WINTER 2020
IN THIS ISSUE
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Welcome Thoughts From our Senior Pastor
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How Has Church Changed?
#youthwith asign
How the rise of digital church has redefined church as we know it
16 Church at Home
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Shema: The Sound of the Kingdom What are you listening to: the world or God?
Riverlifers reflect on how church at home has impacted them
Riverlife Youth take to social media to share the Gospel
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Financial Summary
Mid-week Chats
Wise words to encourage us during the week
50 The Anxiety of Restrictions
32 Community, Accounting and the Church Christiaan Malan reflects on sharing on his frontline
40 Compelled to Love
How Riverlife has been able to help our community during COVID-19
Zoom calls, home schooling and no hugs: why anxiety is running high
Tracking Riverlife’s financial progress
As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him-- you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood 1 PETER 2:4-5 (NIV)
Well, a lot has happened since the last edition of Unveiled. While it’s tempting to start to think that we may be getting near the end of our current health challenge with COVID-19, it would be foolish to get too complacent as we all try to manage a volatile, unpredictable situation that may be far from over. My thoughts and prayers are with those, both within our Riverlife community and beyond, who have been impacted in any way by COVID-19.
No doubt, through all this upheaval things have changed for everyone. In fact, you get the feeling that life has changed forever and there is no doubt that this also affects the church. To some degree we have had to ‘re(de)fine’ what church really means to us and what the expressions of that are now and going forward. ‘Re(de)fine’ = refine + define.
God bless, John Robertson Senior Pastor
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Early in the restrictions around gathering, I saw a meme that read, “The Church has left the building.” What a great statement! We have had to ‘redefine’ what church means to us personally. Is church the building? Is it 90 minutes on a Sunday? Perhaps it is a social connection? It may be all these things and more, but as we have ‘redefined’ church through our recent experiences, we are also being ‘refined’ to what being a part of the body of Christ really means.
I trust that perhaps the most significant thing that you have had to wrestle with through recent times is how you have been refined by God as His disciple to the things that matter most to Him. And secondly, that perhaps you have started to redefine what church really means to you.
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I believe that we are being ‘refined’ as a church; purifying us to what matters most – our personal responsibility to be in a dynamic relationship with God. To be about the things of God, reflecting His character, being salt and light to the world around us. But we are also in the process of defining what ‘church’ looks like.
In a strange way we have been thrust out into the world, and yet, what a perfect opportunity to be released and fulfil the vision we had for 2020! Here’s a quote that stopped me in my tracks: “Irrelevance is the gap between how quickly things change and how quickly you change.” If you think about it, this is what the ‘church’ is supposed to be – light, fast, adaptable, innovative. Why? Because we are people of the Spirit and the Spirit blows wherever He desires. If we set things in stone or wish for the ‘good old days’ or even become just like we were, we will not only risk becoming irrelevant in the societal change, we may not be led by the Spirit.
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How Has Church Changed?
“…not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” HEBREWS 10:25 (ESV)
At the time of writing this article, we’re in the middle of our church-wide study and message series “Compelled by Love”. We started planning and writing the content for the series late last year (2019), following our Senior Leadership planning times, and I remember anticipating the chance to get really practical in how we love our community and the people God has entrusted to us on our frontline.
The world of church-life has changed. Life.Church, who provide our church streaming platform (it’s free of charge to any church in the world), said that the take up of churches streaming their services rose from about 3,000 churches in
This instant availability of our church services online presents a few interesting opportunities and issues to navigate. Firstly, it makes church so easy to participate in! The number of memes about doing church in your PJs and other online stereotypes is staggering and hilarious! And it raises the question: why would I go to the
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But in spending item reflecting on this, and what we should do about ‘doing’ church when everything changes, I feel like the Lord has spoken and led us in this season, and so much of our preparation hasn’t been wasted. We’ll get to that in a bit, though…
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Little did we know, in the free and socially-connected days of Summer 2019-2020, that by Easter, the world would be in lock-down, that people would rarely be leaving their houses, that the way we interact with each other across the globe would be irrevocably changed.
February 2020, to about 23,000 by the Easter weekend (April 10-12, 2020). The presence of churches online went from being reserved for the mega-churches with a whole AV department and a massive financial base to being available for everyone. Indeed, necessity becomes the mother of invention, or at least the mother of adoption. The group of pastors I regularly meet and pray with all took their churches (which vary in size from about 100 to over 4,000) to online meetings within days of the announcement of closures.
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effort of getting dressed when I could just stay here? That begs the question: is church about watching and hearing, about viewing, or is there more to it? I can sing along, make notes in my Prayer & Praise journal from the message, and even get prayer over chat, but is that what church should be? Yes and no, I think! We get the chance to make church accessible for everyone, particularly people who couldn’t normally come. People who are stuck in hospital, are unable to travel, and confined at home through sickness or ability or so many things. How powerful is it that God has made a way for both the good news to go out, and for community to happen! There is a sense about online church that it is a little bit like a Roman road for the third millennium: the digital highway that makes ideas and
accessibility open to the world! And God is using it: in just the free church online portal Riverlife uses, across all the thousands of churches online for Easter, more than 69,000 people made a commitment to follow Jesus for the first time. That’s global numbers, on one weekend! Imagine what is possible as we seek the Lord for His wisdom and strategy as we go forward. Secondly, we must look at what being online does to community. As I discussed above, there is much more opportunity for those separated by distance to participate in the community of the church. But there are issues here: we lose the ‘oneanother’ aspect of what Church brings. It’s hard to minister to one another when we can only use text. It’s hard to read body language when we ask, ‘How are you, really?’, even when we’re using zoom! It’s difficult to ‘see’ who’s there this week, or who might be having a hard time and needs some extra love. These are problems that the church has faced over the centuries and are not new for this season. But this is the first time we’ve had to deal with these issues, and this is our first time having to learn and adapt to this space.
This season has given us the gift of clarity about what is important. When things are ‘taken’ away, when our freedom is curtailed, we expose our true heart. The reality of COVID-19 here in Australia is that, for the vast majority of us, it was just sitting at home, working and playing and spending time with family or housemates. For some of us who live alone, it was a time of testing. But all of it was for the purpose of protecting those most vulnerable. I felt really sad that people in Australia, and
Our family isn’t given to a lot of self-reflection. We have three boys under 15, but our youngest child is a little girl, and she helps us stop and reflect. So, I took the chance at the end of schooling at home to ask everyone what they learned about themselves during this season. I believe that the Lord is giving us the same opportunity: we should each spend some time and reflect on what we’ve learned about ourselves in this season. What has the restriction of freedoms shown you about your love for others (even people you don’t know)? And conversely, what has the freedom to do (or not do)
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Thirdly, I think that this season has been a wonderful gift to us.
in our own church community, got very upset about not being allowed to do some activity or another. The freedom that was encroached upon was done for the benefit of keeping the least and the vulnerable safe. Reflecting on the nature of love, love always sacrifices and gives of itself for the benefit of others. True love costs us something, it costs us our freedom, because we have to give up our rights to something in order to put someone else before us (See Philippians 2:1-11). This was no different. And I think that the gift we received in this season is that the Lord has given us the chance to see where we each are at with that in ourselves.
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I’m not sure where you are with this, but I have mixed feelings; I miss seeing everyone, I miss laying a hand on a shoulder and praying from the Father’s heart into someone’s situation; I desperately miss sitting with you and having a coffee after the service. We’ve lost that; but God is no person’s debtor. I truly believe that there are gains for the kingdom and breakthroughs for ways to develop community within the online space, if we take the time to wait on the Lord and see where He is leading us. Remember, none of this was a surprise to Him!
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anything you want shown you about your priorities? Take the time to learn these lessons and hear from the Lord about them. Lastly, the Lord is not wasting this season. We’ve seen, particularly through ‘Compelled by Love’, that God is bringing people to Himself. It’s a harvest season for the church, and for Riverlife in particular. It’s a season where invitations to church have never been easier; where responding to the good news has never been clearer, or opportunity given so often; we’ve never had a season where we’ve been more resourced to share the love of Jesus with the world around us. Like I said earlier, this wasn’t a surprise for Him! Don’t miss the chance to respond to what He has been preparing for you in this season. As a post-script, I think the next challenge of leading, pastoring and forming our community the online space is around what discipleship looks like. So much of our discipleship has been provided centrally, through services, courses, programs and pastor-driven models. This season has given us the chance to see what church looks like when we reduce it to some core activities. But the opportunity we’re being invited to address now is how we can
each take responsibility for our own personal growth in our relationship with Jesus, and how we can walk with those around us and help them on that journey. At the start of the year, before we knew anything about 2020, I felt the Lord say to me that we need to raise up ‘disciples who disciple’. I thought that was a pretty catchy phrase, but I have been holding it back and praying into it. But I think that there is a seed of promise in that phrase: God is calling our community to take seriously our personal walk with Him, our discipleship or ‘apprenticeship’ to Jesus. This isn’t just for us, but it’s for those that we can walk with in this season: friends, family, housemates, neighbours and people we see online. Our challenge is to take up the invitation to ‘make disciples’, as we ourselves are discipled. Who’s in for that? Jo Leutton Pastor of Spiritual Formation
Shema: The Sound of the Kingdom
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God. The Lord is One. Love the Lord your God – with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." DEUTERONOMY 6:4-5 (ESV)
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Did you know that within the week pandemic restrictions hit, most countries around the world saw an average of a 40 per cent increase in live streaming? Since March, the noise from the 24/7 news cycles and social media updates has not only provided information, but gone far beyond and become a deafening noise saturating our media diet with a daily consumption of topics that induce panic, fear, hysteria and, as the crisis persists, hopelessness. Many people have tried to distract themselves, whether it be with a sudden uptake in home fitness, a spike in online shopping or perhaps unnecessary batch baking or flirting with their home version of MasterChef. Sadly, many Australians could be seen attempting to drown out the noise and deal with the stress and anxiety with an increased frequency of alcohol consumption! Others, as a result of social distancing and restriction introduction, began to amplify
their dissatisfaction with the impact on their personal freedom. Whether any of these describe your default setting at this time, the evidence is clear: many people don’t know how to process what is happening to them and around them. Many people don’t know where the truth is among all the noise. But as His Kingdom Ambassadors – we are called to live another way… What are you influenced by - the World’s Noise or His Voice? God is awake. None of this pandemic or economic aftermath is a surprise to God! God’s voice is active. You might not be able to hear Him, but He is always speaking to us. God wants His people alert, to be ready, and to stay ready despite what circumstances come; to declare and demonstrate a Kingdom sound that will cut through the world’s noise. We can see this throughout the Bible. God needed His people to first listen to His voice, consume
His word, to take His message to heart, before they were released to declare and demonstrate it to others. We see this clearly in the life of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:25-28; 2:1-10; 3:1-11). God wanted to ensure that Ezekiel would deliver His message to the people, not simply a message that the people wanted to hear. But even more than that, God wanted to ensure Ezekiel understood what he was being asked to do: simply and obediently, declare God’s goodness, His faithfulness, His message and His invitation to the ‘rebellious people’. I love this because, over and over, God seems to remind Ezekiel, “Son of man, whether they listen or fail to listen, do not be afraid of them or their words. All I am asking you to do is to speak my words to them and give them the message I give you.” This is as powerful now for each of us today as it was for Ezekiel then. The measure of obedience God holds us to is not found in the response of the people. Rather, the measure of obedience is found in the faithfulness and timeliness around how we deliver His message to those He puts on our frontline. God was calling Ezekiel to deliver His message at a time
when the people were distracted by the noise of their captive world, when everything else was competing for their attention. God had Ezekiel relay to the people that there was a way for them to live at peace with themselves and God even during their exile, if they would only listen to God, pay attention to His voice, repent of their sin and compromising and obey! God wanted holiness in His people then just as much as He wants to cleanse our lives today with His righteousness. We find this by coming to Him and repenting of our sin and ceasing to find delight and comfort in things apart from Him during challenging circumstances. Ezekiel was fearless and unwavering in his role as the ambassador of the Almighty God, at a time when there was much fear-fuelled panic, numbness, hopelessness and even indifference and dismissive reactions to declaring God’s word. Have you noticed that noise can drown out clarity? The key to understanding our circumstances is to focus on God rather than the experience, confusion or suffering of the moment. Why? Because we want His perspective on our situation. We want God to inform us about our circumstances, not allow
confusing times or our own pain to define God! For thousands of years, Jewish people meditated on the words of Deuteronomy 6:4-5, a passage of scripture known as the Shema (Hebrew for ‘hear’):
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Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God. The Lord is One. Love the Lord your God – with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Now, in our time of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic aftershock, just as in Ezekiel’s time in captivity, is the time for God’s people to Shema. As I reflected on the life of Ezekiel and the journey of the Israelites in exile, as captured in the book of Ezekiel, I wondered if the Israelites in captivity in Babylon continued to practice reciting the Shema? Did they continue simply out of duty or ritual or obligation? Or did they lean back into their Father God’s arms, experiencing His Shalom peace that passes understanding despite the appearance of circumstances, and Shema with all their heart and with all their soul and with all their strength? You see, the Shema is all about being in right relationship with God; to listen and to do what He commands not out of duty or obligation but out of our love for Him.
For us today, when we hear God’s voice, whether through His scriptures and written word, His audible voice or through dreams and visions, through His creation or even via other people; are we listening? Are we paying attention? Are we allowing the Almighty God to redefine and refine our lives?
When we hear God’s voice cutting through the world’s noise, does it cause us to act differently? If it does, that is our testimony! Does our life declare and demonstrate a Kingdom sound? The sound of your testimony, of how Jesus has transformed your life, is your Kingdom sound! Jesus living in your life, empowered by the Holy Spirit who emboldens and equips you, can create a
spiritual climate change. His Kingdom sound has the power to change the climate in your home, your relationships, your neighbourhood, in your every-day frontline encounters.
Jesus says to each of us, “Now that I have set you free from the hopelessness of the world’s noise, don’t be silent! Go! Go out, amplify and release my Kingdom sound wherever you go!”
The enemy cannot withstand the voice of God, coupled by the power of our testimony (Romans 8:34-39; Revelation 12:10-11).
What will you be known by: your noise or His Kingdom Sound?
Why?
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So that we, as His body, as His hands and His feet, will be true ambassadors influencing the world’s noise with His Kingdom sound.
Robyn Robertson Missions Pastor
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Now is our time to Shema; to love our God, as Jesus said, as our first and greatest commandment.
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Church @Home If our desire is to reach everyone with the Good News of Jesus, how do we play our part in releasing what we carry to those around us?
Church has left the building.
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In a way that could have only be described as ‘unthinkable’, the events of COVID-19 have completely turned upside down any ideas we had of what we thought church should be like. Within a matter of weeks, we went from thinking that COVID-19 was something that would just ‘blow over’ to being isolated within our own homes, unable to go to work, socialise or even attend church. As history would suggest however, it is often not until lifechanging events like COVID-19 that we wipe the slate clean and redefine what something truly means and why we place value upon it. The shocking events of September 11 forever changed the way we travel, the sinking of the Titanic brought about greater ship safety and every plane crash results in an air safety review to improve safety and ultimately, save lives. Take for example Jesus’ death on the cross: it was an event that shook His disciples and followers to their very core and completely altered their lives forever. While COVID-19 could never be compared to such an incredible act in history, we see how Jesus’ death refocused and unified the disciples and launched them into pursuing their purpose
with great intention and vigour. Acts 2 reminds us how, after that glorious day of Pentecost, they “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” How many of us have rekindled a love for the simple things in life over the past few months: connecting with God, connecting with loved ones, enjoying a meal or a walk in the afternoon? While we may have missed the usual smiles from the Host Teams in the foyer, the sound of our neighbours singing beside us in church, and the connection found over coffee after the service, the absence of ‘normal’ Sunday church and weekly programs has enabled us to rethink what we mean by church. Is church a place where we gather regularly with likeminded believers? Is church where we meet with God? You might ask yourself: do you rely on a certain atmosphere to help you connect with God, or are you able to connect with Him wherever you go? It seems no coincidence that the last message preached before we went into isolation was entitled ‘How to Lead Yourself in Worship’. Whether a prophetic declaration or just God setting us up with the final piece of encouragement before we really did, like Elvis,
‘leave the building’, it was a parting thought that only truly made sense after the fact.
PA S T O R J O H N R O B E R T S O N
What do you think the biggest win has been for people at home? Church at home has been both exciting and a big change for everyone. It has been exciting to learn and deliver a new mode of bringing worship, prayer, and God’s Word into people’s homes. It is so exciting to see so many people gathering together online and being able to provide people with many of the things they are used to when gathering at the facility – a warm hello, prayer, conversation and connection even though it’s through a different means. The biggest win is that people who find it hard to regularly get to
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It is a surreal feeling walking through an empty facility to worship and preach to a dark room. That is something I never want to get used to. The life of the church is in the people of the church and I really miss everyone when they are not there. They get to see me, but I don’t get to see them.
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Over the weeks that followed, our worship, creative and technical teams rallied together to bring church into our homes via live streaming, online platforms and social media channels. Furiously working around rapidly changing restrictions, the team were able to bring a quality Sunday service to our loungerooms all at the click of a button. We rejoiced at the thought of bringing coffee ‘into the auditorium’ and being able to worship while eating a late breakfast in our PJs; yet what was to follow afforded many an incredible opportunity to connect in ways like never before. Those who were previously unable to attend church regularly due to sickness, work or small children could now log in remotely and view the service at their leisure. Small, acoustic worship teams that resulted from only being allowed five people in the building cultivated an intimacy in worship many craved. While we all can’t wait to return to joyfully hugging friends in the foyer and connecting together on Sundays to worship our great God, this season has certainly spurred a greater sense of urgency in sharing God’s love with those
around us. We spoke to several members of the Riverlife family to find out what church at home has been like for them.
church or stay connected can now do that. We are starting to hear the testimonies of how great it is for those who are shift workers or even our missionaries from different countries being able to join with us in a church service.
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What would you love to see us carry forward after this? We are definitely going to continue to live-stream our services and create an online community for those who it suits better to meet like that. I see our reach extending well beyond our local community in Brisbane to the rest of Australia and the nations through what God will do with live streaming our services. It has been really exciting to look at what it will take to create, sustain and pastor an online community, it feels a bit like planting a church.
PA S T O R E M I LY E L L I S
How has it worked for you personally? We have kept busy organising kids church resources that families can use at home, filming videos for kids and organising fun new ways for kids to connect with each other, like Minecraft and Kids Small Groups Zooms.
I obviously miss being together, but it's been cool thinking of new ways to do Kids Ministry!
What do you think the biggest win has been for people at home? I've loved that families have been doing church at home together. We know that faith begins at home, and I think this time of families engaging with each other in church-at-home will actually have a big impact on young hearts!
What would you love to see us carry forward after this? I'd love to see families continuing to engage in worship and 'God moments' together. I really want to find a way to continue to resource families with easy ways to do this- without adding too much to their loads or overwhelming them. PA S T O R DY L A N K R A U S E
What do you think the biggest win has been for people at home? In this season, I think the biggest win is an opportunity to re-set our value systems. It is easy to get into the rhythm of doing things one way and stick to it
I think the hardest thing has been to trust the Lord constantly in the midst of it all. I can get excited about trusting God
T H E VA N R E N S B U R G FA M I LY
How has doing church at home worked for you? As a family our personal relationship with God has always been the most important aspect of our lives. It is from the perspective of life as an adventure with God that we live, make all our decisions (big or small), decide where and how we live and do everything else in life. Church for us has never been the primary source of our daily bread or of our times of worship. Home has been where we’ve done most of our praying, worshipping and studying the scriptures for all of our family’s existence. In saying that, we do love and value church. We have definitely missed seeing and hugging the beautiful people in our lives at church!
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What has been the hardest thing?
one minute, or a few hours in the afternoon perhaps, but then get taken out by doubt and fear after hearing a news report or being disappointed by something not panning out the way I anticipated. I think He is upgrading our reliance on Him through this time, and we are exercising our ‘trust muscles.’
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for no other reason than “that’s the way we do it.” With all forms of routine being scrambled, now is the time to ask ourselves questions like “is this really important? “or “is this the best way to do it?” I have heard great testimonies of families having a renaissance of quality time and its positive impact on the faith journey of each family member. The reality of ‘we are the church’ wherever we are livestreaming from, is being fortified. The neighbourhoods of each Riverlifer are places of worship as they enter into the courts of the Lord with thanksgiving and praise from their living rooms (Ps 100). The daily walks that so many are able to enjoy are now the church foyer where we are catching up with old friends and making new ones. I mean how many of us have met a new neighbour since this thing started?! These same walking paths have become prayer routes, blessing each home and family while being drawn into awe and wonder feasting on sunrises or sunsets.
What would you love to see us carry forward after this?
‘Church’ means many things to many people. For
How has doing church at home worked for you? We are fortunate to have the technology to make on-line church work fairly well. We set aside that time to focus on God’s presence even though it’s just the two of us at home. We close the doors to avoid annoying the neighbours (we are in a block of apartments) and join in worship, then sit comfortably to listen to the messages, much like we would at Jennifer Street. We have been very conscious of the presence of God in our lounge as we worship.
What do you think the biggest win has been? For Janet, Church at home has been much more relaxed and easier. For both of us,
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Has your perception of what 'church' looks like changed as a result of COVID-19?
J A N E T A N D D AV I D H A M
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The wonderful expression of community that we saw during this time with local neighbours reaching out to one another or even taking time for a zoom chat with neighbours from a previous time or a different continent. There is a sense that even just asking “how are you?” can unlock a meaningful conversation. So many opportunities to demonstrate love to people! We don’t love and befriend and care for people to get them to church. We love them, because they are our Dad’s precious children and He loves and values them. The fact that they don’t know it doesn’t change it. Yes, we do want them to know the truth about God and themselves but going to church is not what gives them value. Realising that God loves them does. Playing a part in this realisation, however big or small, in step with Holy Spirit, should be our greatest ambition.
our family ‘church’ is the wonderfully entangled network of relationships that both encourages us and gives us opportunities to navigate through life with God in the centre of it all. Seeing people focussing on relationships and connections in the absence of centring interaction around a facility or a ‘service’ has been great.
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avoiding the 35-minute drive to Seventeen Mile Rocks and then back to home has been great. In the comfort of our home we can still be part of our Church community. We have also been very blessed by the Worship Rooms on Tuesday – every Tuesday! – and the Wednesday Devotions, and the Thursday Chats. We are so appreciative of all the effort of those who give so much of their time and effort to make all this happen. These have been a big bonus in helping us feel connected and part of our Church although physically apart from our Church community.
Has your perception of what church looks like changed…? This COVID-19 period has revealed the Church as an adapting entity that has broken out of the boundaries of buildings and locations and established a new identity as a body without limits that can influence the whole world. When the Church could have sat back and waited for all this to be over to resume where it left off, it quickly looked for other ways to function and indeed to grow. Now we’re not limited to two services in Jennifer Street on Sundays but we can be involved
in church activities at home and even from overseas, and the Gospel is spread across the world. Our God reigns! R AV I A N D L AT H A KANCHERLA
How has doing church at home worked for you both during COVID-19? Church at home works well, but we are missing personal interaction with people!
What would you love to see us carry forward after this? Traditional, normal church but with a renewed passion!
Has your perception of what 'church' looks like changed as a result of COVID-19? Yes. Online church is now also possible and has provided opportunities beyond geographic boundaries. We’re able to pray/serve neighbors, frontline medics, politicians, missionaries, evangelists, bible translators, pastors, elders, and the universal church.
T H E M E Y E R S FA M I LY
How has doing church at home worked for you during COVID-19?
It’s been fantastic to invite preChristian (and Christian) friends and family to 'come' to church online (from anywhere in the world), and especially with family interstate, they could tune in and see their grandchildren leading Sunday worship/online youth/worship rooms. My Mum and sister in Victoria listened to the worship live as they followed my Dad who was in an ambulance down to the hospital after a heart attack! Mum said it was just beautiful tuning in. We also loved being able to ask for prayer from the pastoral team during a service, which haven't
The opportunity that online church provides can be more affective for some.....opens up a whole range of ways of encouraging/teaching, which we should explore.
What have you missed about 'normal' church? We’ve missed the fellowship and worship, but we’ve also missed meeting the new babies and seeing the little ones growing up!
Has your perception of what 'church' looks like changed as a result of COVID-19? Absolutely – it has reinforced the fact that the church is not restricted and contained within a building, as awesome as our building is!
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What do you think the biggest win has been for you having church at home?
What would you love to see us carry forward after this? 25
It’s helped us to feel a part of the broader church and we’ve loved enjoying church together as a family, instead of oldies and young adults/between two services. We’ve loved the beautiful sound quality of the recordings.... brilliant job by the musicians and tech team!
tended to do beforehand, i.e.. elderly parents have had life threatening illnesses and after putting in a prayer request I've been blessed with follow up phone calls to check in. To know that there are others praying is a huge encouragement and blessing and God has certainly answered prayers.
What we've really enjoyed is worshipping with our kids leading at various times and find it incredibly moving, worshipping as your kids lead you closer to God. PA S T O R J O L E U T T O N
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What do you think the biggest win has been for people at home? Families doing church together! Our family has all joined together in worship; we’ve been able to push through preferences and awkwardness to stand and sit in our loungeroom together, each one worshipping God as their heart leads them, all-the-while joined together in the room. It’s such a powerful way to demonstrate (disciple) the younger family members in ways to worship and engage with God.
What would you love to see us carry forward after this? Online streaming as a way for our community to be able to gather, hopefully helping people step over the barrier of ‘once every three weeks’ at church! Plus, WORSHIP ROOMS! Let’s keep that – I am usually on Girls Brigade transport, so I often
can’t get there; now I can get there when I get home (and enjoy it all week!). T H E C H A N FA M I LY
How has doing church at home worked for you during COVID-19? Church at home has been good for us to be able to take time to sit down and set up a space to worship and concentrate on the message. It also allowed me to connect with my family too and be able to talk to them about the message of Love that the church is going through. It has been tough though not to have fellowship and to have the interactions with the people at church and be encouraged and motivated with the energy and friendships that I have developed over the years.
Has your perception of what 'church' looks like changed as a result of COVID-19? Church to me has always been about building relationships. The messages are of spreading His love and His glory to those that do not know Him. From what we do to how we choose to do things, it should be to reflect
what God the Father is showing us - His love. I think that in that respect, the aim of what we do as a church to care for others doesn't change. It is as one of the message weeks said, our front line - is where we meet up with others in our day to day. We still have connections, it just changes a little. I'm glad that God stirs us out from our norm from time to time to let us reevaluate our priorities and get our house in order to be a light to shine onto others.
How a creative COVID-19 challenge saw Riverlife Youth fasting for Harvest
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Online social platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook,
are a great way to showcase your trip to the beach or your dog’s best trick, yet during the early stages of COVID-19, they were one of our primary means of connection. There were a lot of ‘quarantine challenges’ being passed between friends as a part of this, and we were challenged by our friend Richie Seltzer to ‘weaponize our testimonies’ and use social media to declare the Good News of our loving Father. So, we launched a social media campaign passing that challenge onto our awesome Riverlife Youth crew, and we are pumped with how God has used it.
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Our celebration of Jesus’ sacrificial death and victorious resurrection during the Easter season is always a time of grateful reflection for the body of Christ. It is also an invitation to come home, captured in His love for others. We usually find ourselves at church with family and friends, and we enjoy time around the table together. This year however, we all faced the challenge of isolation over Easter, and for us at Riverlife Youth, we were stirred to find a new way to celebrate and declare the transformational power of Jesus’ blood that was shed for us.
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Testimony is such a powerful tool, and we believe that God uses our testimonies to prophesy to others what is possible through Him. To partner with God in this we launched the #youthwithasign challenge by creating the ‘He Is Risen’ video (special thanks to Emma Wilson, Martha Watterson, Jack Sims, and Scott McKinnon). We issued the challenge for our youth and leaders to simply post a photo of themselves on Instagram holding a sign sharing how Jesus has changed their life. Our God, who takes our effort and multiplies the impact, was on the move. With a few simple posts, hundreds of people had a fresh presentation of the Gospel’s power to meet
them in the middle of anxiety, hopelessness, suicidal thoughts, shame, fear and rejection. We saw it pass from friends here to people around the world, in Canada, New Zealand, Cambodia, and multiple states of Australia. Many of the youth and their leaders shared with us that conversations with unsaved friends and family members were opened up. One youth gave testimony that because of her post friends started conversations with her about Jesus, and two of them gave their lives to Him! As well as that, the ‘He is Risen’ video was viewed more than 1,000 times on Facebook and reached more than 800 people on Instagram, 48 percent of whom were not followers of Riverlife Youth on Instagram! This challenge went for the 50 days from Easter to Pentecost. For the last ten days, we put petrol on the fire by inviting our team and youth to fast and pray for a list of their friends and family who may have seen their posts but didn’t yet know Jesus.
We called it the Harvest Fast, believing that God would use our prayers and posts to bring about a harvest of hearts and transformed lives. We had 55 youth and leaders sign up and choose specific things to sacrifice for the ten days, cultivating an attentiveness to prayer and hunger to see the people on their prayer list come into a personal relationship with Jesus. God is so faithful.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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Lord, strengthen those praying for loved ones who don’t know You. Give us opportunities to demonstrate and declare Your great love and grace for them.
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Testimonies started before the fast was even over. One leader had supernatural opportunities to share God's love and truth with each of the three names he put on his list, when they called him out of the blue or bumped into him on the street. They were able to engage in conversations about faith and salvation. Another student recently reported that they had listed a family member but were still too afraid and didn’t know how to approach the conversation of faith with them. Shortly after the fast, she found out that the person she was praying for had accepted a friend’s invitation to a Bible study! Prayer is powerful because our Father in Heaven is a God who hears and loves to partner with us as His children.
We are so grateful for all God has done throughout the #youthwithasign challenge and the Harvest Fast. A huge shout out goes to all the Riverlife Youth students and leaders who jumped on board with these challenges. We are believing God for a continued harvest from these seeds that were sown, and believe none of the prayers prayed and sacrifices that were made will go unseen or unheard. If you are praying for a friend or family member, especially if it has been a long time, don’t give up! He hears your prayers, and delights to partner with you for His son or daughter to come home.
Community, Church and Accounting Have you ever wondered how God can use you in your workplace? Riverlife’s Christiaan Malan reflects on a recent opportunity to share his faith in the workplace and how knowing what gifts we have enables us to be effective members of the body of Christ.
Fast forward a few years to now, and I continue to walk this path, yet I am not sure where it is leading. Life has actually
Viewing my discipleship as a journey rather than an end destination has been incredibly helpful and liberating for me. It has helped me submit to His authority for the future and have peace about the present. I do not need to force success or holiness. He is calling me to love my family, friends, and community and lay down my life for them every day. I definitely fail in this all the time, but I am
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After university I decided to pursue a career in accounting. I can’t say that I am particularly passionate about numbers, but I do enjoy a good spreadsheet now and then. We accountants are often labelled as “bean counters”. I can honestly say I have never physically counted any beans as part of my work!
been quite normal, with some significant ups and downs. I have not miraculously ascended the corporate ladder on eagle’s wings. I have not had the privilege of leading anyone to Jesus nor have I caused my firm’s leaders to repent, turn from their ways and give their wealth to the poor. Jesus continues to show me that we are on a journey which He is renewing every day. I walk this journey faithfully alongside the community He has placed me in. My measurement of ‘success’ lies in my heart: do I love Him? Is He my Teacher? Is my heart’s cry to be more like Him? The overflow of my heart hopefully produces fruit that others can enjoy.
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Many years ago, I was walking home at night from university when God revealed a small part of His heart to me. I had been praying for many years that I would find purpose in what I was studying, that I would be able to pursue my vocation after university with passion. I was studying a Bachelor of Law and Commerce (Accounting) at the time. The revelation was simple: that He had a heart for corporations and the people who work in these large institutions. He cares about them as individuals, but also how they use their abundance of resources for the benefit of others.
Abide in me Let these branches bear You fruit Abide in me, Lord Let Your word take root Remove in me the branch that bears no fruit And move in me, Lord As I abide in You THE SOWERS SONG · ANDREW PETERSON
on a journey and I know I am being renewed. Earlier this year I felt the Holy Spirit’s prompting to ask my firm if I could write an article for Easter in our national daily news feed. My ambition was to write something that was culturally sensitive but honourable to the Gospel. The firm said yes, and I was given five days’ notice to write a short piece! The drafting went through various iterations, with each version resulting in the Gospel being more and more diluted. Many times, I felt like throwing in the towel as I felt inadequate, and the end product looked much different to my hope at the start. Whilst the final draft was relatively humble, Jesus graciously reminded me to take a step back and look at the journey. He had called me to write an article and I obeyed.
During the drafting process I was able to share my heart for the article with two of my unchurched colleagues. Despite my feelings of inadequacy and fear for what people might think, I learned to trust Him more and accept whatever the outcome. I believe Jesus used the article as an encouragement to other Christians. In our industry, it is easy to feel alone in our faith. The timing of the article also coincided with the launch of a national prayer group, which I was not aware of. The group was able to add online commentary to the article to invite others. Since Easter, around 20 to 30 of us continue to pray together virtually. We have a common focus: to pray for the leaders of our firm, our colleagues and each other. Connecting with other Christians
at work through prayer has been a prayer of mine for many years. It seems unnecessary that it took an Easter article for this to occur for me, but His ways are mysterious.
I believe Jesus calls each one of us to use our gifts and talents for this purpose. The combination of our historical experience and our spiritual gifts make us unique and allows us to offer something to our community that no one else can. The first disciples came in many shapes, sizes and personalities, and so do we. This variety is incredibly important in helping our church community flourish, but also to reach all
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In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul uses the familiar analogy of the body to illustrate the functioning of the church community and our role as members. God uniquely grants us gifts, which in this passage include: Apostles, Prophets, Teachers, Miracles, Healing, Helping, Administrating and Tongues. Paul says that we are all members of one body and we each bring a set of unique skills and spiritual
So, what does this mean for us individually? Jesus promised us that if we place our faith in Him, we would receive the Holy Spirit. We now have direct access to Him, and He has given each of us a calling. Our vocation is to join Jesus in the work of the new creation, to spread God’s love and invite others to accept Him as their Lord and Saviour.
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I believe community is essential in helping us follow Jesus and becoming more like Him. Whilst community is commonly found with our family, friends or work colleagues, for most of us, church is our most regular expression of community. Lately, the Holy Spirit has often been speaking to me about the following question: How effectively are we as a community (myself included) supporting each other on our discipleship journey?
gifts, which we are to exercise as part of our participation in the community. Our gifts are given to us by the Holy Spirit and are used to edify others. If all members of the body don’t participate, the body cannot function properly. This seems to be a statement of fact, not an ideal.
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aspects of our society. In my experience, being comfortable with our gifts requires an independent self-assessment outside of what other believers sometimes tell us we should or shouldn’t look like. We are not all preachers, prophets or worship leaders. Sometimes our gifts might serve those outside the church better than those inside. I believe it is important that we know what our gifts are and try our best to steward these faithfully. Paul warns us that the parts of the body that seem weaker or less honourable we are to elevate and give greater honour. This is indeed what God has done for us. In my view, the church as an institution has an incredible opportunity to provide the platform to enable this. We have to ask ourselves: How effective are we in encouraging and enabling the full expression of the gifts of the people in our church community? Is there an overemphasis of some gifts versus others? What real or perceived barriers exist that discourage us from being participants rather than
attendees? These are not easy questions to answer and no answer is perfect. Jesus seems to have left it up to His followers to decide for themselves what works best. Whatever our method or structure, community is essential for us to fulfil our vocation of following Jesus. It is in the context of this vocation that our gifts must be exercised for the benefit of ourselves, the church and the wider community. We all need community to build us up, encourage us and spur us on in our journey. Our suburb, city and nation need a community of love to which they can belong and participate in. In the words of Romans 15:5-7: May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. Christiaan Malan Accountant and Member of Riverlife
Mid-week Chats "Walk with the wise and become wise� PROVERBS 13:20 (ESV)
Dr Philip Lyn
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Skyline Church, Malaysia
Paul Martini
Life Center Ministries
On choosing peace over worry when circumstances look bleak + What worries of the world are choking out the destiny words over your life? + When we worry, we either default to processing the past or worrying about the future. While we can’t deny reality, we need to always wait on the Lord! Waiting on the Lord is always a win-win process, but when we worry, we can’t see that! + Don’t allow idle hands to result in an idle spirit. + There’s ALWAYS a God option - we just need to wait on the Lord!
On juggling ministry with fulltime work: witnessing on your frontline + When we enter a workplace, we need to establish integrity, bring excellence, love extravagantly and invite the Holy Spirit to work. + People watch how we behave, which is why we need to live from the inside out. + When we’re starting out, we must watch and learn, ask lots of questions, read as much as we can in order to apply our skills and become the best we can be. This builds credibility and gives us a seat at the table to be able to share with people. + Often the biggest barrier is between our ears! We need to go about our work with our spiritual eyes open, trusting God to meet us there and give us opportunities when the time is right.
with love. If we are to go out into the world as ambassadors of love, we need to be rooted and grounded in love first.
Leif Hetland
Global Mission Awareness
On the importance of a love encounter with Father God! + Through quarantine, our false identity is squeezed out, leaving only an affirmation of the Father’s love. + This space allows us to live from pleasure instead of pressure and be at home.
+ As we lean back into the Lamb (Jesus) and spend time with Him with no agenda, it allows us to lean forward and release the roar of a lion. God is making the church whole so we can go out roaring like a lion. + Seasons like this allow for a health check where we can look at the fruit we’re producing. Remember – good pruning means more fruit in the next season! + God needs to restore us first so we can co-labour with Him to help restore others. He is healing for the harvest!
+ Family revivals are taking place right now at dinner tables all around the world because of COVID-19!
Richie Seltzer Revivalist Culture
On why God is Good News to Share! + God is preparing the church for the harvest by allowing us to get our house in order, get rid of idols and turn towards the fire.
+ Sharing our testimony becomes easier when we recognise that our best friend, Jesus, is actually the best evangelist, not us! + To share the Gospel is love and with repetition, we begin to recognise that fear is not our Lord, Jesus is.
COM
VE LO
ED TO L L PE
It seems no coincidence that our churchwide series ‘Compelled by Love’ ran during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s a snapshot of how our Riverlife family rallied together to love our community.
I N T E R N AT I O N A L STUDENTS
Meals Delivered More than 700 fresh and 1000 frozen* *As at 2 July
Countries Represented Nepal, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, India, Iran, Japan, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Fiji and Papa New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong
and stories of severe financial impacts on businesses, families and individuals, made me realise afresh what a privileged life I lead. God really spoke to me about not taking that for granted, and to try and support others in whatever way I can. One of the things I have done is to prepare a meal and give supermarket vouchers to some international students who
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Aside from working from home and not seeing my friends and family, church and life group, my world has not changed that much over the last few months. I have a secure job, I am well and healthy, and many of the daily rhythms of life remain unchanged. But watching the news and hearing the daily tragedy of thousands of people dying across the world
More than 68+ in various capacities, most of whom are in share housing with 4-8 other students
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The events of COVID-19 have unfortunately had a massive impact on many international students currently residing in Australia who were unable to relocate home when the outbreak occurred. From loss of jobs to loss of accommodation, the impacts have been wide-ranging and complex. Many are ineligible for Government support and with barriers such as language and transportation, students are finding it tough to make ends meet while they wait with uncertainty. Riverlife has been working with local organisations to assess the need and support students where possible.
Total Students Assisted
were really struggling to have enough to eat. There have been some wonderful encounters with people I have never met before and probably never will again when I have done this. It's a real joy to be able to help others in practical ways at their point of need, without any agenda except for showing love. Marg
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CHAPLAIN MORNING TEAS As a way of thanking the local school Chaplains and teachers for their amazing work over the past few months, Riverlife provided morning tea for the Chappies to share with their staff. The morning tea you provided for the staff at Bundamba State Secondary College on behalf of Chappy Dave was wonderful. It was a huge success and was graciously received by all. Due to social distancing restrictions, Chappy Dave has had to 'think outside the square' and made up some boxes with a selection of goodies that were then delivered to each of the staff rooms around the school. Thank you again for your act of kindness; your support
of chaplaincy is greatly appreciated. Bec, Central Ipswich Chaplaincy Committee ···
What a lovely surprise it was to receive the morning tea treats and special note of encouragement for our staff. Term 2 has been challenging for all communities, and we are very grateful for your support and encouragement. We will remember this term for the way that our community adapted and supported each other in a time of crisis. Thank you for the thoughtful morning tea – we appreciate that you took the time to put something special together for our staff. Kenmore State School Principal
CONNECTING WITH C H U R C H FA M I LY A N D B E YO N D With our usual programs on hold, we prioritised connecting with our frontline workers and our elderly to let them know we were praying for them and available to help if they needed it. We also provided our church family with cards to print out and use as a way of connecting with their neighbours. As it turned out, we were blessed
Pam
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Jamboree Heights State School Principal
ourselves by the joy we received in doing so! I had an opportunity to pick up some Riverlife prayer cards and God put them to work. I saw a neighbour packing up his garage as the house had been sold due to financial pressures. As I stopped to say hello, he was overcome with emotion and told me that he and his wife had separated and told me he had suffered terrible abuse when he was in high school, which he was still dealing with and had behaved poorly. I wrote out a prayer and filled a container with energy balls I had made, stuck a ‘Prayer changes things’ sticker on the lid. He was so thrilled when I returned and the next day when I saw his wife, she said that he was so grateful for the prayer.
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I just wanted to pass on my sincere thanks to you, Emily and your supporters for the wonderful morning tea provided yesterday. My colleagues certainly enjoyed this treat and were all very thankful.
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In the early stages of COVID-19 my friend, who is a nurse in cancer ward, shared that so much love was being poured out on the frontline nurses and medical staff by way of cards, coffee etc and how much she would love to see her patients getting that same love poured out on them. The Holy Spirit immediately prompted me to take up her challenge. I had met one of my friend’s patients whom she was able to bring to Riverlife’s Christmas Extravaganza last year, so I decided I would write/journal something for this lady. I wanted it to be more than just a card that said ‘thinking of you’ but also, I had never journaled for a non-Christian before, so I sat on it for a while and prayed about it. I was incredibly nervous! One day God clearly said to me: “Show her my love through my Word”. It has been wonderful to hear that she received this really well, was so overwhelmed by this ‘gift’, and has in fact placed the print-out on her fridge (the only thing on her fridge!) so that it’s the first thing she reads in the morning and the last thing she reads at night. God is so good that this lady is getting to read
His Word every day. Ange ···
The Lord himself is the one who has done this, and it’s so amazing, so marvellous to see! This is the very day of the Lord that brings gladness and joy, filling our hearts with glee. PSALM 118:23-24 (TPT)
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Since COVID-19, my work life as a high school teacher has been in upheaval as I’ve focussed on the students learning during this time, as some have slipped through the cracks. Out of the blue, I ventured out of my Art Room where I had stationed myself for Online Learning, and lo and behold ‘The Card’ from Riverlife had arrived! I honestly was brought to tears with the reminder that there are others struggling to be there for the students. The card’s message of ‘Thanks’ to teachers, and the reminder to be forever thankful for our ‘safe’ environment, made me stop and think of the wonder of God’s works. Such a little thought ripples positive actions
that remind us to be active disciples governed by God’s grace. My purpose was certainly UNVEILED! Helen ···
··· I’m so grateful to have been recently involved with phoning the elderly members of our church family. To have this opportunity to make it clear just how deeply I love them, and value them as a part of our family was priceless. The time passed all too quickly while we
··· After cooking and delivering food and having conversations with my neighbours, one of them asked if there was something she could do with her little one while her older children were doing school online. I decided that it would be a good idea to put art packs together for families in Forest Lake and surrounding areas. After contacting the local Facebook community page, I had a number of people request one, as I put encouraging and loving notes and lots of things to do in them. I asked if I could pray for them or help in any way in this crisis. Some said yes, and we prayed together. Sarah
··· A friend I’ve prayed for over the years, rang me to say due to COVID-19, she had been redeployed to a different section in the retirement village where she works. She had been
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Wendy
Jo
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It was my pleasure to make a couple of calls to some of the over 70s in our church family. I just think it is so important that we see one another as brothers and sisters in Christ and care for one another as Jesus asked us to. And really it was I who was blessed as we chatted, and II gained insight into how they also were ensuring others were being cared for with various coffee groups and Bible study groups connecting via zoom. It was a lovely opportunity to pray with and bless others in my own church family who I didn't know so well.
reminisced and mulled over current events, and I came away from the conversation feeling like I was the one who had been checked in on; completely uplifted with a full heart.
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assigned to spend one hour each week with a gentleman who is connected to our church family by the name of Col Ballantyne. Now if you know Col, who happens to be a sprightly 99 years, you will also know that you will definitely get to hear about Jesus when you are with him! She went on to tell me she has been having a wonderful time talking with Col about Jesus and that he has been praying with her each week. What a confirmation that God is incredibly at work in our lives! I'm so excited for what is to come. Wendy ···
Over the last few months, we have experienced God’s supernatural power in both unseen and spectacular ways! In late March, Rob’s dad, Paul, was diagnosed with COVID-19, and admitted to the Prince Charles Hospital. After two days, he was moved to ICU and then ventilated. After his initial deterioration, he seemed to improve before a second wave of the virus hit. His major organs were failing, his body was in sepsis, and the prognosis was not good.
During this time, we experienced the most wonderful love and support from the body of Christ, even with physical distancing restrictions in place. I use these terms, because we were not socially isolated. We were surrounded by the love of God and His people in a way we have never experienced before. We were encouraged with prayer, songs and Bible verses, words of knowledge and pictures, zoom gatherings and dedicated prayer gatherings. Riverlife staff and intercessors were praying and we know of at least three growth groups and two other local churches who partnered closely with us. And what a celebration when, after 35 days, Paul came off the ventilator! We truly believe that we have witnessed a miracle! A few days later, Paul returned to a general ward and then the rehabilitation unit. He has continued to amaze medical staff with his recovery and came home after nine weeks and one day in hospital. Whilst his lung function still has a way to go, we celebrate the miracle of his continuing healing. There is so much more to this story than can be written here,
and we look forward to sharing this with our church family in due course. Words don’t convey the depth of gratitude we have for those who loved and supported us through this journey. And to our almighty healing Father God, to Him be all praise and honour and glory for this miracle of life! Fiona
TA K I N G K I D S C H U R C H ONLINE
Kids Church resources were empowering and helpful to us as parents in helping us continue at home. The Easter hunt and Mother’s Day activities were by far our favourite and we loved how the hunt told the story of Jesus while we went along! We’ve been so blessed by everything church has done to keep us in community and feeling part of the family.
Michael and Tracey
Claire
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From weekly curriculum emails, to special Mother’s Day craft packs in the mail and fun, weekly videos on Facebook each Friday, our Kids Church team have been working hard to stay connected with our Riverlife families! Thanks to you and your team for ensuring we have something arrive in our inbox every week! Our boys loved receiving the surprise envelope and spent the next hour creating the most gorgeous crafts for Mother's Day. What a thoughtful idea! Mum was delighted with her messages, bookmark and card. She hasn't used her one-hour quiet time voucher yet!
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LIFE GROUPS GET ZOOMING! Thanks to great platforms like Zoom, even our Life Groups have been able to meet each week and stay connected! Let me start by saying how privileged Tracy and I have felt leading a group of people so hungry for more of our great Lord! During this lock downtime we had members in our group start up a 'WhatsApp” account so we could always keep in touch 24/7. Through this, combined with our weekly Zoom meetings, we have managed to stay closer than expected. We had all been praying daily with our group members, Fiona and Rob, (Rob’s dad contracted COVID-19 on the Ruby Princess and has been in hospital gravely ill) and kept up to date with Fiona’s awesome reporting. On the day that Fiona prayer walked around the hospital we were all standing together believing in the miracle to come. He has since been
healed and discharged from hospital! It is so important for us to share our faith as we grow together in our Life Groups. Iron certainly sharpens iron and we are seeing everyone in our group grow spiritually and develop the most beautiful relationships. David ···
In spite of the lockdown, we have kept up meeting weekly after church via Zoom. Pastor John said that you can't cancel church (or Life Group in this case) any more than you can cancel family! Even as we are physically apart, we are still able to keep spiritually nourished by reflecting in His words, and to encourage each other by celebrating small successes and sharing challenges to look beyond our own problems. We even allow the kids to gatecrash
the Zoom sessions to showcase their latest artwork/impromptu singing/dance routine/latest Lego builds! Jim and Yoomi
GOD IS MOVING IN THAILAND
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Grant and Kel
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Our Thai missionaries Grant and Kelly Gerkhe have also witnessed the effects of COVID-19 on the community they minister to in Thailand. We know however, that God works through all things and were excited to hear of the progress they made in being able to support women in the sex trade. We have found that around us, the vulnerable and marginalised are the most affected by the restrictions and loss of income, etc. One of our team members, Helen, has especially been spending time for two years praying and connecting with women here in our home city, who have been trafficked and are in the sex trade. When the team from Riverlife came here last December, the group prayer-walked around this area also, praying for these women and others affected by
this industry. During this time of COVID-19, when many of these women have disappeared, probably to family villages, and many still are ‘stuck’ in the city with no income or wider community to see them through, we have been able to do something to help. We have put together bags of cooking and toiletry essentials for 50 women and distributed them. It has been a real privilege to do this and bring some hope and community into their lives.
What Does Anxiety Look Like Under Restrictions?
Physical restrictions, like the ones we’ve experienced recently, have meant a great deal of change in our normal, daily routines. This change can significantly mess with our sense of control and autonomy. In our case, instead of being able to travel to school, the office, or church, these activities have all been happening in the confines of our homes.
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When we feel anxious, it’s a reaction to try to control
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On one hand, it has meant we had more control of what we could engage with. On the flip side, we’ve had constant demands on our time and personal energy to be teachers, parents, work colleagues, and participants in our usual social spaces. Restrictions have meant that we didn’t have the usual boundaries that ended one activity and started another. Traditionally, our brains compartmentalise mentally where we need to be and what we do in certain times and places. Yet, all of a sudden it has all happened in the same space, and sometimes with all three roles together at once: teacher, parent and spiritual guide! Who said this was OKAY?! I don’t think there are enough emojis to describe the various emotions that we have all been experiencing!
something that feels out of control. Anxiety is actually very restrictive: it keeps us in one spot; it keeps our minds focused on one or two things when normally we would feel able to multitask. It creates a conflict within us and, although we tell our bodies to do this or that, the rest of our being, at a subconscious level, needs to catch up. Yet for our current COVID-19 situation, we were not given a lot of adjustment time to suddenly become the leader in all these other roles. Zoom meetings became a daily focus and family meals became even more important connection times because there was no one else to speak to one-on-one, for those of us fortunate enough to live with other people. Our bodies were not given the daily hormone kicks of hugs, and our brains were not getting the stimulation of actual face-toface contact. Communication became stilted and frustrated as mics were turned on and off, meetings were ended abruptly with the last thing you saw being awkward shots of people’s faces. You may have even found that you were dragging yourself to the online meeting, even though you had no traffic to navigate, wondering what was wrong with you and why you don’t even want to leave the house!
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It can all, in one way or another, be an anxious or traumatic response to the way your personal world has shifted. After 9/11, psychologists said our awareness of terror went up exponentially. As we can so easily see, security around the globe is a very present reality. But what has happened to you? On the one hand, Governments made decisions we had no real say in; we probably agreed with what happened here but nevertheless, our autonomy was impacted. Our kids couldn’t go to school and we had to do schooling with them. Some of us know this is not our sweet spot and it added pressure to an already-intense environment: working from home and trying to find privacy to have calls and time to think. The coffee break where you could catch up with a colleague or have a quick debrief disappeared and you were faced with having to plan a spontaneous chat! Your spouse wanted to know where something was when you are in the middle of a call, and not being able to just go to normal things like church is baffling! All these things have intensified and limited our space in physical, psychological, and spiritual ways. Jesus knew what it was to feel the most extreme anxiety. In
the garden of Gethsemane, He sweated blood! Can you imagine what the body was doing to provoke such a reaction?! We have not experienced that, although some of you may feel you’ve been close to it and spilled some psychological blood. When Jesus physically died, He went through a very restrictive process: on a cross, fully aware of what was happening, finally to the point where He cried out, “why have you forsaken me?” That is anxiety. Maybe you have wondered that same thing; not quite in those words or tone, but a hint of it here and there. Yet, because of what Jesus did on that cross for us, we can still have hope in this environment we find ourselves in today. We know that God is present and that good things can come out of bad. People are re-evaluating what they will appreciate when this passes: meeting up with friends, meals together, family relationships, the lessened impact on our planet as cars and planes have been grounded. As we continue going through this, we can be aware it will pass. But our headspace may not be the same again as we reassess what we lost and what we gained. As we rethink how we went through this time, did we maintain our sense
of peace and presence? When we lost it, did we hang on to God being good even if we felt we were not doing so good? He knows us and does not condemn us. C.S Lewis said that God whispers to us in our pleasure and shouts to us in our pain; He listens to it all and neither faze Him. Surely, that in itself is good news!
UNVEILED WINTER 2020
Linda Liddell District Pastor
53
Our anxiety does not worry Him even if it does us. We can recognise it for what it is and acknowledge it and then move forward. Here is one strategy to try: acknowledge the wonderings, the questions, the feelings, the ebb and flow of feeling good and feeling not so good, tensions and highs. Talk about it with a friend. We are not static beings and remembering as much is helpful to us and gives us more empathy towards others. Our frustrated longings to be able to move into social spaces and into community with one another will hopefully ease over the next few months, and we look forward to that with anticipation.
A new Pushpay function has also been set up to allow for greater flexibility in this current season. To access, simply click here Actual Income % of Budget Budget Variation
JobKeeper
April 2020
85.5
-$45,830
+$77,564
2020 YTD (4 mths)
90.4
-$115,036
+$77,564
Pastor al
29%
Mis
18%
s ini
try
19%
M
34%
Administratio n
e r ty op Pr
Co sts
nd
Expenditure by Expense Category
Funds budgeted for mission and evangelism work in 2020 - $546,000
so n a
Financial Summary
We know that right now things are difficult for many people as they live under the uncertainty of the future and financial strain. Let's continue however, to demonstrate faith by being generous whether large or small in our gifts for God so that we can show love and care for those around us.
COVID-19 Responses Donations received outside regular budget
$36,976
Payments made outside budget to meet special needs
$35,713
Payments made from budget to meet special needs
$13,500
Per annum
Per week
$11M
Per auditorium seat
$2,532
$49
$7,333
Per regular attendee (18+)
$1,104
$21
$3,198
2018 2020
2017
0 .75
0.8
2019
0.7
Income vs Budget
0.85
0.9
0.95
1
1.05
1.1
UNVEILED WINTER 2020
Income Budget Debt
55
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
MORE TESTIMONY Have more testimony on what God has done at Riverlife and the surrounding community? We’d love to hear about it! Please email your testimony along with your name and contact details to church@riverlifechurch.org.au
By submitting testimony you are giving Riverlife Baptist Church your permission to share this testimony verbally in messages or sermons and in written form in reports and email newsletters.
Unveiled is a publication of Riverlife Baptist Church If you have any further questions about anything you have read, please email us at church@riverlifechurch. org.au, call the church office during business hours or visit our website. Our regular service times are 9am and 5pm every Sunday via riverlife.online.church
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church@riverlifechurch.org.au 3378 3595 W riverlifechurch.org.au
47 Jennifer Street, 17 Mile Rocks Qld 4073