Hi church family!

June Gan-Pain here. I can’t believe we are already in November of 2016! Our Kingdom Foundation focus for November is Vision Rescue. We are raising awareness and funds for this amazing organisation in India.

Vision Rescue started off as a relatively small non-government organisation (NGO) in Mumbai, India. It grew in response to the wide range of needs for the under-privileged, and has since set up five core focuses:

Education Buses and Beacon School in the slums
Mobile Health Care in the slums

Rehabilitation Centres for those suffering from substance abuse

Training to encourage self-sustainability

Counselling and restored lives for the trafficked

We believe we each have a God-given potential, which we need to strive to achieve. While we are doing that, we are to help others achieve theirs.

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:40

We are very passionate about what Vision Rescue is doing; our long term goal is for us to partner with Vision Rescue, to support a Community Centre in the slums of Mumbai. November is jam-packed with different ways for you to participate in our Kingdom Foundation Focus on Vision Rescue. On Sunday 6th November, we are planning to take over Connect Café with delicious curries, the proceeds will go to Vision Rescue. On Sundays the 6th and 27th of November, we will have stalls selling gifts for your Christmas shopping, including:

Salamanca Skin Care Co. – Anna Rogers Thomason’s luscious range of skincare products.
The Tea Cup Garden – Robin Ekkel’s fabulous jewellery, succulents and candles.

Sea glass and pottery for Vision Rescue with Isabelle, Rupert and June Gan-Pain selling their two year collection of sea glass and pottery. Who else but God, can turn sea shards into money?

The proceeds from these stalls will go to Vision Rescue. We are also planning to grow a bigger Vision Rescue team, if you would like to be part of our team, please see me; I will be thrilled to chat about all things Vision Rescue.

Donations more than $2 to Vision Rescue are tax deductible. If you are able to give toward our Vision Rescue goal of $8,000, you can do so by direct deposit to the Energizer Missions Account.
BSB: 037-014
Account: 278109
In the reference note ‘Vision Rescue’. We’ll keep you updated as to the progress. Thank you for being such a generous church!

Okay November, let’s GO.
June

Last Sunday night was the start of something significant.

I’ve been in church basically every Sunday for the last twenty or so years. I’ve seen a lot of great things and been a part of some special moments and for me, this first Energizer Night was truly a standout occasion. The tangible feeling of God’s presence, the sense of freedom from the Holy Spirit, the collective anticipation of a group of people truly expecting God to move: the atmosphere in the room was rare and electric.

Some of the most exciting moments of the night included a killer rap delivered by young Caleb Walker, while Eugene and some of the youth boys owned the stage in a dance performance. Ps. Layla Nahavandi is a talented young preacher, all the way from Adelaide and she challenged and inspired with a word that was perfect for our season. Church is always better with food and food we had in abundance, with a spit roast and BBQ going on before the service. The Energizer Youth kids fresh back from youth camp brought heaps of energy and the rest of the congregation really lifted to meet it. Of course, the most significant part of the night was the ministry time, especially for one young man who gave his heart to Jesus and changed his life forever. In a myriad of ways, this service represented us doing things differently.

This new service has taken a lot of planning, resources, leadership and prayer to get off the ground. More than just being the culmination of a lot of work, this service represents a huge step forward into God’s audacious, unlimited plan for our church. It means room to grow, increased capacity to reach the lost, new opportunities for our people to step up and grow and a whole new forum for us to collectively seek (and find) the heart of God. It’s the beginning of a new era.

Standing in worship last Sunday night, I was refreshed by a sense of God’s closeness and inspired by a glimpse of what’s to come for our church and our city. God is on the move, and his plans to find his people, always precede our desire to find him.

Let’s not sit on the sidelines while others chase the heart of God. Let’s not wait and see if God wants to move in the lives of our friends, our families, our colleagues, our neighbours. Let’s jump in heart and soul; let’s pray with passion and tenacity; let’s dream again; let’s believe again; let’s own the new era of The Church!

– Simon Grubb

Our vision is bigger and bolder than ever before. This year, our Kingdom Foundation Vision is propelling us into a new era, bring some exciting developments to Energizer Church. As you know, our Kingdom Foundation Offering enables us to build the kingdom of God, both globally and locally. In light of that, this month’s focus is to set up our night service to run sustainably and to effectively reach more people with the Gospel in Hobart.

The month of October has arrived and we all know what that means: spring is moving towards summer; football is being replaced with cricket, the final school term is almost upon us and at Energizer Church we are launching our New Night Service! On October 9 we invite you join us for the launch of Energizer Nights. There will be a spit roast and BBQ from 4:45pm, before the service kicks off. We are excited to hear from our guest speaker, Layla Nahavandi from Lifepoint Church, Adelaide.

One of the ways you can be part of stepping into this new era is to contribute financially. Your generosity will enable the provision of a bus services from the university, outreach opportunities linked to our new night service and our re-launched Derwent Valley morning service and equipment to enable us to live stream our services and to upgrade our Derwent Valley campus auditorium, ensuring our Derwent Service goes from strength to strength in a season of transition.

If you are able to give toward our goal of $10,000, you can do so by direct deposit to the Energizer Missions Account.

BSB: 037-014

Account: 278109

In the reference note ‘New Service’. We’ll keep you updated as to the progress.

Your partnership will see God’s Kingdom advance in our city. Thank you for being such a generous church!

God Bless,

Ps. Dan Pastoor.
Service Pastoor, Energizer Nights

I’m just sitting in the Hobart bus mall typing this. It’s one of the places I am most inspired. I love thinking about God and being surrounded by people that he loves.

You know, we find ourselves in a position of influence, which flows from our significance in Christ. There is nothing insignificant about your life and who you are. You are unique for a reason and you will reach people that no one else will reach. It is a lie to think that you are just another person, or even just another Christian. God created you and I as individuals within his family, each with a specific plan and purpose for our lives, which only we can fulfil (through Christ). One of the beautiful and completely amazing things about our Father God is that he never makes mistakes, and he never overlooks or devalues one person. Not once. Not ever.

As I sit here, I’m surrounded by a heap of young people. I know most of us have had a bit of trouble filling in our recent census, but in our last one (2011), there were 82 007 people aged 12 to 25 years recorded statewide. This group represented 16.6 per cent of the total population of Tasmania. At this time, the Local Government Area with the highest proportional population of young people aged 12 to 25 was Hobart (19.8 per cent). How incredible! There is something so special about young people.

I don’t think I’ve ever met a group of people so creative, so compassionate, so adventurous, so willing to take risks, so innovative, and often swept up in some kind of relentless chaos or struggle. Much the same as in my own life, I see beauty and glory, but also the rough edges and the effects of sin. I think that’s exactly how it is with buried treasure; it is destined for glory but it needs uncovering. It always takes some work to unearth and restore a treasure to its original purpose.

“I will break down gates of bronze
And cut through bars of iron.
I will give you hidden treasures,
Riches stored in secret places,
So that you may know that I am the Lord,
The God of Israel, who summons you by name.”

The next generation is a treasure trove waiting to be uncovered and unlocked.
God has always been passionate about these ones.
Throughout the ages, the uncovering and unlocking has been a team effort.
We have a unique part to play.
We are the ones who dig and uncover as we simultaneously partner with the Master Locksmith who knows the combination to every lock on every treasure chest of every one in this next generation.
Our job is to make a way for God to do what only he can do.

“God says, “Rebuild the road!
Clear away the rocks and stones
So my people can return from captivity.”

Youth ministry is the real deal, and it is the heart of the Father.
Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. When he saves us, it is far from a slight adjustment. It is the complete transference from a place so deathly dark into the Kingdom of pure light. He saw treasure in us and paid a high price to bring us back to our original glory.

As guardians of the next generation (and that is what we are), may we believe that to truly value a person is to expect greatness to burst forth and make room for it. It may be in seed form, or be buried under years of struggle and apparent chaos, but God has placed treasure inside each young person and we one the ones who must expect it and prepare for it.

Potency. If there is one word I might use to describe the next generation, I would probably describe them as POTENT.
What I love about this concept, is that in its very nature, the potent article possesses the preexisting ingredients ready to be brought into existence by an environment or culture which matches perfectly with its needs to grow into what is was always meant to be.

I believe this is the way God has designed us, and this is what we are called to do in youth ministry. We want to facilitate a culture and environment where young people can get to know Jesus and become all they were created to be. We owe this to the teenagers we know and love, and we also owe that same opportunity to the rest of the 20% of Hobart’s population who are young people. We owe it to our Father who sent his only Son to die in our place and the place of the other 80,000 young people in Tasmania. Heaven will be missing its full inheritance if we are the only ones who experience the love of God. We have to pave the way for these generations following.

There are many ways of facilitating this, but our fast approaching youth camp is a practical example of providing the very kind of environment we have been taking about.

IGNITE CAMP is undoubtedly one of our favorite weeks of the whole year. I cannot say how much the experience of camps like this shaped my life for the better when I was a teenager. I went away changed after each camp. Over the years, there are so many people who can tell of what God has done in their lives and the lives of family and friends on a youth camp. What can sometimes take months or years, God can do in a moment at camp.

Ignite Camp continues to be the focus of much prayer and planning from an amazing group of leaders who are passionate about the next generation. We are particularly focused on providing a safe place where teenagers can encounter God for themselves, build friendships, experience a sense of family, and have copious amounts of fun.

As we have chosen to lengthen Ignite Camp to four days this year, we’ve therefore needed to increase registration price to cover costs. Obviously it’s not always easy to come up with money for a camp registration, so we are also looking for some generous souls to sponsor some of our young people to attend.

We don’t want money to stop any young person from coming. We really want to give an opportunity for teenagers to get to know Jesus. Four days without distractions, four days pursuing Jesus together. We’d like to invite you to seize the day and contribute financially to sponsoring teenagers to get to camp. I know there are many young people who will be eternally grateful… quite literally.

This is the perfect opportunity to partner with God and see treasures once hidden, shine forth. Let’s give this generation the opportunity to encounter the one who loves them more than they realize.

– Jemimah Priest

‘Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”‘
Matthew 19:14

I was raised in a great home, but not one where faith was prioritised. Until I was fifteen, I knew nothing of a God who loved me and would go to great lengths to have relationship with me. Overnight, my discovery of Jesus changed the direction of my life. I don’t know what it’s like to go through childhood with an awareness of the spiritual world. For this reason, I sometimes feel I’ll-equipped to teach my children what it means to have a relationship with God.

As parents, isn’t it true that sometimes we are hyper-aware of the areas we feel like we are failing, or not enough, that we miss the great things we have done for our kids?

Completely by accident, I discovered last week that I have in fact done something great for my little boy: I have given him the Church. At times, it is really hard to be an involved, serving, leading, member of the church with little ones, but one simple conversation with my two year old, reminded me that it is so worth it.

While playing with his cars (an activity that occupies around 75% of his waking hours), Jasper looked up at me and, quite matter-of-factly, stated:
“Mummy, I can talk to God. It’s called PRAYING. We do it at church and I talk to God in my bed. At church they teach me praying and I talk to God about you, mama”.

He’s two.

This is the strength of the local church: in the area where I feel like I am letting this amazing child down, some other beautiful soul, serving downstairs on a Sunday, unbeknownst to me, has taught him to commune with his creator. My little boy is praying for his mama.

This child has been loved and encouraged by the church family since he was born, he has received abundantly more input, perspective and care than we could have given on our own. I truly believe that my greatest strength as a mother is that I do not even try to carry the burden of raising little people, little disciples, on my own, but that I give them the Body of Christ as their family. ymMy children will never remember a time when they were not part of the family of God. In my family, the will be the first generation that I know of who can say this!

Church can be hard, emotionally, logistically, even financially, especially with little ones, but it is a vehicle through which God redeems generations; it is a place to give and receive encouragement (and parents of toddlers need PLENTY of that!). It is a blessing to belong in a local church and I am so thankful that Energizer Church loves my children so well.

– Jen Grubb