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LesSmooth_CBTBXmas

Connections & partnerships with local businesses (3 of 3)

December 6, 2011 by hayleyneal 0 Comments

A local tanning and waxing salon emailed our church with the following request:

“Each Xmas I have helped different charities and have managed to get our clients to contribute to give as well each year! This year I personally want to help 3 different families in our area locally that need some help this year. I would like to arrange a hamper for each family and hopefully I can get clients to donate gifts & goods to the chosen families. I was told that your church would know who would benefit from this.” 

This is great on so many levels:

  • Partnering together to care for those in need.
  • Its a great thing for those in need to receive this Christmas.
  • We both cross promote each other, as we let people at church know and they let their clients know about the venture… awareness of both groups grows. Mutually beneficial.
  • It’s an encouragement to know that we have a reputation in the community of “doing good” and would know people in need this Christmas.

So this Salon will do up some hampers and then we will distribute it to 3 people we know who would welcome such a gift this Christmas.

Check out post 1 and post 2 in this 3 part series

Christmas, Community, Compassion, Creativity, Evangelism, Ideas, Living for Jesus, Love Thy Neighbourhood
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Dear Church…

October 3, 2011 by hayleyneal 0 Comments

Dear Church by the Bridge

At our evening services last week Paul Dale preached a cracker of a sermon on Romans 5:12-21, reminding us that nothing stirs the heart for mission quite like knowing the dire situation for people who are still dead in their sin and are yet to know Christ.

Eight years ago I was dead in my sin, a ‘dead-woman-walking’. Looking back, I am so thankful for those who shared the gospel with me. These people loved me when I didn’t want to be loved; they spoke the gospel into my life when I didn’t want them to; and unbeknown to me they were praying for me. They really invested their time and energy into helping me encounter the super abundant grace of God. My whole world and eternity changed when I met Jesus. Hallelujah!

It is my prayer that God would be pleased to use our Church family mightily to impact eternity during our mission week coming up in October. I Heart Kirribilli provides us with an amazing opportunity to invest a bit more of our prayers, time and energy into making connections with friends and the local community, in hope they too would encounter the gospel of Christ and be brought from death to life.

Will you get involved?

There are lots of different volunteer opportunities. Some might seem a little more mundane, unseen, task-focused, or daunting, while other opportunities seem high energy, public, creative or easy. But each area is significant in how we are to effectively enable meaningful connections between people, and between people and God.

Please take a look at the volunteer opportunities form and prayerfully consider how you can use your gifts/skills and where you are willing to serve.

If you are new to Church by the Bridge or you’re looking for a way to serve or want to try your hand at a new ministry, we welcome you to join us on mission! Volunteering during our mission week is a great way to get involved and belong.

In Christ, Hayley Neal
Community Pastor

*To read more of the weekly newsletters and articles written by the pastoral staff at Church by the Bridge, please check out our blog

Blog, Church, Community, Compassion, Conversion, Creativity, Evangelism, Living for Jesus, Mission, Volunteers

5 tips for inviting friends to church!

July 1, 2011 by hayleyneal 0 Comments

Many of us cringe at the prospect of inviting friends or neighbors to church. Which is so sad, because your weekend services are great opportunities for those you know to sit under the sound of the gospel and be changed by it.

These top 5 tips  may help ease some of the cringe and fear!

1. DEPEND ON GOD Appeal to God’s promise to soften hearts of those you know (Ezekiel 11:19), to the gospel and to your invitation to Church. Pray also for the strengthening of your friendship and for God to open the door for the gospel and in inviting your friends along. (Colossians 3:4)

2. BE A GOOD FRIEND Invite them into your life long before inviting them to church and love your friends for loves sake. Please don’t feel like you are being a martyr by being friends with an unbelieving friend. Unbelieving friends have lots to offer you and God calls us to love our neighbours as yourselves. He will soften hearts and change lives.

3. CROSS POLLINATE I recommend this idea a lot as a top tip in personal evangelism, mainly because I think it affirms us that w don’t have to do it alone. God has richly blessed us with a believing family to partner with us. Slowly introduce those you know to others at church. Have after work drinks with friends from all your social circles. If friends connect well, seek out ways to get together in the future. The more believers your unbelieving friends feel comfortable around, the less threatening it will be when they rock up to church, for there will be a few familiar faces.

4. TALK ABOUT CHURCH Do your friends and neighbours know you even go to church? The more you share about church, the more you demystify it. Help them see church is about people and God, not about religion and rituals. Talk about the benefits of belonging. Share about the exciting ministries and lives you are involved in. When the opportunity arises, tell them how the church has been a benefiting you in your life.

5. SIMPLY INVITE  ‘Hey, what are you doing Sunday night, want to come along to church with me?’ If they say no, don’t become discouraged and don’t give up. Continue to be their friend, and wait for other opportunities to arise. When the timing seems right, ask them again.

Church, Evangelism, Ideas, Living for Jesus, Mission

There is such thing as a free lunch… #2 WHO

June 29, 2011 by hayleyneal 0 Comments

Who is involved in this ministry? Who makes Community Lunches Happen:

  • Connect Groups| We urge every Connect Group to take part in one missional activity together in a year. Connect Groups play a key and essential role in contributing to provide a warm and welcoming environment by loving our local community with friendship over a meal.We understand that each individual within Connect Groups have gifts suited to some tasks and not others. Some will better serve with gifts of preparing/cooking the food, others will wait on tables, while some will better serve sitting on tables engaging in conversations. It is our prayer that: “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”  - 1 Peter 4:10

  • Belinda | Welcoming
    Name Tags, Welcome Drinks, Response slips
  • Lisa | Kitchen Logistics
    Food preparation & Supervise Volunteers
  • Megan | MC  & Vibe
    Grace, Welcome, Notices, Segments, Flow
  • Nina  | Connect Group Liaison
    Prior Training/On-day Briefing of CGp’s
  • Hua-Chen | Multicultural Links
    Coordinate Chinese translation of bible passages & ideas for ESL
  • Brendan | Prayer & Relationship Builder
    Sitting on tables and think through things like praying with guests
  • Scott | Community Connect  Group Leader
    Follow Up; give talks
  • Hayley | Offsite Lunches & Community Connect Group Leader
    Coordinate Offsite Lunches (alternate month); Follow Up
  • Other members from Church: all members from our church are invited to particpate, by coming along to enjoy sharing a meal with locals and engage in gospel conversations.
  • The Locals: And last but not least – our guests!!! Without the lovely locals in Kirribilli and surrounding suburbs Community Lunches would not happen. We love the many regular faces that join in the fun and contribute to the warm and loving environment at these lunches.
Related Posts:
1. There is such thing as a free lunch… #1 what
Church, Community, Compassion, Evangelism, Ideas, Living for Jesus, Loving Like Jesus, Mission

Dear Church…

June 23, 2011 by hayleyneal 0 Comments

Dear Church by the Bridge,

Jesus’ interactions with the crowds in Matthew 9:35-38 motivates us to open our eyes to see the crowds around us and also to open our hearts to see them with the heart of God:

“When he saw the crowds, he [Jesus] had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Jesus is filled with a tender concern for the crowds. Jesus saw that they are stressed, vulnerable, pressured, deceived, leaderless, disorientated and powerless!

Often we associate this description of desperation with the materially poor and vulnerable in society. Rarely do we associate such desperation with in our professional, geographical, social or familial networks. We are so readily tempted to think that our friends are all right, comfortable, and in need of nothing, for they are decent people, with nice homes, beautiful clothes and good careers! But Jesus sees them differently. He sees their spiritual brokenness. Do you? Are you filled with compassion for them because they too are harassed and helpless?

All people, whether rich or poor, need to be looked upon with the compassion of Jesus, this includes those you know and even yourself! Tim Keller, the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, in New York once said:

“The more you see yourself as spiritually poor and the recipient of God’s wonderful grace the more your heart is going to go out to the poor. When you look at the materially poor you know that in a sense you are looking in a mirror.”

The compassion of Jesus is a great leveller. Without it we lose the sweet humility of sharing the treasure we have so freely received. With it we can loudly sing & declare:

“everyone needs compassion, the kindness of a Saviour”.

For Christ’s Fame,
Hayley Neal
(Community Pastor)

 

Church, Evangelism, Jesus, Living for Jesus, Loving Like Jesus, Mission, People

Dear Church,

June 19, 2011 by hayleyneal 0 Comments

Dear Church by the Bridge,

Jesus’ interaction with the crowds in Matthew 9:35-38 supplies us with great motivation for evangelism and helps shapes the way we do outreach here at Church by the Bridge :

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Like Jesus, we should see the ‘crowds’ and have compassion on them, whether they from in Kirribilli or our personal lives.  It is in the contexts of our many outreach initiatives – such as Playtime, Kirribilli Kids, Community Lunches, I Heart Kirribilli, Simply Christianity and other courses, Fitness mornings, Carols Under the Bridge, and even our weekend services – that we can better see, know, love and share the gospel with our neighbours and friends. All of these activities are intentionally created to help us build genuine relationships with the ‘crowds’ and the success of them relies on each of us playing a role.

Instead of just bringing in the ‘professional-up-front-evangelists’, the Billy Graham‘s or our own church pastors, the majority of evangelism will actually be done by all of us, as we together live out 1 Thessalonians 2:8 :

We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.

I am convinced, that as we faithfully share the gospel and our lives with those we know and are yet know, we will be a church marked by rejoicing. For what praise ought we to give God when we continue to witness His work in bringing the crowds to receive the gospel and to join in with us living for Jesus and loving like Jesus?

For Jesus’ Fame,
Hayley Neal
(Community Pastor)

* this was written for the weekly newsletter that we print to hand out as an insert in all the bibles. this is 1 out of 2 in a series.

Community, Conversion, Culture, Evangelism, Ideas, Jesus, Living for Jesus, Loving Like Jesus, Mission, People, Reaching those you know

There is such thing as a free lunch… #1 what

May 23, 2011 by hayleyneal 1 Comment

One of our Social Compassion and Outreach ministry is our Free Monthly Community Lunch. They provide a great place for people to come together, for our church family to build genuine relationships with locals, plus  for people to enjoy a tasty and free meal. Over the next few posts I will share with the WHAT, WHO & HOW!

#1 what

What are the objectives of Community Lunches?

  • Providing a free and nutritious meal
  • Bringing people together
  • Establishing  & continuing deep relationships with locals
  • Catering for 100 meals (enough for TakeAway)
  • Contribute positively to our local community
  • Making the next step for gospel engagement

What are the needs of those who come?

  • Social Isolation
  • Lacking Community
  • Estranged from family
  • Widows/Widowers
  • English Second Language
  • Loneliness
  • Substance addiction
  • Spiritually poor
  • Unemployment
  • Aged Pensioners
  • Disabilities Pensioners (incl. mental health)
  • Homelessness (long & short term)
  • Chronic Health Issues

What is our commitment?

  • Lunch provided monthly, one month ONSITE @ Church; alternate month OFFSITE @ Greenway
  • Creating Community
  • Develop better understanding of needs
  • Providing on-going, practical and meaningful follow up (meals, friendship, visits)
  • Generosity with Time, Friendship and Resources.
  • To better know our neighbours living in Greenway & other local public housing.
  • Working with other Key Services in the area: Greenway Residents Committee; North Sydney Council; Kirribilli Neighbourhood Centre etc.

What is our motivation?

Fulfilling Christ’s command to his church to love, serve and proclaim the gospel:

  • “Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”  - Proverbs 31:9 
  • “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!””  – Isaiah 52:7
  • “Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbours; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”” – Luke 12:12-14
  • “If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”   - Romans 12:7-8
  • “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”   - Romans 12:11-13
  • “Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.”       - Romans 12:16
  • “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” – James 2:15-17

Living for Jesus; Loving Like Jesus

Community, Compassion, Evangelism, Ideas, Living for Jesus, Love Thy Neighbourhood, Loving Like Jesus, Mission, Social Action

com·pas·sion| kəmˈpaSHən |

May 21, 2011 by hayleyneal 0 Comments

Repeatedly the gospels tell us (Matt. 14:14 Matt. 15:32  Matt. 20:34) that Jesus was motivated by compassion to love the crowds. This sort of compassion is costly and we see this in the character of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) who when walking past the ‘neighbour’ lying in the ditch, “he saw him, he took pity on him”. Jesus, at the end of his story, tells the reader “Go and do likewise.” Today, that call for both compassion and action at a time of need remains the same.

It should be the hope of our churches to continually grow in our ability and capacity to creatively meet the real needs of locals and honouring God by loving our neighbourhoods as God has so lavishly and compassionately loves us.

  • Who is your neighbour?
  • What are their needs?
  • Where are the gaps that people are falling through?
  • How can you be of assistance where your weaker neighbours are falling through?
  • How can you offer mercy and lavish compassion?
Church, Community, Compassion, Living for Jesus, Love Thy Neighbourhood, Loving Like Jesus

And I quote…

May 14, 2011 by hayleyneal 0 Comments

“Fix your eyes on the rising Morning Star. Don’t be disappointed at anything or over elated, either. Live every day as if the Son of Man were at your door, and gear your thinking to the fleeting moment. Just how can it be redeemed? Walk as if the next step would carry you across the threshold of Heaven. Pray. That saint who advances on his knees never retreats.” – Jim Elliot

Evangelism, Jesus, Living for Jesus

And I quote

May 4, 2011 by hayleyneal 0 Comments

Our young men are going into the professional fields because they don’t ‘feel called’ to the mission field. We don’t need a call; we need a kick in the pants. We must begin thinking in terms of ‘going out,’ and stop weeping because ‘they won’t come in.’ Who wants to step into an igloo? The tombs themselves are not colder than the churches. May God send us forth.” – Jim Elliot

Culture, Evangelism, Living for Jesus, People, Quotes
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