Trust that you are doing well in trying times! We may not be able to meet together physically, but we can continue to grow in the Lord as we Pray, read the Scriptures and spend time in the Lord’s presence.
As a Church, we have been working through the book of Ephesians during our weekly online service. Personally, I’ve been exceptionally blessed as I have been preparing. I am constantly amazed at just how much we have received through Christ’s sacrifice for us. We were all dead in our sins, but Christ has made us alive through faith! We were once far off, however we have now been brought near through Christ!
Let me encourage you to stay close through these challenging times. You might be asking what is it that we should stay close to?
- Stay Close to God in Prayer
- Stay close to God through His word as you read the Scriptures
- Stay close to God as you worship & spend time in His presence
- Stay close to one another. As you call, text or email each other!
I thought that it would be a good time to write another quick update as to whats been happening in Church life and some important things that we should all know.
1. The Council Elections
We should all be praying for the up and coming elections as the Scriptures encourage us to keep those that are leading us as a community before the Lord. Who leads us is very important in Maryborough & Ballarat, it would be great to have a Christian voice on our Local councils. We are blessed that Matt De Haan is running as a candidate in the Maryborough Central Ward.
As a Church, I like to encourage everyone to get behind Matt. Text, or email him to encourage him and of course Pray for him, that God would give him wisdom and insight. We can also follow Matt’s Facebook page where he has lots of good information and his “how to vote” card.
2. Clive & Laurene Bid Farewell to Genesis Church
Last week Pastor Clive Buck informed Genesis Church that he will be stepping down from ministry after 25 years of service in Maryborough.
Pastor Jim and the Eldership reflected, “It was with a heavy heart that we received Clive’s resignation from membership” adding, “Clive served the church diligently and faithfully over 25 years leaving his legacy on many.”
“Laurene and Clive have been a blessing to us and will continue to be in our prayers.”
Since founding Genesis Church in Maryborough, Pastor Clive provided many years of service to both the local and church community of Maryborough.
In 2016, upon semi-retirement, he invited Pastor Jim McMillan into the senior ministry role passing the baton as Senior Pastor.
Clive continued to serve and minister through his weekly commitment to Kid’s Church and the after-school program. He has also been very involved in our church’s commitment to the Philippines.
We want to express our deepest thanks to Clive & Laurene for all their years of service to Genesis Church and the wider Goldfields community.
We pray that their next phase of life will be fruitful in every way.
3. Online Weekly Services
Remember to join us every week for a time of Worship and Preaching of the Word during our online service. We are currently in the middle of our series on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, I trust that you are able to join with us.
We also have weekly Zoom meetings. We have “Genesis Q & A on the first Sunday of every month at 7:30pm. On the remaining Sunday evenings at 7:30pm we have a Prayer Meeting, where we pray for the Church, People, the Nation and the World. These have been times where we can call out to God together.
On the Third Sunday of each month at 9:30am in the morning we gather together for our online Communion Service. I do hope that you can join in and be a part of our fellowship together.
4. Missions Giving
I’d like to remind everyone regarding our commitments to missions. Our Mission commitments have been ongoing during our COVID-19 restrictions, so I would encourage you to Pray and keep our Missionaries in your Prayers and Missions giving up to date.
All of the relevant information is on the Church website.
Reach out to one another
Thank you for your faithfulness to our Lord Jesus. Can I encourage you to make a decision this week to call some people and be a blessing as we walk through this pandemic together.
Grace & Peace,