Seed Church Melbourne is launching!

At 4pm this Sunday Seed Church Melbourne is officially launching!

Led by affiliated planter Nat Clarke, Seed Church has the mission 'to make disciples who make disciples'. It's their conviction that we need to get back to the basics of being disciples of Jesus. Not following some new program or way of doing church, but living out our identity as God’s people: a family of missionary servants making disciples. To that end they structure their church around Missional Communities, communities that love like family, serve like Jesus and live like missionaries.

Event Details:

Sunday 21 January 2018
4:00pm
Seed Church Melbourne

Visit the Seed Church Melbourne website to find out more.

 

International Intensive in New York City

Church planters from around the globe gathered in New York City in October this year for the International Intensive, City to City's training program for those starting churches in global cities.

This year City to City Australia sent Lawson and Marella Hannaford from Adelaide to take part and join with the other 22 participants from countries including Lebanon, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Kenya, Uganda, Scotland, Czech Republic and Italy.

"Redeemer Presbyterian hosted the intensive at their shared offices with Redeemer City to City downtown on Manhattan Island. We were joined by church planters and their wives from all over the world including Africa, Europe, South and North America and the Middle East. My wife and I were so encouraged to see people with hearts for gospel movements across the world, held together by unity in Christ and passion to reach our cities through church planting. The intensive is magnified by its location in New York which seems like every culture and city in the world has come to live in one place, so you really begin to get the idea of how God loves cities and wants us to reach cities with news of His Son. We were also blown away by the quality of the training and the trainers, this truly is world class and yet emphasising that we take the gospel seriously in our own lives before we take it to the world. What a blessing! We are truly thankful to Christ and City to City for our time at the 2017 International Intensive."

– Lawson and Marella Hannaford. Planting in Adelaide, South Australia

2017 also marks ten years since City to City's first International Intensive. When the training first began in 2007, no curriculum existed, and there was simply no easy way to get the training out into the field. So Al Barth, Vice President Global Catalyst at Redeemer City to City, had the idea to bring the global church planters to NYC. CTC would give them key ideas to help equip them to plant and sustain urban churches.

Today, the Intensive consists of both off-site learning elements and classroom sessions led by Tim Keller, CTC staff and various New York City church planters. Mark Reynolds, Vice President Operations & Leadership Programs at Redeemer City to City says, “The Intensive is something we’ve continued to prioritize because of the impact it has had in the lives of these church planters—both on a personal level and in the kinds of churches they are planting.”

It takes a movement to reach a city

One of the decisive convictions of City to City Australia is the belief that it takes a movement to reach a city — and ultimately a society — with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

According to Tim Keller, “Reaching an entire city … takes more than having some effective churches in it, or even having a burst of revival energy and new converts”. Anything less merely leads to the reconfiguration of Christianity in a city — people drawn out of less vital churches into those that currently seem to be thriving.

In a movement, by contrast, the energy and momentum isn’t confined to one particularly vibrant stream of Christianity in the city. Our shared trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom everything holds together and through whom God is putting this broken world back together, spills over the boundaries of tradition and tribe.

This is why it was so exciting to be part of the Gospel in the City event in Melbourne on November 2 this year.

It was a wet afternoon in Prahran. But it was the warmth of shared joy and sense of common task that was evident as we heard from planters and church leaders from a range of different networks and denominations:

Jamie and Claire Bester (Southern Beaches Anglican Church, Hobart) spoke about their experience of the City to City assessment process, which has been instrumental in shaping their approach to launching Southern Beaches earlier this year.

Shebu John (Canterbury Gardens Community Church, Kilsyth South) gave us a report on the City to City International Intensive in New York City last year. His ministry leadership received a significant boost from the energy, input and connection with a network of dedicated planters and leaders from around the globe.

Stephen Tan (Regeneration Church, Monash) shared about the insight and support he’s been receiving from one of City to City Australia’s trained coaches. Stephen’s coach has walked alongside him through the pre-launch and launch phase of his plant, proving invaluable as a sounding board, source of wisdom, and ministry partner.

(L-R) Shebu John, Stephen Tan, Aaron Boyd, Pete Greenwood

Aaron Boyd (Darebin Presbyterian Church, Thornbury) filled us in on the lasting impact his participation in the City to City Incubator has made on his life and ministry. Specifically, Aaron identified the way the Incubator inspired and equipped him with the practical tools to lead his church in contextual mission.

And Pete Greenwood (Inner West Anglican Church, Kensington) addressed the ’sanctified pain’ of receiving and repaying a City Renewal Fund loan, which both helps get new churches started and enables them to be investing in further church planting from their very inception.

Andrew Katay, CEO of City to City Australia, framed the afternoon in terms of the decisive convictions, vision and strategy of City to City Australia.

Aided by coffee and doughnuts, the robust and lively discussion that ensued — as well as the new connections forged across the lines of tradition and affiliation — gave us a taste of exactly the kind of movement City to City is praying and working to see in Australia’s cities.

Chris Swann
Director of Training

Bondi Beach Anglican launches!

On Sunday 22 October, Bondi Beach Anglican Church officially launched in this iconic suburb of Sydney! Blake Hatton, Church Planter and Pastor, shared with us about how it all started and how the launch day went...

Because Jesus is good news for Bondi Beach, we've opened up a new church. We'd been gathering a team, thinking and working hard on contextualisation, refurbishing, painting, putting in new lights, advertising and praying for many months, and then on Sunday the 22nd of October the doors were opened and the new church started. 81 people came in, including a large proportion of locals checking it out for the first time.

We listened to Colossians 2 and John 3 hearing that as a person engages with the Lord Jesus, he gives them a new spiritual start and growth into someone who is spiritually "rooted, built up, established and overflowing". We sang to him, we prayed to him and heard about the growth he's worked in one of our team. It was a great time together and we're off with some good momentum now. We're very thankful to God and excited about this first season in our new church.

For those interested in becoming a part of the church, this Saturday November 11 they'll be holding a Welcome Brunch to hear about life at Bondi Beach Anglican Church.

Please join us in prayer for Blake and the team at Bondi Beach Anglican. Give thanks for the launch and for all those who came, including those from the local community visiting for the first time, and that many people in the area would come to know that God is good and has made himself known and available to us in the Lord Jesus.

Bondi Beach Anglican Church meets every Sunday at 60 Wairoa Avenue, Bondi Beach NSW. Find out more here.