ARVO CHURCH PUBLIC LAUNCH

I’M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE PUBLIC LAUNCH OF ARVO CHURCH NARRABEEN!! IT’S THIS SUNDAY (10TH MARCH 2013) FROM 4PM AT ST FAITH’S ANGLICAN CHURCH, CLARKE STREET NARRABEEN.
WWW.ARVOCHURCH.COM // FACEBOOK EVENT // ALL WELCOME!

COME!

12 months ago St Faith’s Anglican Church Narrabeen began a new Sunday afternoon church. It was pioneered under the leadership of Ben Molyneux with a core team of less than 10 adults. It has grown to about 40 adults each week. I transitioned into the leadership of this new community at the end of 2012.

Over the last few months as Arvo Church has continued to grow we have felt that it would be good to “go public”. What will change? Not much. We’ll keep doing the same things. But we’re convinced that we have the best possible reason to gather. Jesus loves us and Jesus has gathered us through his death and resurrection. So we want to make some noise to let people know about our Him!

Arvo Church will grow naturally as Gen Y have kids and as young professionals keep moving into the area. But we are keen to see it grow by mission as well. We are seeking to reach out to our local community: neighbours, colleagues, surf life saving clubs, schools, cafes and markets.

In January we did a series called LOVE THE BEACHES (see overview of basic idea and talk 1 here). We’re using some of this teaching to help drive our local mission push.

Please pray for us! (You are more than welcome to attend the launch… or keep coming if you’re local).

We’ve done some marketing via SMS, email, web, facebook, facebook advertising, postcards, business cards, letterbox drops, street chalking and word of mouth. See below for our postcard (the business card is similar).
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WORSHIP THE CREATOR NOT CREATION

Surf breaks. Egg and Bacon rolls. Beach walks. Bush walks. Lake walks. Playgrounds. Sunshine. Sunsets. Coffee. Sporting fields. Shopping centres. Standup paddle boarding. Manly Sea Eagles. Panoramic views. Restaurants. Retirement villages. There is so much to LOVE about the Northern Beaches of Sydney!! During January 2013, St Faith’s Arvo Church we will be considering how to LOVE THE BEACHES. It is good to enjoy the many great things about living in this place. However, the big idea is that the BEST way to love the beaches is to point them to Jesus’ love.

LOVE-THE-BEACHES

The love of Jesus is news that our whole world needs to hear. That’s why we send missionaries across the world, but we also need to send them across the street. And so the subtitle of this series could be called “LOCAL MISSIONARIES”.

PART 1 // LOCAL MISSIONARIES LOVE THE CREATOR

The Northern Beaches is a place where many love the creation without acknowledging the Creator. Romans 1 shows the seriousness of ingratitude and thanklessness.

According to Romans 1:18-20 God has made himself known through what he has made. That is, when you stand on Edgecliffe Boulevarde Collaroy Plateau and enjoy the panoramic views, you are supposed to see the handiwork of the creator.

But according to Romans 1:21-25, people fail to glorify and thank God (v21) they worship the creation rather than the creator (v25).

All people are are guilty of idolatry, i.e. turning good things into god things. But it’s pretty obvious in such a beautiful place like the Northern Beaches where the location is central to our identity. Our community LOVE: the lifestyle; the creation; enjoying God’s good gifts. But so often they fail to to thank God for it.

Our community may not claim to be religious, but the reality is that everyone worships someone or something. If it’s not the Creator it’s created things.
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