We have been running a free dinner out of Strathmore Park Community Centre for over 18 months now. Excitingly for them they are going to be closing for a few months for a big refurbishment! That has however meant that we have been on the hunt for a new venue for community dinner. We are praising God for His provision as the principal of Kahurangi School has agreed that we can use their school hall for dinners from 9th February. This ministry to our community was such a clear opportunity that God opened up for us and He continues to make it possible for us to be a blessing to the people of these suburbs in this way. Thank you Jesus!

How do you know if something is the real deal? Legit? Genuine? Things we buy might look good on the outside but over time, we find out what they are really made of. Matthew shows that a major theme in Jesus’ teaching was hypocrisy. He called out people who looked the part but were really just acting. In this series, we take a look at some of the practices and motivations of Jesus-followers whose inner world matches their outer one. Followers who are genuine. We are taking the next 3 Sundays to look at Matthew 6 in a series we’re calling “Genuine”. 

Strathmore Park Community Centre approached us a few weeks ago to see if we would be able to provide some hampers for 16 families they are connected with. We were able to use some of the CAP Christmas treat boxes for 10 of them, but 6 were in need of some groceries to keep them going over Christmas. 6 of our Life Groups stepped up to the challenge and provided hampers for all of these families. Thank you church for making such a big difference in the lives of people in our community. You are such a blessing!

As you all know, COVID has meant that the way we gather as a church has changed. As a result, our serving teams also need to change. We’d love you to consider the part you might be able to play in 2022 as we continue on the mission that God has called us to. Some areas of our church where you may like to get involved are:

Community dinners - cooking part of the meal or serving at the dinner (Wednesdays)

Worship - particularly music in services

Sound and media - making all the technical stuff happen in services

Connections - welcoming people to services on Sundays (plus some other practical responsibilities)

Children - serving with our young ones on Sundays

Set up - setting up our venues for services

CAP - support workers to go on client visits with a Debt Coach and support clients through the CAP process

If you’re not quite sure where you best fit we’d love to help you work out where you could most be a blessing. 

Email east@thestreet.org.nz

The elders commission Simon and Jenny Gill as they step into the Senior Pastor role for The Street Church.

Simon has previously shared the approach we are taking as a church to the new COVID-19 protection framework. If you missed it you can watch it here. In brief, The Street will hold gatherings for those who want the assurance of a “My Vaccine Pass” and open gatherings with no vaccination requirement. For The Street East, that means we’ll be running at least 2 different services each week.

While things are changing every week, we have listed each Sunday service under “Events” in this newsletter so you can easily find out what’s happening each week.

You can register for upcoming services here

There are still opportunities for you to invite people to the carol service on 19th. It will be a great way for everyone you know to get in the mood for Christmas! So get inviting everyone you know!

Our Senior Pastor Simon Gill shares with us how The Street Church intends to operate under the new Covid Protection Framework, which comes into effect in New Zealand on 3 December 2021.

We are calling the whole church to lean in for two weeks of focused prayer and fasting.

How can you pray?

• We have booked 56 Hobart St each evening on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday of both weeks from 7.30-9. Feel free to come and join others here to pray.

• We have re-launched The 24/7 Prayer Room at the Life Centre, which you can book

• Go on prayer walks around your neighbourhood and ask the Holy Spirit to bless your neighbours and enable you to be a vessel of hope and love to them.

• Set an alarm for 10 minutes at the same time every day and dedicate that time to praying into this season.

• Talk to your life group leader about the ways your life group could get involved in this together.

How can you fast?

• If you’re new to fasting, try skipping lunch and using your lunch break to go somewhere quiet and spend time praying.

• Do a 24-hour fast: have dinner, go to bed, then drink water for the next day and not eat until dinner. Whenever you feel a hunger pang, pray.

Our desire is to lift our voices to God in unity over the next two weeks, so please get involved.

We found out last week we can continue to use 56 Hobart Street for another year. Praise God for his provision. He always goes before us!

If you haven’t returned your CAP hamper please email or call to make alternative arrangements. The deadline for this is Tuesday. (Ross.Jones@thestreet.org.nz / 021 445277)

We have a  baptism service today at 3pm at Gateway Baptist. We will be baptising Gracie and Natalie. We’d love you to come and help celebrate this super exciting milestone in Gracie and Natalie’s lives. Register your place for the service here

Sunday 21st November is celebration Sunday! We are taking a Sunday to celebrate all that God has done this year through you - the people of this church! We will hear stories from all of our locations and we’ll worship and pray together and get excited for what God has in store for us as a church in 2022! Register here

We present to you "Christmas Fit For a King" - this year's Christmas Production service at East. So that we can adhere to physical distancing and keep everyone safe while we are at alert level 2, we will be running 2 performances of our production this year. So get inviting your friends, family, neighbours, colleagues. There will be invitations for you to hand out available on Sundays at Hobart Street, or contact east@thestreet.org.nz to arrange to pick some up from Simon and Jenny's house or to request a digital copy. Due to COVID restrictions, registrations are essential so please be sure to register your place! Find out more about all things Christmas at The Street here: www.thestreet.org.nz/christmas.

Each Christmas we love to bless the clients of not only our Debt Centre but also the Debt Centres around the Wellington region. If you would like to be part of that this year, check out all the info here: www.thestreet.org.nz/cap. Then grab a box from the service on Sunday or contact east@thestreet.org.nz to find out how to get one. It’s a wonderful way for us to show our love to people this Christmas!

Married People
The summer season is a wonderful time to intentionally invest into your marriage. The days are longer, and there is even the possibility of a bit of sunshine to enjoy together! Take a look at this pdf for some ideas of how to invest in your marriage.

Please register here to attend the service at Hobart Street on Sunday 31st October. Simon and Jenny will be sharing the story of how they came to be in their new roles of Senior Pastors of The Street Church. There will also be Kids Zone programmes running. For your reference here are the government guidelines for faith based gatherings under alert level 2 that we will be abiding by.

If you’d prefer not to gather while we’re in alert level 2 you can still watch the online service wherever you are or you can continue to gather in smaller groups in homes www.thestreet.org.nz/live

It tells us in the Bible about the need for us to be on our guard against false teachers and anyone who would come and try and change or add to the message that God has revealed to us through Jesus and in his Word. In that vein, we wanted to update you on the activities of the Shincheonji cult.

We have become aware in the last few days that they have changed their tactics and are now presenting themselves publicly as a mainstream Bible Study. They are however in conflict with basic orthodox teaching that all Christian churches have always held to. They are not a Christian church. This is not a mainstream Bible Study. 

As an example, we are not looking for a promised pastor with special revelation from Jesus. We believe that God has revealed himself most fully and most accurately in his son Jesus Christ.  There is no secret message or wisdom, it is freely available to us through His word, the Bible.

If you have seen a flier, inviting you to an online seminar, please be aware of who they are.  If you’ve been to one of these Zoom classes already, stop going and reach out to Simon or Jenny to process what you may have already heard. For anyone else, please stay far away from this group.

We do not need to panic or be fearful, but we seek to be wise stewards of our own hearts and minds, and we are called to love and care for one another well. Any questions or concerns you can reach Simon and Jenny on east@thestreet.org.nz.

Please see our past update on Shincheonji for some helpful videos.

We have a number of missionaries that we support as a church serving right around the world as well as here in Wellington. Our prayers as their church whānau are invaluable. An amazing way to keep up to date with what they’re doing and how to pray is The Street’s regular “Missions Update”. Please email missions@thestreet.org.nz if you’d like to receive these.

Jesus clearly instructed us that when we repent and choose to follow him, baptism is the first step in that new life of following him. If you haven’t been baptised and would like to be, please get in touch and we’d love to talk to you about it. Email east@thestreet.org.nz or talk to your life group leader or Simon and Jenny