gateway magazine, april 2012, issue

APRIL 2012ISSUE 15

DISCOVER I CONNECT I GATHER I GO

GATEWAY CHURCH950 VICTORIA ST, HAMILTON, NEW ZEALANDWWW.GATEWAYCHURCH.ORG.NZ(07) 839 1284OFFICE OPEN 9 AM - 4 PM, TUESDAY - FRIDAY

02 - desk of don and karen

03 - wayne and sue robinson

05 - an easter message

06 - hydrate in pictures

08 - april/may calendar

10 - the almagro’s in south africa

11 - connect

13 - gateway books

14 - gateway staff

16 - 10 questions...

EDITORIAL

Happy Easter. This month there are three Public Holidays, both of these events recognise incredible acts of sacrifice on behalf of great numbers of others. The first is of course Easter when we focus on the work of the cross and the resurrection of Jesus. The second is Anzac Day where we recognise the countless lives laid down in the name of freedom. Both are in the context of war, one physical the other spiritual.

Easter is a time to reflect on what was achieved by the sacrifice of the cross and learn to live in the reality of the resurrection. Like war, even though the invading army may have been vanquished and freedom won, it can sometimes take a while to break the habits of living in a captive land. The same is true of us. When we accept Jesus, for the most part our way of life doesn’t change overnight or in an instance. Ironically at the other end of the spectrum, like the Israelites in the desert we sometimes forget how bad things actually were in our past and we start to long for the routine and rigidity of our captivity.

The story is told of a man who was passing by a group of elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.

He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” the trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.” The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.

The plight of past captivity can hold us back from what God wants for our lives, so this Easter our prayer is that we would experience the fullness of the resurrection power in our own lives, shaking off the shackles of our captivity and pressing on into the promised land. u

shannon richmond

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY BY JESSICA MICHELS

YOU’LL FIND IT HERE

GATEWAY OP-SHOP NEEDS YOU!1. Used furniture in good condition - we are able to pick up from city addresses.2. Good quality, clean second hand clothing / shoes / handbags.3. Second hand books4. Homeware e.g tableware, towels, pots, pans etc To find out more call 950 8003, check out www.gatewayurban.org, or find us on Facebook under Gateway Urban Trust. u

“From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise...” Psalm 8:2

KIDS ARISE will be an interactive praise, worship and prayer gathering for children, together

with their family and friends, celebrating with a KIDS ARISE sized cake at the end!

This event will be repeated all around the world over 24 hours, with the first here in New Zealand.

VENUE: Gateway Church, 950 Victoria StDATE/TIME: Saturday April 14th, 4 - 5.30 pm

NO COST! Walk-in attendance welcomed

Faith At Home

Rev. Mark Holman, international consultant and speaker for the ‘Faith at Home’ movement will be speaking at an open parenting seminar, equipping parents to make the home the primary place where faith is nurtured.

Tuesday the 8th of May, 6.30 pm - 9.00 pm.Gateway Church, 950 Victoria St, Hamilton

ofMark Holman

02

DESK OF DON...words by don barryI’m sure many of you have watched the “Jesus heals Cancer,’ controversy that has unfolded recently on or TV screens. In case you haven’t, a Pastor in the Hawkes Bay put up a sign outside the church building that read, “Jesus heals cancer.” Some folk in the community, whose son was battling this cursed disease took exception to it and contacted the local authorities, demanding that it be removed. The Advertising Standards authority investigated and was considering what steps they might take if it proved to be considered as false advertising. {The Pastor has since removed the sign and replaced it with another that reads, “Jesus heals every sickness and every disease: Matthew 4:23.” One suspects that this is hardly less controversial!}

To be truthful, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the whole issue. My sympathies lay, in a significant way, with the Pastor. Like him, my conviction is that Jesus can heal sickness and disease and that includes cancer. Having said that, I guess I can also sympathise with the family who felt the billboard promised more than it could deliver and therefore created false and cruel hope.

Jesus heals.

Always?

In every case?

Guaranteed?

I suspect even the most ardent among us might not be willing to go this far in our claims. We have all prayed for people who didn’t get healed and have all experienced the disappointment and confusion that resulted.

Perhaps a point of wisdom might have caused the billboard to be re-worded slightly so that it gave hope and opened up the possibility of the miraculous to those suffering without seemingly to promise a failsafe guarantee.

It does raise the vexing question; the 64 million dollar question; “If we believe the Bible teaches that Jesus heals, why doesn’t it happen always, or at least more than it does?”

I think only fools rush in with simplistic answers where angels fear to tread.

The Bible does hint at things that might prove to be hindrances to healing, and yes they do include a lack of faith and sin, {See Matthew 17:14-20, but note that it was the lack of faith of those doing the praying and not the one being prayed for. See also John 5:14, but balance it with John 9:1-3 lest you be tempted to create a loveless formula to beat people with} but to reduce a lack of healing to these two things, which our Pentecostal forefathers often did, and many still do today, is simplistic and often very cruel.

I think there are numerous other reasons that we don’t see as much in the realm of healing as we might like. I’m not going to venture far down that track – I’d recommend you read John Wimber’s book, “Power Healing,” or Francis MacNutt’s books, “Healing,” or “Power to heal,” if you would like to study this question some more.

Perhaps let me just make one observation: one of the reasons we can’t guarantee healing in every instance as the billboard may have appeared to do is that we live in the tension of the “now but not yet” when it comes to God’ Kingdom.

By that I mean that the Kingdom of God has come in Jesus; it is here and is operational and we really should be praying, expecting, believing and looking for all its promises – healing, reconciliation and restoration. Having said that, it is also true that although the Kingdom is here and is expanding, it has not arrived in its fullness

and won’t, until Jesus comes again. George Eldon Ladd described our present experience of the Kingdom of God as ‘living in the presence of the future. We are here and now entering into what will be there and then.’

We live, as it were, between D Day and V Day. Most historians will tell you that, in principle at least, the Allies successful landing on the beaches of France in 1944 effectively put the result of the war beyond doubt, and yet much more fighting resulted, in fact the heaviest losses of the war followed D Day.

Calvary was ‘D Day’ in the cosmic spiritual warfare that grips our planet. Satan was defeated there and the Kingdom of God began to push out from here in power. V Day is the Second Coming of Jesus, when all fighting will cease and every knee will bow and acknowledge Jesus as King. In the meantime we wage warfare; we preach the Gospel, we pray for the sick, we cast out demons, feed the hungry, clothe the naked and extend the Kingdom in every way possible.

Do we win every skirmish? No, clearly not.

Are we guaranteed ultimate victory? Yes, without a doubt.

We live and minister in the midst of that tension.

I think the billboard statement does suggest more than we are presently delivering, but I think it does promise what is ultimately coming. In the meantime I think we should keep praying and believing. We might not see all healed, but when and as we pray we see some healed. Some is better than none and I, for one, am looking for ‘some’ to become many, and for ‘many’ to become most, and ultimately, on that Day, for ‘most’ to become all.

Till He comes,

Don. u

03

Growing up as a missionary kid (MK) in Guinea Bissau, West Africa were some of the best days of my life. Yes, it is one of the poorest countries in the world and probably not what others would consider as an ideal place to bring up children but I loved it. I loved the heat, the smells (even though some weren’t that pleasant), the sound of pouring rain on a tin roof, and the mangoes but most of all, I loved the people. Guineans have a great sense of humour and community and I felt at home in their midst, I felt safe.

Not every MK has such a privileged experience and I can’t say it was all easy. Returning to Northern Ireland at the age of 11 felt like being ripped apart – I no longer belonged, I realised my upbringing was unusual, nothing made sense and we never had as much money as others. This aside, my trust in God grew as I saw Him provide for everything we needed and the more I saw of the western world, the more I treasured my life in Guinea Bissau.

It has to be my roots that jumpstarted my interest in mission even though as a child I didn’t understand all of what it meant. Since the age of 11 my heart skips a beat when I read verses or sing about God’s love for the world, those of every tribe, nation and tongue coming together to worship him. I get excited when I meet people from other cultures and I have an affinity with the poor and broken.

What does someone do when they feel called to overseas mission? Most think of Bible College and so did I. Not everyone thinks of Bible College in New Zealand though! Why New Zealand – well for one it was cheaper and secondly Eastwest College of Intercultural Studies was focussed on overseas mission which was exactly what I was looking for. I knew NZ was the “ends of the earth” for me, but the reality of going only hit me when I got my acceptance letter and I cried – not for joy but because I knew it would mean once again leaving behind everything I knew. God understood this and encouraged me by prompting a friend (unaware of my situation) to send me a verse right at that very moment, Isaiah 30:21 “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

This is where I met Wayne who, unlike me, had a relatively “normal” childhood in Kerikeri, NZ. Growing up for him meant swimming, surfing, sport! Not encouraged to go to church, he opted out, hitting the beach for a surf instead. After taking 6 months to travel the world (and surf) – he found he was still searching for meaning in life. It was at university in Christchurch he pursued the burning question in his heart “is Jesus really the only way”? After going to a meeting he met the Holy Spirit – was convicted of sin but at the same time felt overwhelming

WAYNE AND SUE ROBINSON

words by sue

peace, love and joy. His search was over – God was real. This had huge implications on his life. Three times, in three separate churches, he was given the same verses: Isaiah 61:1-4

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners” (Isaiah 61:1).

Wayne realised in order to be obedient to God he had to be obedient to this call on his life and the next step for him was to go to Eastwest College of Intercultural Studies to learn more about missions and the Bible.

To cut a LONG story short, we eventually got married in June 2010 and began to ask God what he wanted from our lives. At this point, just married, it was not in our minds to join the mission field but God had other ideas. We asked God to specifically speak to us whilst on holiday in Germany – and he did. Out of the blue, we got a long email from WEC asking if we’d consider being part of their short-term mission programme, WEC Trek, which is based just outside London. We prayed and felt enough peace to go forward. We joined WEC in March 2011 and have been in the Trek Office since then.

WEC International was founded by CT Studd in 1913. (Cricket fans might know Studd played in the 1882-83 test series in Australia when England regained the Ashes.) He gave up substantial wealth and fame for the cause of Christ going to China, India and Congo. He is known for sayings, such as, “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for him.” WEC has grown to be in over 80 countries with approximately 2,000 workers with the primary aim of “reaching the unreached.” (i.e. making disciples among peoples where there are no churches – with less than 17,000 different people groups in the world, surprisingly there still remain over 6,500 people groups considered unreached).

WEC Trek? Not exactly reaching the unreached, or is it? WEC Trek isn’t where I thought I’d be... I’m actually one of those people who wanted to go to the mission field, to live alongside and reach out to the poor and broken. I believe one day this will happen. But for now, we are called to be in WEC Trek, and we are excited about Trek’s potential to further God’s Kingdom. Trek has the opportunity to inspire Christians, disciple young (and old) and help facilitate churches to have a global impact. We send people out from 2 weeks to 2 years to join teams on the field doing all sorts of work – kids ministry, teaching, business, building, medical, friendship building, sports etc. We also send out teams. Our work is seeing people through the process from initial enquiry to de-brief, running training courses and mobilising for mission. It’s amazing to be part of the journey in the lives of people as they go out and return enthused for what God’s doing around the world. Many go out for more, but even if it’s a one off trip – the impact on their lives, their family, friends, church and community can be invaluable.

Wayne and Sue Robinson are missionaries supported by Gateway. Please pray for them as they continue their journey in serving God through WEC International and specifically WEC Trek. u

“We prayed and felt enough peace to go forward.”

ARTIST: JAIMEE STARK

05

There are only four or five days in our calendar that most people when asked can readily identify the reason to why they exist. Aside from Anzac Day they all centre around the Christian faith. Next Friday is what we call Good Friday. It has always struck me that ‘good’ is not really an apt word to describe the happenings of that most important of days in the Christian calendar. So it did not surprise me when I discovered that good is actually an archaic form of ‘holy’. The Oxford Dictionary says that ‘good’ is “of a day or season observed as holy by an orthodox “Christian” church.”

Over the years this holy day has of course become more of a holiday as our society and community drift further away from our Christian roots as a country. Good Friday has become the day when we set aside time to visit garden centres rather than a time to reflect on the glorious act of the cross. Whilst some find the ‘commercialism’ of Easter an abhorrent deviation from its true meaning, it is an obvious and natural path for a world that sees the event as irrelevant and a great excuse for a sale.

We are all familiar with the scenario of people on the streets being asked what Easter means to them and the corresponding replies which range from Easter eggs, to the Easter bunny and the sometimes hopeful guess that some holy man died on a cross.

So this Good Friday our challenge is to put the ‘holy’ back in to the day. That will probably look very different for each of us. For some even observing the day as a type of Sabbath – a time of not running around will be a holy thing. For others setting aside the day to do stuff with family will represent ‘holy’. Or how about finding a traditional Good Friday service to attend. Whatever you do, it is about separating the day from any other Friday, recognising that is it a ‘sanctified’ day, a holy day.

When we wake on Saturday it sometimes seems that the world has returned to normal. All the shops are open, people are out and about and the only noticeable difference is the 50th repeat of The Sound of Music on our t.v. screens or possibly even something vaguely ‘religious’ for us to watch. This return to normality is far from what was happening on a Saturday 2000 years ago. The disciples were no doubt experiencing a myriad of emotions. They

AN EASTER MESSAGEwords by shannon richmond

would have been confused about what had just happened, sad that Jesus the great Teacher had been crucified, angry at the authorities and perhaps even disappointed in themselves.

Meanwhile Jesus was busy fulfilling what had been written of Him. He was busy down in the depths, retrieving the keys to sin and death, ministering to the lost souls and generally causing havoc for our adversary, Satan. How shocked must Satan have been to see Jesus turn up on his doorstep when he thought that victory had been achieved. After Jesus finishes down below he spends some time with His Father before His return to the tomb.

So what are we to make of Easter Saturday, perhaps it is a call to us to not give up when things in our lives appear dead, maybe it is time to take the fight to our enemy, a surprise attack. Perhaps it is a call for us to press in more and spend more time with the Father. Again let us not accept the normality of Saturday but remember that it was a day of action for Jesus.

As Easter Sunday dawns Mary comes to the tomb, distraught, emotionally spent but still in an attitude of worship to her Jesus, bringing spices to anoint his body. No one could have expected what she found. Jesus’ body gone and an Angel ready to proclaim the good news of Jesus’ resurrection. In an instant despair is turned to hope and sadness to joy.

The disciples are taken unaware and find it hard to even contemplate this turn of events. For some they need to touch Jesus himself to believe what has occurred. Others only need to see him and they are again filled with purpose and passion for their call.

The impact of these three days in the life of Jesus continue to radiate outwards and onwards two thousand years later. The question for us today is do we believe that our Lord has been risen again? This might seem like a silly question to ask but we only have to examine our own hearts to realise that sometimes we don’t live in the power of the resurrection. Like the disciples we find it hard to believe unless we can see Him, we struggle to have faith unless we can touch him.

Romans 8 tells us that “ if the Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, [then] He Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you.”

The third and final challenge for us in this Easter period is to learn to live in the power of the resurrection, to get up on Easter Sunday secure in the knowledge that Jesus has risen, He is risen indeed! u

“The impact of these three days in the life of Jesus continue to radiate outwards and onwards two thousand years later.”

HYDRATE IN PICTURESAfter a summer of less than summery weather the sun beamed its warm glow upon us as we set out to embark on the Hydrate journey for the third time. At noon on Saturday 18th March numerous folk entered into twenty-four hours of ‘drawing aside’ to worship Jesus and have His love impact and shape our lives in a spectacular piece of Aotearoa.

With birds singing and waters of the Raglan Harbour sparkling, we joined in creations praise as we sang together, explored the words of God, meditated on His goodness, and enjoyed friendship. He was there before we arrived and to sit and wait in His presence was refreshing to the soul. u

]

01SUN

02

09

APRIL...

08

16

04WED

FRIDAY MORNING PRAYER, 6.15 am in the Prayer Room, followed by breakfast. All are welcome.

13

15

11

WEDNESDAY NIGHT MEALS5.30 pm, a free community meal here in the dining hall of the Gateway building.

MON

SUN

MON

WED

FRI

SUN

18WED

MON

20

23MON

FRI

27FRI

30

MORNING GATHERING, 10.00 am

NO EVENING GATHERING

MORNING GATHERING, 10.00 am, with Marcus Ardern

EVENING GATHERING, 6.30 pm, with Marcus Ardern

INTERCESSORS GROUP, 7.30 pm in the prayer room, access via the dining room.

MON

FRIDAY MORNING PRAYER, 6.15 am in the Prayer Room, followed by breakfast.

29SUN


EVENING GATHERING, 6.30 pm

CRAVE BAKE SALE, Bring some coins along for the Crave Bake Sale happening straight after church, they’ll be fundraising for Easter Camp!

INTERCESSORS GROUP, 7.30 pm in the prayer room, access via the dining room


05THUR

BYM NORTHERN EASTER CAMP 5TH - 9THMystery Creek Hamilton, Crave Crew (high schoolers) are going, PLEASE BE PRAYING FOR US!!!

CELEBRATION SUNDAYGaties and Emerge kids are all upstairs from the beginning of the gathering.



HEALING ROOMS, 7.30 pm - 9.00 pm, in the nursery, for more info email [email protected]

ARISE, A combined children’s worship and prayer event 4.00 - 5..30 pm in the Gateway auditorium - no cost!

14SAT

HOLIDAY PROGRAMME, Gaties and Emerge head upstairs from the start of the break.

PURSUE GATHERING7 pm, keep an eye out for details.

22SUN



21SAT

MENS BREAKFAST, Keep this date free for the next Men’s Breakfast, more details to come.


25WED


CRAVE CONVERGE, 7.00 pm - 9.00 pm, meets in the auditorium here in the Gateway building.

HOLIDAY PROGRAMME, Gaties and Emerge head upstairs from the start of the break.

MAINLY MUSIC, Starts back for the new term today, 10.00 am in the dining room, $3 per family.


MORNING GATHERING, 10.00 am, with Tony Saxon

EVENING GATHERING, 6.30 pm, with Tony Saxon

GATIES PRAYER BREAKFAST, 8.00 am, in the Elim room

GATIES AND EMERGE, term 2 begins straight after the break


03TUES

BRINGING PEOPLE OUT OF POVERTY7 pm - 9 pm in the dining hall, Anna and Nam Ho will be sharing on helping people out of poverty from a biblical perspective, for more information email [email protected]

EASTER SUNDAY

]

02

04

07

MAY...

06

14

WED


11

13

09

SUN

MON

WED

FRI

SUN

MON

21MON

FRI

27SUN

28





MON




HEALING ROOMS, 7.30 pm - 9.00 pm, in the nursery, for more info email [email protected]

20SUN




25FRI MAINLY MUSIC,

10.00 am in the dining room, $3 per family.





MAINLY MUSIC, 10.00 am in the dining room, $3 per family.

GO MISSION, 6.30 pm in the Dining Hall, check the website for more details

EMERGE, Emerge are hanging out! If you’re intermediate age and want to know a little more check out the Gateway website or contact Annie at the Gateway office (07) 839 1284.

08TUES

MARK HOLMAN PARENTING SEMINAR6.30 - 9.00 pm in the Gateway building,, no need to register.

MAINLY MUSIC, 10.00 am in the dining room, $3 per family.

16WED


CRAVE CONVERGE, Meets 7 pm - 9 pm in the Gateway auditorium. If you’re high-school age and keen to get involved contact Wend or Matt on (07) 839 1284 or find us on Facebook!

18FRI MAINLY MUSIC,

10.00 am in the dining room, $3 per family.

23WED


PURSUE GATHERINGWe meet 7 pm - 9 pm, more details to come. If you’re between 18 - 30ish and keen to get involved contact alice via [email protected] or find us on Facebook.

MORNING GATHERING, 10.00 am, with Tony Saxon

EVENING GATHERING, 6.30 pm, with Tony Saxon

FULL PRAYER TEAM CATCH UP, Lunch and a catch up for those on prayer teams, from 12.00 pm in the dining hall.

29TUES

WATOTO CHILDREN’S CHOIR, More information to come.


30TUES

Pull it out, stick it on your fridge, these are the dates you might like to keep in mind for April/May As always, any new events will be posted on the Gateway website, www.gatewaychurch.org.nz, as well as on our Facebook page.


Hello Gateway!

I have been a member of Gateway since my baptism in 1981. I felt a strong call to the mission field and left NZ for Spain in 1986. I made regular visits to NZ every 3 or 4 years with my Spanish husband and two children.

Our work is amongst the addicted and marginalised of society. We plant churches, open rehabilitation centres for drug addicts and alcoholics, where they can find, free of charge, freedom and salvation and purpose in God for living. We generate non-profit businesses where ex addicts can fund their own recovery and learn skills, submission and diligence in work. They are taught to handle money wisely and work together in love. We provide homes where we are their extended family. We show them love and discipline where they can grow in self-acceptance and grace to serve one another.

I was 10 years serving in Spain and a further 15 years serving together with my husband Eduardo and two daughters Sefora(22) and Raquel(20) in the UK. Between us we have pioneered in 3 or 4 places and just last year felt called to pioneer afresh in South Africa.

FROM THE ALMAGRO’S IN SOUTH AFRICA...

words by jenny almagro

Eduardo left the UK in October last year with 4 other men. I joined them in December and Ana, the wife of another team member arrived last month. We hope to bring many black and white races together into one church and community by taking in the homeless and addicted and providing them with love and food and shelter; showing them the way of salvation.

We are busy raising chickens to sell live, gardening and selling furniture. These money making ventures are not paying our way very well as yet so we need prayer and wisdom to make ends meet. We would welcome short term volunteers or longer term help from anyone that would be willing to live in our centres. To date we only have men, so single young men are required.

We have hope for this nation of South Africa. That God through us will build his church. Please pray with us for fruit that will last.

Warmest love,

Eduardo and Jenny

One of the more pressing needs for Jenny and Eduardo and the work in South Africa right now is transport for the men. A good second hand vehicle is approximately R150,000 /$24,000NZ. We would like to help them out, so in a few weeks time we are going to provide an opportunity to give to this project in our Sunday Gatherings. If you would like to support them outside of this time please feel free to contact the office directly. u

10

Larry Crabb wrote in his book Connecting, “We have made a terrible mistake! For most of this century we have wrongly defined soul wounds as psychological disorders and delegated their treatment to trained specialists. Damaged psyches aren’t the problem. The problem is disconnected souls. What we need is connection. What we need is a healing community.”

Community is a broad and sometimes indefinable word but for some it means connection with others. At Gateway we have a number of groups that meet together for connection. A small number of those are what we traditionally have called home-groups or small groups, a larger number of those are more aptly described as groups of people from Gateway getting together to share life with each other.

Some groups meet to serve others like the Wednesday meal team, those who serve in the op shop, those on Sunday host teams. Some meet to support each other like the groups of mums that meet in homes all around Hamilton each week.

The grand majority of these groups won’t be found on our ‘connect-groups’ board. Where they are found is when someone reaches out to another and says “hey would you like to come around for a cup of coffee” We hope that each of us can have that experience here at Gateway and if we haven’t then we could be the instigator of that experience for someone else.

Studies show that the best and longest-lasting small groups are those that originate from a point of friendship, an invite to sup together or serve together. If you would like to connect people at Gateway, a great way to do that is to serve somewhere.

CONNECTwords by shannon richmond

“Do you realise that you’re a mountain climber? Each day God equips you with all you need to scale the heights of every mountain in your life. With every small slope of circumstance or prodigious challenge you conquer, you build faith muscles, strengthening you for the next climb! There may be moments when mist or fog blocks the glorious view of victory, and at times you may wonder if you can keep climbing, but God is on every rocky ledge, reaching out to guide you to greater heights of faith.” LeAnn Weiss.

The “summit climbers” are a group which includes, men and women who can say that the above quote is becoming or has become their experience. We like to meet together for fellowship and support. As a group we have so many real life stories, adventures, travels hardships and joys to share and discuss. We value our time together knowing that there is understanding amongst us. Our programme is diverse. We have had some young people visiting our group and sharing their lives, the occasional coffee trip out and of late we have begun using some of our time at the end of our meeting doing exercise with the guidance of a “health professional”. We study short Bible passages or become inspired by reading from well-respected authors.

Life and the Bible have given us an understanding of the values of being friendly and having friends. We appreciate the difficulties that come with loneliness, ill health or grief. This gives us a heart to serve members of the body with empathy and compassion. It may be phone calls, hospital or rest home visits or giving practical aid with knitted rugs, baby woollens or extra food or plants from our gardens.

Several children living in India are now sponsored from the group as well as on-going interest and prayer support. Mary Thompson has had several mission trips with “Go Trust” to work in Siliguri north India. Rhondda, our leader has a son and his family in Paris France, with YWAM and Ethelie has had a daughter with her family working as missionaries in Tajikistan.

Another area of Christian life that is greatly valued is that close relationship with the Lord that comes from prayer. There is no better way to cope with the problems of walking on this earth than to take them to the Lord. Each person has their own testimony of afflictions healed, needs met and the on-going assurance of the Lord’s presence when travelling day by day through darker times. So with that heart we pray for others needing support. They may be family members of those in the group or ones we have heard of that could do with being upheld when the road has become a bit bumpy.

Different walks of life are represented in the group with a variety of work experiences. So whether you are single, married, widow or widower, you are welcome in the group. We are mainly made up of ages in the second half of life but that does not preclude those who are younger and whom have afternoon or night work shifts.

Our meeting time is 10.00am every second Wednesday in the crèche at the Gateway Church and we finish at about 12.15pm. u

We want to encourage groups to form amongst our community and are always happy to chat with those who might like to lead a group. This month we are featuring Summit Climbers one of the groups that run during the week at gateway, in subsequent months we will look at some of the others, or you can check the connect groups board at the back of the Auditorium for more information. u

SUMMIT CLIMBERS

words by rhonda, ethelie and vera

April SUN 1 /

TUE 3 — SAT 7 8 – 10pm

Door sales plus complimentary coffee In case it rains bring – jacket/umbrella | Download your MP3 audio guide at:

www.stations.org.nz$ 5

Easter art under the starsHamilton Gardens

see the gardens in a different light

Gateway Bookshop started about three years ago when we were generously donated 10,000 books by ORA who had changed direction and no longer needed them. Since then we have had donations from all over the Waikato thanks to the kindness of so many people who have learned of us, liked what we stand for and been moved to help.

We are a Christian bookshop as evidenced by the variety of Christian books on our shelves although we also have a wide range of secular books. Our titles range from Evangelism to DIY, from stories of missionaries who gave up their lives to take the Good News to people in far flung parts of the world to recipe books. The children’s section is one of the most popular with little people happily browsing while their parents hunt for bargains. The section on fiction is probably the largest with authors ranging from Jane Austen to Wilbur Smith and Mills and Boon. An area which attracts people of many ages is that on General Christian Reading, Healing, Evangelism and Counselling.

Our customers too, range from very small children to the elderly. We have one elderly gentleman who comes in regularly looking for out of print books on almost any subject as long as they are old. Then there are university students, home schooling parents, high school students and, even people from Gateway Church who grace our doors with their presence .

A little girl of about two was creating havoc in the Op Shop one day. Her mother told her to go and read a book. She trotted over to the children’s section, pulled out half a dozen books and sat

GATEWAY BOOK SHOPwords by shirley caspari

there contentedly ‘reading’ to herself while her mother finished her shopping. There is a couple who come in every week just to have a chat and browse and occasionally even buy books on various crafts. We also have folk who come in just for company and sometimes when life is too hard we’re asked to pray for people. That people who are almost strangers should trust us enough to grant us the privilege of praying for them is huge.

So where does the money from all these sales go? It goes back to the community in a variety of ways. Most folk at Gateway Church will be aware of the Wednesday night meals, the help with finding accommodation, assistance in so many ways to people who may be struggling with life. There are also mundane but vital items like rent, power and telephone costs to be met. We take great pleasure in providing a two-fold service – that of giving people the joy of buying good books at a very affordable price and being able to help those folk who are battling with life.

If I may add a plea it is to anyone who has spare Bibles in good condition. Not a single week goes by without people wanting Bibles and we rarely have them donated. u

Power in Praise by Merlin Carothers, praise is faith in action. Billy Graham by John Pollock, the autobiography of one of the most influential men of the age. Don’t just stand there, pray something by Ronald Dunn, prayer is not a religious exercise - it’s a human necessity. If God cares why do I still have problems? By Lloyd J. Ogilvie, one author’s view of this common question. Cowpats and Brickbats: Tales from the Waikato by David Henshaw and Graham McBride, a fun look at the history and characters who make or have made up the Waikato.

BOOKS ABOVE: CHOSEN BY SHIRLEY

13

In the March Edition of the magazine, Don shared about our leadership structure and team approach among our staff. We thought it would be good to let you know more about the makeup of each team and the personalities involved. So here are the respective teams and their general

areas of responsibility.

THECREATIVE TEAM

THEADMIN TEAM

THEGENERATIONS

TEAM

SHANNON RICHMOND: Team leader, finances, groups & interns, OLIVIA BUCHANAN: Office manager,

POLONA VEROVŠEK: Reception PETER HELWIG: Building maintenance,

PETER SIMMONS: Facilities manager, ROXANA KELSEN: PA to Don, Crave

DONALD GOODHALL: Team leader, worship teamJESSICA MICHELS: Graphics.WEND ORGAN: Events, Crave

MATT MARTYN: Team Leader, Crave (13- 17yrs)KAREN STEWARD: Gaties (0- 10yrs)

ANNIE FLETT: Emerge (11- 12yrs)ALICE HAWORTH: Pursue (18- 25ish)

GATEWAY STAFF 2012

THEPASTORAL TEAMJAN CARR: Team Leader, HR and Pastoral careSYLVIA DALTON: Prayer teamsGRACE BUNYAN: Prayer and VisitationKYLIE MCMULLAN: RelationshipsERIN VAN ROOY: Women and KidsBOBBIE WILLS: Community, Social Worker

1. Where are you at this moment? Lying in bed listening to Trinity Roots, while Olivia hangs with some friends.

2. What do you like about being your current age?I’m old enough to have worked for a few years and have a clearer idea of what I want to do with my life, but young enough for it to feel like life is still full of possibilities. Old enough to be married, but young enough to not have kids yet. Young enough to have grown up with technology, but old enough to realize that it’s not the be all and end all.

10 QUESTIONS WITH...STUART BUCHANAN

3. What’s the latest book you’ve read? The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures (by Dan Roam). It’s all about visual thinking – using simple diagrams to understand problems and communicate ideas.

4. What is your favourite album? The Black Seeds: Into the Dojo, the perfect summer chill out album.

5. You can have 3 people to dinner dead or living, bar Jesus - who do you invite?Kanye West because he’s a creative genius, Danny Guglielmucci because his church does Streetworks type projects on a massive scale, and Malcolm Gladwell because I like the way he thinks.

6. What’s one thing you remember your mother teaching you?By example, my mother taught me to give generously to others to make them feel loved.

7. Where do you go to get quiet?I sit outside and look at the sky and think, and if I do this for long enough my brain slowly unwinds. As Pooh Bear says “Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits”.

8. What is one thing you could talk about for hours? (because you are so passionate about it)I am passionate about taking complex things and communicating them in a simple way. I love stepping back and thinking about the big picture, and I love communicating with pictures. I used to work as an accountant, but realized that I’m more suited to a thinking/communicating role, so I’ve gone back to Uni and am working my way up to being a lecturer.

9. How do you know Jesus is real?When I close my eyes and look up I can feel Him there. Sometimes He’s standing beside me. And life is way too intricate for it not to be designed by Someone.

10. What is one thing you think people don’t know about you?My favourite question is: I wonder what is happening in the world today? u

M

EN’S BREAKFAST

7.45, 21ST APRILJOIN US FOR FOOD, CONVERSATION AND

SOME SHARED WISDOMBREAKFAST WILL BE $10, REGISTER AT THE INFORMATION DESK

OR VIA THE OFFICE BY THE 18TH OF APRIL

GATEWAY CHURCH950 VICTORIA ST, HAMILTON, NEW ZEALANDWWW.GATEWAYCHURCH.ORG.NZ(07) 839 1284OFFICE OPEN 9 AM - 4 PM, TUESDAY - FRIDAY

gateway magazine, april 2012, issue

Documents

editorialhappy easter

resurrection of jesus

easter message06 hydrate

countless lives

resurrection power

plight of past captivity

small rope

size rope