Welcome to the Pastors’ Pen – an update for life at Southern Cross…

Our youth program returns tomorrow (Friday) night at LHS from 7pm!

What a vital ministry this is, and how exciting to have Cam now leading the ministry he has had such a long connection to. Like our ministry to kids on a Sunday, our youth join us on our journey in God’s word, so they will be exploring the opening of John’s gospel this week. We pray some youth might even join in the #lightuplismore challenge, looking to memorise John 1:9-14. By the way, how are you going with it?

Then Friday week, the 12^th of May, the youth team is hosting a parents and carers pizza night so the youth team can outline what is coming up this term and get the youth primed for Safari 2023. Safari is our annual, week-long youth camp. It has a long history of over twenty years and has seen hundreds and hundreds of youth involved! Many of our ministry apprentices at SCPC will note the influence Safari had on their spiritual formation. I have said this before, but evangelical giants like the late John Stott had very strong connection to movements like this. John himself was converted through a five-day youth camp in Britain. He says nothing beats five days to get God’s word into tough and resistant human hearts!

These weeks are so excellent to allow God’s word to seep deep into growing hearts. This year the youth will be looking at the book of Daniel. However, week-long camps come at a cost, and with reductions Safari is $280 per camper. If a family has three youthies that sure adds up! If you have youth in your GC, why not sponsor them!? Or do you have a teenage neighbour? Can you speak to their parents or carers and suggest you’d like to help contribute to the cost? I remember challenging one of our senior high at SCPC to get a friend along to Safari. I said if they are keen and want to come tell them “I’ll pay half” – they came!

But please, please if finances are a problem speak to Cam and the youth team – we certainly don’t want to see some youth not attend due to cost because who knows, your neighbour or nephew may be the next Daniel or Shadrach! We desperately need young, bold and courageous leaders to take the gospel forward to the next generation.

Be encouraged by the heart of these young leaders from the book of Daniel:

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. ¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us^[c] from Your Majesty’s hand. ¹⁸ But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Daniel 3:16-18

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Welcome to the Pastors’ Pen – an update for life at Southern Cross…

Term 2 has kicked off and on Sunday we start our three term series in the gospel of John. I’m
super excited! Are you?!?
The series in John is not to compromise our theme for 2023 – ‘Therefore we do not lose heart’ –
in fact, it is meant to very much strengthen it! For what could be better for our battered
hearts than to spend the rest of the year walking with our saviour and having our hearts
encouraged by him.
I wonder if you have a favourite part of John? They say the account of Jesus’ life by John is
shallow enough for a child to play within, and deep enough for an elephant to swim. I think
my favourite part of John’s gospel is from John 6 and Jesus’ encouragement to feed
on him. Even though when you first read it you may be a little baffled by what Jesus
means by feeding on him. But if you had been journeying through the Bible, your mind would
be prompted by the wilderness wanderings and the daily manner from heaven – daily
provision for famished souls. Isn’t that what Christ offers too? I am so foolish to overlook his
daily provision. Christian leader Sam Allberry looks also to John 6 in his open, personal
battles with his sexuality and he too returns to this passage as a place of hope in the midst of
his loneliness, failures and daily temptations.
Even if a passage doesn’t quickly spring to mind for you, I expect that by the end of 2023 you
will have found one in John – it might even be a passage that stands out for a friend as
you journey together through John using The Word One to One booklets or app!
As I finish, mark in your Term 2 diary our Food for Thought Sunday, on May 28, as we take a
closer look at John 3:16. But of course every Sunday is a great Sunday to invite a friend. Why
not shoot off a text now to a friend inviting them to join you as we begin our journey through
John this Sunday the 30th of April.
Here is the verse from John 6 I need to return to daily…. How about you?
35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry,
and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
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It’s been an absolute delight to have the Moore College mission team with us this week! There’s been 16 students along with 2 staff members, they’ve been staying in homes spread across our church family and have been joining in with our Gospel Communities. The students have also been serving in our Sunday gatherings, running public school Easter assemblies and more. 

So far, I’ve heard a number of students say their highlight has been spending time with their host families and hearing their host’s stories of God’s work in their lives.  For me personally, my highlight has been the students’ eager willingness to engage in genuine gospel conversation and ask real questions of me, one another and many in our community. It’s been a gift for our church family to have them with us. 
It reminds me of Romans 1:11-12, where Paul writes “I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.”

This Sunday will be our last day with the team. There’ll also be touch football at 3pm with them at Lismore High. 

As well that, do keep in mind our Easter gatherings are coming up next week. On Good Friday we’ll be looking at the joy that motivated Jesus even as he went to the cross, and on Easter Sunday we’ll be hearing about the inexpressible and glorious joy that is ours through the resurrection of Jesus. It will be a good opportunity to invite family or friends along as well. 

In Christ,
James Ritchie
Preaching and Mission Pastor 

Welcome to the Pastors’ Pen – an update for life at Southern Cross…

This week I have spent time in Sydney for the final intensive in the two-year Reach Australia
consultancy. The program can be ‘intense’, with programs on site starting early and finishing late.
But there is much to be thankful for an organisation like Reach Australia. Around 10 years ago the
movement began largely as an organisation to stimulate church planting in Australia. However, it
wasn’t long into the journey that they understood that planting churches is simply not enough. For
even the new chairperson of The Gospel Coalition Australia, Rory Shiner, says; “Church planting is
fun for about five minutes, then it just simply hard work!!”

Therefore, Reach Australia wanted to help not just new churches but also established churches in the hard work of sowing gospel seeds and praying like crazy that our Father God would grow and bless those gospel efforts. Even though our connection to Reach Australia will weaken as the year continues we can be very thankful for the assistance they have been to us. Matt C would speak positively about Scott S, the Executive Director of Reach Australia. Not only did Matt find him very approachable, I also found he
has been keenly invested in our efforts and particularly willing to explore how to see our Gospel
Communities grow and thrive.

So, next time if Reach Australia were to visit SCPC (no longer undercover as a ‘secret shopper’) can I
encourage you to find them and thank them for their efforts! Not only in planting churches, but to also help established churches to continue in their labours, knowing they are not in vain.

This reflection from 1 Corinthians seems appropriate:
5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to
believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God
has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only
God, who makes things grow. 1 Cor 3:5-7

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