5 minute read
God builds His Church
Redoubt North Wesleyan Methodist
by Rev. Peter Benzie Lead Minister
Redoubt North Wesleyan Methodist has come a long way since a small group of us met in December 1999 to consider what God was calling us to do, as many we knew and loved were leaving or about to leave the Methodist Church we were part of. It soon became clear that God was calling us to plant (though we didn’t see it as a plant back then) in the Redoubt North area in South Auckland. It also became clear to us that God’s particular call to us was to children and their families, though of course not exclusively.
What a ride we’ve had since then. The number of people who call Redoubt North their church home, their church family, has grown considerably and is still growing. We continue to see even greater spiritual growth in people. It wasn’t always that way. For about 10 years the number of people who attended our Sunday Services grew slowly. It wasn’t for a lack of trying or desire. We were making an impact on our community through outreach like Mainly Music, a Light Party, the Christmas Experience, and an after school kids club etc. but we weren’t seeing many from the community join us in worship. Before you think – that’s bad, let me tell you something I told the church on several occasions in those early years. The numbers at worship may not have been increasing at the speed we wished, but we were making a difference in the community. At one point in about 2003 I estimated the good news of the Gospel had reached into at least 20% of the homes in the community because of the efforts of our people. As we know it is God who builds his church and in 2010 he did that when he brought several Niuean families in particular to his church. In the process
Children and their families hear the gospel at Light Party 2019.
Redoubt North became the multi-cultural church we had always wanted it to be. How we have been blessed as we have grown together. Today our church is a colourful mixture of many ethnicities including Niuean, Fijian, Cook Islander, Maori, Indian, Fijian, Tongan and European. Our worship, functions and events have a multicultural flavour underpinned of course by the word of God and our faith. The message I hope you take from this is that when we are faithful to God’s call he honours our efforts. He builds his church – our role is to be his hands and feet to reach our communities and invite them to come in. To come in and hear the Good News. To come and be part of the family. Something which I’m pleased to say our people are often talking about – we are a family. A family that misses being together because of the lockdown we are in as I write this. So, what have been some of the other highlights from the first 21 years? What springs to mind here is the construction of our church building in 20056. That truly was a “whole of church” effort as every adult and youth (and many of the children) who called Redoubt North home at the time was involved in a practical way in the project. The opportunities it has since provided us as a base for worship and outreach have been many and varied. The growth and outcomes we have seen because we have the building have been huge. Having your own church building cannot be underestimated as a resource for advancing the kingdom of God. Now we look forward to what extending the building will mean for further advancing the kingdom. When I think of highlights I also think of Mainly Music and its impact on children and their families. Some of those children are now parents themselves and what our Mainly Music team fed into their lives is now being seen in how they parent their kids. I think of our Christmas Experience – a chance for people to stop and de-stress in a relaxed environment, listening to Christmas carols, watching a Christmas movie all while having a hot drink and some food. I think of our many times when we have come together to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and graduations. And when we have come together to support each other in times of sadness and grief. But then again that’s what families do isn’t it. And then there is our Light Party which has been an annual event on 31 October every year including this year in lockdown as we went online and held a very successful online Light Party Sunday. We look forward to when we can offer an inperson Light Party again so we can welcome the large number of children and their parents to have fun and hear the good news of the gospel (in 2019 for instance we had over 100 children plus their parents come along). As I re-read this I am struck by how many of our highlights are of our community facing outreach. I’m not surprised and I am pleased. Pleased because it means that we have been faithful to the call God placed on us that day in December 1999 – the call to reach our community for him, with him. May we always be known for doing so. These first 21 years seem to have gone past in the blink of an eye. I look back with gratitude and awe for what God has done. I look at what he is doing now with wonder and amazement. And because of that I look forward knowing that as long as we remain faithful to our call, God will use his church – Redoubt North Wesleyan Methodist – to advance his kingdom here on earth in even bigger and more amazing ways than he has up till now. That excites me. May these few snippets from our first 21 years encourage and inspire you as you follow God’s call to you and your church - his church. May you too experience the joy and wonder of God building your church - his church.
