Things have been changing over the last little while with communication in church with both our members and the wider community. You may have seen our posts on Facebook and Instagram. You may have noticed the changes to the newsletter. You may be wondering why.

We want our communication to be intentional and with purpose. We want it to reach the people it needs to and we want to engage those people. Things will continue to change as we work through this.

The purpose and intent of our weekly newsletter is to engage both those people at our church and the wider community with what is happening in our church. It often, but not always, includes a few paragraphs at the start about our purpose or vision in an area of our church. It also includes notices, they are usually events, but also includes relevant information, such as the recent survey about funding for palliative care. Lastly, there are resources listed at the end, either for our church or those that we partner with.

We have also included prayer points, but this is now changing. As we seek for our church newsletter to be something to share with our wider community, we want to keep our prayer points for our church family.

Moving forward, as a community member, you can receive the church newsletter. If you are a regular member of our church at Wilberforce, you will receive prayer points as a separate email.

As we seek to be a growing church for the Hawkesbury, I encourage you to follow us on Facebook and/or Instagram. You will see things that are happening in our church that you can like and share with others on social media. This engagement helps others to see what is happening at St John’s Wilberforce.

Yours in Christ, Alicia

Worth 6 months of Church in 1 Weekend

I heard someone state as fact, a weekend away on a church camp is worth 6 months of Sundays.  There is more opportunity to meet other people, focus in on the bible, talk at a deeper level, just have fun together.  While we are not going away, surely it is worth 4 months of church to set aside the weekend together at home.  I hope you can set aside the weekend so we can use this time to encourage each other as we look forward to the year together.

Sign up this weekend, either through Elvanto or the sign up sheet at the back of the Church Hall.

Next week we are on mission. Day Camp helps us live out our church vision as we share Jesus with the 50 children and their families registered for next week. Some of us are leading groups, some are assisting, some of us will be at the main camp. Some of us cannot be at Day Camp but there are other ways to help in this mission outside of the four days. We have to set up the site on Saturday, we have to pack the site up on Friday afternoon. We have our concert with a BBQ on Friday night and then Day Camp Sunday service. All of these need people to step up and serve.

More than that, Day Camp needs your prayer. Please bring this ministry before God regularly. Some prayer points include:

• The kids talks and leaders as they share the gospel
• For the leadership team
• For the many kids who come and do not know Jesus
• For the weather
• For the health and safety of leaders and kids
• For the Friday night concert
• For Day Camp Sunday

We serve a mighty and loving God, lets share our Jesus community with all those we encounter next week while also encouraging each other.

The communications team has been working in the background of our church over the last 6 months or so, but what is it they do?

This team has encompassed the Create ministry and expanded to effectively communicate our events, both outreach and fellowship, as well as our sermon series and special Sunday services through lots of different mediums.

This team is working to glorify God in sharing graphics that communicate well and also in a timely way. Through this we are encouraging engagement from both the general community and members of our church.

You may have seen our regular posts on Facebook or Instagram; bible verses weekly and promoting different ministries in our church. These are a great opportunity to engage with our content, share it with family and friends, and raise awareness in our community.

As this ministry continues to work on improving communication, we encourage you to engage with us on social media, sharing and liking our posts; continue to share our events through the physical flyers; and pointing people to our website, or social media for recent and up-to-date information on what is happening. Weve already seen an increase in our reach through these avenues and more people engaging with us, and this means that we are continuing to work towards our church vision to glorify God by being a thriving Jesus community in the Hawkesbury where followers of Jesus are made and grown.

Why think about welcoming?

When we hear the term welcoming we are often drawn to think of hosting parties or maybe church. To some of us welcoming is second nature. Its like getting out of bed in the morning or making lunch. Its a routine part of our church life. For others it may require a little more effort, or may be thought of as something other people can do. However, welcoming should sit at the front of our minds as we come to church as the family of God.

Here are two reasons why we should think about welcoming. They may be familiar, but profound nonetheless because they define who we are.

Firstly, our God is a welcoming God. God welcomes anyone and everyone who believes in Jesus, and he brings them into His family. So as his children welcoming should be something we are eager to do. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. (Rom 15:7).

Secondly, as we welcome others, we reflect and preach the gospel to each other. As we show hospitality and speak loving to others we are reminded of the hospitality and love God has shown us through the gospel.

Welcoming is part of our story and who we are. As we welcome others, we reflect our heavenly Father and invite others to partake in the same gospel that God has lovingly given.