Dec/ Jan
&2012
BE STILL.
“Behold, the virgin shall become pre gnant and give bir th to a Son and the y shall call His name Emmanuel – which, when transla ted, means, God with us” (Ma tthe w 1:23 NKJ Version) The reason Jesus came to earth was, in essence, so that we could be rede emed from our sins and reconciled back to God in order that we might experience His absolute best for our lives. That’s be en Father’s sole purpose – to be intimately involved in our everyday lives. That is why one of the names of God (Emmanuel) means, God with us. God actually wants to be with us! He doesn’t want us to live in confusion and worry. Instead he desires that we know His voice and listen to His guidance and direction in order that we can fulfil His destiny for our lives. However, in order to hear Him we must first learn to listen, and in order to listen we must be still and turn our ear towards Him. It’s not an easy thing to do in our busy world, particularly at this time of the year! However John 10:4-5 reminds us that we belong to God! We are His she ep and the she ep know the Shepherd’s voice. We will know Father’s voice when we have a personal relationship with Him that is vibrant and growing. It’s through relationship with Him where we’ll experience security, peace, fulfilment and fre edom to be all He created us to be. So as we navigate our way through the many end-of-yearfunctions and celebrations and prepare to embark on a brand new year full of opportunities – let us remember Emmanuel, God with us. He’s known ‘the end’ since the beginning, so I’m confident He knows the best route to get you there, so be… still. Pastor David Westbro ok
! P U G N COMI
BIRTHDAYS DECEMBER
JANUARY
3
Andy Steane,
3
Wallis Frampton
Vicky Thorpe,
5
Jim MacDonald
Bella-Jane Wetzel
7
Leanne Copppo
6
Dominique Linkert,
10
Alison Bannister,
7
Brian Ruge
Peter Barnett,
8
Molly Ritchings
Heather Wetzel
9
Gloria Jopling,
11
Isabella Brown
Shelby Stubbs
12
Chantal Smith
10
Wayne Quilliam
13
Hannah Bo oker,
11
Nick Aure
Jen Bo oth-Jones,
12
Ravi Reddy,
Ann Holmes
Stephen Wilde
14
Leo Archer
13
Wendy Chand
15
Michelle McLean
15
Jeya Prakash
16
Callum Harper,
16
Suzanne Mogg
Kym Wo od
20
Jenny Zimmermann
18
Marlene Stokes
21
Aaron Deguara,
19
Walter Bearham,
Iona Loss,
Aaron Harvey
Louis Oosthuizen
20
Nathanael Stevens,
22
Timothy Spark,
Toni Wo olcock
Denis Valjak
21
Jessie Little
23
Cheryl Gre er
Nadia Van Ro oyen
24
Nicholas Buttle,
22
Mia Wo odland
Gail Evans, Gary Fry
23
Kevin Campbell
28
Malaney Hamilton,
29
Marcus Stubbs
Savannah Harland
31
Sarah Findlay
30
Paul Dixon
31
Max Hyatt
READY. STEADY. LOVE! Wow! Can you believe we’re about to farewell another year?! We had such a dramatic start with flo ods and a cyclone, but thankfully the rest of the year has passed with a minimum fuss! Despite what’s be en going on in our nation and world this year, our Care Cells have be en strong and steady! Our church family has be en diligently me eting, serving and most importantly building relationships with each other and within their community – go Care Cells!!! We’re excited that Christmas is almost here! It’s always a wonderful time of celebration and an opportunity where we get to share the joy of our Saviour openly and festively! We are taught in Matthew 28:18-20 that we have a mission “to go...”, and we are reminded in 1 Peter 3:15 to be ready to give an answer for the hope we have! “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect”. In saying that, this Christmas we encourage you to take the time to think about the answer you would give someone for the hope that is
in you. Ke ep your eye out for new people and families that may move here in the next few months. Remember, it can be very lonely and quite daunting to be in a new town full of strangers. Maybe you could invite these people over for a meal or ask if there’s something practical you could help them with? Be creative – be bold – be generous. We would like to thank all of you who have worked so hard this year: To our Cell Leaders and Associate Leaders, thank you for the time you have taken to prepare and lead your Care Cells and for your wonderful hearts for service. And to our Care Cell members, thank you for diligently attending, serving and supporting each other – you have constantly blessed and inspired us!
take the time to think about the ans wer you would give someone for the hope tha t is in you. Care Cells have always be en about relationship – first with Father and then with each other. The New Year will bring changes, fresh ideas, new friends and exciting events but one thing is for sure: Relationships will always be number one! We love you! Ps Jill and Jacquie
CARE S L L E C
KIDS
CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE Life is about change if we are growing in God and this year in Children’s Ministry we have certainly experienced that. We have had an amazing year with the move over to Providence and se eing God’s provision and blessing. Our team leaders Sarah, Petro and Charli have all done an amazing job preparing an action-packed program, giving our children opportunities to grow in their relationship with God. However the change and growth doesn’t stop there! In 2012 our scho ol will be growing (an answer to our prayers!) our children will be growing and our Kids Team will be growing! So due to this exciting growth, next year all of our children’s programs will be moving to the Year 4/5 block on the MCC Junior Campus. We are very thankful to God for blessing our church and our scho ol with such brilliant facilities! I still remember the days when I lived in Longreach and we only had a cramped kitchen at the back of the church and a big shady tre e outside where we used to run our children’s ministry! A lot has changed since then!
We lo ok forwar d to serving you and your family next year and pray you have a restful and blesse d Christ mas break. Chery l and the Childre n’s Minist ry Team
REV’D UP! From Wet n Messy to Encounter Nights, Guest Speakers to Po ol Parties, and se eing God changing young people’s lives – this year at Rev has be en HUGE!!! To se e any photo highlights or stories from our year check out our Facebo ok page!!
2011 is coming to an end and Rev’s ready to PARTY! December is full of celebrations, chillin’ out and having some fun while scho ol is on break. It’s also that time of the year where we anticipate the exciting transition into the New Year… and in 2012 a big transition awaits our current Youth Pastors, Tim and Kat. They’ve be en leading Revolution Youth for over 6 years now but in the New Year they will be moving into another role within our Church body. We are pumped about the arrival of our new leaders Chris and Katie Campbell. These guys are excited to be here with us and we are privileged to have them join the Rev Team! We’re confident they will continue to take Revolution Youth to new levels!
REV YOUTH
WHAT’S ON IN DECEMBER... December 9th - Encounter Night + Tag team Preaching
December 9th is our last night of the year and we will be resuming on January 20th. To ke ep posted on any Rev events over the holiday period, check out our Facebo ok page or call the church office on 49631155.
PAINT THE CITY RED. What an incredible year 2011 has be en for our Red Frog Crew in Mackay!
This year has be en one of our most successful and busiest yet. We kicked the year off with our vision and training night and had a record number of recruits join our crew. Our vision and goal this year was to be a group dedicated to the cause of Isaiah 61, to bring hope to our city. We did this through four distinct areas: University Ministry, Uptown, Special Events and Scho olies.
RED S G O R F
Red Frogs were able to be a blessing to our Uni students both on and off Res by occasionally hosting pancake and Tim Tam nights and BBQ lunches. Friendships were forged with the students, which we lo ok forward to building on next year. We were even able to spoil the graduating students at their end of year ball with a bag of Red Frog go odies. Our unique Uptown ministry, the only Red Frogs stre et ministry in Australia, has also be en very successful. Our partnership with City Safe (council, police and community members) has continued to open do ors of favour and allowed us to grow the ministry further. We have be en blessed with a new BBQ from Crime Prevention which we are able to take with us to offer fre e sausages and bread to the patrons of
E
the nightclub scene in the city heart. Through this ministry we have se en many club goers and workers interested in and even attending church. This ministry not only makes an impact in our city, but also inspires the vision and touches the Frogs who participate. This year Red Frogs was invited to be a part of River Sessions Festival, Ja Rule’s Concert, National Day of Thanksgiving, MCC Open Day and the Calvary Leadership College Skate Park Outreach. These opportunities enabled us to be a blessing to our community and raised our public profile. We lo ok forward to being a part of more events like these in the future. Scho olies…Where it all began! Ten Red Frogs from Mackay drove up to Airlie to spend a few days with the celebratory scho ol leavers. While this side of Red Frogs was an eye-opener to many, it also was the catalyst from which Red Frogs was birthed. The desperate ne ed for Jesus in these kids’ lives was so obvious and it was such an amazing experience being able to speak to them in a non-confrontational way and be able to be a true servant to them in a way most had never experienced. Red Frogs voluntarily attend Scho olies to help with cleaning ro oms, co oking pancakes, walking Scho olies home, referring them to professionals if ne eded, assisting with medical help, handing out frogs, MC-ing events and ke eping everyone safe while encouragine them to make wise decisions. We love being the hands and fe et of Jesus to this generation. We want to thank all our church family and Pastors for their support and prayers throughout the year, and our amazing and hard working team of Froggers for their commitment and passion for the cause of transforming our city! We are lo oking forward to the New Year with great anticipation of where the Lord will be leading us and what new adventures we can be a part of. Bring on 2012!! Amber, Chére e, and Aaron.
WORSHIP TEAM: on the move Mackay Christian Family Church has a large, vibrant Worship Team, made up of all ages from te enagers to those not yet ‘over the hill’. In September, we sadly farewelled a son of the house: Cam Murison. Cam played a vital part in the growth and development of our team and has be en a great support to our Worship team and the vision of our church for many years.
As a team we se ek to minister with excellence and integrity in whatever we do. We do not want to ke ep our talents to ourselves but be obedient in using them to glorify God. Our vision is to bring the Presence of God into our church and to lead our church into the Presence of God; as that’s where love, healing, fre edom & revelation flow from. However, our greatest desire is to bless the heart of our Father through our worship of Him. We believe that we are part of the vision of the church “a church without walls” by raising up and sending team members out to help bring an “Open Heaven” over cities, regions & nations. If this vision stirs in you, please join us on this amazing journey. Thank you church, we really appreciate your encouragement. Love and blessings Ps D & Catrien
E V I T A E CR
our grea test desire is to bless the hear t of our Fa ther through our worship of Him.
2011 S IE R O M E M
CALENDAR DECEMBER 4th 11th 18th 25th
9:30am & 6pm service 9:30am & 6pm service 9:30am service only 9:30am Christmas Service
JANUARY 2012 1st 9:30am service only 8th 9:30am service only 15th 9:30am & 6pm service 22nd 9:30am & 6pm service 29th 9:30am & 6pm service
BIBLE READINGS DECEMBER
JANUARY
1
Rom 5-8
1
Gen 1,2 / Luke 1
2
Rom 9-12
2
Gen 3-5 / Luke 2
3
Rom 13-16
3
Gen 6-8 / Luke 3
4
Eph 1-4
4
Gen 9-11 / Luke 4
5
Eph 5-6 / Ps 119:1-80
5
Gen 12-14 / Luke 5
6
Phil 1-4
6
Gen 15-17 / Luke 6
7
Col 1-4
7
Gen 18,19 / Ps 3 / Luke 7
8
1 Tim 1-4
8
Gen 20-22 / Lk 8
9
1 Tim 5-6 / Tit 1-3
9
Gen 23,24 / Lk 9
10
Tim 1-4
10
Gen 25,26 / Ps 6 / Lk 10
11
Philem / Heb 1-4
11
Gen 27,28 / Ps 4 / Lk 11
12
Heb 5-8
12
Gen 29,30 / Lk 12
13
Heb 9-11
13
Gen 31-33 / Lk 13
14
Heb 12,13 / Jude
14
Gen 34-36 / Lk 14
15
Jas 1-5
15
Gen 37, 38 / Ps 7 / Lk 15
16
1 Pet 1-5
16
Gen 39-41 / Lk 16
17
2 Pet 1-3 / Jn 1
17
Gen 42,43 / Ps 5 / Lk 17
18
Jn 2-4
18
Gen 44-46 / Lk 18
19
Jn 5,6
19
Gen 47, 48 / Ps 10 / Lk 19
20
Jn 7,8
20
Gen 49, 50 / Ps 8 / Lk 20
21
Jn 9-11
21
Ex 1,2 / Ps 88 / Lk 21
22
Jn 12-14
22
Ex 3-5 / Lk 22
23
Jn 15-18
23
Ex 6-8 / Lk 23
24
Jn 19-21
24
Ex 9-11 / Lk 24
25
1 Jn 1-5
25
Ex 12,13 / Ps 21 / Acts 1
26
Ps 117,119:81-176 / 2 Jn / 3 Jn
26
Ex 14-16 / Acts 2
27
Rev 1-4
27
Ex 17-20 / Acts 3
28
Rev 5-9
28
Ex 21,22 / Ps 12 / Acts 4
29
Rev 10-14
29
Ex 23,24 / Ps 14 / Acts 5
30
Rev 15-18
30
Ex 25-27 / Acts 6
31
Rev 19-22
31
Ex 28,29 / Acts 7
and a Happy New Year!
!!! u o y e v o l e w
CREATING HOPE EXPRESSING LOVE GIVING LIFE
MCF BANK DETAILS
9 Quarry Stre et, North Mackay 07 4963 1155 www.mcf.org.au
Tithes and offerings can be paid via the internet. Bank details for MCF are: Account number: 69481 8914 BSB: 084 792 Please label your transfer with the appropriate title so we can direct your money to the right area. eg. ‘tithes and offering’, ‘Leroy sponsorship’, or ‘missions’ etc. Cheques should be made payable to: Mackay Christian Family.