Pastor’s Message

Developing a soft heart

Happy New Year, everyone!

I suppose it is still ok to say 'happy new year'. No? Okay, one last time.

This is the first proper 2026 newsletter, and I'm excited for what God has in store for us as a church and as individuals. There is something to celebrate about a new beginning, whether it’s the year, or a new venture, or a new stage of life. “New” gives us a reason to reset and comes with an equal measure of excitement and trepidation about the future. So, while the year is not quite as new, I would like to highlight a few things that are coming up.

For those who attended Vision Sunday, we broke down the parable of the Sower, and that acted as a base for us to think about how we do ministry.

Here are the key pointers:

The way we think and see the world is shaped by what we consume (ideas).

A seed can also be understood as an idea, i.e., when an idea is “planted” in us, that’s a seed. Ultimately, evil seeds lead to evil fruits (and vice versa). You cannot change the type of seed. In this parable, the seed is the word of God. (Luke 8:11). That is a good seed and is a good foundation. Jesus continues to say, after the parable, “Let him who has ears hear” (vs. 8). It did not mean that those who were listening could not hear, but this was a call from Jesus for those who have resistance to understanding. It was a call for all those who are sensitive, to encourage them to take note. Otherwise, you get stuck in a loop. (Wealth, Power, Pleasure, Honour).

The soil is the state of your heart, and as a summary, here are our states…

• HARD SOIL- Hard HEART (Not willing to listen)

• ROCKY SOIL- Shallow HEART (Cannot withstand testing)

• THORNY SOIL- Distracted HEART (Worries, riches and pleasure)

• SOFT SOIL – Soft heart (That is willing to receive)

We concluded by saying that the human heart will always have a response to God’s word. On a more sobering note, if you are not the 4th soil, you will not be fruitful. The final question of the day, which I leave you with, is how do you develop a soft heart? 

Have a week of developing a soft heart, Mato.

Community

This was our model for ministry…

In most of the church setups, we have the funnel model. We do big events that we hope will bring in people.

We hope to share the gospel with these people, and they will believe and then become part of the congregation and develop a sense of belonging and commit to growth and service. 

In many instances, this has worked well, and it has been an effective evangelism tool.

At HCC, we are slightly different because we want to create a sense of belonging, even before belief. Belonging is key because we are interested in who people are and how God views them, regardless of their belief.

We do challenge everyone to believe in Christ as their saviour and be committed to the life of Christ and the church. Then from there, we do community and evangelism together.

Community

We continue to give thanks for our children’s ministry. In the last year, we have seen an answer to prayer as our children grow, both in numbers and in depth, and our lovely volunteers continue to lead them exceptionally well.

Margaret, who has been leading our children's ministry diligently since 2022, stepped down at the end of last year. Kirstie, Kathy and Nikki have taken up the role of leading temporarily. We now need to pray for someone in a paid position to step up and co-ordinate this ministry. We still need all the volunteers we can get, and we are thankful for all who volunteer every week to lead us, but we are now looking for a children’s ministry co-ordinator. Please pray with us as we search. We also need to do this quickly so that we can contiune setting up our children's ministry for our families.

Community

Our youth ministry continues to run and thrive. We currently have one paid worker and two volunteer youth leaders, as well as a few volunteer parents. We usually meet on Thursday nights, from 7pm to 9pm, and every term we pick a theme to teach. This year, we continue with the “I AM” statements of Jesus as we lead up to Easter camp. Our Friday lunchtime outreach programme called the “Cashmere Project" is still ongoing as well at Cashmere High School.

Speaking of Easter camp, we are running the adopt-a-camper campaign again this year. This is where we give you the opportunity to either adopt a camper and help them pay for their fee or part of it. In addition, back by popular demand, we will also have our bake sale on 22nd March.

Church Sundays

On the pulpit this Sunday and beyond

We are doing a study of Paul’s letters, starting with Galatians. The Sunday before Vision Sunday, we started on Galatians 1:1-10. This week, we are up to “The Call”, Galatians 1:11-24. Please read through the scripture and highlight what stands out to you, what does not make sense and what you feel is a take-home. We will then read it together on Sunday, and there will be questions for us to answer during the week as well. 

Over the year, and probably most of next year as well, we will spend time in Paul's letters. This is not by default. A controversial statement that I have read before is that “Paul did more to spread the gospel than Jesus himself." I agree with that statement because what Paul does in his letters is expand the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels. In Galatians specifically, Paul shows us that we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ, by nothing less and nothing more, and we are sanctified, not by our legalistic work, but by the obedience that comes from faith that God did the work for us and in us through the grace of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the core of the message.

Finally, the New Testament is all about application, not just inspiration. What Paul says is applicable to us in our everyday life, and my hope and prayer is that we take these words at face value and be willing to apply them. It is like eating bread, which fills us and edifies us consistently.

Community

This is very short notice, but I thought I would include it. Open Heaven is happening on Thursday, 19th February, at the Spark Arena. This is a prayer and worship event for all ages, so come along if you can. We will be taking our youth group along to it.

Giving

Halswell Community Church

Account Number: 06-0601-0867216-00

Reference: Tithe/Offering Particulars: Your Name