April Monthly Update
To our church whānau,
The words of Paul spring to mind when he says in Philippians 1 -
“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. . . . And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.”
We do pray for all of our church community, and are so grateful and filled with joy with the stories and connections that we see happening at Curate. People are coming to know Jesus for the first time, or coming back to faith after a long while away. It was wonderful to see so many new faces and people reconnecting over the Easter weekend and the Sundays since. Thank you to all those who volunteered their time to serve and create space for people to encounter God over this time.
STAFF UPDATE
A few weeks ago during the gatherings we shared that one of our pastors, Tony Crawford, is going on extended sick leave. Tony has had some ongoing health challenges in recent times, and is having some treatment and time to recover. Elle (Tony’s wife) is still on staff, and continuing to work in her role with Curate Cares. Please be praying for the Crawford family, but please also understand that Tony is on leave for rest and recovery and will not be contactable during this time. Tony has been seeing some great health progress which is so good! We look forward to seeing him return to work next month.
We have shared with our Youth and Intermediate parents already, but wanted to let all of you know that Christie has decided not to return to work in her role as Youth Pastor after the end of her maternity leave, and continue being a full time Mum for baby Oliver. Because of this Josia & Christie have been praying and working out what this means moving forward in how they move forward financially. Josia has decided to take on an opportunity to move into a new role at a local business which will enable him to adequately provide for his family.
Josia & Christie asked to share -
“Please know that our home is Curate. While we are not on staff at church anymore, we are still going to continue to serve both in youth and intermediates. This is our heart. We love our youth and intermediates and Curate Church is our home. We love you guys and we’ll be seeing you round on Sundays!”
ARE YOU OUR NEW YOUTH PASTOR?
We are looking for a new Youth & Intermediates Pastor. If you or someone you know might be interested, you can apply here. In the meantime youth on Thursdays and Intermediates on Sundays will still be happening!
As a church we are so excited for Josia, Christie and Oliver. We love them so much and want the best for them. We’re so excited that they are going to continue being involved in our next gen ministry, as part of our Curate community.
FINANCES UPDATE
In our last email to you, we mentioned that we have some significant financial challenges that we are working through. We held a special meeting last month to discuss this in detail. As shared in the meeting, we are in an unsustainable position at this point in time, where our giving and our costs do not match. We have a Finance Subcommittee who are doing a lot of hard work in the background, helping us to make some wise decisions as we move forward. We will endeavour to keep this page up to date as progress is made.
We also have some great news to share in that we have a new Accounts Admin person starting next week. We look forward to welcoming Melissa to our staff team!
This is also the time of the year where you can expect a tax receipt for your tithes and offerings. This email has now been sent out. If you are expecting an email for your giving but haven’t seen it, please check your spam / junk folders. You can email finance@curatechurch.com if you have any queries.
PRAYING FOR MAXIMUS
Last month we shared with you that Maximus (and Lisa, his Mum) had travelled to Madrid in Spain to seek treatment for a brain tumour. He is now home again after a successful surgery (which is an absolute miracle) and is working through post surgery recovery and next steps. Please continue to keep Maximus and his whanau in your prayers. If you are able to be generous towards them in this season and help cover the costs of the surgery they would be so grateful. You are also able to see more detailed updates on this page.
You can find and share prayer needs on our Curate Church app (under ‘Prayer & Support’). It’s always encouraging to hear answers to prayer, so please do let us know! Coming up next month we also have an opportunity to be involved in a 24/7 Prayer Room as part of a New Zealand wide initiative. Check out the details further below!
We know God has great things in store for us as a church. We are doing everything we can, pursuing every option to steer the church towards the good future God has for it. We have been encouraged by the words in 2 Kings 3:16-18 “This is what the Lord says: This dry valley will be filled with pools of water! You will see neither wind nor rain, says the Lord, but this valley will be filled with water. You will have plenty for yourselves and your cattle and other animals. But this is only a simple thing for the Lord.”
One of the greatest tools we have been given is prayer. As we connect with Heavenly Father, we know that He makes a way. We know God is already doing and will continue to do miracles in this journey. We need to keep digging ditches and believe for God to fill them. Let’s pray for miracles in the area of finances, let’s pray for all those in our community who need healing, let’s pray for guidance as we navigate towards the future.
Thank you for being on this journey with us. Many blessings and much love,
Pastors Joel & Katie
UPDATE YOUR DETAILS
As we journey into a new year, we recognise that it is important to maintain an accurate database to better serve our valued church community. To ensure that we have the most up-to-date information about you, we kindly request you to review your records using the following link: www.curatechurch.com/update.
There's a bunch of things coming up in the life of our community so make sure you check them out below. You can also see what is happening at www.curatechurch.com/calendar.
MEN’S PRAYER MEETING
7 - 7.30am Every Wednesday
We’re meeting every Wednesday morning at the Curate Offices (42c Tawa Street, Mount Maunganui) from 7 - 7.30am to pray for our church. If you are able to make it, we’d love to see you there.
NIGHT SCHOOL
Begins Monday 29th April
We have had an amazing response to Night School in term 1, with a committed bunch of people digging deeper into Spiritual Practices. Next term we are offering more night school options, all on a Monday Night, starting April 29th. To find out more about any of these courses, head to curatechurch.com/learn.
Alpha (9 Weeks)
Alpha is a nine week course that creates a space where people are excited to bring their friends for a conversation about life, faith and Jesus. This is a perfect course for people who are new Christians or are just beginning a journey of faith.
To Lead (7 Weeks)
Become the leader you love to follow, working through the content of Joel’s first book, “to lead: A practical guide for leaders in Churches & faith-based organisations”.
Financial Freedom (4 Weeks)
Whether you're drowning in debt or just looking to optimise your financial strategy, this course (put together by Dave Ramsey) is designed for all stages of life.
WATER BAPTISMS
Sunday 5th May
We believe that if you have decided to follow Jesus, you should be baptised in water. This is something that Jesus did, and is a public declaration of our faith in Him. If you want to know more you can find out more on the website, or connect with one of our pastors.
24/7 PRAYER ROOM
16th - 19th May
We are joining with churches all over the country to pray for the ten days before Pentecost Sunday. Starting on Thursday 9th at 5am we are going to have a room open for people to pray in. Grab some friends and make a plan to book a slot or multiple slots! You can find out more details and book a slot here.
MEXICO TRIP WITH CURATE
10th - 20th August
We are excited to announce that we will be sending a small team to serve the local community in Cerritos / Cabo with the Roberts family, through building work and helping with the surf/skate outreach ministry, as well as allowing some time to surf, relax and experience the Olas Ministry Retreat for yourself. Registrations close Fri 10th May. Head to curatechurch.com/missions or email cares@curatechurch.com.
