Minister’s Letter February 2026
Warm greetings in the name of Jesus.
Whatever way 2026 has started for you, I hope and pray that during this year your awareness of God’s love, care and faithfulness will provide you with hope, strength, and peace. I have been thinking much about knowing and experiencing what Psalm 90 refers to as “God’s favour”, (Psalm 90:17) and it is my personal hope and prayer that during this year Christchurch experiences a clear sense of the countenance of the Lord being lifted-up toward us as a Church. (Numbers 6: 24-26)
As some of you will be aware, I am aiming to take you on a journey through Epiphany and Lent, a journey climbing up some of the mountains which play a prominent part in the bible. Our teaching focus between now and Easter will be on what these biblical mountains teach us about our glorious God, His nature, our faith, and our way forward in vision, service, growth, and mission. It is amazing to see how many key moments in biblical history came about on mountains. I hope you enjoy our journey together. It has started well!
We are beginning 2026 with two new exciting pieces of mission and ministry. The Yellow Rose Café opens this month and we pray for God’s favour to rest upon Lesley Rams and Gay Courtney as they take this vision forward. Who can you invite along to sample the excellent food and warm friendship? Who might be able to use this meeting point as a stepping stone into the fuller fellowship of our Church? We have an opportunity to build bridges and share Jesus’s love.
We will also press on with our new link with Woodstock Nursing Home after having enjoyed a fantastic Christmas Carol Service through which residents and staff encountered the story of God’s love in the birth of Jesus. I was especially blessed by the way staff from various religious backgrounds who work so hard at the Home, responded warmly to the greatest story of all. If you want to be involved in this ministry, let me know. We trust it will progress well during this year.
I am very conscious how many people connected to Christchurch wrestle with mental health issues. These can often seem worse at this time of year. Christian fellowship is the best antidote for such struggles, so much better than isolation. I want to encourage any person struggling with their mental health to seriously consider attending mid-week worship where individual prayer for healing takes place every week. This is a good space to be in to counteract negative feelings and low mood. Receiving prayer ministry and the sacrament of communion helps in stilling the storm.
At our Church Meeting on the 21st January, we will be launching our Stewardship Campaign which we believe will enable us to strengthen team ministry within Christchurch. We are encouraging everyone connected to our Church to think and pray about their gifting and enthusiasms. I hope you will embrace this campaign prayerfully and be open to all that God has for you in the future. The vision we have now needs to be fully implemented for consistent growth to be possible. This requires everyone exercising their gifts. We all have a significant part to play, even if we spend much of our time in our homes. Our biggest need will be for united and targeted prayer. Prayer must be the foundation on which we build anything and everything.
Although finance comes into the question of personal stewardship, we are pleased that last year ended positively for Christchurch – and it is the gifting side of stewardship that we need to major on. God has shown consistently how He can and will provide for all our needs. The Church Council have been encouraged about the many ways God has heard and answered our prayers. Our building has been significantly improved in many ways and we are ready to step out with the Spirit’s power and guidance.
The apostle Peter wrote; Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4:10) May God guide and inspire us all in our service and mission. May we know the unity of the Spirit. May our worship and fellowship strengthen us in faith, hope, and love. May this year be filled with the light and favour of the Lord. (Psalm 90:17)
Grace and peace be with you all.
In Christ,
Peter
Minister’s Letter March 2026
Dear friends,
Warm greetings to you in the name of Jesus.
My thanks to all who have prayerfully participated in our current Stewardship Campaign. 2026 will be an important year in building up the work of ‘teams’ at Christchurch, and moving forward positively in our mutual vision for evangelism, mission, and growth. Our next step will be to re-iterate and promote the importance of prayer. Prayer waters all the seeds we are planting through our work with the local community – and each week we are engaged in scattering many seeds.
This was one of the reasons why I chose prayer to be the theme of our recent BB Parade service. We can all pray. All age groups. People who are active. People who are housebound. It is a joy to see our children learn how to pray. I believe we all have an instinct to reach out toward our Creator from the moment of our birth and confide in the One who sustains all life. God wants to walk and talk with us every day. We can aim to enjoy a life of ‘fellowship with God.’ Thank you for all the positive feedback I have received about our time of all-age worship at the Parade service. Children have much to teach us about prayer and trust in God. Unless we become like little children…
It is for this reason that we are pursing ‘The Prayer Course’ at Café Church. The writer and Church leader Pete Greig has produced this course as well as writing several excellent books on prayer. At session one of the Course, we were encouraged to do the following with regards to our prayer life:
- Keep it simple.
- Keep it real.
- Keep it going.
This was the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. What a beautifully simple and inviting model of prayer to pursue! We find this teaching in Matthew 6: 5-15. In the modern paraphrase version of the bible known as ‘The Message,’ we have this encouragement;
“This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply.”
Why not join us for informal worship and The Prayer Course @ Café Church? Later in the year we are also hoping to set aside a month of prayer. This will be a month where we aim to open the Church many times for an hour or so for people to come and sit quietly to pray. We will encourage people to use amongst others things our prayer for growth:
God of mission,
who alone brings growth to your church,
send the Holy Spirit to give,
vision to our planning,
joy to our worship,
and power to our witness.
Help our Church to grow in numbers,
in spiritual commitment to you,
and in service to our local community,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
I hope you will make every effort to come into the Church at least once and offer prayer for our future together.
Finally, as we journey through Lent, may we never forget the pivotal part which prayer played in life and ministry of Jesus. He often went to lonely places and prayed. (Luke 5:16) He climbed mountains to pray. He frequently got up early to pray. He prayed in the wilderness. He prayed on the Mount of Transfiguration. He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. He prayed from the cross where he was crucified for our sins. As always, Jesus is our example and guide. ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’ (Luke 11:1)
The Lord be with you on your continued journey with Him and within the life our fellowship.
Peace and grace to you all,
In Christ,
Peter