Alive with Christ

I can still remember where I was standing when I answered the phone call from Bishop Peter Hayward inviting me to lead a partnership between Oak Flats and Jamberoo Anglican Churches.

To this day I still believe that this was a great opportunity for two churches to share resources for the sake of the gospel, and the fruit of this has been seen in the growth we’ve enjoyed over the four years we’ve been together.

Yet, like all growth, it has come with some challenges,most notably the need for both churches to cope with sharing their senior minister. However, this has also enabled both churches to enjoy the benefits of a larger, combined ministry, with resources that each parish would not have had on its own.

Through this, God has equipped our parishioners for personal mission, and in both churches, people have converted to Christ through the hearing of the gospel: praise the Lord!

Both churches face challenges in the future: Oak Flats now must find a new senior minister, and we now must find additional finances to support our increased staffing costs.

Yet, it seems that it is now the right time for both parishes to have their own, dedicated senior minister, to help each parish navigate, under God, the future opportunities for evangelism and discipleship in our local areas.

And so we must pray that God will continue to equip us all for works of service, so that the body of Christ might be built up, “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” so that we might “walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 4:13, 5:2).

Grace and peace, Jodie.