MARCH 2015 VOL 1 ISSUE 1 NEWSLETTER A word from our pastors Hello Family in this issue What a fantastic start to 2015 and it continues to get better and better, This a the launch of out new monthly newsletter, which will keep you inform of the upcoming events and happening on our church, In this edition you will get a report of some of the wins we had in February, as well as some key dates you will need to keep free in your diary for this month of March. Our current series on Confidence continues through this month and the topics we will be looking at over March include the Throne of Grace, God s Perfect Timing and Keys to building Confidence. Our Ministry Connect Service will be on the second Sunday of the month, March 8 at 6pm. Our focus this month is the creative power of God. Café Connect is on the third Sunday of the month March 15 at 6pm. Brendan and Nicole and the team have a great evening prepared for us this month. Jeremiah 29:11-13 has a wonderful promise for us, Even while the children of Israel where in captivity, God s plan for them was found not in their circumstances, but in His word and promise. WORD FROM OUR PASTORS MISSIONS CONNECT GROUPS UPCOMING EVENTS KIDS YOUTH MARCH CALENDAR For I know the thoughts and plan that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome, Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear and heed you. Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. (AMPV) No matter the circumstances or situations we find ourselves in, let us continue to hold on to this wonderful truth, That God has thoughts and plans for us that will give us hope on our final outcome. Believe Belong Become Beyond Love you heaps Cross Central Tepa & Jo
missions Capacity Pray for the Lord s continuing Protection and Blessing for Doug and Fiona Higgins and the tribal groups they minister to in north-west Thailand. Doug and Fiona Higgins Jan 2015 prayer requests For the churches we have ministered during recent months, particularly in relation to the gifting of the Holy Spirit; that they begin to actively experience this for themselves New church in Myanmar; God's favour when meeting with village leaders and officials. James, Twyla and Narelle to adjust well with their newborn Financial support for all Capacity team members - if you would like to know more about how to support us please see below A vehicle for James and Twyla that has sufficient space for 2 infant seats and is within our budget Clarity for Ruth's long-term ministry in Thailand Compassion We pray for the many children supported by Compassion and particularly the one we sponsor, seven year old Lyka Jane Villarin, who lives in the Southern Philippines. Lord we uphold Lyka Jane and her family and community into your loving care and that pray she may grow up to know, love and serve you. We pray for her safety and protection from crime, disease and natural disasters. Asylum Seekers We pray for children and families held in detention awaiting outcomes on applications to settle in Australia. We pray that their applications for resettlement be processed efficiently and fairly. We pray that Australia will invest more time and money into finding a compassionate and humane way to manage the refugee situation in the future. Show us how we can support families in need. Persecuted Christians - We pray for the witness of the church throughout the world and especially for protection for Christians in dangerous circumstances. Open Doors asks us to pray for NORTH KOREA. Pray that God will help the thousands of Christians who suffer in prisons and camps to endure and be His witnesses. Pray also for the heads of the North Korean church who must lead secretly. Meeting together for worship and teaching is extremely risky. "... always keep on praying for all the saints." (Ephesians 6:18) Above everything else, persecuted Christians desire prayer. CCDP in NEPAL We pray for the children receiving support from CCDP in Nepal. Thank you for the opportunity Cross Central had last year to support them. We pray that the children will grow in their love of learning and above all their love for you. Give us wisdom as we at Cross Central plan our future support for CCDP projects in the future. Cross Central Missions We pray for your leading as we serve you in missions this year. Help us to remain constant in prayer, enthusiasm and commitment to missions both here and around the world. Cross Central supports: Compassion, Open Doors, Capacity (Doug and Fiona Higgins), CCDP, BBECET and many other worthy causes through your generous giving towards missions. Your support is a visible sign of your desire to see all nations to seek and believe in our amazing and wonderful God.
Connect Groups... Some thoughts about what has been happening in our groups James epistle stand out in the New Testament in it s call for a strong, radical and effective Christian ethic to confront injustice and hypocrisy in the world, and in religion ( be doers of the word ) And so the message is direct and uncomfortable, reminding us of Jesus Sermon on the Mount a simple message with no room for compromise, and certainly not, a gospel of straw. We are learning much from studying it together and sharing from our own Christian experiences. Geoff Miller One member from our Connect Group shared how for the first time she has read the letter of James and felt encouraged by it, In his letter he is to the point and easy to understand. Colleen and Graham It s a real privilege that we can learn something new about the Bible and God s word every week at our Connect Group. The fellowship and friendships are a blessing to us, not to mention the coffee, cake and conversation! Bob & Lorraine Linden Our Thursday Night ladies connect are really enjoying the study through James. Being Mums it is not always possible for us to come to group every time, however having the book to follow along with means we don t miss out. I think discussing what this first couple of chapters of James looks like in our lives in 2015 adds a lot of depth and substance to our walk with God. Consider it Joy when you face trials. This is such a contrast to our natural way of thinking. It is a small price to pay for the massive gain of what trials produce in our lives, although at the time we don t always seem to have the clear vision to see this. Listening and doing and not showing favoritism brought much discussion on when we have either experienced these or sometimes have been the ones to show favoritism. How good is it to walk alongside others who are doing the same thing as we are. People headed in the same direction. Nicole Gorzalka Study 4 was a challenge for me b e c a u s e i t r a i s e d t h e question Are my actions the result of a real faith or a counterfeit one? My actions are the fruit of faith too, but is it from my faith in Jesus or something else? Are my actions for God, man or me? It s not just about doing, it needs to be more about why. My actions need to come from an understanding of what Jesus has done for me. I need some work here, don t you love a challenge??!! Thankfully, I know I m saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Wayne Mitchell CONFIDENCE I pray that I could be more bold, And tell my friends the truth I hold That Jesus saved and set me free, And changed my hopeless destiny. My friends have fears that do not cease, while I hold the key to their release. Oh that I could be more bold And tell my friend the truth I hold. Connect Groups in Cross Central Belinda, Family / Surfside / Monday 7PM (Weekly) Graham and Colleen, Family / Longbeach / Tuesday 7PM (weekly) Pete & Sue, Family / Surfbeach / Tuesday 7PM (Fortnightly) Jo, Women s / Longbeach / Tuesday 7PM (Fortnightly) Wayne & Rod, Men s / Tuesday 7PM (Weekly) Geoff, Men s / Batehaven / Tuesday 6.30AM (Weekly) Tepa, Men s / Longbeach / Wednesday 7pm (Weekly) Nicole, Women s /Sunshine Bay / Thursday 7PM (Fortnightly) Nicole, Teen Girls / Sunshine Bay / Thursday 6PM (Fortnightly) Sam (playgroup outreach) / Thursday AM (Weekly) Tepa, Family / Surfside / Friday AM (Weekly)
Prayer Connect When? Wednesday nights 7pm Where? Cross Central Church. Join us as we come into Gods presence during our worship time and listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit as we bring our prayer requests to God. We pray because it is how we communicate with God through Jesus Christ. We pray for whatever God lays on our hearts by the prompting of the Holy Spirit. We pray for those who ask for our prayers. We PRAY.. Pray accelerates your faith when you see firsthand prayers that have been offered in faith being answered and bearing much fruit in Gods Kingdom. One group member said after receiving prayer they felt relieved, a problem shared is a problem halved. This person was given some practical steps to allow Jesus to take the load, and not to carry the burden themselves. God can handle all their situations and work all things together for good. Another group member testified to a healing they had received on both their knees as a result of prayer. Prayer put simply is listening and talking to God, there is no right or wrong way to pray and everyone is welcome to join us. See YOU there!! Discipleship Connect Discipleship Connect meets weekly at Cross Central Church, Monday nights at 7pm. The study of James has been an excellent book of the Bible to show us how to live lives as Disciples of Jesus Christ. We will face trials this is a given but we can trust the Lord that He is with us during these trials and it produces in us maturity. Not to be just hearers of the word but doers of the word also. It is no good just saying to someone who is in a time of need I ll pray for you if there is something tangible we can do to help. Sometimes we need to put legs on our prayers. Meeting together encourages us as a group as we share different life experiences and can share our testimonies of how we got through different trials over our life time. Spurring on another on to run the race and keep the faith. Discipleship Connect enables us to be more intimate with one another, to walk the walk and talk the talk. Also having the time to pray for one another and share the joy when we see those prayers answered. God is faithful and as we draw near to Him, He draws near to us. Discipleship Connect is not only growing in numbers but in our love for God and for one another and by this love all men will know that we are His Disciples. We look forward to welcoming new Disciples into the Church as God draws His people home. mission report Shalom, Sister B Cross Central is participating at Relay For Life. When : Sat 14th March 10am till Sun 15th March 9am. Where : Mackay Park Batemans Bay Team Name : Cross Central Cost is $20 for rego which includes a shirt. Such a great time of friendship, community and exercise, come be part of it! Our goal is to raise $800 for the Cancer Council, You can also make donations online or why not sponsor someone! Please see Jo or Sam for further info
KIDS Sunday Connect... Some things about what has been happening Kids K-3 Connect KIDS 4-6 CONNECT The Sunday school kids have had a great beginning to the year! We have had a focus on creation for the first four weeks. We have a colour mural which we have added a page too each week. In the beginning God created.. It is so nice to see the kids creating beautiful work while they learn the principles of God. A massive thank you goes out to Olivia, Maddie, Lillie and Chloe who are very devoted to sowing into the children s lives. mission report Nicole Gorzalka We have been sharing prayer points with each other and the kids have been learning to pray for each other every week. We want to continue this each week so the kids grow into being supportive and prayerful for each other as they become teenagers and adults. We have also been learning memory verses through games. One of the verses is Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Jason & Karena Durden
R E V O L U T I O N Y O U T H Revolution Youth has a great start to 2015. We are following the James studies and are incorporating small groups into our weekly program. This is working really well. On the last weekend in February we went to Summer Camp. There were 30 teenagers, 10 leaders and 5 kids. It was awesome!! Lot s of swimming, beach walks, night beach games, a beef spit dinner, marshmallows and prayer time around the camp fire. Our speakers, Bec & Kojo bought the Word and shared their hearts, challenging us to get real with God, ourselves and others and to keep on keeping on! They were words in season and all of us were touched by God in some way. Our other big event this term is Relay for Life and we re all keen to get out and be light and love in our community. We are so excited and can t wait to see what God has in store of us this year. The youth group we see...
MINISTRIES Eldership Team - Jo & Tepa Faletoese, Gary Tilyard, Rod & Sam Zimmermann, Nicole Gorzalka Missions - First Sunday of the Month -Tepa Faletoese, Robyn Lack Pastoral Care - Nicole Gorzalka Service Co-ordinator - Sam Zimmermann Sunday Kid s Programs - Jo Faletoese, (K-3) Nicole Gorzalka, (4-6) Jason & Karena Durden Motiv8 / Revolution Youth Jo Faletoese Connect For Families (playgroup) - Sam Zimmermann Men's Club - Kenn Woods Music Ministry - Tepa Faletoese CONTACT US Street: 1 Kerang Street, SURFSIDE Postal: PO Box 1113 BATEMANS BAY NSW 2536 Email: info@wearecrosscentral.com Web: http:wearecrosscentral.com Phone: 02 4472 9419 ONLINE GIVING Cross Central Bank Details: BSB 062 650 Tithes & Offerings : a/c # 2800 0882 Mission Fund: a/c # 2801 0626