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

SP

Welcome to the Pastors’ Pen, an update for life at SCPC.

Last week, I was able to make a flying visit to Moore College to meet with the students who will be doing a visit with us March 26-April 2. On a visit like this, I would often take a young adult along with me. This time around, while speaking with the young adults, one Rob M walked past and offered himself to do a 24hr trip to Sydney with me!!

It was a really encouraging visit. From being hosted overnight by the Dean of Students who was originally a Lismore boy himself, to sitting in a NT1 lecture on the reliability of the Bible, to sharing breakfast with a student who is often on the Northern Rivers every summer with SUFM.

We are very much looking forward to the team joining us. However, unlike a GMP visit where we would craft a week timetable through our Gospel Communities liaising with our staff team to construct their timetable, the timetable has been made in partnership between the Chaplains at Moore College and the SCPC Staff. We have aspired to have an even spread of students billeted through our GCs, including SCG. Therefore, we expect one or two students may participate in your DNA or some sort of GC function on the Saturday that they are with us. 

Of course, the students will be heavily involved in our Sunday gatherings on March 26 and April 2, or you might like to come to our ‘World’s BiGGest Afternoon Tea’* on their first day in Lismore, Sunday March 26, from 3pm on the grounds of Lismore High, as some of the students also take to a game of soccer with some more active members of our church family. Both the afternoon tea and soccer game will take place at 3pm.

Please pray for the Moore College team’s visit to Lismore and the Northern Rivers. Pray that as they visit, they may be encouraged by our Church family and our goal to grow followers of Jesus in this part of NSW. Pray also that in the future some may even consider serving in the Northern Rivers or other parts of Regional Australia, taking the precious gospel to rural and regional communities. What a great treasure we have in Jesus! I can’t wait to share that same heart with students eager to make that treasure known too!! Do you know how valuable Jesus is!!?

SP

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. 

Matthew 13:44-46

*The afternoon tea has no connection to the Cancer council of Australia, rather it is aiming to reflect the breadth of the invitation to afternoon tea. If the whole Church family including SCG comes to afternoon tea, it will be ‘BiG’!!!

Welcome to the Pastor’s Pen.

As we launched our Speed of Love theme in 2021, we read the apostle Paul’s words here from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8: 

4 Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,

it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

7 It always protects, always trusts,

always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails.

Little did we know in November 2021, how critical those words would be in 2022, as our city’s heart was broken by the most devastating flood, one year ago this past week. 

I am sure you have heard, seen & witnessed the acts of love that went into protecting the precious people of our city on that fateful day. As the flood response began, we opened our drop love account and saw thousands of dollars from believers and unbelievers across the country, pour into the account to the tune of: $150, 582.

 Love was dropped over our city with food vouchers, cash deposits, doonas, and white goods vouchers. Our pop-up pantry at Park Ave allowed flood-affected residents on our doorstep to acquire basic food and cleaning goods, when for so long they were hard to come by.

We had to pivot with our use of Park Ave as multiple community groups continued to ‘drop in’ to see if they could use our flood-free hall, as so many had been affected with severe flooding.

Now as the rebuild continues, some of those community groups continue to use our building.

 Love was very much the order of the day.

Last Sunday, we prayed for our city as it grieves its past, experiences frustrations in its present, and now, with reports flowing in, seeks to consider its future. 

For 2023, our theme has changed to Therefore we do not Lose Heart with an attempt for us to find the safe, firm ground available to us in the gospel. And in 2023, we want to reveal this treasure to our friends, family members and neighbours who make up our city, as we light up Jesus, by showing him to others through Word One-to-One.

We have so far purchased 70 copies of the Word One-to-One books, and our Committee of Management recently moved the motion to continue to supply Word One-to-One to members of our church family as they move through the resources. If 70 people were to read through it with a friend, it would cost SCPC $5488. We could hardly imagine a better way to use our gospel giving!

 So in 2023 our theme may have changed, but love still remains.

 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,

that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

SP