Overflow - Issue 21

Photo: East City Wesleyan's Good Friday Service, Four Trees

FromtheEditor

Fromtheeditor

Tēnākoe,Maloelelei,Nisabulavinaka,안녕하세요,Fakaalofalahi atu,Kiaorana,你好,Noa‘ia,Hello!

Ithasbeenabusyseasoninthelifeofmanycongregationsaswe tooktheopportunitytoconnectwithcommunitiesandsharethe GoodNewsoftheEasterseason.

Thisweekisthebeginningoftheschoolbreak.Forsomeitisatime torest,reconnect,andreset.Forothersitisabusytimespentwith family,friendsandexploringourbeautifulcountry.

Iwasremindedthisweekofthemodelssharedseveralyearsago thatcanhelpustoevaluatehowwearegoinginthisarea.Asapart ofthistimeperhapswecouldhavealookatthosewellnessplans andseeifwherewemightneedtoadjustinorderthatwemightbe allthatGodcreatedustobe.

Inthismonth’sOverflowwecontinuetheseriesfromRev.Joon discipleshipandreflectonsomeofthecelebrationsofconnecting withthecommunityforEaster

Inprayer,

DeniseBarrington Editor

The First Breakfast

National Superintendent: Rev. Brett Jones

ManyofyouwillhaveheardofTheLastSupper-wejustliveditagain aspartoftheEasterseason.Inthispost-Easterperiod,Iwanttoshare afewthoughtsonalesserknownmeal-TheFirstBreakfast.Wefind themealdescribedinJohn21,aftertheresurrectionofJesus.

Itbeginsasastoryaboutfishermenwhocan’tcatchfish.Thatisuntil theyfollowtheadviceofanunknownmanontheshoreintheearly morninglight.Assoonastheyadjusttheirnetsinlinewithhis instructions,theirnetisfilledwithfish.Itisatthismomentthey recogniseJesus.ThefruitfulnessofthemomentrevealsJesus.They areunfruitfuluntiltheyfollowJesus’direction.Theirfruitfulnessis evidenceofJesus'presencewiththem.Jesusisthesourceofour fruitfulnessinlovingothersandreachingothers.AndwewillfindHim amongthefish.

Peter’sresponseisinfectiousandbrashbutdelightfullyrealand enthusiasticas,overwhelmedwithjoy,hejumpsinthewatertomake hiswaytoJesus.Buttherearesomethingsunsaidandstilltobesaid, adenialtobedenied.Theyhappenaspartofthissimplemealonthe beach.Tablefellowshipintheneareastwasoneofthemajorforums forcelebratingrelationshipandtrust SointhismealJesusissaying I

ThemomentsitsincounterpointwithJudas’responsetohisbetrayal, killinghimselfoutofremorse.ButnotPeter.Jesusisaboutto repurposePeter.Butfirsthemustrestorehim.Offerhimacceptance andthismealsaysitall.Forgivenessisoffered.ThehumilityofGod cookingfishburgersforpeople.Thismomentofhospitalityandallit carries.Jesusisthesourceofourforgiveness.Wehavepurpose becauseherestoresandre-purposesusashedidwithPeter.

But,whatexactlywasherepurposedtodo?Whatfollowsarethree questions,“Doyouloveme?”followedby3answers:Feedmylambs, takecareofmysheepandfeedmysheep.ThescripturestellusPeter washurtbecauseJesusaskedhimthethirdtime,“Doyouloveme?” Perhapshemissedtheechoofhis3denials?

John10givesusJesus’definitionofsheep:

14“Iamthegoodshepherd;Iknowmysheepandmysheepknowme 15justastheFatherknowsmeandIknowtheFather andIlay downmylifeforthesheep.16Ihaveothersheepthatarenotofthis sheeppen.Imustbringthemalso.Theytoowilllistentomyvoice,and thereshallbeoneflockandoneshepherd.

It’saflockthatincludesthewholeworld.Acalltofruitfulnessthatwill reflecttheabundanceofthecatchthatmorning.ItisJesuswhofills andrestoresandrepurposes.Heisthesourceofourfullness–we havesomethingtoofferothersbecausewehavethefull-nessof ChristwithwhichtofeedHissheep.Wemisunderstandourmissionif wedonotlookforJesusattheheartofit.YouandIcandono successfulmissionintheworldwithoutHim:directinguswhereto placeournets,freeingusfromoursinandbrokennessand repurposingustogatherHissheeptoHisflock.WhatstartsattheLast Supper,continuesatTheFirstBreakfast.Mayweeachknowthe fruitfulness,freedomandforgivenessofChrist,Thatwemightbepart ofJesus’missionofmultiplyinghisflock.

Easter Reflections

City Cross Link

City Cross Link mission team spent Easter on Waiheke Island arriving on the 29th and staying there one night. We had amazing experiences together with CCL Kaiwaka (Pastor Joel, Pastor Rudyard & Pastor Armand).

We've been able to do open air preaching on Friday. And praise God... when we started to set up it was still showering but when I started preaching the shower stopped and the sun came out. When we finished it was raining again. We have four precious souls who declared publicly their faith to Jesus in water baptism.

Saturday we were preaching again and again in the Saturday Market in Waiheke.

To God be all the glory...

Ps. Armand & Ps. Rudyard, Pastors City Cross Link

Papakura Wesleyan Church

Papakura Wesleyan is excited to have front-row seats to witness lives being changed by Christ. It began in Easter 2023 when the Pakuranga Trinity Puppeteers put on a Palm Sunday show, in service.

A few first-time guests made it a point to continue attending services. Later in the year, those same families committed their lives to Christ. Beginning in January 2024 we have seen an increase in regular church attendance and we praise God for the great turnout at our Good Friday and Easter Services. We continue to encourage those who worship at Papakura Wesleyan to bear witness to the resurrection of Jesus by gathering together as a body of believers over the long weekend.

Rev. Ashan Rodrigo, Pastor at Papakura Wesleyan Church. Millwater Wesleyan Church

This year we held a Tenebrae service at Christ Church in Waiwera. It was a very moving time for all. We followed this with a Good Friday service that gave opportunity for interacting with scripture through visual, audio or hands on activities.

Rev. Denise Barrington, Senior Minister at Millwater Wesleyan Church

A Gospel Living Experiment

Director Discipleship & Training: Rev. Jo Verkerk

My son is one big experiment to see what happens when we attemptfeebly and insufficiently I might add - but we attempt to live out the gospel in the way we parent.

You see my husband and I have this theory that people are built for connection - the only time in the creation story that God was like ‘whoa, this isn’t actually good’ was when man was leading and working and living alone…….so we’re doing what we can to ensure our little man has a village.

We have this theory that people are actually meant to have healthy amounts of power - in Genesis God told Adam and Eve to rule over the earth - and when that’s un-corrupted by sin and shame, that’s actually really beautiful, right? So whenever possible, and within obvious limits, we give our son the ability to actively participate in his own life; we give him choices, we follow his interests, we try not to interrupt him when he is fully focused on something.

We have this theory that our son will learn more about God from creation than he will from a screen, so we severely limit screen time.

We have this theory that we have maybe 15 summers before he’s going to want to be doing his own thing and hanging out with his own friends……so we try to be really intentional about what we get up to now because we realize we’re not going to have his attention for all that long.

We have this theory that God can and does want a relationship with our son even now, even at his age, so we pray with him, and we bring him to church, and we talk to and with Jesus about him and with him. We live out our faith in front of him.

Our son is basically one big experiment in attempted gospel living. And frankly I have no idea how its going to work out!

But what if we dared to take on the same “experiment” on the discipleship cultures of our churches?

What if we were about the business of building a village….one centred around Jesus, one committed to doing life together as we go after becoming more like Jesus?

What if we believed that people were designed to be active participants in their own lives….so instead of competing for “followers” or “likes”, we invited people to engage with Jesus and with church?

What if we worried less about what was happening on a screen…..whether the live-stream is working just right, and more about whether people are encountering God?

What if we realized that in today’s world we’re just not going to have people’s attention for all that long in any given week so what we do while we have their attention really matters?

What if we believed God wants a relationship with every person in any way connected with our church or communities so we began the radical act of praying for them and with them……in front of them?

What if we were open about our faith and lived it out, and invited them into that living out?

What if our churches, and our discipleship, were one big experiment in gospel living?

24/7 Prayer NZ - PENTECOST PRAYER INITIATIVE

If you haven’t heard already, 24/7 Prayer NZ are inviting churches to pray into the day of Pentecost, taking inspiration from the original prayer room of the church. At the end of that prayer meeting, the Holy Spirit was poured out, and the church was born! There is a deep stirring emerging in New Zealand to unite in prayer, asking God to pour out his spirit afresh on our churches and that his kingdom would come and rewire our culture.

If you ’ re keen to find out more, head on over to their website.

www.wesleyan.nz

National Resource Centre

Tuesday | 9am-2pm

219 Burswood Drive

Botany, Auckland 2013

Ph: (09) 271 6460

National Support Assistant

Sian Sidwell

Email: office@wesleyan.nz

Overflow Editor

Denise Barrington

Email: overflow@wesleyan.nz

Click here to read the latest news, and for opportunities to respond

Get in touch......... missions@wesleyan.nz

NationalChurchContacts

NationalSuperintendent

Rev.BrettJones-natsuper@wesleyan.nz

Ass'tNationalSuperintendent

Rev.AtuLagi-pastoralcare@wesleyan.nz

DirectorofOperations

Rev.PeterBenzie-dirops@wesleyan.nz

NationalTreasurer

KerrinThomson-treasurer@wesleyannz

DirectorDiscipleship&Training

Rev.JoVerkerk-training@wesleyan.nz

DirectorGlobalMissions

MichelleYates-missions@wesleyannz

DirectorMinisterialFormation

Rev.MelissaPowell-nbmf@wesleyan.nz

DirectorMultiplication

RevMikeYates-churchdevt@wesleyannz

DirectorNextGenerations

Rev.StephenieCouch-youth@wesleyan.nz

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