Author: Ben (Page 1 of 36)

NB: if you prefer to watch, instead of read, here is a link to this Budget 2025 announcement on YouTube here:

Picton and Wilton is a growing area with lots of people who need to hear about Jesus. We need to grow our Church and ministry in order to serve this growing population.
In 2021 we made the big decision to employ a full time assistant minister, doubling our expenses and setting ourselves a 5 year goal of becoming a sustainable 2 minister Church by 2026. We employed Scott Williams to invest in developing the youth and young adults ministry and build a team to plant a Wilton morning congregation.
We’ve seen incredible fruit flow from this decision:

• Friday night Youth Group has gone from strength to strength – with 34 youth attending KYCK this year!
• We’ve seen a growing group of teenagers and young adults involved and serving at the 5pm congregation.
• 10am Church was started last October, just over a year ago and has already welcomed many new families and individuals…
• We’ve been able to encourage and equip several young adults to pursue ministry, with 6 attending the MTS Recruit conference and Jake Pearse becoming our first full time MTS trainee.

Thanks for your generosity in both money, time, and prayer that has enabled all this to happen. We’ve tracked well towards our goal of having a surplus budget in 2026. In fact, things were going so well that we decided to employ Jake Pearse this year for 2 years as our first full time MTS trainee.
But over the last few years cost of living increases have changed the goalposts. Wages are currently increasing approximately 4% per year, and insurance costs are increasing 14% next year alone.
We’re doing our best to keep costs low – we have volunteers cleaning, helping our with administration and we’ve been successful in grant applications to fund projects.
In order to keep on track towards our goal we’re proposing a 20% increase in budgeted giving for 2025. If we achieve this we’ll have a small budget deficit next year and then a surplus budget in 2026.
We’re not imagining that everyone can increase their giving by 20%. Some of you are already giving as much as you’re able – we really appreciate your generosity. Some of you are regular givers but maybe haven’t reviewed your giving in the last few years – perhaps you could prayerfully consider how much you’re giving and make an adjustment. Some of you aren’t yet giving regularly – and we’d love you to consider investing.
So, as Parish Council plans for a 20% giving increase in 2025, we’d love your feedback. Please click on the button below to fill out our quick survey, or you can simply speak to someone on Parish Council if you prefer.
Yours in Christ,
Ben

About 6 months ago my ministry coach challenged me about the regularity of my Bible reading and prayer.  I confessed to him that the urgency of the to do list often meant I skipped over reading my Bible and praying in the mornings.  He asked me what I thought the consequences of that would be and helped me realise how much it mattered.
If I’m not regularly being refreshed by the Word of God, depending on him in prayer and growing in intimacy and love for my Lord Jesus, then I will over time dry out and become hollow.  My ministry will be hypocritical and ineffective and I’ll burn out because my motivation will be all muddled.  This will have a huge impact on our Church and on the lives of hundreds of you.  It matters a lot that I keep up these healthy spiritual disciplines.  I’ve enjoyed being more consistent in reading my bible and praying and the confidence and joy in Jesus that has given me.
I want to ask you: how are you going at reading your Bible and praying regularly?  Have you stopped to think about how much it really matters and what the consequences will be if you don’t do something about it?  What will be the consequences on your children if you can’t be their healthy spiritual leader?  What will be the consequences on your friends and family if you aren’t encouraging them towards life in Christ.
It really matters – so what are you going to do about it?
Yours in Christ,
Ben

Our Church is not a social club – we have a purpose. We are part of God’s great plan, helping people to find Life in Christ. This plan is urgent and vital. Without Christ we will face God’s judgement and condemnation. Jesus offers, not just forgiveness, but peace with God, hope and purpose.

Life in Christ comes primarily by the work of God’s Word and Spirit in our lives as we encourage each other to repent and trust in Christ. This is the heart of all of the activities and groups that we run.

Our core activity is the Sunday gathering of God’s people in our three Church congregations. But as these congregations grow, its hard to facilitate deep relationships of trust and accountability. Our mid-week Bible Study groups are a great way for these deep relationships to form and for deliberate discipleship and encouragement to take place.

At present, less than 50% of our Church members are in Bible study groups. Some people aren’t in groups because they don’t have time, some because they fear groups will be too academic and boring (they have ‘study’ in the name after all), and some for other reasons. We believe these groups can be really helpful and so we want to make a deliberate effort in term 1 2025 to invest in the leaders of our groups and to encourage more of our members to join a group.

The plan looks like this:

Rest of 2024 – PREPARE: Survey members to understand the barriers to joining a group and investigate how to make the groups the best they can be with the outcome of Christian growth, not just ‘bible study’.

February 2025 – TRAIN: a month dedicated to training current and potential group leaders, and encouraging everyone to consider joining a group.

March 2025 – RELAUNCH: We’ll relaunch our groups with more support for leaders and hopefully a greater participation rate.

Please pray that this plan to relaunch groups will help us in our purpose of people finding Life in Christ. We look forward to hearing your feedback on all this and working together as God’s people in Picton and Wilton.

Yours in Christ,

Ben

People are like lego blocks. Each person only has a limited number of connections that they can really sustain in their lives. A standard piece might have 6 close friendships in its life, but then there are those really long and skinny pieces that can maintain 10, or the short ones that only have space for 2.

Over time, our connections fill up and we simply don’t have room for any more friendships in our lives. When a new person joins our community they find a lot of friendly faces, but they might find it very difficult to make friends. It’s not our fault, all our connections are taken.

The hard fact is that for our Church to grow, newcomers need to make friends, not just find people ‘friendly’. This might require the multiplying of congregations or bible study groups, or even the easing of long-held friendships, to open up our connections to others. This is a painful but necessary process if we are truly intent on sharing the great gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and growing his Kingdom.

You might not have made a new friend for a while, so this might be a little scary, but start simple and invite them over for lunch – find out what interests them and see where it goes.

Most of all, think about how you can place Jesus at the centre, we’re not a social club – we’re God’s people. Why not offer to pray at the end of an evening meal discussion? Or read the Bible when you meet to catch up? Let’s not limit ourselves to being ‘friendly’, let’s be friends!

Being a welcoming Church is not just about who’s on the roster at the door – it’s about setting a culture of welcoming newcomers, seeking to build them up in Christ and incorporate them into our family. It’s our responsibility – all of us.

Yours in Christ,

Ben

A couple of weekends ago seven of our members headed up to Katoomba for MTS Recruit, which is a conference for people considering full time vocational ministry. We heard from Andrew Heard, who is the Lead Pastor at EV church on the Central Coast and also serves as the Chairman for Reach Australia which helps to plant new churches. His first talk made it abundantly clear the consequences of not following Jesus (hell!) and then questioned whether, as saved sinners, our true motivation for considering ministry work is so that people can be saved from this awful judgement. It was a challenging message to hear first up but his later talks were also very encouraging in the examples he used describing how God has worked through so many kinds of people. 
The conference was also a great place to meet people from all over NSW in many different church contexts and share stories and experiences of Christ growing and moving through his church. Our members were challenged to think about if they might do full time ministry and if they were to do so then what that might look like. Have you ever considered part/full time ministry? What might the next step on that path be for you?
Yours in Christ,
Jake

Have you ever thought about the impact it makes when someone deliberately makes a decision to come and sit next to you? 
Perhaps you can recall that time at the high school dance, where that special someone boldly strode across from the boys (or girls) side of the room to sit with you!  Or perhaps you remember the friend who came to sit with you for the bus ride on the way to school.  Sitting next to someone is more than just an act of physical proximity.

Where you sit at Church is also very important.  Not just for a good view, or to feel comfortable about being in the same spot each week, but for the sake of others.  Sitting next to someone lets them know you want to spend time with them and that they are important.  It speaks volumes to both a newcomer and a regular at Church when somebody deliberately makes a choice to sit with them.  Those of us who come to Church on our own will be especially helped by someone joining us, but at the same time we shouldn’t assume that a family grouping wants their ‘space’ more than our company.
When you arrive at Church each week, why not pray on the way in about who you might be able to sit next to and encourage or welcome.  Share with them how you’ve been encouraged by God and his word and ask them how they are going.  Of course there are plenty of opportunities to welcome and encourage one another after Church, but who you sit next to is an important decision.  Sit with love.
Being a welcoming Church is not just about who’s on the roster at the door – it’s about setting a culture of welcoming newcomers, seeking to build them up in Christ and incorporate them into our family.  It’s our responsibility – all of us.
Yours in Christ,
Ben.
‘Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.’ – Heb 10:25