Hunter Bible Church's 5 Top Tips for Magnification Team Success!

Strings: Brea Ryan

1. Be prepared for key changes.

The band leader may change their mind about the key on the day and it's helpful for them if we can help this change happen easily. Ways you can do this include knowing your key signatures, knowing the instrumental your playing well enough that you can put it into another key. If you struggle to do it by ear, have the sheet music and a pen ready.

2. Play confidently and loud.

This will help the quality of your sound and tone. It'll also help you have more body movement and expression, which is helpful for the congregation. If you're too loud through the mike the sound desk guys will turn you down.

3. No music stand is preferable.

It's better if you know the music off by heart so you can focus more on how what you're playing fits into the band.

4. Be aware of the harmonies

Other band members are playing around you. You don't want to clash with them.

If you have enough time, it can great to work out what you can play in the instrumental with other musicians involved. Then you can come up with a more interesting instrumental.

5. Sing if you can while playing, definitely when you're not playing anything.

Even just knowing the words is helpful for you to know

6. Bonus Tip! Listen to the arrangements that your band leader sends out.

If there's a melody or harmony you can hear on that track that you think you could play, have a crack at learning it and have a go on the day.

2018 HBC Association AGM Minutes & Documents

Here are the documents from our 2018 AGM:

AGM Minutes & Detailed EOY Financial Reports

2018 Hunter Bible Church Audited Financial Reports

HBC Association AGM and Building Info Night

Even though our church is much more like a family than an organisation, our AGM is a great opportunity to hear how God has been at work around us, as well as review the more formal side of our church. It's a bit like one of those special family meetings that get called around the dinner table! :)

Plus we'll also get an update from the Building Acquisition Committee to hear about recent progress in fund-raising, research and sites we've looked into.

We'll be meeting at 7:30pm on Wednesday 18th April at the HBC Hub.

The agenda for the AGM can be found here, while the minutes from the 2017 AGM can be found here (we'll accept this at the AGM). If you have any questions that you'd like to be asked at the AGM, please email secretary@hunterbiblechurch.org so they can be included in the agenda.

February Church Family News

The Better Together Series

Throughout February our Newy am, Newy pm and LakeMac congregations have been looking at what the bible says about friendship, especially friendship in Church. There's been lots of great feedback, as well as lots of great questions.

To listen to the talks, go to our SoundCloud page.
https://soundcloud.com/hunterbiblechurch/sets/better-together

O-Week @ UoN

Last week, thousands of new students started university at Newcastle. Unichurch held a bunch of outreach events and activities during O-Week.

It was a great week where they were able to let new and current students know about Jesus and church. The Team had some awesome conversations and 50 new people came along to Unichurch for the O-Week BBQ. 

Pray for Unichurch as they continue to welcome and encourage new students both at church and through evangelistic conversations.

The Life Series

It’s been a cracker start to the year with the Life Series. There has been 19 people coming along to check out Jesus! 

Church is doing a stellar job of chatting to their friends about Jesus and inviting them along.

Pray that God would use his series to save many people for his glory. 

NextPhase 'Living with Dementia'

On the 3rd of February, NextPhase held a seminar on ways to love and dignify people with Dementia as well as care for them as our Christian family. It reminded us that Jesus offers hope beyond Dementia.

Please be praying that people over 55 would continue to be exposed and challenged with the Gospel regardless of their illness. And, that in spite of people’s debilitating illness, we are able to show them hope through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

LakeMac Men & Meat

The guys at our LakeMac congregation got to invite their mates along to a great night hearing from Liam Doyle, a butcher turned pastor.

These have been really well attended and the prayer is that it will lead to guys coming along to Life or Christianity Explored to keep checking out Jesus.

Cupacke Decorating Afternoon

Alongside the Men & Meat event, the LakeMac congregation held a cupcake decorating afternoon. A bunch of people's friends came along and met one another while having fun with icing and treats.

Again, please pray that these events would lead to more conversations and invitation to come and check out Jesus.

Mag team gathering

Magnification Team Gathering was an evening where members of the Mag Team cam together for a night of fellowship, praise and learning new skills.

This was an opportunity for the Mag Team to spend some time improving their communication and skill base. Pete Munday gave a compelling talk on prayer where the Team was challenged to change their attitude towards prayer and its place in our life.

Please pray that the Mag Team can continue to work together at growing in their love of talking to God, and sharing this with our church.

MaTURITY Team Training

The Unichurch Maturity Team met for training, planning and team building on Saturday, Feb 17.

This team of 50 or so guys and girls will be leading groups for the hopefully 300 people at Unichurch this year.

Pray for lots of sign ups and healthy and growing groups.

December Church Family News

CHRISTMAS CAROLS IN LAMBTON PARK

On the 17th of December, we hosted Carols in Lambton Park. It was a wonderful evening of singing and remembering the birth of Jesus.

Praise God for the thousands of people who attended from across Newcastle and for everyone who made the evening work.

Pray that those who attended would join us for WAVE or our Summer series on 'The Real Jesus.'

Christmas with HBC

Over Christmas, we celebrated the birth of Jesus on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We had over 600 people come and hear how Jesus is their saviour. 

At Christmas Eve at Lake Mac and Christmas Day, we had an all-ages church service that the whole family was able to enjoy. Thank God for the team of people and preparation that went into making these services accessible for everyone.

Pray that the visitors over Christmas would continue to consider the importance of Jesus's birth, and would consider investigating Jesus further.

Baptisms

On the first Sunday of December, Newy pm and Unichurch gathered for baptisms. It was a great afternoon of joining with our family as they declared their trust in Jesus.

Thank God for Yazmin and Will, and pray that God would help them to endure for the rest of their lives.

Youth Summer Camp

Over the first weekend of December, HBC Youth went away for Summer Camp. They dug into 2 Timothy and were challenged to consider how their identity was shaped by living under God, and how they walk in their faith.

Thank God for the Youth Leaders who have taught the Bible faithfully over the last year. Pray that Youth, particularly those finishing up high school, would make Gospel-centred choices and find their identity in Christ.

PM & Unichurch Family Dinner

Before Baptisms kicked off, PM & Unichurch gathered for a family dinner. They were able to share a meal together, and spend time with their extended church family.

Thank God for the people who cooked and provided food.

AllNations

In 2017, 40 individual non-Christians came along to All Nations Life and Investigating Christianity. This represented 10 countries and 11 languages with 5 people becoming Christians!

Praise God for our international brothers and sisters. Pray that all those who have heard about Jesus through AllNations would be convicted of the Gospel and share it in their home countries.

Carols clean-up

After Carols, we had a team of volunteers join together and clean up.

Thank God for all those who willingly gave up their time to serve our church and the local community.

Update from the Building Committee

Over the last month the Building Acquisition Committee has continues to progress on their various projects involved in this phase. We've continued to keep an eye on potential sites for sale and we've contacted various commercial real estate agents to let them know the type of properties we're interested in.

Collecting Traffic Data

We're aware that whatever property we eventually buy, we'll be required to submit a Development Application which will need to include some traffic reports and studies. With these in mind, we're planning to conduct some current traffic surveys around our Sunday services and Hub events.

Further Legal Advice

Now that pledges have begun to be filled, we've continued to get further legal advice about managing the fund and ensuring we're fulfilling all our legal requirements. Please thank God for people like Neil who can help navigate these waters.

Financial management while we look

In conjunction with the HBC Finance Committee, the funds received so far have been put to work in a stable high-interest account. This means they're earning over $2200 in interest a month towards the building.

November Church Family News

Lil' Buds LuncH

We have a wonderful team of people who love our little kids at Lil's Buds every week during Women's Growth Group, teach them about their Heavenly Father and serve women who wish to read the bible with others.  Women's Growth Group and the leaders enjoyed lunch together after their weekly meeting on the 31st of Oct and 2nd of Nov.

It was wonderful to spend time with the Little Buds leaders, a chance for mums to get to know the team better and enjoy a meal together.  

Thank God for the ministry of Lil' Buds that frees up women to read the bible, grow their relationship with God and encourage each other to live for Jesus. Thank God for the Lil' Buds Team as they love and serve our 0 - 5 yr olds.

Gospel Investment Afternoon

Earlier in November, we had our Gospel Investment afternoon where we gathered to hear the plans and prayers for our church in 2018. Greg looked back on the highlights of 2017, we heard an update from the Building Acquisition Committee and announced our new budget for 2018.

Pray that as a church we would continue to be driven by a vision to see people grow in faith and to reach Newcastle and Lake Macquarie with the gospel. 

You can see the budget for 2018 here.

Reality Farewell

On the 8th of November, Reality, the college bible study, had their farewell. We said goodbye to those moving off college next year and those going back to their home countries.

It was a great night eating food, playing games and listening to God's word.

Please pray that as Uni breaks up for the year, the students will keep digging into God's word, and growing in their love and knowledge of him.

Senior Staff Mini Conference

During mid-November, some of our senior staff gathered for a few days to pray and plan for the next season of serving Jesus' people at HBC. 

This time together included reading God's word, thanking God for the his work in and through our church over the past few years and asking for his help in the future.

This came after attending some encouraging conferences over the past few months, including the FIEC (Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches) Conference, and gathering with past MTS Apprentices at MTS Mission Minded.

Please thank God for our pastors and pray that God would keep them and use them for his glory. 

New Youth Pastor Starting in 2018

We're very pleased to announce Anthony Allen will be joining the staff team to fill the Youth Pastor position.

Anthony and Laura have been around HBC for years and he's been working at Compassion after completing MTS with us a few years ago.

Please pray for the 30,000+ youth aged kids in Newcastle and Lake Mac... that God would use HBC to reach many with the gospel of Christ.

Births & marriages

October Church Family News

WAVE Training Day #2

The WAVE Team gathered for the second time on Oct 14th. They learned from Luke 9:52-61 that Jesus was gracious to those who rejected him, yet had stern rebukes for those who wanted to follow him for selfish reasons.

Pray that the team would desire to proclaim the kingdom of God rather than be part of the ‘in’ crowd on the WAVE team, and be gracious with those we encounter during evangelism. 

Now is also the time to be making deliberate plans to invite people along to Carols, Christmas church and WAVE!

MTS Mission Minded

Over the October Long Weekend about 70 HBCers (including old friends) gathered with brothers and sisters across Australia for a conference focused on the value of Gospel Ministry.

Pray that as a church we would raise up more and more Gospel Workers, not for the sake of HBC, but for the sake of God's Kingdom. Pray for our brothers and sisters considering paid Gospel Ministry. Pray that as a church we would continue to invest generously in the Gospel and God's Kingdom both with our own time and money.

Big Ideas Night: Marriage & Divorce

On the 25th, we gathered for the final Big Ideas Night of the year. We heard from Dave Allen, Greg and Jo on  God's plan for marriage and divorce. 

Pray that our understanding of marriage and divorce would be built on a solid foundation of biblical truths.

The Connect Series

The Connect Series has been running for the last three weeks to help new people join church well, to meet other people from around church and to learn what our church is all about.

The Connect Series helps people see what God is passionate about, and therefore what our church is passionate about. Pray that all the people checking out church will join well, and that we will all be living for Jesus as part of our church.

The Life Series

The Life Series kicked off two weeks ago and is designed for people to investigate who Jesus is as it's only through Jesus that people can be saved.

Give thanks for the 12 people at regular Life and the 5 people at AllNations Life.

Pray for the team and their friends as they share the gospel with them and that God would have mercy on them. 

Building committee update

The BAC (Building Acquisition Committee) has begun to turn it's attention to the next stage of the plan to find a property. Some news to let you know about; We've invited Kirsty Tepper to join the committee to help advise as we look at sites. We've looked at several sites for sale but none presently meet our needs. 

Financially, of the $1.9m pledged, the Building Fund already has just over $1m deposited.

Praise God for the generosity of his people and keep praying we find a great site to buy or develop.

Church Finance Update

"See what great love the Father has lavished on us" 1John 3:1

The love of God is such a great encouragement to be generous and support gospel work.

For our church, at the end of September we're about $50k into our savings.

Start giving now and help us make up the difference... 
http://www.hunterbiblechurch.org/giving-finances/

Financial Plans for 2018

Come along to the Gospel Investment Arvo on November 12 - 1pm at the Hub. We'll be going through the plans to invest God's money into God's kingdom in 2018.

One of the BIG news items is about plans for a new Youth Pastor!

September Church Family News

HBC:LakeMac Birthday

LakeMac congregation got together for dinner at Warners at the Bay to celebrate turning 1! It was a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the past year and how God has been using LakeMac congregation.

Thank God that the congregation has united as one, for people who have joined us and for those who have become Christians.

Pray God will continue to build and grow the people of LakeMac.

wave training day #1

On Sept 10th was WAVE Team Training Day where the Kids and Rego teams gathered for Bible teaching and training.

From Luke 4:14-30 we saw the Jews from Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth become furious when he didn’t put on a show of miracles, and reminded them that God is the one who chooses to bless, and he blesses his way. This was important to remember as we prepare for WAVE 2018..

Please pray for the Horse, Liv, Matt and the section leaders as they lead their teams and be praying for who YOU might invite to WAVE or talk to about Jesus, for His glory.

WAVE 2018 is on Mon 15th Jan - Fri 19th Jan.

postal vote info night

On the 21st, we gathered for an information night on the same-sex marriage plebiscite.

Greg talked through some of the issues that might affect the way that we vote and how we should approach the survey as a Christian.

Pray that we might consider how we vote in light of what the Bible says about marriage.

AIm mission awareness tour

During the last two weeks of September, 13 people from HBC visited Aboriginal Christians and AIM mission workers in Outback Australia.

The Tour provided valuable insight into what cross-cultural ministry in Outback Australia looks like and some of the challenges that mission workers are facing.

Give thanks for the Aboriginal Christians and missionaries who welcomed the HBC Team into their communities, and continue to pray that the Gospel would be proclaimed in Outback Australia.

June Church Family News

All-in Church at AM, PM & Lake Mac

The last two weekends of June, our AM, PM and LakeMac congregations did church with kids-in! Each meeting saw kids and adults singing, learning and doing actions as they looked through John 5.

Thank God for the chance to have all-ages in church and for our wonderful kids team leaders.

Lake Mac Weekend Away

On the 2nd-4th of June, LakeMac had a weekend away to Toukley. It was a an opportunity for the LakeMac congregation to get away for the weekend, to sit under God's word and invest time into one another as a family. Greg preached five great talks on Jesus as God's Right Hand Man (The Session of Christ) and they had some fantastic seminars on living for Jesus in marriage and singleness.

Pray for the HBC:LakeMac congregation that their lives - their godliness, their mission, and their decisions - would be about Jesus and His glory.

New Members Dinner

Joining a church is a big deal because God loves us and gathers us together as his people. The New Members Dinner was an opportunity to celebrate with people who have joined us this year. We had around 25 people come along and we got to chat about what God has done in the life of our church so far and what we are looking forward to God doing in and through us. 

Give thanks for all the people who have come along and decided to join us this year. Pray for them to keep making deeper and deeper connections with people and to feel part of HBC.

Big Ideas Night: Men & Women in Ministry

In May and June we gathered for two events (men and women) to explore what the Bible says about men and women in ministry. At the women's Big Ideas night Jenny Jefferys and Rach Munday did some great teaching on 1Timothy 2 and a reflection on feminism. A long Q&A with Jenny, Jo, Rach and Greg was very helpful.

This topic creates controversy among Christians and in the world, but we were able to see the goodness of God's way: men and women are equally valuable in God's church but at times serve him in different ways in different roles.

Pray that as a church both men and women would be glorifying God in all kinds of ministry.

UniChurch marriage seminar

On the 10th, Unichurch couples attended a marriage seminar at The Hub. It was an awesome afternoon which allowed them to think about how their marriages help them do the ministry of building God’s kingdom.

They were encouraged to love both singles and married couples around Unichurch, remembering that their job is firstly to serve Jesus.

Pray that all our married couples would be seeking to glorify God in their marriages.

Winter Warmers

Winter Warmers has kicked off whilst Unichurch Growth Groups are on pause over the holidays. Unichurchers have been meeting at the Hub every Tuesday to share a meal together and spend some time studying God's word.

Winter Warmers is a great chance for our Unichurch congregation to stay focused on God's word while they are on break from uni and their regular routines. It is a great time of fellowship as a congregation.

Please be praying that people will be coming along and continue to grow in God's word over the mid year break.

New Mobile Phone App?

We've been considering a HBC Phone App and we'd love your feedback and ideas! Would you use it? What would you use it for? Should we do it? Let us know! 

April Church Family News

HBC Annual general meeting

On the 12th, HBC had its Annual General Meeting. We gathered at the Hub to look back on 2016 and give thanks for how God has used HBC over the past year.

Easter with hunter bible church

Over Easter, 600 people gathered to celebrate Jesus's Death on Good Friday with Hunter Bible. There were heaps of new people and families with us across the weekend.

Give thanks for the chance to come together as a church and for all the people who came along. Pray that they all felt welcomed and were challenged by Jesus's death and resurrection.

Good Friday BAPTISMs

On Good Friday, six of our congregation members were baptised as an outward declaration of their love for Jesus to their family and friends.

Pray that those who were baptised would continue to grow in their love for God.

UniChurch Men & Meat

On the 6th, the guys from Unichurch brought their friends along to the Men & Meat night, to see how a lamb carcass is butchered into it’s various cuts of meat, BBQ it and eat together.

Liam Doyle, the butcher, also gave his testimony about being confronted by death and what this meant for his relationship with Christ. The night gave all those who came along an opportunity to think about why they might want to consider Jesus in a relaxed environment.

Give thanks for those who came and who brought friends. Pray that they might be challenged by what they heard and want to consider the claims of Jesus in more depth.

Youth at kyck

From the 7th - 9th, HBC Youth headed along to KYCK at Katoomba. They heard talks from the Book of Daniel and what it meant to be a bold believer.

Pray that the youth who went along would be challenged to live lives for God.

NewyPM FAMILY DINNER

On Sunday, NewyPM gathered for dinner after church. It was a great to spend some time together and share a meal.

Give thanks for all the people who provided food and for the opportunity to strengthen church relationships.

2017 Annual General Meeting

Here are some documents from our recent AGM:

AGM Minutes & Detailed Financial EOY Report

Hunter Bible Church 2017 Audited Financial Accounts

March Church Family News

AM: Connect 17

AM:Connect17 was a great day at Swansea for the Newy:AM family to hang out on the last Saturday of March. Young and old had fun playing cricket, paddling canoes, drinking tea/coffee, riding bikes & billy carts, sliding down hills on ice-sleds, drinking tea/coffee, playing tennis, etc.

It enabled conversations and relationships to be deepened, the sort of thing that comes just through time and shared experiences.

Pray for connections to strengthen between our Newy:AM family members, to laugh together through the fun times so we can cry and pray together through the tough times.

Pubsessions

On the 6th, PubSessions returned for 2017. PubSessions is a two hour weekly gathering where HBCers are able to participate in ministry training and hear a 'PubTalk,' where we address a current big issue in our world and how the gospel speaks into it. 

Living our lives shaped by the Gospel gives us competence, confidence and conviction to serve Jesus in a world that is hostile to Jesus. Pray that through PubSessions HBCers would be equipped for a lifetime of making disciples and serving Jesus.

CREATE 17

Our musicians from across all four congreagations gathered for a day of song-writing on the 25th, with Trevor Hodge. We were encouraged to write songs that glorified our great God.

Thank God for providing our church with talented people to help us praise Him every week and the time to gather for a song-writing day.

Live at the GT Bar

On the 8th, musicians from HBC put on a free music gig at the GT Bar on-campus. Live at the GT bar was a chance for our friends who don’t know Jesus to rub shoulders with people from church. 

Our hope is that it’ll help merge the worlds' of non-Christians with Christians and that in doing so will provide opportunities for us to share the gospel and our lives with them, that they might be saved.

Pray that we’d keep having opportunities to tell those who came along about Jesus.

Big Ideas Night: Scripture

60 people from all 4 congregations met to learn about the doctrine of Scripture at the first Big Ideas Night on the 15th. 

Scripture is God's word to us - authorative, inspired, sufficient, infallible and clear - so it's right that we thought hard about our convictions here!

Pray that we might value Scripture as a church and be reading it regularly personally, in families and in all aspects of church.

DumplinGS with the girls 

Last Wednesday, the women of UniChurch gathered with their friends for a night of homemade dumplings and had good quality time together.

The night provided a way for Unichurch girls to invite a non-Christian friend along, and by God's grace there were 12 non-Christian girls who came along!

Please be praying for them to be having gospel conversations in the following weeks with their Christian friends. 

Building Acquisition Committee

March kicked off with the Building Acquisition Committee meeting to discuss HBC's plans to buy a building in the future.

Please thank God for the spaces HBC has been able to meet in over the years and ask God to provide the funds and the facilities for a purpose built HBC home.

There'll be more info about our prayers and plans at the HBC AGM on the 12th.

what's coming up...

HBC Annual General Meeting - 12th April at the Hub

At our Association AGM we go through some formal requirements for our legal association, but we also get the chance to thank God for the year that's been.

This year we'll also be going through some more info about our plans for a HBC Building.

Good Friday: 10am 14th April at Lambton High School

We'd love to invite you to come and celebrate Easter with us as we dig into what Jesus means when he says, "It is finished."

There's a full kids program that will run for ages 0-12.

Click here for more information..
 

Unichurch Men & Meat - 6th April

Youth @ KYCK - 7th-9th April

HBC:Lake Mac Picnic Lunch - 9th April

HBC Public Bible Reading Club - 19th April

LIFE Series Starts!! - Wednesday 3rd May

Equip Women's Conference (Life Streamed from Sydney) - 27th May

HBC:Lake Mac Weekend away - 2nd-4th June

Youth BreakAway Camp - 30th June-2nd July

Unichurch MYC - 19th-23rd July

Big Sunday - all 4 congregations - one day conference - Sunday 27th August

February Church Family News

LIFE SERIES

18 people (5 international students) have come along to check out the claims of Jesus at the Life Series during February!

Praise God for his compassion in bringing them along. Ask that he would have mercy on their souls and that we might continue to do a good job of sharing the good news with them.

LAUNCH 17

On the 18th, our Unichurch congregation gathered for Launch17. Here, Unichurch had the opportunity to refocus and prepare for the new students arriving and a year of proclaiming Jesus’ name in Newcastle.

Pray that Unichurch would make a real commitment to see their primary focus for this year ito fulfil the purposes of God in this world for God's glory alone.

Pray that Unichurches will continue to do a good job at welcoming and loving people into church. 

Pray that God would be pleased to use Unichurch to bring many to himself.

PM FAMILY BBQ

Last Sunday our church family stuck around after church to share a meal and chat together.

It was a great time for regulars and new/ish people who've recently joined us this year to spend time together.

Pray that we would continue to spend time with one another in our day to day lives as well as thanking God for the good and hard times we share together.

Unichurch & O-WEEK 

O-week kicked off last week at the University, with hundreds of new students filling the campus for orientation.

It's also a week where Unichurch gets to meet these new people through a load of activities such as leafleting, walk up and door knocking. We also ran a girls high tea, a beach hangout, park soccer and a BBQ dinner before church.

Pray for all the people that came into contact with Unichurch, and that we would love them into our family and help them connect with HBC.

Growth groups kicked off

Growth Groups have now started across all congregations including, for the first very time, Lake Mac!

Being part of a Bible study group is a great way for us to be growing together to become more like Christ and to love our brothers and sisters.

Pray for all our Growth Groups and wonderful leaders, including your own.
 

Chinese New Year

All Nations and Reality hosted Chinese New Year on the 11th, where they cooked dumplings, ate delicious food, played games and conversed with one another, before kicking off Unichurch in 2017.

The night was a great way for our International and Australian students to meet and build relationships, as well as providing an opportunity for non-Christians to meet Christians.

Thank God for bringing together people from every tribe and nation into his family through Jesus and pray that the non-Christians who came along might be saved.

ELDers and Association News (AGM Notice)

Notice of HBC Association Annual General Meeting. 12 April 2017 at the HBC HUB.

Please try to come along to the AGM of the HBC Association. There's always some formal things to get through, but we'll also be talking about the plans and prayers for a HBC Building.

The other news is that the wonderful Bronwyn Thomas has decided to take a well-earned break from being an Adviser to the Committee of Elders. Bronwyn has been part of the Committee since May 2013 and has served our church with faithfulness and wisdom. Please join us in thanking God for Bronwyn.

January Family News

WAVE Kids Club

In the third week of January, the WAVE Kids Club with Sideline Cafe kicked off. Over 600 kids came along throughout the week, with over 100 different adults sticking around at the coffee tent. All who came along got to hear and learn about how they could be friends with Jesus and what the gospel means. 

Thank God for the 200+ people who helped WAVE happen and pray for all those who heard the gospel.

Men & Meat Night

On the 25th, a stack men gathered at The Hub to hang out with friends, cut up and eat lamb and hear about Jesus.

Pray for the non-Christians who were invited along, and that they would continue to investigate who Jesus is.

Summer Nights

Over Summer, Newy:PM has been meeting on Tuesday at Summer Nights to hang out, let the kids play, eat together and listen to a story from the Bible, because it's easy to let God slip to the side when Growth Groups have come to an end. 

Pray that Newy:Pmers would practice and remember these Bible stories so they can lovingly share the Gospel, as well as think through what it means for their own lives.

Summer Sessions

Last Tuesday, Summer Sessions kicked off again for our Unichurch congregation. Summer Sessions is a great chance for Unichurch to continue to meet and study the Bible whilst on holidays. It will run every Tuesday until the 14th of Feb, at The Hub from 6pm-9pm. 

Pray that the Unichurchers would be challenged and equipped for another year of serving Jesus at uni.

Big Questions 

Over the Summer, all four congregations have been looking at four big questions about Christianity. These have been a big hit with non-Cristians thinking through the claims of Christianity as well as for Christians to consider how to answer wisely on their own.

We're planning to put these up online soon!

Growth Groups Kicking off

Over the past week or so, 100s of HBCers have been signing up for Growth Groups for the year. As a church, we're really keen on gathering around the bible in weekly groups to grow more like Christ together.

Please pray for our 70+ Growth Group leaders and their support teams. Please pray for our Newish Groups starting the Connect Series too! The hope is that those Newish Groups will become their own Growth Groups soon. 

Our Extended family

At HBC we partner with a bunch of people and organisations who we love, and are doing some ministry + evangelism that we can't do, but are really excited about. To keep things manageable, and to help deepen relationships between people in our church family here in Newcastle + Lake Mac and our family serving in other places, we divide them up amongst our 4 congregations.

HBC:NEWY MORNINGS
- Chris + Karen Webb | CMS Broome, WA. (visiting us in March!).
- Kingsley + Veronica Box | CMS, Slovenia.
- Stu + Isabella | CMS, South Asia.

HBC:NEWY ARVOS
- Rob + Jen Alley | AIM.
- Shem + Grace | HSJC
- Kelly Landrigan | CMS, France.

HBC:LAKE MAC
- Josh + Sarah Allen | Laneway Church, Footscray Vic.
- Lincoln + Leah Bill | HMP, Myanmar.
- Mike + Katie Taylor | CMS, Tanzania.

HBC:UNICHURCH
- Ross + Lyndal Webb | Wycliffe Bible Translators, Vanuatu.
- Dave Payne | Pioneers, Myanmar.
- Dene + Rachel Hughes | CMS, Japan.

December Family News

Christmas Carols in Lambton park

On the 18th of December, HBC hosted Christmas Carols in Lambton Park. It was an amazing time spent with family and friends whilst joining in singing carols. We estimate there were about 7000 people there at least!

Thank God for all the hard work of those involved in making carols happen and everyone who attended. Pray that locals would consider coming to WAVE and Church this January.

Christmas with hbc

Over Christmas we had our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day church services where we celebrated the birth of our Saviour.

For the very first time, HBC had two Christmas Eve services which ran at Lambton and Eleebana. Our Lake Mac service had over 130 people!

Praise God for the 578 adults and children who joined in our Christmas services and pray that they would come to celebrate Christ too.

Youth Camp

Youth took away it's biggest group of kids to their final camp for the year. It was a great time where they went camping in tents (and sometimes without) and heard solid bible teaching.

Thank God for all the Youth leaders who have served this year, and pray that our Youth kids would continue to be keen for knowing our God more.

RUSH FINIshed for the year

On the 9th December, our primary-aged kids program ended for the year. The Rush Team ran an excellent last day of activities at Lambton Park. Thank God for the work of our Rush Leaders in sharing Jesus with these kids.

If you're keen for your kids to continue learning about Jesus during the holidays, register them for WAVE Kids Club at www.wavekids.com.au . 

PM Mexican Night

On the 11th of December, PMers had a Mexican Night following the service. It was a great night where we got to enjoy an awesome meal together.

Thank God for the helpers and the awesome opportunity to hang out together as a congregation. Pray that new people and regulars would keep feeling welcome!

MTS leavers

The end of the year means that a number of our MTS Apprentices have finished their apprenticeships. For many of them, they will be heading off to Bible college, new jobs and new places. 

Please give thanks for our MTS Apprentices, for their hard work and pray about the challenges that lie ahead.

How we ended the Calendar Year

Oct-Dec were better months, but overall it looks like we've ended the year quite far behind budget. However, the graph doesn't capture a steady stream of giving to the Building Fund. So overall our everyday accessible cash has depleted, our building fund cash has increased.

Could you kick-off the 2017 year with a one-off donation to church to help recover the buffer?

Marriages

Jack Maddison & Bethany Dean - September

Nick Shepherd & Emma Free - November

James Taylor & Rebecca Palmer - November

Sam Brentnall & Olivia Pain - December

November Family News

Gospel Investment Night

On the 15th we gathered as a church to prayerfully consider the investment plans for 2017 and beyond.

In the first part of the evening we discussed the plans for 2017 including using direct debits. Greg then announced HBC's plans to buy a building in the next 3 -5 years.

Pray that HBC would continue to invest wisely in future gospel proclamation.

Advent Calendars

Over two weeks in November, a team of people created advent calendars to raise funds for Compassion.

HBC was able to raise $500 through the generosity of HBC families. 

Reality Farewell

Our Growth Groups for students living on-campus - a.k.a. "Reality" - have wrapped up for the year! Students moving off campus were farewelled and reminded of the unity we have in Christ. Pray that both leavers and returners would continue to grow in Christ over the summer break.

AllNations Farewell

At the AllNations Farewell, we sent some of our brothers and sisters off to Singapore, Hong Kong, Mexico, South Korea and.. Tamworth and Sydney. We opened the Bible to see God's heart for the nations and prayed for Bec Castelijn in Bangladesh and skyped AllNations alumnus, Ted in the Philippines.  Pray that international students will head overseas as missionaries for Jesus and will find solid churches where they can continue to grow. 

Summer Sessions

Summer Sessions kicked off on Tuesday for the Unichurch congregation whose regular growth groups have finished for the year.

Over the next three Tuesdays, they'll be meeting at The Hub from 6pm for dinner and a bible study. 

Baptisms

On the 20th and 27th, we had baptisms at the Unichurch, AM and PM congregations. ... people were baptised to show their inward acceptance of Christ. 

Praise God for the way he's been at work in and through our church over the past 12 months and more.

SRE Christmas Shows

Scripture Christmas assemblies kicked off in the last week of November around a whole bunch of schools in Newcastle. It is an awesome opportunity for our scripture team to share the great news of Jesus and what Christmas really means.

Pray that all the children, staff and parents who are at these assemblies would come to know Jesus.

Lil'Buds Graduates

Last week saw a bunch of our little HBC members graduate from Lil'Buds because they're going to big-school in 2017.

Please thank God for these little brothers and sisters in Christ, and for the great helpers and Lil'Buds leaders over the past year! Women's Growth Group really wouldn't be the same without this team.