MESSAGE FROM THE PASTOR
The power of inviting

This last week, I had a chance to spend a lot of time with our youth, and it was not by design. I believe God was reminding me of something that I may have been pushing aside slowly.

The first was Thursday night youth group, which officially got underway again on February 13th. It was great to see our young people and those they had invited as well. I specifically mention “invited” because that has been the most consistent way of growing the youth group. Encouraging the young people to invite their friends and providing a space that challenges them enough and keeps them coming back.

We also have a great bunch of youth workers who do an amazing job of keeping the group together, planning out the nights, and planning for the future as well. My request for us is to keep praying for these groups.

I have two main requests:

• That these young people will continue to have the courage to invite their friends to youth group.

• That we will continue to challenge and encourage them to keep Christ and the scriptures central to their beings and their lives, as they go through high school and beyond.

Then came the Cashmere Project. For those unfamiliar with this one, every Friday at lunchtime, I go to Cashmere High School with chips, and we sit in a class and do a gospel sharing. Some in the school call it the “mental health club,” and we are OK with that. This year, we have a bunch of year 10 boys and year 11 girls who have invited their friends. Our focus is to invite them to Easter camp and keep challenging them regarding their lives and the place of Christ in their lives. Most of these young people are not Christian, nor are their parents/families, so this is a big prayer point.

The third group is the Halswell Connections programme at the Hub. Last week we were invited into Halswell School, and the principal introduced the youth workers to all the teachers in the staff room. He also invited us to go back during lunchtimes and speak to the students, as we encourage them to come to the Halswell Connections program.

So please join us in prayer as we commit all these aspects of youth ministry to God.

Mato

CHURCH SUNDAYS

The peace the God provides

We continue with our series “Towards the Cross” this Sunday, and we are in the last part of John 14. Tim did an amazing job on Sunday of demystifying the Holy Spirit through John 14:16-26.

Who He is: He is a person. Vs 16-18 mentions the Holy Spirit as Him five times.

What He does: He is sent to “illuminate” Jesus. The person of Jesus and his works while on earth, and to encourage us.

Why the Holy Spirit? He is our “advocate.” We are not bound to defend ourselves or even free ourselves. The Holy Spirit does that for us because he stands on our behalf, just like Jesus stands in front of the Father on our behalf.

I thought the illustration of an advocate from the movie Castle was an apt addition.

This week, we complete John 14 by talking about the peace that God provides and what it means to have peace in our world today.

COMMUNITY

A chance to learn a thing or two…

CCCNZ will be running a children's ministry training day on the 1st of March. It will be held at Emmett Street Community Church, Shirley.

Emmett Street Community Church in east Christchurch and us at HCC are the two churches most recently linked in with CCCNZ. They’re inviting us to join them in an afternoon of Children’s Ministry training, with Julie McKinnon, CCCNZ national Children & Families Enabler, coming from Hamilton.

It’s for both parents of kids and those who work with kids.

It’s from 2-6pm, with two main sessions:

• How can our understanding of children shape ministry practice? Looking at the difference between ministry to children and ministry with children.

• Creating environments for encounters. Practical ideas for small groups to marvel and wonder together.

It’ll be good and super helpful for us with an expanding children’s work, so do come along! No charge, and lots of benefits 😊 Tim & Liz Hodge will be going—and maybe Susannah too, so who wouldn’t want to join them? [email protected] for more details.

Thank you to everyone who came to the family's afternoon last Sunday. It was genuinely a fun time for all, and a chance to catch up as well. Stay tuned for the next one.

COMMUNITY

Easter camp is sneaking up on us

Easter camp is coming up in April from Thursday, 17th to Monday, 21st. The logistics of Easter camp are always difficult, but that’s not the prayer point this year.

We would like to pray for very specific areas.

• That the youth register to come to camp and invite their friends. This includes youth from the Cashmere Project.

• That we are able to raise money for Easter camp. Every year, we need to raise money to sponsor youth to go to Easter camp. This year is showing the greatest need of all, so we need to start praying through that. In addition, the cost of the marquee and set-up and set-down has risen, so we need to raise at least $5000.

• That the Easter story comes alive again for everyone in attendance, and they experience the risen Christ in their lives this year.

• We also need camp parents as well, so if you are interested in spending Easter with our lovely young people, that would be such a joy for you and for them.

As we get ready for Easter camp, we have an Easter camp evening on Saturday, 1st March, at Harmony Church. We already have 17 young people registered for this and would like to see more registering, so please join us in prayer for this night.

GIVING

If you would like to contribute to HCC

We really appreciate everyone who has been giving to HCC. It is because of your generosity that we continue to operate. So please know that we value each contribution and that we are grateful for each member individually.

You can contribute by either using the offering box at the entrance of the church or by giving online.

You can make a donation to:

S.B.S Bank Halswell Community Church

Account: 03-1369-0389284-00

Ref: Tithes and offering

Particulars: Your Name