Pastorates

For the last few months we have been talking about "Pastorates". Now many may ask what they are, which would be a valid question.

At present we operate a house group system in which the focus has mainly been for bible study and fellowship which is all good but we felt that there had to be a bit more to it. The Pastorate then is a mid-size group consisting of no more that 35 people who meet to do all the things that you would expect but more. There is more of an outward focus to the Pastorates and a safe place for people to explore the God-given gifting. The groups will start off at around 20 people and once they get to big we will form another pastorate and so on. It is the aim of these groups to see growth in maturity of the believer and fruitfulness by people coming to faith in and through Christ.

Small groups will still operate but may be a little different as they will be formed out of the Pastorates and held on alternate weeks.

Please pray...

• That this concept will be communicated effectively
• That through this change of structure we will be effective in reaching friends and family with the gospel of Jesus
  
• That we will see people flourish in their gifting
• Pray for the team as they finalise and co-ordinate the change
• That people will catch the heart and values behind the change (values - fruitfulness, multiplication, maturity and transformation)
  

FOOD BANK

It has been a while since that last post for various reasons, so sorry if you have logged on expecting to see an update.

A few months ago we announced at church that we were going to be launching into a social enterprise called the Food Bank which aims to distribute emergency food to people who are in desperate need. We have signed up for the franchise and are currently putting plans in place to get other churches involved and get the thing up and running. It is a logistical challenge, there is so much to sort out and organize. It may seem like this has been a forgotten project, it is not! We are just wanting to make sure that it is all in place ready to start, to give the project the best chance of longevity and maximum impact on our town.

You might ask how this fits in with the big picture of the church. Well, we posted not so long back the text from Jeremiah 29 in which the prophet calls the people to work for the peace and welfare of the town. Our heart and one of our core values as a community at WBCC is just that, to love the town as seek its welfare.


Please pray...

• That the meeting planned for September between the church leaders and Jeremy of the Food Bank franchise will go well and that church will want to be involved in the project
• That we would locate appropriate premises to store food and distribute from.
• That the finances we need would be provided
• That we would find favour with the authorities as we seek to get this project off the ground
• That all the organising would be done well and logistics well planned and that we would know the wisdom of God for this task