RevWrites - Nov 29

I am now able to announce that Mike Allen will be joining the staff team. Mike is married to Michelle and they have a one year old named David. Mike will commence late January and will be preparing to take over James Lewis’s responsibilities.

JGs concluded for the year this week and BOB concludes next week. If you can, you owe it to yourself to pop in one afternoon and check out what happens here with our children’s ministry.

On Monday afternoons up to about a million little girls descend on our church. It’s very PINK! And it’s really about 50 girls on any afternoon as there’s always some away for various reasons.

On Tuesday afternoon it’s testosterone heaven as the boys are allowed to act like boys. Of course, the leaders try to establish boundaries but they’re there for a good time too! There’s not as many boys but the noise makes it seem there is.

Our Children’s Ministry is overseen by Ed Springer but each group is led by a team. Carol Barton leads the team for JGs and Paul Rees leads BOB.

These two people deserve our highest recognition for the work they do. Week-in and week-out they labour for our children. I catch a glimpse of how much time and emotional energy Carol puts in. It is at least two full days a week. I see Paul all the time so it’s not as obvious how much time he gives to BOB, but it’s substantial. And he hopes to be able to continue to lead BOB while at college next year.

Every team member deserves our recognition and appreciation for their work in children’s ministry. But team leaders also have the burden of leading the leaders. They pray for them and encourage them and bear the burden when individual team members are having a down day or not pulling their weight.

So, to Carol and Paul – THANKS.

Our Parish Council has also been beavering away in the background. The new partition wall is now in operation and one person can open and close it with ease.

A new audio-visual system in the back hall will be in operation for the Confirmation Service this week and for Christmas Services.

Work is being done in the Rectory before the Allens move in on 18^th December.

Of course, all of this capital investment and renovation costs money. It is all money well spent and the Parish Council invites you to share in the financial load. If you’re getting a Christmas bonus think about helping out. If you’re not, think about it anyway. Talk to a Warden about how you can help.

If we all pull our financial weight, it is not only fair but godly as well. You will remember a few weeks back when we looked at 2 Corinthians 8 where Paul wrote about the privilege of sharing. Check out the passage again.

Neil

645 News (26/11)

Story of Jesus: Luke's Gospel
We are back in Luke this Sunday. Jesus has been inviting people to follow him. He has faced severe opposition. He is challenging the worldview of everyone who meets him. Prepare for Sunday by reading Luke 12. Pray for Neil as he prepares to teach us.

Love this City THIS SUNDAY
Our Neighbours have been invited. Now we enjoy a Sydney afternoon with them. Be there from 3pm. Come, eat, chat, play - Love our City!! Remember to PRAY.


Confirmation - NEXT THURSDAY
Next Thursday 17 of our 645 Youth + Young Adults are standing up + proclaiming that Jesus is their Lord + Saviour. Come along to stand with them. Click here to find out who they are.

NAC Giving - Message from Wardens
Click HERE to read the Financial update for NAC. Please carefully and generously consider your giving.



NAC and Mission
We had a great night last Sunday being informed and praying for mission. if you would like to see the video's or read the NAC mission policy then click HERE



Blogs posted this week
RevWrites (Neil on Pledge Sunday)
Hippie Conversation Hour (6/12)
645 Rosters (version 3)


645 EVENTS
All 645 Events info is on Facebook. New events include Confirmation Service (Thursday Dec 3), Hippie Conversation Hour (Sun Dec 6) and Love this City (Sun 29 Nov). Please click here to access. No Facebook? Let us know and we will email you.

CONFIRMATION 2009

On Thursday December 3, 17 members of NAC will STAND UP publicly and profess their faith in Jesus Christ as God and Saviour. We would love you to pray for them and come along on Dec 3 and physically support them.


Veneta BaileyaaaaaaaaaSam BoltonaaaaaaaaaChris Bowman
Tom ChenaaaaaaaaaaaaRusdyan CockssaaaaKate Dunlop
Matthew FarrandaaaaaaBrittney KleyaaaaaaaaKristy Lawrence
Rach MaddoxaaaaaaaaaHannah RivettaaaaaaaLogan Rossi
Narelle RobertsonaaaaaDavid ShawaaaaaaaaaYolande Watts
Monique WilsonaaaaaaaJonathan Winter

Come and stand with these young people as they publicly proclaim their love of Jesus to their family, friends and Church

Our Financial Situation (NAC - Nov 2009)

Our situation has deteriorated over the past two months, with giving down about $6,000 per month from previous months. On its own, it is not a major issue, but there are three areas where we have gaps in income.

1. The funding to support the wonderfully justified engagement of Tania has continued to decline during the year and we’re forecasting that only $27,500 of the pledged $35,000 will be received. What does this mean for our pledging for 2010?

2. We hope you have noticed that the new wall is in place and working a treat; making changes to the room much quicker and safer. When we asked for help to cover the cost of the wall we got $5,500 against the gap in funding of $9,000 - down $3,500.

3. It has been necessary to replace the speakers in the back hall, to provide a projector for use in the back hall and replace a failing projector in the church. These are essential improvements and we hope that they gives us a good facility that helps people sitting in the back hall feel more connected to what’s going on in the church. Total cost $8,000.

We are now looking at a shortfall for 2009 of $23,000 against the budgeted $6,310. Each of these “investments” has added value to how we are the church at Northmead. 2010 will have its own challenges and it would be great to go into the new year without needing to draw down on our small reserves.

So would you please prayerfully consider making a contribution to reduce this shortfall?
The Wardens (Steve, Headley and Denise)

NAC and Mission 2009/2010

On Sunday Night we spent some time be informed and praying for mission. Here is the video of some of the things we have been involved in over the last 12 months.



Scott S visited and shared with us the new Mission Policy for the whole of NAC. This was the picture he used (CLICK to make it BIGGER).
You can download and read the whole NAC Mission policy HERE.

Got questions or ideas. Then speak to the 645 Mission team (James McKenna, Elspeth F, Alyssa C, Aaron W, Yohanna C, Dan G). Or shoot an email to james@nac.asn.au and we will send it through.

Yolande and Tom (Video)

Love this City (7 days away)

As you know Love Our City is coming up in TWO SUNDAYS TIME on the 29th of November.

This is a great opportunity to share the love of Christ with the people in our suburb.

As 645 what do we need to do?

Step 1. We are going to personally invite the people in the Redbank area to the park.

Each connect group has been allocated a section of houses to door knock next week leading up to Love Our City. So next week before Connect we want you to knock on those doors. Say Hello and invite them to Love Our City.

Step 2. Door knock on the day

At 3PM on the 29th each connect group will return to the houses they visited and invite the residents over to the park

Step 3. From 3:30PM we will play, eat, talk, connect.

At the park we're asking every 645er to be bold and connect with the people in our community. Chat with them, eat with them, build relationships with them, invited them to play some sport.

Step 4. Celebrate

After Love Our City on the 29th we're going to head back to NAC for church at 645. We will celebrate what God is doing in our community (unfortunately we can't meet at the park for church that night)

Please get involved! Please pray for the event!

More info at 645 this Sunday

RevWrites - Nov 22

I asked you two weeks ago if you wanted to go for it. We had the opportunity to invite a young man from Queensland to work with us part-time and go to Bible college to train for youth ministry. This was on top of the need to employ a new assistant minister to replace James Lewis when he eventually accepts a new position.

Some people responded with: “Go for it!” Some even offered to help finance it.

We heard this week from the young man and he is not yet ready to go to college. But thanks to those who wanted to stretch our ministry. It’s a great sign that many people here want to be stretched by God, even financially.

Next Sunday, and the Sunday after for 6.45, we will have the opportunity to indicate our pledge for 2010. I will total the pledges and give this to the Parish Council to assist them plan for ministry next year.

The last time we did this it was encouraging to me personally. I found out how much people loved gospel ministry and loved what God was doing at THEIR church. I look forward to being encouraged once more.

One problem with our church is that we continue to grow. There is a lot happening that many people don’t get to see. I popped into WHAC last Sunday and it continues to grow. Woodberry Village Chapel, since we took over, has grown remarkably. Last Sunday 6.45 was almost full.

As a resident of Thomas Street, I’m beginning to get cheesed off with Friday nights. You can’t move in the street because of all the parents dropping off and picking up Reggies.

God continues to bless our ministry efforts with growth. But we’ve hardly begun. Even if we had 1,000 people a week here, that leaves about 20,000 people in our parish that aren’t here. They could be at another church. But I suspect they don’t yet know Christ. There’s a lot yet to do on our door-step. And there’s more to the world than our door-step!

This week please pray and consider your pledge. It will help you and us as together we plan for ministry here and around the world.

Neil

P.S.

On a personal note, last week Robyn’s dad settled on a house in Copacabana on the Central Coast. It looks like we will be moving the first week in December and he will join us the next week.

Please pray for us. It is a time of grief as we leave behind our home of twenty years. It is the longest time Robyn has ever lived in the one place. We moved here when Sarah was tiny and Thomas wasn’t.

Your rectory has been the centre of much of our lives. It is the place of great memories for which we thank God and thank you.

Now let’s see what God has planned for us as together we push on into 2010.

645 News (18/11)

God of our City: Kingdom
How do you worship God in our WHOLE World? This Sunday is a week to think beyond Northmead, beyond even our city. What is God doing in our world? How can we be a part of it? Come this Sunday with a heart ready to pray and be an active part of God's kingdom

Baptism of Tom and Yolande
It was such an encouraging night last Sunday. We have posted some photos here. We will also be posting videos of these two believers proclaiming their love for Jesus over the next 2 days.

Love this City
Sunday November 29. We are heading down the road to love a mini community. Get ready to practically be involved. We will BLOG an update by Friday.


Sunday@645 Rosters
Version 3 is available (CLICK HERE). Version 4 will come out early next week with final info for December. Please check and let Troy know (troy@nac.asn.au) of any problems.

Blogs posted this week
200 Words on is our city more generous than me?
RevWrites (Neil on Pledge Sunday)
Hippie Conversation Hour (6/12)
Stats from the 645 Survey


645 EVENTS
All 645 Events info is on Facebook. New events include Confirmation Service (Thursday Dec 3), Hippie Conversation Hour (Sun Dec 6) and Love this City (Sun 29 Nov). Please click here to access. No Facebook? Let us know and we will email you.

200 words on... is our city more generous than me?

On Sunday Senior High went and collected things for toys n tucker from the streets around our church. We had letterbox dropped and told people that we were coming, where we were from and what we were collecting. What was really interesting was the amount of people who received the flyer and then purposefully went out and bought things and put together a bag full of goodies ready to give.

It made me start thinking about why people do things like that? Do they feel bad that they have lots of stuff and want to give some away? Do they have an innate desire to do ‘good things’ thinking it will give them good karma or make God happy with them? I’m not sure!

It also made me wonder about whether we as Christians do it any better? Would I go out and get the bag all ready for a stranger to pick up? I hope so. But I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the amount of people in the world and around us that need help that it makes me do nothing. I’m hoping to keep getting better!

Tom & Yolande Baptism (Photo's)

Hippie conversation hour (6/12)

Joshua and Naomi Pryde are coming to 645 on Sun 6/12 for Conversation Hour. These guys are a lot of fun. After growing up at William Clarke College, they have been members of St Paul's Castle Hill for the last few years and are in the midst of finishing their training for mission. And they are Hippies!! Real life ones. Real ones who follow Jesus and want to reach the spiritual seekers found in the Hippie sub culture. Come and hear their story and what God is doing in this Sub-culture, especially in India.

want more info? Download their latest prayer letter HERE

RevWrites - November 15

Pledge Sunday. Although I said last week at 9.00 and 5.00 that this would be in 2 weeks time, it will actually be in 3 weeks time (from last Sunday!).

We held our first Pledge Sunday 2 years ago. It was a good start. Why do we need to do it every year?

So we will develop a culture. If it’s a good thing, then it’s a good thing until it becomes a bad thing.

Why is it a good thing?

First, it helps you. Some Christians simply never get around to deciding how much they should give to the Lord’s work. This will help us all to worship God with our money. And we all want to be spiritually healthy.

Our 6.45 congregation conducted a survey recently. One thing they found out about their congregation was that that majority of those who direct debit feel less guilty about their giving. Perhaps that’s because they had actually decided what to give.

Second, it helps the Parish Council as it develops a budget for the next year. As we become more used to an annual pledge and it becomes the norm so the results will become a more helpful guide to budgeting. And we all want our church to be healthy.

Why is signing your pledge a good thing?

First, you don’t have to. No one can force you to or wants to force you to. It’s your choice. But if you choose not to put your name on it then it will not be useful for our parish budgeting purposes. If I have no idea who put the pledge in the plate then I have no idea that I can trust the piece of paper. Anybody could have written it.

Second, it’s your pledge. You own it, so own it. The Bible says we should be people of our word. If it’s our word then we should own our word.

Third, because your pledge is a faith issue and not a money issue. It’s your decision how much you give but it’s not only your business. As we saw last Sunday, what we do with our money is an acceptable indicator of our stewardship. As ministers we are responsible for your spiritual lives. Your stewardship is a spiritual issue. Just as faithfulness in using your ministry gifts is our concern so is how you use all the resources God has given you.

One thing is certain, it’s not about the amount. It’s about our hearts and our spiritual health.

Neil

645 News (11/11)

God of our City: Family
How do you worship God in your family? 94% of Adults at 645 live with their parents. How do we worship God as the 645 Family - a community of brothers and sisters? Ponder these questions as you prepare for Sunday.

Baptism of Tom and Yolande
This Sunday we will stand with Tom & Yolande as they publicly confirm their faith in Jesus. We will celebrate what Jesus has done in their lives this year. We will also celebrate as a community with a big meal. Please pray for them. Please bring $5 for the meal.

Love this City: POLL
A local project to love our neighborhood. Click HERE to find out more. Go to the top of BLOG to vote.



NEW UPDATED Sunday@645 Rosters
Version 3 is available (CLICK HERE). Please check and let Troy know (troy@nac.asn.au) of any problems.


Previous 645 Blogs
RevWrites (Neil Macken on Stewardship)
200 Words on ...sex & kids (Tania)
Statistics from the 645 Survey last Sunday


645 EVENTS
All 645 Events info is now found on Facebook. It will be updated each week. Please click here to access. If you do not have Facebook then let us know

645 visit to Sculptures
Click here to see the photo's from a couple of weeks ago

645 Rosters (Nov/Dec) - Version 3

Version 3 of our rosters for Nov/Dec. Click the picture to enlarge. Contact Troy with any Questions or changes.

Love this City

Love this City: 645's local community project for November. We want to be a people who worship Jesus in our local community with our hands, feet + lives. We want people to not only hear about Jesus but see it in how we live locally. The Love this City Team have come up with 2 options for November 2009.


The first is to run a fun afternoon for the residents around Redbank Avenue. We will have a free BBQ and kids games and meet the community.

The Second is to adopt a street - visit them, love them in practical ways.

Which one are you passionate for? Vote in the poll now (at the top of the Blog!!)

645 Stewardship Survey Results

Thanks to all who completed our survey last week. The results were very helpful for James and the leadership as we seek to lead our community to be godly stewards. If you would like to look at the data more closely then there is three files you can download below. They contain data arranged in different ways.

Survey Results by Age Group
Survey Results by Main Activity in a week
Survey Results by amount given per week

200 words on... sex and kids?

This article was in smh yesterday. There are plans for a new sex education package to be developed in schools. The head of Catholic schools is saying the plans will be used as a ‘how to guide’ for children to access abortion clinics and birth control. The NSW Teachers Federation are saying that sex education in 21^st century should reflect the needs of young people and prepare them for adulthood.

There are still questions to be answered – such as how abortion will be taught and whether parents will be allowed to take their children out of these classes. There is concern that we will follow Britain in making these classes compulsory, even when parents object.

With the sexualisation of our culture growing and growing – what should we as Christians think about this? Do we need to expose children to this at age 5? Do they need to learn about homosexuality and abortion and contraception? Is this the right way to go? Ideally I would have thought that it was the job of parents and guardians to inform their children about sex. But perhaps I am naïve thinking that in 2009? Even though we know our world is living in the darkness, should we ignore things like this? Or should we try to change the culture?  

RevWrites- November 8

Money. I always become a little concerned when we talk about it at church. My concern is because someone almost always says that “Macken’s always talking about money.”

Peter Horsfield, an Aussie minister and scholar, in the Australian Ministry Journal (May 1991) wrote: “In the Gospels ... an amazing one out of ten verses (288 in all) deal directly with the subject of money. The Bible offers 500 verses on prayer, less then 500 on faith, but more than 2,000 verses on money and possessions.”

This week we’re looking at Stewardship. Stewardship starts with the biblical concept that God owns everything. That is a very comforting biblical doctrine. Why? Because my Father owns everything. I’m sure there’ve been times when our children have wished their earthly father owned a lot more. It would give them more security.

But my heavenly Father owns everything so I am eternally secure. And he gives me things to use. He’s given me a life, a wife, a family, a church and countless other gifts. He expects me to look after them, to steward them. Steward is an old term that means to manage or look after something for the owner. Everything God has given me he expects me to manage on his behalf.

How well I manage these gifts depends on how much I value the owner. Because I want to worship the owner I will manage his things as best I can. I want to express his worth-ship by looking after his things.

To manage well I need to know what the owner’s interests are. I guess it’s a bit like a business manager. He might work really hard at looking after the staff. He might do really well in establishing new contacts and developing business opportunities. He might pour many hours into the business, even to the cost to his family.

But if the business doesn’t produce the product the owner wants, then he’s not managed well. He hasn’t pleased the owner.

God has made his interests clear. NAC is very clear about God's interests. The Makeover we started last year was very clear. God is interested in growing disciples of Jesus. That’s his interest. That’s the “output” he’s interested in.

God expects us to use everything he has given us to look out for his interests. As we grow up as followers of Jesus so we become better at stewardship, at looking after our Father’s interests.

Neil

645 News (4/11)

God of our City: Stewardship
How do you use all the things God has given you? It's a hard question!! This week at Connect and on Sunday we will be thinking as a community about this question. Prepare by reading Luke 16:1-15.

NEW Sunday@645 Rosters for November and December have been updated (CLICK HERE). Please check and let Troy know (troy@nac.asn.au) of any problems.


December 3: Confirmation
21 members of 645/Youth are preparing to stand up publicly on Dec 3 and testify about their faith in Jesus. Will you support them? Click here to read about it.


Previous 645 Blogs
RevWrites (Staffing in 2010)
200 Words on ... are we all disabled?
Love this City (Preview)


645 EVENTS
All 645 Events info is now found on Facebook. It will be updated each week. Please click here to access. If you do not have Facebook then let us know

645 visit to Sculptures
Click here to see the photo's from last Saturday