conditions in Mae Plu village along the Thai-Burma border. They were together for one reason: because they wanted to study the amazing news of Jesus in the Bible. Coming from surrounding villages and refugee camps this was a unique chance for many to truly engage with Jesus, many who had not previously done so. Having been on a previous Mae Plu Bible camp I can tell you that it would have been a pretty special week as lives are shared and transformed.
The only reason this camp happened is because of the money that you all at Engage City Church gave to the running of the week. You provided the meat, the rice, the curry, the transport for the teachers and kids, the petrol, the resources and everything that was needed for the week. But more than that, you reminded the people along the border that they are not alone. That the world has not forgotten them and more importantly, that God has not forgotten them.
I just want to thank you all for your involvement in this. Your giving has allowed the hope of Jesus to continue to be spread along the Thai-Burma border and beyond.