Sharing the Good News with great joy
‘For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.’ Romans 1:16
In January we celebrated one year in Gladstone, and we have been so encouraged by all that God has done so far.
Our Christmas services were a time of sharing ‘good news of great joy’ across our community. After several years of changes and uncertainty, our focus was to maximise our opportunities for outreach and connection. We held family Carols services in Clinton and Calliope, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services, and a Christmas Day Soup Kitchen lunch. It was a privilege to share the Good News of Jesus’ birth with nearly 250 people across our services, and 60 plus diners at our Soup Kitchen Christmas lunch.
This year we’ve focused on consolidating the rhythms of ministry and outreach. Our Bible study groups have grown in both number of groups and people attending. It’s always a joy to break open God’s Word with faithful disciples and people taking steps towards Jesus. Our Lenten series ‘No Turning Back’ was a deep dive into our baptismal vows. It proved to be a time of both encouragement and challenge as we looked towards the cross.
Sundays at Church have been joyful, with new people coming to investigate Jesus. We’ve had new volunteers stepping up to help with music and Kids’ Church, which has brought our community much closer together.
Gladstone is a very transient place, and it’s been sad to see some loved members of our church move elsewhere, and yet God has continued bringing new people
into our midst. It’s been great to see established members of our church welcoming new people and seeing the body of Christ work together.
Ray’s Soup Kitchen and our ‘This N That’ Op Shop continue to be a great space for outreach. People often come to the Soup Kitchen looking for food but also meet people who are ready to listen and pray for them. Likewise the Op Shop often welcomes people looking for a chat who find community and the love of Jesus at the shop counter. This year we also launched an Alpha course with a group of 12 people coming along to the Calliope Union Church, a centre that ceased services some years ago. It was great to use this space again for ministry and we’re hoping to launch a regular service off the back of Alpha.
We recently had our second Easter in Gladstone. It’s a wonderful time when the weather gets cooler and people visit for the Harbour Festival. In the lead up to Easter Sunday, we held a Maundy Thursday community meal and service, and then Good Friday services at Gladstone & Clinton churches, as well as Easter Sunday services in Gladstone, Clinton, and Calliope. Our theme this year was ‘Death Defeated’ where we focused on how Jesus conquered death on the cross and rose to eternal life for us three days later.
Please pray with us for those investigating Jesus, our outreach through Ray’s Soup Kitchen and Op Shop. Please also pray that we can launch a regular service in Calliope.
