Pop Up Church – Round 2!

January 20, 2016 | nourishwomen

Hi everyone,

Our first Pop Up Church was a great night, with lots of new people and meaningful connections with individuals and families and a handful of people making decisions to follow Christ.

These events are great to bring someone who has never been to a church service too as they are full of ways to attract attention; food vans, live music, a cool decked-out shed + much more! So let me encourage you with a story about the power of the invite!

A young man name Dwayne was invited; he had never been to church, but got involved boots all when he arrived at 4pm. On the night he had a blast and then responded to an invite to ask Jesus to be his Lord and Saviour! Dwayne was then at church at both our services on Sunday and even experienced God heal some pain in his leg at our morning service on Sunday.

My encouragement leads to a question: WHO can YOU INVITE? Last week it was Dwayne and this week, I know if you invite people who are disconnected or distant from God that, like Dwayne, this may be exactly the setting they need to find themselves in a placeto respond to the invitation to ask Jesus to be Lord and Saviour.

God Bless!
Be encouraged and can’t wait to see you Saturday!

Dan Pastoor,
Service Pastor, Pop Up Church

Always There

November 20, 2015 | nourishwomen

I’ve been to Energizer Church and seen this guy. He was at the sound desk mixing sound. I’ve seen him usher, put things on stage for others, pack up. I’ve seen him put up signs around the city for different events. I went to the state ACC Conference this year, and he was there service directing. I was at Church Together and he was in charge of security.

A while ago, I was the Impact Conferences at Moorilla and saw this guy help set up and pack up as well as look after other volunteers. I know he was in charge of security at the Youth Alive Events for three years. He has been a youth leader for six years under three different leaders. He served in the Derwent Valley for four years at the Youth Centre, for three days a week.

Brian moved over from Sydney to Hobart fourteen years ago. He joined Energizer Church and stayed, but Brian is no consumer. He contributes. He does what he can, when he can. He is always there at church in Bellerive or doing sound or organising and encouraging others to join teams. He puts in hours and hours of his time into any endeavour the church is undertaking. He does whatever it takes.
He is a volunteer.

I’ve seen Brian be a barista, service manager, a fellow who meets and greets others. He has set up many a room for many events. Brian has set up gear, packed up, and cleaned up. He has helped people moving house, getting rid of rubbish, mowed lawns. He has picked up speakers from the airport, driven others to and from when they needed a lift. He has risen early and stayed up late, serving others by doing anything he can.

I asked him why does he do it? Why give so much time and energy? His answer was simple.
“Jesus gave all He could for me. I’m asked to be a follower of his example. He gave freely. He gave everything for me. I have a calling to serve. I love to support and assist in any way I can.”

This guy has done most of what he has done quietly, secretly and not in the limelight. He leaves that for others.

He went on to say “Its all about the Kingdom. Doing what I can when I can is what we are called to do isn’t it?”

Wow. I know this guy is going to get a “Well done my good and faithful servant,” from the big fella upstairs.
Do you have a heart to do what you can? Why not chat to Brian; he will point you to where you can serve. He also points you to the One who served us all. This guy has the heart of a servant. I know the one he follows said “But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader must be a servant…”

Written by Peter Swift

Foundations of Faith: Claire’s Take on Pastoring the Next Generation

November 12, 2015 | nourishwomen

As a high school teacher, I certainly never imagined myself as part of the EKids team at Energizer; if they haven’t hit puberty yet, I am thoroughly out of my comfort zone! However, somehow, I have managed to find myself serving down there every now and again. This is a development in my life which can largely be attributed to the powers of persuasion of our new Kids Pastor, Claire Morse, who, oddly enough, until recently felt very similarly to me about Kids’ Church!

“It is constantly surprising me. It’s a role I have never imagined myself in and I am really enjoying building relationships with the kids and their parents. I’m enjoying the surprises that working with children brings and am really loving the way their hearts are so open to hearing about God and learning about faith. I also love watching shy or nervous children come down for the first time and slowly relax and unfold as they learn to trust us. It is a huge learning curve taking on a ministry area, but it is a really fun one.”

Claire is a long-time member of Energizer Church; she’s been on the journey with us for 21 years and has grown in many ways through being part of the Energizer family.
“Over years of serving in a variety of areas, I’ve developed so many skills that I have used in my professional life as a teacher; I have learned confidence and hopefully some good people skills!”

Although these things have been useful and important for Claire, they are not the lessons which she regards as the most important. Honing our skills is one thing, but revelation is a deeper level of learning: “We serve God because he loves us and he asks us to. It is not about us, our egos, our ambitions, our self-esteem – anything; we are called to be servant hearted because our Jesus was a servant king, who taught us to not to want to be served but to serve.”

It’s no wonder Claire has recently turned her attention to the more miniature members of our congregation, having recently acquired (given birth to, that is) one of her own, the delightful Ellie! Having some time out of the classroom to be with family and friends has given Claire the breathing room to reflect on her role within the church and rise to the challenge of leading an important ministry area. Her perspective on building the church for future generations both inspires her team and reassures the parents of the children in EKids.
“Obviously for those of us who grew up in Sunday School, we have memories which are foundational to our faith. Some of the songs and the stories we learned 20-30 years ago are still impacting our belief systems and have helped shape our view of God. This is a huge responsibility and privilege to be able to help introduce children to the foundations of our faith.”

Although Claire claims that she “still doesn’t know how to work with primary school aged kids” and allegedly lacks patience at times (I’m yet to see evidence), she does admit that EKids is providing opportunities to use and develop her spiritual gifts, in particular teaching, discernment and encouragement. Anyone who has seen Claire in action downstairs on a Sunday morning would have to agree wholeheartedly, and probably add a few gifts they have observed to that list!

If you love the idea of helping to create those memories which will become foundational to the faith of the next generation, why not jump in and join Claire and her team! Everyone is welcome to give it a go and you definitely don’t need to know what you’re doing to get started (trust me!).

Claire’s advice to new team members: “Be prepared to be surprised. On the surface, Kids’ Ministry can seem like a bit of a thankless task, but it only takes a few weeks to build relationships with the kids and to make friends with the other leaders and you will feel part of a really significant, colourful and never boring ministry. Plus, Terrence makes us really nice coffees. Also, learning to whip and nae nae with five year olds is a memory you will laugh at for a really long time.”

If you need a dance lesson or two from our kinder-aged EKids, have a chat to the Connect Desk on Sunday about joining the team!

Written by Jen Grubb

It’s Not About Beating His Own Drum For Caleb

March 21, 2015April 21, 2015 | nourishwomen

Caleb Perry has only been attending Energizer Church for about four weeks, but already he has caught the culture and fits right in. Caleb has an intense love of jazz, needs at least three coffees a morning to be a functioning human, and really just enjoys a good time. When he’s not studying, or delivering pizzas, he’s usually practising drums, and that’s one of the reasons why Caleb is vital! Since he arrived at Energizer Church, Caleb has put himself forward and has started serving God on the Creative Team. As well as being incredibly talented, Caleb has a heart for serving God and his people, and that’s reflected in his everyday life.

As Caleb is new to our Church, he’s a fresh face on the Creative Team. Every Wednesday, Caleb turns up to band practice regardless of being rostered on for that week. His talent on the drums led him to be an important part of the Creative Team, and giving others on the hardworking team a chance to take a break, and potentially serve God in other areas of Church. He is such a positive person to have around, and more than happy to sit down and have a coffee and a chat to any one.

It’s certainly not just about a love of music for Caleb though; ‘[with my role at church] I am able to utilise my talents and lead people into giving worship and glory to God’. Caleb fully recognises the importance of his role and how he can use it to connect people with God.

Serving has definite benefits for God’s Kingdom, but also in Caleb’s everyday life, ‘It allows me to use my passion for music and drumming. It has taught me to always stay humble, and to realise that I am on stage to lead people into the presence of God and not to boost my own ego. He is the one who entrusted me with this talent and so I will give him all the honour and praise for what he has given me!’

‘If you’re wanting to serve, my advice would be to first off make sure you are wanting to get involved for the right reasons, as you are serving God and not yourself,’ Caleb says. ‘Figure out what gifts God has given you and find a way to utilise them for his Kingdom.’ Caleb believes that serving God is a vital part of his experience as a Christian, and he has sought out God, asking Him what He wants to do with Caleb’s specific talents.

At Energizer Church, we believe that everyone is vital and want to see each and every person empowered to contribute to the kingdom in a way that gets them excited. Chat to a connector on Sunday to help find your fit!

By Leeya Maingay

Tenille

Image | March 4, 2015March 4, 2015 | energizerchurch

If you haven’t met Tenille yet, you are missing out! This big-hearted, straight-shooting Mum of two and a half, who can’t stand the veggies on her plate to touch, has an irrational fear of touching cotton wool and is addicted to Sudoku. More importantly, she is one of our Heart and Soul people; Tenille just gets it. She has got the vision under her skin and she is with us, heart and soul. During the week, Tenille works as an optical dispenser, where she has countless opportunities to bless people with her loving nature and down-to-earth humour.

Tenille has served many roles throughout many years of attending Energizer Church. Right now, one of the areas that she devotes her time to is being a Nourish Writer. Last year, the Nourish Women’s ministry decided to extend their reach beyond the monthly meetings and into lounge-rooms and offices around Hobart with the birth of the Nourish blog, making sisterhood and encouragement available to women wherever they happened to be. It wasn’t long before Tenille caught the vision and decided to get involved. Through her personal stories, shared bravely with the online Nourish community, wisdom and biblical insights, Tenille has proved to be absolutely vital to the growth of the blog. By making her life available through her stories, Tenille is showing women that they are supported and that it is okay to be vulnerable.

“Since I’ve started writing blogs for Church, it’s made a space in my world for something I used to be really good at but then really started neglecting due to having to prioritise things in a way that I didn’t like,” says Tenille. Writing has unleashed her imagination, unlocked as she sits in the presence of God. “[Serving the house] has helped me understand what being planted looks like. Some of the situations I have encountered have caused me to look outside the square and really draw on God, which has grown my personal understanding of how much he loves the Church. It has enlarged my view of the bigger picture.”

Tenille has no doubt that others would benefit from finding their fit in the house just as much as she has; “I would say serving is another way to engage with others. It will take your relationship with God to the next level.” According to Tenille, building the church by using our God-given gifts and talents is a fantastic way to be an encouragement to others and be encouraged by them; “Iron sharpens irons, it goes both ways!”

By Jen Grubb