Revive

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I08-P28-750x420-ReviveRevive is making the big move away from Olympic Park to one of our very own venues, the Dural Sport and Leisure Centre. Why the move? Simple. We want Revive to be as easy and enjoyable for you as possible and moving to Dural can make that happen.
There is free parking. Yes, completely free! There is an onsite café with reasonably priced food and we’ve been able to reduce the ticket price too! There is loads of play equipment for your kids and there will be plenty of space for you to grab a coffee and chat with your family and friends. So come along and be a part of Revive!
You may not be familiar with some of our speakers, so we thought we’d take some time to introduce them – so let’s have a chat with Leon Stead (L) and Allan Demond (A)!

What church do you pastor?

L: Narrabeen Baptist Church on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
A: NewHope Baptist Church in Blackburn North, Victoria.

How did you come to faith?

L: My grandmother was a team member of the Bulli Scripture Union Beach Mission Team and each year she would take her grandkids along with her. One night, when I was about five years old, the Mission screened a film of Billy Graham preaching. I was meant to be in the caravan asleep but had climbed into the back of the tent meeting. I heard that friends of Jesus got to go to heaven forever. Later than night my Nan found me in the caravan crying. When she asked why I was upset I explained that I was too little to go to heaven. That night my Nan told me more about Jesus and prayed with me to accept Jesus as my Lord and Saviour.
A: I am fortunate! I had the privilege of Christian nurture from loving Godly parents and the blessing of good mentors in a vibrant local church. I was baptised into Kingdom values long before I was baptised into local church membership. My mum was a gregarious person who took everyone as they were and believed in them, especially Jesus. My dad was trained in science (physics). He questioned everything and everyone, even Jesus. The result was a wonderful creative home-life and a quest for faith that was both exciting and safe. I embraced Christian discipleship as my own conviction in my teens and deepened my understanding and allegiance through university years. I have never stopped being amazed at the adventure and blessing it truly is to follow Jesus!

What is one of your greatest joys/blessings in your work?

L: Seeing people come to faith in Jesus, grow in their faith and let Jesus take hold of their lives. It never gets old watching the Gospel transform people and a community.
A: I delight in transformation. As a pastor I get to experience the “inside track” of so many lives and seeing the amazing work of God’s Spirit is a great joy. I love to witness God’s power bringing hope, healing and grace through the community of God’s people – the church. I love to see young leaders flourish. I love to see sister churches find their mission-legs and thrive. I believe the promise of God’s Kingdom is this world’s great hope and I take joy in living in it and serving for it.

What is one of your greatest challenges in your work?

L: The world – the flesh – and the Devil. The Northern Beaches is an idyllic place and well over 200,000 people have bought into the lie that this is heaven on earth. It costs them an incredible amount to sustain this belief – so it is a big challenge to call, to count the cost of their Soul.
A: Fostering the engagement of busy (distracted? Luke 10:40) people is a constant challenge. I am deeply unsatisfied with the 80/20 principle (80% of the work is done by 20% of the people). The church is God’s people (all of them) on mission (everywhere). Whether it is a question of stewardship, volunteer service, verbal witness, advocacy for justice or acts of mercy; it all takes effort and intentionality from the whole community for the church to thrive.

What does discipleship look like in your church?

L: This will sound obvious: We preach the Word – and we are committed to the belief that the Word does the work. So we encourage whatever methods would put the Word in front of people: Weekly preaching, conferences and seminars, weekly bible studies, one-to-one bible reading, mentoring groups, Bible-in-a-Year-on-Facebook, home-grown bible studies, etc. We regularly run the Christian Explored Course as the first arm of our discipleship. It consistently has been used of God to bring people to faith in Jesus. Periodically we run the Discipleship Explored Course as the ‘what’s next to know’ step. The key step in discipleship at NBC is to integrate people into a Community Group where they will be taught the Word, loved and challenged to serve.
A: At NewHope we are committed to a simple mission: loving God, loving others and serving the world. We do this by following Jesus who models love and service exceptionally well. And he makes it possible through his Spirit, his cross, his resurrection and his eternal glory to actually live out this mission of love and service. So, we are committed individually and corporately to following Jesus (1) on mission, (2) in community and (3) through the disciplines (of bible, prayer and giving). This is how we grow wide and deep as a church. We encourage everyone to talk about this often in three conversations that we describe as: “Ask yourself”, “Encourage others” and “Teach someone”.

How can we pray for you?

L: The church has seen some significant changes and I need to develop a range of new skills – particularly in the area of leadership. I would greatly value your prayers in this area of my ministry. Our family operates at a very busy pace during term time – please pray that we will work, rest and play in godly ways. For NBC: That we would continue to love and follow the Saviour. We are taking very seriously what it means to be a SENT Church on the Northern Beaches and beyond.
A: Pray that NewHope Baptist Church pleases God. Pray that our leaders experience blessing so they can be a blessing and better Kingdom servants. Pray that I, as the Pastor, become a “level 5” leader (humble and focused).

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