Thanks to those who came to St Aidan’s last Sunday evening to pray together with the other churches of our local area. It was a really precious time of prayer and worship as we united our hearts as followers of Jesus across our suburbs. Please look out for the next one of these events as we continue to strive for unity with the other churches around us.

“I completed a trip from Brisbane to Cairns on a push bike in July. It was 1903 km. The trip was a test of my gear, my physical strength, and my mental capacity to take on a much bigger trip: An overland bike tour from New Zealand to Denmark, where I grew up. The test trip was a success, so when you read this, I will be biking through Indonesia heading north through Southeast Asia.

I’m planning to go to church every Sunday if circumstances allow. I’m aware that some of the countries I will be travelling through are not as friendly towards Christians as New Zealand is. Today, 360 million Christians face persecution for their faith. Believers may be rejected, abused, imprisoned, or even killed – simply for following Jesus. If interested, there are ministries that support the persecuted church by providing Bibles, discipleship training, socio-economic development, and trauma care. They strengthen the most persecuted believers in some of the most difficult places to follow Jesus. I’m excited about the adventure ahead and all the people I’m going to meet and the stories I will get to tell.

I will be writing a blog here: https://gunillaelleholm.wixsite.com/blog. The blog will have no obvious mention of my faith, political opinions or position on women’s rights to protect those I meet on my way, and enable me to cross borders into certain countries. However, it is my hope that I may raise awareness about these things and inspire others to take on projects they didn’t think they could do. It would be great if you support me on my journey by praying for me.”

We will be gathering as a whole church “TOGETHER” again later this year. So get it locked in your calendar - Sunday 29th October! More information nearer the time.

We were notified recently that there may be some cults door-knocking in the Strathmore area at the moment. This is just a reminder to be wise and ask many questions if you are invited to an event or Bible Study. If they are a genuine Christian church, they have no reason to be secretive or to avoid your questions. They should be able to tell you the name of the church and exactly who they are and what they do.

If you are ever in any doubt about a religious group's motives, practices, and teachings, ask questions, expect answers, and tell a friend.

You can also check out these videos we made a few years ago in response to the Shincheonji cult to help you spot a cult.

In the service today (23 July), we will share an important update from Simon and Jenny about the latest developments around the leadership of Locations across The Street. If you miss it, it will be emailed out to the whole church on Monday so please check you’re emails so you can stay up to date with what’s happening. This is an important update so please be sure to check it out. If you’re not yet on our database and don’t receive emails from us, please click here to complete our welcome form.

We know the Church was designed to function with every person playing their part. It works best when everyone does a little bit to contribute. We wouldn’t be able to do anything without our incredible teams of volunteers, so if you serve on a team at The Street, a huge THANK YOU for what you do.

We'd love to hear from you if you don’t yet serve on a team. There are particular shortages at the moment in the following areas

• School-age Kids Zone programme

• Worship team

• Community Dinners (Wednesdays at 5.30 pm)

If you want to know more about one of these or another area, please get in touch. The easiest way is to open your “Church Center” app and click the “Join a team” button. Or you can email us at east@thestreet.org.nz.

Thanks!

We have a really exciting event coming up on 16 September called “Panorama”. Panorama is a Saturday seminar with Brad Carr that walks participants through the story of the Bible to gain an understanding of how the whole Bible fits together and how the stories, songs and promises work together to tell a unified story of God’s love. If you’re looking to improve your understanding of the Bible as a whole and how it fits together, this will be perfect for you. It costs $49 per person, including morning tea, and you can register through the link under “Events” in this newsletter.

There are still a few tickets left to see Jesus Revolution at The Roxy on Monday, 24th July at 6.30pm. See the post under “Events” for more information.

This week has been a rollercoaster week for Markus and the Bain family. They started the week back in hospital for an x-ray and an enema which didn’t work. They were sent home hoping and praying for Markus to poop with a booking in theatre for Thursday if nothing happened. Then on Wednesday, Markus did a poo and has continued to do so regularly since then. This is such incredible news! Let’s keep praying for Markus, that his whole body would be restored to health so that he is no longer reliant on any kind of interventions.

Every Wednesday afternoon, we put on a free dinner for the community at Strathmore Park Community Centre. There are an amazing team of people involved who cook, set up the hall, sit and have dinner with people, and wash up and pack down afterwards.

This week due to school holidays, the team is a little depleted and we’d love your help if you can. We would particularly appreciate help with cooking something to bring, which you do in advance and bring to the Community Centre ready to eat at 5.30pm (costs can be reimbursed). Or you could come a bit later and help with washing up and packing down (anytime between 6-7pm)

If you could help this week with either of those things, please get in touch with Andrea Teng, and she’ll tell you everything you need to know! andreamteng@gmail.com

Last Sunday, we heard from Rachel and Nelson, who serve with YWAM in Mazatlan, Mexico. If you missed it, you can check out their update here. Video

If you want to learn more about who we support on the mission field, we have the latest missions newsletter out now. There will be some paper copies at the back of the service, OR you can get one emailed to you by contacting missions@thestreet.org.nz.

Did you know that every Sunday the people serving gather at 9.30am to pray for our service? If you’d like to come and join us for that, even if you’re not serving that would be awesome! What an amazing privilege, to bring the service to the Lord. (And you get first dibs on any baking!)

Markus is now home but still needs us to keep praying for him.

At the time of writing, Markus hasn’t done another poop since the first one he did in hospital. Please pray that his bowel would stablise and work consistently and effectively.

Also, there are still some gaps on the meal roster if anyone is able to support the Bain family in this way as they navigate Markus’s recovery. To sign up click here.

This was the update from Karyn on the evening of Friday 23 June:

“This morning Markus woke saying he had a dream that he had to have an enema but as they were getting it ready he tried one last time to poo on his own, and he did. 

Markus was in a lot of pain tonight… he was getting really upset, so we called the doctor to get an enema charted. Then after several times in the toilet and walks round the ward (just like labour!) we were in the bathroom and I was kneeling on the floor…

And he pooped! 💩 

Just as the nurse walked in with the enema. 

I think I have myself a prophet”

Praise God for this huge answer to prayer! Let’s keep praying for this precious boy and that his bowel function would stablise.

While Karyn is in hospital with Markus, and Mike is at home with Jayden and Zeke, if you’d like to support them by taking a meal round for Mike and the boys please add your name to the sign up sheet. Click here.

If you’ve been wondering how you could serve in our local community, here is an opportunity for you to consider.

Strathmore Park Community Centre Trust is looking for a treasurer. The trustees don't have anyone in their networks who is an accountant or otherwise very financially literate.

They wondered if we might have anyone who may fit the bill and be interested in serving the Strathmore community in this way? It would be a small amount of time needed in the role. Fiona, the Community Center Manager does all the Xero work, so it's really about managing the risk and checking she isn’t being incompetent or dishonest! The trustees have an evening meeting six times per year that you would need to attend.

If you would like to find out more, please contact Fiona directly.

manager@spcc.org.nz

022 5062288

Update from Karyn - 

A massive praise report this week for Markus who had his gastro surgery on Wednesday. Thank you so much to those who have been praying. Those prayers were needed! He managed to catch a cold leading up to the surgery date but thankfully we were able to go ahead and he even showed a big improvement on the big day itself. The team are all very happy with how he is going and we will restart feeds very slowly over the coming days. So please pray his gut heals and gets back to work. And of course, pray for poo!

Our world is addicted to comfort and allergic to suffering. We run after what feels good, making emotions the litmus test for right and wrong and making anything that hurts or appears difficult something to be eliminated rather than worked through. Resilience is lacking, anxiety permeates our culture, and it has infected the church, making us unprepared to cope with suffering and persecution. And we must be prepared. Blind optimism is insufficient in the face of suffering; we must have something solid on which to stand, something to put our hope in when all hope seems lost - and we do. His name is Jesus. Hear Simon’s heart of why we’re teaching into 1 Peter in this video.

Did you know we have an amazing set up team that get all the AV equipment set up each week? The team has dwindled down to only 6 people, and a few of them are going to be away over the next few months, so we are in desperate need of a couple more people to join the team.

It involves arriving at 8am to help get the screens and speakers set up at the front of the church. Usually, you’ll be done by about 8.45, and you’d be free to go home and come back for the start of the service. You then need to stay and help pack down at the end which is normally done by 12. You don’t need to be a weight lifter, but you do need to be physically able and able to lift things - male or female!

Please get in touch if you’re able to go on the roster, even if it’s just over the next 3 or 4 months. Email eastadmin@thestreet.org.nz

Thanks!

If you missed the interview with Ben and Bekah Baker who serve as missionaries in Thailand with CRU, you can check out their interview with Jerram here. Please be praying for them and all of our missionaries. You can find a handy graphic below with details of all The Street’s missionaries

With all we are learning about Money in our current sermon series, we have the perfect follow up for you to take advantage of. CAP Money is a FREE budgeting course that is helpful for anyone who wants some advice about building a budget and being able to stick with it no matter your current financial situation. Register now for the next course which starts on Sunday 9th July. All the details and the link to register can be found under “events”.