Posts from New Community Church Blog

Alpha Sunday

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 04:58:57 GMT

Last sunday and part of our current mini series 'Laying Foundations for the Future' we decided to do things a little differently! Spending the morning focusing on the Alpha course which we have been running here at New Community Church since 1994. We drank coffee, ate muffins, listened to testimonies from a number of people who met with Jesus powerfully when they did Alpha and experienced a short talk straight from the course.

Missed it? Check out the video's below.

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Sundays in January

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:29:38 GMT

Last September David Holden shared the vision for New Community for the next 5-10 years. This January we are revisiting that vision and looking at a number of foundational issues that we need to put in place in order for that vision to become a reality. So over the next few weeks we will be looking at topics such as unity at our Commitment Sunday (8th), Alpha at Alpha Sunday (15th including baptisms), becoming evangelistically active at Invest & Invite Sunday (22nd), and connecting with our community at Community Outreach (29th) Sunday.

So don’t miss out, join us at either 09.30 or 11.30 each week. If you miss any of the Sundays then you can watch/listen again via the resources section of the website, just click the Foundations for the Future tab.

Hope to see you on a Sunday soon.

Week of Prayer

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 07:17:46 GMT

Happy New Year folks!

We are starting the New Year with a week of prayer; Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 8-9.30pm. On Wednesday we have the privilige of having Terry Virgo with us.

Our weeks of prayer are always outstanding times so don't miss out.

See you tonight!

Office over Christmas

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 02:58:50 GMT

The office is now closed for Christmas and New Year. It will open again on Tuesday 03 January at 10am.

We will be meeting on Christmas Eve at 6pm, New Years Day at 4pm and then on 8 January 2012, two meetings will resume at 9.30am and 11am.

Have a great Christmas!

Christmas & New Year

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 05:31:01 GMT

Merry Christmas!

Just to keep you informed of what is happening meeting wise this festive period...

Christmas Eve - one meeting at 6pm

Christmas Day - no meetings

New Years Day - one meeting at 4pm

January 8th - two meetings 9.30am & 11.30am

Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!

Month of Action Daily Update 14/12/11

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 12:00:23 GMT

If you signed up to sing carols at a local residential home tonight, we will be meeting at 6.45pm at the Centre.

Month of Action Daily Update 13/12/11

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 03:54:00 GMT

Carol Singing tonight! We will be meeting at 7.30pm at the Centre and there's still room if you want to join in!

Month of Action Daily Update 9/12/11

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 09:37:53 GMT

We will be distributing flyers again today, this time meeting at 2pm at the Centre. Do come along if you can spare an hour or so!

Month of Action Daily Update 8/12/11

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 09:27:13 GMT

Today we will be distributing flyers around Sidcup. We will be meeting at 10am at the the Centre, so do come along if you would like to join in!

December

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 09:55:02 GMT

December is action month here at New Community, and there is lots going on. From Besom social action projects (every Saturday) to Christmas hamper packing (and delivering) to singing carols on the streets. In fact quite a lot of the stuff going on is on the streets, talking to people about Jesus and the real meaning of Christmas, and inviting people to our Christmas event on 18th December. A lot of these conversations end up being discussions about God, religion and questions relating to science etc etc. Often, in this context, it is difficult to give succint answers without getting in to big theological debate (not really what you want to be doing on the street). Fortunately, help is at hand...

Andrew Wilson (over on the what you think matters website) has produced a list of tweet-length, short and pithy answers to some of the usual questions, "tweets for the streets" as he describes it. Check it out here it is excellent!

So, get involved this December!

For more details of how to get involved in the month of action, contact the office.

Oasis Update: 30/11/2011

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 11:03:43 GMT

As you may be aware. teachers will be striking this Wednesday and as a result, many schools will be closed. We will still be running Oasis as normal, but we cannot allow school-aged children in due to health and safety reasons, and issues of space.

We look forward to seeing you then!

NCC Women's Conference

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 02:20:28 GMT

There are lots of things going on at New Community exclusively for women: from Mum’s breakfasts to curry nights to golfing lessons and a whole range of other things to. We’re really pleased to announce that on Saturday 29th October we will be running our first ever Women’s Conference for NCC folk: “Living the Gospel”.

Hebrews 10:19-25 (The Message version) says…

So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into "the Holy Place." Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The "curtain" into God's presence is his body.

So let's do it—full of belief, confident that we're presentable inside and out. Let's keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshipping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.

And this is what the conference is all about, a day of worshipping together, learning together and a day of spurring one another one.

The conference runs at the Centre 9.30am-2pm and lunch is included. Tickets are £5 if pre-booked and £7 on the door. To book in email: office@newcommunitychurch.org.uk

For more details on other women’s events join the Facebook group : NCC women or follow @nccwomen on Twitter.

Get Connected

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 07:57:34 GMT

A Get Connected morning is a short, no-obligation morning for people who are new to New Community, just looking in on us or who want to become a member of our church. Get Connected is a chance to find out where we have come from, where we are going, what we believe and how you can get involved and play your part.

The morning will involve tea and coffee (important!), talks from an elder/s and an opportunity to ask any questions you might have, as well as meet some other new people.

We would love you to join us if you feel that is what God is saying. But even if you don’t end up joining us, we would really encourage you to get stuck in to the life of a local church. We believe that the local church is God’s “plan A” for the world and so joining one is really important. Whatever you decide, you are very welcome to visit our church at any time.

The next Get Connected course is on Saturday 15 October, 9.30-11.30am. We are unable to offer childcare but you are welcome to bring your children if you can’t find someone to watch them for you.

If you would like to attend, please sign up by contacting the office at office@newcommunitychurch.org.uk

From London to the Hague

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 03:03:28 GMT

It has been 11 months since we moved from Sidcup to The Hague. In June 2010, we started to gather in homes on a Sunday. Our focus was on community building and prayer. These were great times of fellowship and enjoying the presence of God. By the September all of the non-Dutch core group had arrived in Holland. Whilst still meeting in people’s homes (on Wednesdays and Sundays), now with about 20 adults, our focus shifted to forming and unifying around the vision and values of the church to be. As God added people to us and with people regularly looking in, we quickly outgrew the available living rooms and as a result we needed a bigger venue. We also tried to have a constant focus on building relationships with people around us in the city who are not Christians. From early on we began to see people happy to come along to 'church' activities because of relational connections rather than their own faith.

In November 2010, we started meeting in the hall of the Anglican church in The Hague. The shift from people’s homes to a hall was a little strange at the beginning, but it didn't take us long to feel comfortable there. Regular Sunday meetings were a chance to talk and teach on the vision and values we wanted to have as a church and an opportunity for visitors to check in on us. During this time we grew to around 40 committed adults and 12 kids, with more people (including some non-Christians) regularly coming along too. We saw a huge amount of God’s material blessings: many of those who came for the church plant were trusting God for jobs, houses and finances and these prayers were answered amazingly! In addition, we had prayers for healing and for pregnancy answered too!

At the beginning of March 2011, we had our first meeting in our new venue. It is a really great meeting space in the centre of the city. It has always been our desire to be somewhere in the 'beating heart' of the city from which we could influence, and have a vision for the whole city.

On Sunday 13th March, we had what we called our “under the radar” Launch. Dave and Liz Holden were with us with a team from New Community Church. We had 93 people attend (including kids), with a number expressing a wish to come back. It was a fantastic time together with a strong sense of God commissioning us into all that he has for us. It was brilliant to have the team from New Community with us. Apart from being a great encouragement, the team also helped cement a strong connection between New Community Church and Redeemer Church International.

In the autumn we plan to have a big 'public' launch for the church, seeking to really raise the profile of the church in the city.

It has been an amazing journey so far, full of the blessings and grace of God. In under a year we doubled in size and we now have serving teams, a public central venue, a band, and begun our first preaching series through the Book of Ephesians. God has been so good to us and we are massively excited for the future!

Chris Taylor

Our Five Prayer Giants

Thu, 26 May 2011 02:18:27 GMT

We want to be a church that sees prayer not as an optional extra, nor a last resort, but rather as an integral part of our culture. Join with us in praying for significant breakthrough on Friday 27th May. There are no "official" prayer meetings taking place so you can pray however you want at a time that suits you! If you are struggling for ideas…

· Pray on your way to and from work

· Go for a prayer walk around your neighbourhood

· Fast and use the time you would ordinarily spend eating to pray

· Live near other church members? Arrange a time to get together to pray

· Mums at home during the day? Meet up for coffee and prayer

· Work in town? Meet up with others near by to pray at lunch time

· Got kids? Talk to them about prayer and spend some time praying together

· Married? Be daring and pray together!

· Do whatever you want, just pray!

The Five Prayer Giants:

Salvation/

Addition

Growth

Baptisms

Evangelistic Perseverance/

Alpha

Special Meeting

Things Of The Spirit/

Baptism in the Holy Spirit

Gifts of the Spirit

Contributions in meeting

Healing/

Pressing on

Praying for the sick

Secular Society/

Christian Values

Government

Work

James

Prayer Week

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 11:10:14 GMT

This week is prayer week.

We have talked a lot about prayer recently because we want to be a church that sees prayer not as an optional extra, nor a last resort, but rather as an integral part of our church culture. So, come and join us this week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening 8-9.30pm as we pray our hearts out for the streets where we live, our nation and the extension of the kingdom!

Also on Friday we are holding our monthly day of prayer. There are no "official" prayer meetings taking place so you can pray however you want at a time that suits you! If you are struggling for ideas…

Pray as you watch the Royal Wedding!

Go for a prayer walk around your neighbourhood

Fast and use the time you would ordinarily spend eating to pray

Live near other church members? Arrange a time to get together to pray

Mums at home during the day? Meet up for coffee and prayer

Got kids? Talk to them about prayer and spend some time praying together

Married? Be daring and pray together!

Do whatever you want, just pray!

14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. 1 John 5:14-15

James

Masterbuilders 2011

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 12:48:18 GMT

It's hard to put into words the impressions we came away with from our time in clarens for the Master Builders conference. That's why we've put together this video that we hope will come close to capturing the fun, energy and passion we experienced!

James

Captains Log-Launchpad

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 10:09:14 GMT

It’s been a long cold winter and finally the sun has started to shine. As minds turn to picnics and ice cream we’d like to share some exciting developments coming up after Easter (and we’re not referring to the Royal Wedding!).

Before we get on to the new stuff a plea from all the kids workers. Over half of our children in all age groups seem to arrive after the start of the adult meetings. This is disruptive for our programmes and unfair on the others that make it on time. Please can you make every effort to arrive and register your children before 9.30 or 11.30.

Coming after Easter is the Alpha Course for Kids.

This will be run over an eight week period from 8th May to 26th June. We will be using the usual Alpha material but adapted for children. The course will be run in the second meeting only and is aimed at children in years 5-6. To book a place or for more information please speak to Philip Holland-Clarke.

The Club

“The Club” is a fun club aimed at all children aged between 7 and 11. The aim of The Club is: For New Community children to develop strong relationships and to do fun activities which they can invite their friends to. We will start by meeting on a Friday night once a month across the Summer. Programme to follow but keep the following Friday nights free: 6th May, 3rd June, 1st July.

Simon

Freedom in Christ Testimonies

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 12:23:35 GMT

Here are the 'extended' versions of the 'Freedom in Christ' video's mentioned during Derek's preach last Sunday.

Christmas Carol Services

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 09:16:23 GMT

Our Christmas carol services are by far the biggest events we hold as a Church each year where we see hundreds of people from the local areas pack the main hall. This year was no different as we held three carol services and despite the snowy weather, we saw 650 people attend.

So much hard work went on behind the scenes from band rehearsals, to lighting rigs; mincemeat shortcake making to the putting out of chairs; all of it essential to make the event run smoothly. This year we wanted to ensure that the community knew about the event, so we leafleted every house in the Sidcup area and this definitely made a big difference to the number of people that came along. Had the snow not fallen so heavily that weekend, we’re sure that we would have hit our target attendance of 1,000.

The atmosphere at all three events was amazing with many people commenting on how different the event was to any other carol service they had been to. Many were so impressed that they expressed an interest in coming along on a Sunday morning and coming to the Alpha launch with Ian McCormack on 26 January. We don’t just want to be known as a church that can put on a big event, we want to be known as a church that impacts the community and ultimately points people to Jesus.