The Journey So Far
In May 2014 we moved across to Wellington to plant a new church that loves Jesus and loves Wellington. We came out of a desire to be a part of God’s great mission to see lost people saved through Jesus, for His glory. This is a photo of the first gathering in our house as 9 adults and 6 kids began this journey with us. Since that time our church has moved locations twice, changed names once and has gathered dozens of people to continue to partner with us.

Official Launch
Last week we reached the point in our journey where we were able to officially launch of City On A Hill Evangelical Church. We gathered in our new venue (the Community Hall at St Mark’s Church School) and we welcomed family, friends and supporters from across New Zealand and Australia. We were blessed to celebrate the launch with 112 people, 62 of whom were guests who don’t usually attend our church.

People flew in from Sydney, Christchurch and drove down from Auckland and Palmerston North to be a part of the service. An excellent kids programme was run by volunteers from two of our link churches in Christchurch; St John’s Latimer Square and Cornerstone Community Church.

The service ran in pretty much the same format as we do every Sunday so that visitors got a feel for what this church is like. We began with coffees before church (as always!), we welcomed people in, we sang and then kids went out to Kids Church.

With the kids out enjoying their programme, Adele & Andrew were interviewed and shared how they became Christians and why they are still following Jesus. It was also a good chance to share a bit about why City On A Hill was planted and where we hope it will go in the future.

Following this we read the Bible and Andrew preach on Mark 5:21-43. In the passage we saw Jesus heal a woman who had been suffering a cronic illness and he also raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead. It was a great passage to see how Jesus brings hope and healing to those who trust in him. It was also a challenging passage to discover that it isn’t enough to simply know stuff about Jesus, but that we need to be known by Him to experience the peace that he offers. We’re praying that many of the visitors will take the time to check out who Jesus is and what he has done for us.

The service concluded with prayers for the city and for the church and a few more songs. Then there was cake! And more coffee! Plenty of people, including visitors, stuck around for lunch and we found ourselves finishing the pack up well into the afternoon.

It was a real privilege to see our new church community rally together and serve wholeheartedly so that new people would be welcomed and get a chance to get to know Jesus.

This is just the beginning
Given how hard so many people worked to get this church going and to make the official launch happen, it can feel like the job has been done! But this is just the beginning. We’ve now gathered the church that is going to do the mission, so in many ways things are only just getting started.

A few people have asked us how week two went as things return to normal. We are pleased to report that this Sunday wasn’t a down week at all! We had 45 people along with a quite a few of our regulars out of town for a wedding, holidays or stuck at home with sick kids. There were 6 new guests, all of whom are looking to find a new church home in Wellington.

We are very thankful to God for his provision and his protection so far and we are confident that he will continue to supply all the needs of our church. We are especailly thankful to so many people and churches who have supported and prayed for this new church. Nothing would have happened with out them!

Finally, it would be great if you could continue praying for us as a community of followers of Jesus. Pray that we will continue to share the great news of Jesus, the one who died and rose again. Pray that we will remain faithful to his word, welcoming to the stranger and eager to do good.

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