The 2016 Gospel Investment Night

On November 15 we gathered at the Hub to prayerfully consider our financial investment plans -- as a church -- for 2017 and beyond.

There were two parts of the night. First we looked at the plan for 2017, and moving to using the direct debit giving method, including questions. Second, Greg unveiled plans for HBC to buy a building - a plan that starts now, but will really take the next few years.

If you missed out on the night, we'd love you to listen to the recording and check out the handouts we gave out.

2017 Investment Plan

Buying Property Plan

Direct Debit Form

Gospel Generosity Booklet

October Family News

Carols Rehearsals 

The Carols music team began rehearsals in October, for Christmas Carols in Lambton Park in December.

Carols is looking to be awesome this year, but as always, we rely 100% on God's help and grace. Please pray for great weather, 7000 people and for Jesus to be at work, moving people to want to know more about him!

LAKE MAC LIFE SERIES

The Lake Mac Life Series kicked off on the 11th of October at Warners at the Bay. Pray for the 6 Non-Christians who have come along, and those who are being followed up by our Lake Mac team.

Gunnedah Mini Mission

On the 14th of October a team of 11 HBCers headed to Gunnedah for a weekend-long mission. The team shared the gospel with over 200 non-Christian students in the local high school, visited the homes of the elderly to encourage them in their walk with Jesus, did walk-up/door-knocking, ran their youth group and Sunday services.

Another mini-mission is coming up out to Quirindi at the end of November! Let us know if you're keen to come help.

WAVE Training Day #2

On the 29th of October, the WAVE Team had their second training day. Please pray for the Kids, Welcoming, Rego, Cafe, Logistics and Catering teams as they prepare for the WAVE Mission Week.

If you would like to join a Kids Team, express your interest here.

If you would like to serve on one of the other teams email waveteamrego@hunterbiblechurch.org

AM Family Lunch

Newy:Am had a lunch get-together the other week. This was especially great to hang out with all the Sprout Kids helpers. Newy:PM recently had an after church dinner too.

Please keep praying that God would help us all be a loving and connected fellowship, while always looking outwards to see more people saved.

FINANCE UPDATE

October was a much better month, and we've clawed back a bit of our deficit. We're still about $40k behind our 'year-to-date' target.

Some of the things our giving went towards in October were:

 $3,200 to our Missionaries
 $1,000 to cover some MTS Training Courses
 $1,100 for some repairs, equipment, resources and cleaning
 $12,000 to cover rent for the Hub, Lambton High, Eleebana and the Uni

Thank God for one another's generosity. Every dollar we give goes towards helping our church deepen our faith and reach more of the lost.

August & September Family News

HBC: LAKE MAC CONGREGATION LAUNCH

The new HBC congregation launched on the 21st of August! 90 people attended the launch, with 20 visitors.

Keep praying that Lake Mac would grow and the plant team would continue to be bold in inviting others along.

YOUTH BREAKAWAY

On the 12th - 14th of August, Youth had their weekend away. Over the weekend Matt Sheridan gave a series of talks on Philippians.  Youth were challenged to live their lives for Christ as he is returning and lord of all.

PM16 Weekend Away

On the 19th of August, our PM congregation headed to Toukley for their weekend away. Despite sickness (and the speaker not being able to make it!!), it was a great opportunity to look at what God thinks about identity, gender and sexuality.

UNICHURCH PUB SESSIONS

Unichurch Pub Sessions kicked off on the 1st of August, at the Godfrey Tanner Bar on campus.

This semester our Unichurch congregation has heard a series of talks on issues related to how the world sees Christianity. 

WAVE TRAINING DAY #1

On the 27th of August the WAVE Team had their first training day. The Team had the opportunity to gather, meet their team members and begin preparations for WAVE in January.

Pray for the team as they continue to prepare for WAVE, and for wise leadership from Section Leaders.

Sign up for a Kids Team here

BIG IDEAS NIGHT: PREDESTINATION

On the 31st of August, we had our fifth Big Ideas Night. Richard explored predestination and what it means for our lives. 

GRAD DINNER #1 & #2

Graduating is a time that requires us to make decisions that will affect the rest of our lives. On the 31st of August, recent and soon-to-be graduates from Unichurch had dinner together where Greg explored the topic of money. They were challenged to make wise decisions about their future and how money should shape their lives as Christians in the workforce.

FIEC Conference

From the 5th- 8th of September our senior staff headed to the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches' Conference. It was a great opportunity to spend time with other ministry workers and be encouraged to keep persevering from 1Peter in a hostile world.

MTS Mission Minded

On the 30th of September, staff, MTSers and HBC members headed to the MTS Mission Minded Conference at Katoomba. They spent the long weekend hearing what the bible says about full-time ministry and considering if that might be a path for them.

Please thank God for all those who came and thought through these massive ideas.

Pastoral Staff Spotlight - Scott Curtis

Scott is married to Merrin and finished his MTS Apprenticeship in 2015. Scott Joined the HBC Pastoral Staff this year part-time, while doing distance theological training.

Scott has been coordinating the Lake Mac congregation plant and looks after the Ministry "M" across HBC... helping us to love serving Jesus together.

June Family News

NEW MEMBERS' DINNER

Early in June we had a night with a load of new faces at HBC. It was a dinner together to welcome the many people who've started coming in 2015/16 and have joined our church family.

Thank God for bringing  many new people to HBC!

BIG IDEAS NIGHT FOR WOMEN: THE GOSPEL & ONLINE PURITY 

About 100 women of HBC gathered on the 22nd June to think through and discuss online purity together. It was a great chance to rethink some of our world's assumptions and consider how to be godly women now and in the future.

AM16 Weekend Away

During the wettest weekend in June (yes, that one) the Newcastle:AM congregation went away for the weekend together. Amid the soaking rain they hung out lots and had Dan Godden walk us through John and think about what really matters. (Listen to the talks online here).

COMPASSION SUNDAY

On the 26th of June, HBC had Compassion Sunday where we heard about the great work of Compassion as they bring the gospel and physical aid to kids all across the globe. 

There were over 20 kids who were lovingly sponsored on the day. If you'd like to sponsor a child from our link-church program please contact sam@hunterbiblechurch.org 

WINTER WARMERS

Winter Warmers kicked off on the 21st of June at The Hub. Winter Warmers provides an opportunity for regular Unichurch Growth Groups, LIFE and AllNations to continue to meet during the university break. 

They're all heading off to Unichurch MYC in a few days! Please pray that our Unichurch congregation would grow in love and knowledge of Jesus this semester!

HBC:LAKEmac LAUNCHing soon

It's only 40 days until the LakeMac congregation kicks off! There's about 55 launch-team members and it's starting to feel very close.

Please join us in praying for the LakeMac Congregation and for the people in the LakeMac area...

Wednesday 27th July
7:30pm at the Hub

Family news in and around church

Births

Clarabelle to Eliza & Josiah Miskiewicz

Annalise to Mel & Simon Samaan

MArriages

Phillip Castelijn & Lauren Mole

Dongha Shin & Hanhee Lee

AM16 Time with God

As part of AM16 we put out a special Time With God to help you reflect and pray through some of the things raised over the weekend.

Have a go with it on your own, with your spouse or kids, and let us know how you found it.

Check it out here.

May Church Family News

EQUIP WOMEN - STREAMED LIVE AT THE HUB

On May 28th, nearly 100 women from HBC watched the live feed of Equip Women 2016. The topic was "Freed" from  1Corinthians.

Thank God for the opportunity to gather together and for the great teaching from women for women. 

HBC:LAKE MAC UPDATE

Some exciting news as we're only a few months from launching our new Lake Mac Congregation. We've locked in the location; Eleebana Public School, and the time; 4:30pm on Sundays.

FINANCE UPDATE

While we're not in the financially tricky situation we were in last year, we want to keep you updated. We've seen a slow but steady drop in giving over the past few months. This looks to be attributed to a significant percentage of HBC regulars who haven't started giving regularly or have stopped regular giving.

Mag Team Training Arvo

On the 22nd, the Mag Team had team training at Lambton High School. 

"Last Mag Team Training was all about Crafting Great Sundays with the focus on developing skills. We ate together, wrestled with Jesus and the early church in Acts 2 and learnt loads from a bunch of experienced musos and techies from within our church. Next MTT, Jon Baldwin the Magnification Pastor from EV church on the coast is investing in us. Pumped!" - Pete M

A GREAT DAY OF MISSION TRAINING

May's Mission Training day was a great encouragement as all three congregations came together to learn how to better engage non-Christian friends with the Gospel. Seminars were really helpful in unpacking how to intentionally build relationships, and help people thinking about Jesus in a non confrontational way. 

Get excited for the next Mission Training day with Sam Chan August 8. He'll show us how to be involved in the lives of those around us, so that we can share Jesus with them!

NEW BATHROOM AT THE HUB

The extra toilet has been completed at the Hub! Yay. So, if you're there with your kids, or the other toilets are in use, please feel free to use the all access toilet.

Also, as we're all using things at the hub, don't leave things for other people. If you see something around the hub that needs doing, please go ahead and help out by getting it done.

REALITY WEEKEND AWAY

On May 13, our College Growth Group, Reality, headed to Tahlee for their weekend away. 

"We had a great time, 50 people came along including some wonderful alumni who served us by feeding us. We worked through the book of Philippians and we're reminded the the Day of Christ is approaching, to stand firm and preach Christ until that day arrives." - Shero #IHFTW

Reading Group

It can be fun and challenging to read theology together.

Our pastor for Maturity, Richard Sweatman, will be reading a recent Systematic Theology book over the next year or so and is keen to meet and discuss it once a month or so with anyone interested. It's called 'The Christian Faith: A systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the way' by Michael Horton. Email richard@hunterbiblechurch.org if you'd like to know more.

http://www.amazon.com/Christian-Faith-Systematic-Theology-Pilgrims/dp/0310286042

pastoral team Spotlight - Pete Munday

As our staff team grows, it can be hard to know who's on the pastoral team and what they do - so we'll do a spot-light every month.

Pete Munday is married to Rach and is one of our Magnification Pastors. Pete finished his MTS Apprenticeship in 2014 and joined the pastoral team part time. Pete's responsible for helping us as a church to love God in song. He recruits, trains and guides our musicians, our music selection, our song leaders, sound techs and projector screen drivers. Even though Pete mightn't be up the front leading music every Sunday, he's behind the scenes every week, encouraging, growing and developing our many teams who help us praise Jesus' glory. He's always looking for people to join this worthy task - so email pmunday@hunterbiblechurch.org if you're at all interested.

Committee of Elders Update

We reckon it's really valuable for different pastoral staff to have a spell on the Committee of Elders. So after 10 years of faithful service as a Committee member, Sam Hilton is stepping off the Elders Committee for a time. That will give him a bit more time to focus on Mission - especially with the Lake Mac congregation starting up. Taking his place, Pete Witt is jumping onto the Committee for the time being.

Please thank God for Sam's role on the Committee over the past 10 years! Please pray for Pete and the whole Committee - that they would do a great job of protecting the values of our church for Jesus sake.

Church member news

Births

• Chloe to Lauren & Greg Shepard

Marriages

• Amelia Ogilvie & Peter Billingham

• Damien Parish & Rachel Levick

• Matt Hearne & Chloe Murphy

Jan Church Family News

WAVE2016

WAVE was pretty awesome on all accounts. Most number of kids we've ever had, almost half were from unchurched families. We've had exciting conversations in the coffee tent and coming out of door knocking.

Please pray that the effects of WAVE would be felt all year!

Patricia Weerakoon Sex Education Night

Dr Patricia Weerakoon gave a great presentation during WAVE week about how the internet and mobile connectivity have drastically changed how parents need to think about sex education. If you missed it, or you want to share it with friends, please see it online here.
https://soundcloud.com/hunterbiblechurch/sex-education-in-the-cyber-generation

Back to Youth Party/Youth

Our HBC Youth kicked off their year with a slip and slide at Dixon Park followed by Youth Group at the Hub.

There's a bunch of new faces at both Youth and Rush this year, so please pray for the teams and that the non-church kids would stick around and grow in faith.

No more NextStep! Welcome the Connect Series

As we keep trying to improve how we love people and welcome them into church, we've decided to give NextStep a new name and to think it through again.

So, as we welcome new people to HBC, the Connect Series is the new NextStep :)

Big Maturity Night

Richard and the Maturity team have started a new training program for GrowthGroup leaders to gather every month for training and encouragement.

Please remember to thank God for your Growth Group leaders and maybe ask them how they found the first Big Maturity Night?

New MTSers Starting

As a church who gets the priveldge of training and sending heaps of people into paid-ministry careers, it's always exciting to see our new MTSers start out.

Please remember Liv, Nick, Ling, Jocelle, Dave and Tess in your prayers!

UniChurch Launch 24

This weekend the Unichurch Congregation is set to re-launch for the 2016 year.

It's like planting a new congregation every year; new teams, new ministries, and heaps of new people.

Please ask God to use HBC to meet and save thousands of students over the next few years! 

Other Family News...

Marriages:

• Sam Morris and Bec Phillips
• Andrew Copeman and Loren Fullager
• Lachlan Giles and Sarah Batley
• Gareth Elliott and Sarah Waters

Births:

• Scout Barrie born to Mark and Melia
• Grace Thompson born to Dave and Allison
• Isabelle Jonas born to Roger and Naomi

Other:

Let us know when other significant life events happen. Email familynews@hunterbiblechurch.org

Details from Our Gospel Investment Night

GI Night Details.pdf

Here's a summary and details of the things we went through at the recent Gospel Investment night.

If you have any questions, we'd love to answer them. Please contact Dave Moore (dmoore@hunterbiblechurch.org) or come speak to us at church.

If you want details about how to give, just go to Giving and Finances.

Christmas with Hunter Bible Church

Join HBC for Christmas

Everyone loves a birthday, and Christmas is a birthday for everyone to celebrate.

Come and enjoy a modern Christmas church service, with a traditional message about the birthday boy - Jesus - who was born to die that we all might live a new life.

Christmas Eve Church at Eleebana PS - 4:30pm

Christmas Eve Church at Lambton - 8pm

Christmas Day Church at Lambton - 10am

Lambton High School, Young Rd Lambton.