Kia ora,

My name is Sheree Fletcher and I am a trainee counsellor in my third and final year of study with Bethlehem Tertiary Institute. This year I will be on placement with Grant Conway of Te Waipuna Counselling and have connected with The Street Church to offer free counselling at their premises in Hania Street from May onwards (within certain criteria). I offer an empathetic, non-judgemental and collaborative space to explore your experiences. 

Prior to studying counselling, I worked in administrative roles in a variety of workplaces. I am a mother of three daughters and have travelled and lived overseas. When I am not studying or counselling, I like to take our dog on walks by the river, catch up with friends and sew. I look forward to connecting with you.

Sunday 5th May, 10am

Together will be a significant moment as we unite as six Locations to powerfully encounter the Living God! This is a Sunday not to be missed. Mark the date in your calendar. Registrations will open later this month. Check out this video from Mel for more information.

We continue our series on the skills needed to study the Bible well. Today, we are looking at how the Old and New Testaments are distinct from one another and why each part is important in understanding God's big plan for His creation. We learn the difference between Old Testament commands and New Testament commands and how they relate to us as followers of Jesus today.

Today we dive into a nine week Bible series where we will be learning skills to help us study and read the Bible. We start with reading verses in context. We will learn that reading only one verse might trip us up and give a different meaning to the verse than God intended. We can combat this by reading the verses before and after to give more context to the verse.

Systematic Theology is the study of what the Bible teaches us about any given topic. It helps us to understand key concepts about God, humanity, the church and the future.

Spaces are available to join a mixed group as they work through a study of Systematic Theology. 

Meet fortnightly on a Monday night 7pm - 9pm either at 21 Hania St or via zoom

For more information please email office@thestreet.org.nz

To hear firsthand from some men at The Street click this link Next week we’ll share a video of what the women thought!

With Waitangi Day this coming week, we are learning about God’s original design for unity, what we are seeing in our context and country now, and our hope for God’s perfect eternity.

Kia ora! Kids Zone is back this week and we are excited as we look forward to everything God has in store for our kids this year. This week we are recapping our Bible series from 2023, recapping some of the main time periods, along with themes, and key events through Bible history. Over term one, we will be digging deeper into our Bibles, and we don't want to leave anyone behind. It will be a fun lesson to kick the year off.

The apostle Paul was a man who knew what it was like to be pushed and pulled by different circumstances and yet it was this movement that led hm to a profound conclusion:

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere” (2 Corinthians 2:14).

Paul knew that while he was being pushed around by circumstances, God was at work spreading the message of Jesus through his ministry. As we emerged from the most significant Covid restrictions in the early part of this year, there is a sense in which we have been pushed around. And yet our confidence is in how God has worked through the very circumstances we would never have chosen and has done so for his own purposes and glory.

It was therefore important for us to learn everything we could about the church from what we had been through. Times of trouble often lead people to turn in or shrink back and we were determined to do neither. We were concerned at how much Covid revealed a lack of depth in discipleship and in connection with one another. Rather than try to bring back everything we did pre-Covid, we felt that the future needed to be focused on the main things like a simple devotion to Jesus, a commitment to discipleship, a determination to share the Gospel more broadly, and a deepening of our service of the poor and marginalised in our city.

Covid also brought about an opportunity to progress our multi-site strategy more quickly than we could have previously imagined. The local gatherings that began as a response to vaccine passes gained traction and afforded deeper connection among people and greater accessibility to people in the local community. By the end of the year, there was a determination to keep these going alongside a great need to develop and establish strong and sustainable local leadership.

2022 was a year that we would not have designed for ourselves and it did not pass without significant challenges. Yet there is a sense that it was a year we needed because it enabled God to bring about a direction that we would not have thought possible. As he continues to build his church and use us to spread the aroma of him everywhere, may he grant us the faith to keep trusting him in the midst of uncertainty and change.

Much love,

Simon & Jenny Gill
Senior Pastors

We’re in the first couple of weeks of a new series in 1 Peter, Trial By Fire. It’s written to a church who are suffering persecution and Peter writes to encourage them to stand firm (1 Peter 5:12).

However, those searching the letter for obvious words of comfort will be disappointed. Instead, Peter tells them not to be surprised by trials and persecution and continually points them to the example of the sufferings of Jesus.

My problem with this is that I am often surprised by trials that come my way. It makes me wonder what sort of discipleship we have called one another to over the years. Have we emphasised the message that Jesus will make you the best version of yourself and glossed over the consistent messages on suffering? In an effort to encourage people to believe, have we tried to make the gospel more palatable? 

The problem is that while a sanitised gospel message is incomplete, it is also counter-productive.

Ahead of his journey to Antarctica, Ernest Shackleton placed an ad in The Times newspaper stating: 

“Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful, honour and recognition in case of success.” Ernest Shackleton, 4 Burlington Street.

Who would reply to that? Well, it’s purported that Shackleton received over 5,000 responses. Not because he called people to comfort and a better life but because he called people to sacrifice.

There is something in our culture that honours sacrifice. We are inspired by stories of people who gave up and endured for a greater cause. And there is no cause greater than the message of the gospel. No prize worth giving up so much for.

Can I suggest that as we pray for and reach out to those in our world, that we don’t give in to the temptation to sanitise the message but lead more openly with the message of Jesus; “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matt 16:24).

Our world is full of messages about how to be a better you but sorely lacking in the call to suffer for a greater cause. Could it be that this is an aspect of the gospel people desperately need to hear?

Much love,
Simon

Questions to ponder:

• How has the gospel been presented to you throughout your life? Did you perceive it as a call to surrender and sacrifice, or a promise of a better life (or something else)?

• Have you ever felt surprised by troubles that have come your way? What do you think of 1 Peter 4:12-13?

• What do you think the result might be if we shared the gospel without trying as hard to make it seem more palatable to those around us?

• What areas in your life do you currently see yourself willing to suffer for a greater good? Are you willing to suffer for Jesus? Why/why not?

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

If God would answer just one prayer I have for our church, what would it be? Today I thought I’d let you know.

There’s a scene in the TV show Modern Family (don’t judge me) that quickly induces tears. Maybe it’s because I’m a Dad of three girls. Perhaps it’s the inner thoughts about myself.

Teenage Haley is making poor relationship choices and vents to her Mum about her Dad from an open lift: “I’m a huge disappointment to him. I see it on his face everyday. He acts as if he doesn’t want me around.”

What do you think comes to God’s mind when he thinks about you? Anger? Frustration? Disappointment?

Suddenly Dad emerges from an adjacent lift, not knowing his daughter can hear. “That’s my little girl. I need her to know that no guy on earth is good enough for her.”

Haley has no words, she just hugs her Dad who had no idea she was there. How profoundly moving to finally hear the truth that she is deeply loved.

I wonder how many of us live life ‘knowing’ how God feels about us. Did you know God chose you before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4)? He didn’t choose you from a group of others. He imagined you out of nothing. You exist because he wanted you. You are his inheritance (Eph 1:18). You are the one about whom he is well pleased (Luke 3:22). You are the one over whom he sings loud songs of joy over you (Zech 3:17).

My number one prayer is simply this: that you would hear what God really thinks of you. It would affect every single other aspect of your life. It would release you to freely love God with every fibre of your being and love others as an overflow of how you’ve been loved. Life would never be the same again. This is why we want every one of us to grow deeper in our knowledge of Scripture, because through it you’ll hear what God really thinks.

May God answer my prayer in your life today.

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

The Street Church has a Board of Elders that provide spiritual oversight and direction for the overall church. In May 2023, we welcomed Matt Bate onto the Elder Board. Matt, his wife Jo, and their two sons live in Lower Hutt and are key leaders at the Hutt location. Here’s the video if you missed it!

I love the feeling when I open the box on a brand new pair of running shoes - bright, colourful, blemish free; the feeling when I stand back and admire the car that I’ve (finally) cleaned; the feeling when I tidy my desk and it’s free from clutter. The cathartic feeling of everything being perfectly in place—as it should be. What about for you?

I’ve been wondering why this is. I think it has to do with a deep desire for the world to be as it should be. God created a world of peace, prosperity and security. Shalom. A world as it should be, perfectly set up for us to thrive. But sin means that this is not the world we’ve ever fully experienced and there’s been a longing in our hearts to find shalom again.

The problem is that we’ll search in all sorts of places to fulfill this longing. We search in things that are temporary. The trainers will get scuffed, the car will get dirty, the desk will get untidy, and the search begins again. But rather than putting our hopes in the next spring clean or shopping spree, can I suggest we use these moments to remind our souls of the hope we have in Jesus. That one day he will return to rule over a world made right. To bring about a new heavens and a new earth that won’t ever fade away. To enable us to live forever in shalom.

As Paul wrote, “so we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Where have you been searching for that feeling of a world made right? Why not offer that to the Lord today and fix your eyes on the future hope we have in Jesus.

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

Are we nearly there yet? It’s a classic phrase associated with children on long journeys. When we hear a child say this, I think we tend to smile in a semi-patronising way. “Ah bless, kids just don’t get how long it takes to get somewhere.”

And yet I wonder how often God has to be gracious with us because we’re asking the same question.

We’re on a journey as a church towards being locally present in communities around the city. One of the challenges that’s taking longer than I hoped is working out the nature of how these can be led and who can do it. I know that God can answer our prayers in a moment. I know he can produce a solution out of thin air. However he hasn’t yet done so.

Are we nearly there yet? “Ah bless,” says God to me!

The thing I’m learning is that whatever challenge is in front of us won’t be a challenge forever. What feels like it’s going on for eternity is only actually temporary. And yet God is using the trials in our life to form a Christ-like character that will go on forever. He’s using this season in our church to mature and purify His bride and to prepare her to be with Him forever. He’s more interested in working in us than in the situation.

It’s here that we begin to understand the origins of the phrase, “God is in the waiting.” Waiting for us is so often pointless. The traffic in the morning, the queue for security, the endless waiting on hold. But when God allows us to wait, we can be sure that His timing is perfect and He’s doing what He promised. “...he who began a good work in you will carry on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:9).

So be encouraged in the waiting and follow the words of Paul: “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Romans 12:12).

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

One of the things I would love to see is every single person at The Street Church having a daily habit of reading Scripture. Although there are sometimes days that I miss, it’s a habit I’ve had for many years and it’s genuinely life changing.

I wonder if for some of us, this seems an unattainable challenge. Finding that amount of time in an already overcrowded schedule can seem impossible. And yet, all I said was a daily habit, not a daily amount. I believe that it’s great to try and read the Bible each year. There can also be great benefit in reading large chunks of Scripture at one time. However, the most important thing is to develop a daily habit, even if it’s something small. And sometimes it’s actually the small that is most helpful.

This week I was rushing through James and got stopped barely out of the first paragraph.

“Consider it pure joy my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds…” (James 1:2)

It’s so counterintuitive. I can decide to count trials as pure joy, not because they are pleasant, but because God is using them to transform me into a perfect and complete person just like Jesus. It completely changed my perspective and my prayers around the trials in my life right now.

It was a profound insight for me and yet it came as I reflected on just a few verses. Alternatively there are days when I read a lot and remember nothing. You see the goal is not simply that we know more about Scripture but that we’re equipped for every good work (2 Tim 3:16-17). My encouragement is therefore to build a habit. To make sure you’re reading and reflecting on God’s word, even if it’s just one paragraph a day.  Small habits done consistently yield big results over time. Why not start today.

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

You may have arrived at this page because you've Googled "Shincheonji" and you're looking for answers. Perhaps you've heard about this new 'church' and want to know what it's all about? Or someone from Shincheonji - known as SCJ - has told you about it, but you want to know more?

Maybe you are part of SCJ,and you want to get out but don't know how? Or you recently left SCJ and you're looking for answers and some guidance, maybe a safe place to be for a while?

However you arrived at this page, please keep reading. What we want to say to you is so important for your freedom and for your spiritual life.

A quick look around Google and you will find dozens of articles and YouTube videos explaining that SCJ is a cult that has brainwashed its people and caused devastating harm to individuals and families through its extreme religious requirements and manipulative methods of recruiting people (fake Bible studies full of SCJ members posing as people who are exploring faith, for example). There is nothing about SCJ that delivers the freedom to believers promised by Jesus Christ in John 8:36, "Whom the Son sets free will be free indeed."

The Street Church is not unique in having experience with SCJ. Over the past years, numerous SCJ 'recruiters' have come to our church services - and many others - in order to 'convert' people to the SCJ way. We have also met with people who have left SCJ and are looking for answers and a place to heal and make sense of what they have been through.

Wherever you are at in your experience with SCJ, we want you to know that we are a safe place for you. We would love to meet with you (if you want someone to speak with) or simply provide a haven for you to heal and reorient yourself as you establish your life outside of SCJ. The Lord Jesus Christ said he came to give us “life to the full” (John 10:10b). You’ve been robbed of that freedom by SCJ, and we’d love to introduce you to this life!

So, if you have questions or are in Wellington and you need help getting out of SCJ, please email us office@thestreet.org.nz or call us on 04 385 7315.

Last week we looked at Extravagant Worship in 2 Samuel 6 where David danced before the Lord with all his might. Now if you’re like me, you’ve probably wondered… what’s the deal with the ephod? Is David dancing in his undies? Is this an outfit more suited to Dancing with the Stars?

David would usually have been wearing the robes of a king but in this instance he’s wearing an ephod - a garment worn by priests. Priests didn’t rule but they were a connection between the people and God. To understand this you have to remember what is going on. David is bringing the ark of the covenant into the capital city where he is king. The ark symbolises both the presence of God and the throne of God among the people.

For David to take off his royal robes suggests there’s a message in his attire. God is king and I am not. Don’t just look to my rule, look to God’s.

If you think about it, all worship is like this. In the fall, we rejected God’s rule and chose to do what we wanted. Worship is the opposite. We remind ourselves that we’re not on the throne. God is the true king in our lives.

Perhaps this is why worship is so freeing. Heavy hangs the head that wears the crown. Our desire to rule brings the weight of ruling we were never meant to carry. And in worship, we continually take off the crown and put the burden back on him. Let us daily come in humble worship before King Jesus.

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

One of the things that marks our culture is the rise of the influencer. YouTube and other platforms are full of people promising 5 keys to success, 15 things you should have in your wardrobe and 3 secrets to a long and happy life. I find myself getting sucked into these really easily and looking for keys to help me thrive in life.

It’s against this backdrop that I found this verse: “This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve of their sayings” (Ps 49:13). The fate in question is death and the fact that we take nothing material with us from this world. I’m not discrediting everything influencers say. It’s not that what they espouse is necessarily not good, it’s just that it’s rarely great. Success in this world is one thing, an eternal perspective is another.

This is contrasted by the writer of Hebrews: “Consider your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith” (Heb 13:7). It means to look at the way they finished their lives. Look for people who are still loving Jesus and following Jesus on their last day. How did they live? What did they prioritise? What did they value? Those are the great influencers. Imitate them.

Who are the older people in your life who followed Jesus to the end. For me, I think about Jim Chew. When his body was riddled with cancer, his email updates were rich with Bible verses and truths he was clinging to in his final days. He loved Jesus till the end and then stepped into a new beginning in the presence of his Saviour. He is a man I am challenged to be influenced by today. How about you?

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

It’s hard to avoid the news at the moment that the cost of living is going up. Even if you haven’t been reading news about inflation, interest rates and the impact of natural disasters in New Zealand, it’s obvious that groceries budgets aren’t stretching as far as they did last year. The temptation of worry is clearly a challenge.

Enter Jesus with his usual dose of turning things upside down…

“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” (Luke 12:25).

Our lives are the biggest thing we know. They are the bubbles within which every moment and experience sits. Jesus’ logic is that if you lack the capability to change the length of your life, why worry about anything else within it.

Worry won’t earn you one more dollar. Worry won’t reduce house prices or take 0.01% off interest rates. Worry won’t stop your pants wearing out and it doesn’t put food on the table. So why worry?

It makes me wonder whether Jesus’ point is about control. We love to be in control. We love it when the solution is in our hands. We love to be self-sufficient. But this is never God’s agenda for us. It’s even been said that self-sufficiency is the greatest curse for a Christian because it leads us to a life without God.

Instead Jesus invites us to a simple trust. He reminds us that our heavenly Father knows what we need and as we seek Him, He is able to provide all that we need as well. What if this season of incredible financial challenge is actually a way for God to reveal to us all that He knows our needs and is able to provide out of nothing.

It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have budgets or shop smart. It just means that worry doesn’t need to characterise our lives. Instead today is a day to come again to the simple truth that God knows what we need and will never let us down.

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

Jesus is just different. It’s no surprise in some ways because this is what it means to be holy - set apart, uncommon, different from everything else. In fact, his holiness is the lens through which we need to see every other aspect of his character. His love is a holy love. His kindness is a holy kindness. His mercy is a holy mercy. He is just different.

Therefore, when we realise that he calls and enables us to be holy (1 Peter 1:15-16), we can be sure that it is a calling to be different. It means the barometer of how we’re doing is not an earthly measure. It means the things our culture celebrates are not necessarily the things we should strive for. It means that even in the church, our ultimate comparator cannot even be another Christian. We’re to be holy as he is holy.

Recently we talked about generosity in the early church that meant there were no needy people. The risk is that we feel good about how generous we are in comparison to others. But remember, our only true comparator is him.

Jesus told his disciples to love their enemies, pray for them and be generous with them (Luke 6:35-36). Have you ever contemplated being generous with the boss who despises you, the neighbour that annoys you or the bus driver who was rude to you? I think if we took generosity to those lengths, it would feel really weird and unnatural. It would stand out to others as something really uncommon. It would be different. And that sounds a lot like Jesus.

May we be people who stand out for generosity of a different kind so we become a people who truly reflect him. What is a different step of generosity Jesus may be leading you in today?

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

Warning: maybe don’t read this over breakfast. I was listening to a report by The Economist last week about an environmentally friendly solution to death care called Recompose. Here bodies are placed in an environment where they very quickly decompose and are turned into a small pile of nutrient rich soil which the family could use to plant a tree or rose.

While it’s a bit grizzly to talk about such things, the thought of a new tree growing out of the grief of death is a wonderful idea. And it’s also a fitting picture for Easter.

It’s hard to imagine just how horrific the crucifixion of Jesus was and the depths of grief experienced by his followers and family who looked on. Yet this was no ordinary death because the death of this One has opened up eternal life to the world (1 Cor 15:22). The death and burial of His body became the nutrients for new life. It’s why I love Andrea Muller’s design for our Easter graphic this year. The cross, though a symbol of death, has brought vibrant new life in relationship with God.

And yet it’s important that this doesn’t just become an object to remember Jesus but a pattern to follow Him. Many of us would know John 3:16 but how many of us know 1 John 3:16?”

“This is how we know what love is; Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”

As people who have been given new life, God calls us to give ourselves up for the sake of others in the way that we love, care for and sacrifice for the benefit of others. It’s like our lives are to be the pile of compost which exists to bring new life to others.

What is something you can do today that, though it costs you, brings life to someone else?

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>