Our Mission: To belong To grow To influence

• Contact Info added

  04.11.12

• We have added a helpful google map and various phone numbers to the home page. 

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• Colours!

  04.04.12

• Colours have been changed to make things a lot lighter.

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• Friday updates

  03.30.12

• No new content, just resized a bunch of photos to make them fit better.

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• Some updates

  03.23.12

• Yay its Friday and some updates have just been done.

  Womans Church is now known as Womans Ministries

  Mens Church is now known as Mens Ministries

  Several names were updated and many photos added

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• NEW Website

  06.20.11

• Content for NEW Website - news posting

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• x

  11.30.-1

• this is a test

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View Larger Map of 144 Sawyers Arms Road

• 2012-05 Testing Times

  05.08.12

• We are in the process of change again……We have made a change to our Sunday services, reducing to one service time, which is not convenient for everybody. However, the reason for change, at this point, is to help us with the way forward with our mission to grow. How can we grow by cutting down?

  We introduced two services in 2008 in the hope of filling both services. We did not achieve this. Although our second service has been reasonably attended, our first service has settled to approximately between 60 and70 adults. The services have been good, but we are not yielding the return (people growth) we had hoped for. In addition we have also had some downturn in our second service, so we have defaulted back to our single service. We have also observed a couple of trends that affect our Sunday services; statistics tells us that 9000 people have permanently moved out of Christchurch, with more to leave. This has also impacted churches. Secondly, people are taking more time away from Christchurch for breaks etc.

   I believe that growth is important, but now is the time to rally together as a unit, to strengthen our togetherness. From that we set ourselves in a better position for growth. I cannot say how long this will remain, but I am sure we will change or add our Sunday services again in the near future.

  We have some amazing opportunities ahead of us, and equally we have some amazing challenges ahead of us. This year we took on the challenge with our Cambodian ministries, believing that we have a significant role to advance the Kingdom amongst the Khmer community in Christchurch.

  2 Corinthians 8:7
  But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you —see that you also excel in this grace of giving.                       

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• 2012-04 Restorative Justice at Easter

  04.04.12

• We had the privilege of having Katy Hutchison, from Canada, speaking on restorative justice.

  Her husband died tragically in an attempt to break up a party. Katy’s journey was built on forgiveness. She forgave the young men who killed her husband. Instead of building hatred toward the perpetrators, she confronted them, hoping to see restoration. As she explained; “justice begins when the perpetrators take responsibility and ownership of their actions”.

  Katy does not claim to be a Christian, but I can clearly see kingdom principles of forgiveness and justice displayed in her behaviour. The intriguing thing is that she tried to seek comfort and forgiveness from the Church without success. I’m sure this is an ongoing story with a better ending. But sometimes we, the church, can stray in our behaviour and act contrary to who we ought to be.

  Easter is the time to reset our compass by telling the “all time story” of forgiveness
  found in Jesus Christ: Luke 23 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

  I do not pretend to have the same attitude as Christ toward others, but it does jolt a desire to live in a realm called forgiveness. This realm is far more powerful than any demand I make on myself or others. Forgiveness has no appetite to entertain stories of revenge, but it simply lets go of potential hatred.

  Forgiveness is the most potent force of cleansing, like gravity is to weight. Forgiveness is the starting block for personal freedom, and it clears the spiritual
  highway from demonic depression.

  But the Easter story completes the total package of freedom, by allowing us to take
  responsibility and ownership of our actions. Owning up and confessing our wrongdoing and turning from it, is what the Bible calls “repentance from our sins”. Repentance and forgiveness are intertwined in the Easter story, and it stands as a constant invitation to the gateway of freedom through Jesus Christ.

  Although we can forgive others, and this is powerful, we also need to be forgiven for our sins. Others can help in this process, but complete forgiveness can only be handed out by someone with the right to do so. The gospels take great care to express that Jesus is the only one who can fully forgive our sins. This story is solid, proven, unshakable, and it will not change. True restorative justice begins with Jesus Christ and is completed by Jesus Christ, through His death and resurrection. The invitation of Easter is shouting; “Come to Christ and experience true restorative justice”.

  Pastor Ed
  
  

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• 2012-03 Cambodian Ministry

  04.04.12

• We are so pleased to have Sam and Nimol joining us here at Papanui Baptist Church. They have quickly won our hearts and so many of us were touched with their testimony on DVD.
  
  If anyone wants to borrow it for their small group or mission promotion, you are
  welcome to get a copy from the office. I have introduced Sam and Nimol to many of the City church leaders and they are excited about their mission here in Christchurch.

  The Elders are pleased with Sam and Nimol and we are delighted to have them amongst us. We know the work is not easy and they will need patience and perseverance.

  Currently they are living in a flat in Sherbourne St near Bealey Ave. They are still adjusting to the “cold” weather, but they have an amazing attitude to overcome. Sam has been biking to work, and Nimol is catching buses. They are in the process of learning the road code and want to get their New Zealand drivers licence. They have
  been offered courses in English at Polytech at an amazingly low cost, thanks to Philip McFedries.

  Although their English is good, they want to improve as much as they can, again showing the calibre of this couple. I took them for lunch to our local Khmer restaurant. They connected immediately with the owners and we ended up with a table of Khmers asking them questions about their journey to Christchurch. This is what it is about - connecting with people so that we can connect others to Christ.

  Many of you have been asking me: how can we help, or is there anything that they need? This is a heart-warming response, affirming the call of God. Although we have done a budget, there are always unforeseen costs etc. The best way that you can support them is with their rental. This can be done in many ways. You can give a one- off donation or you might want to give a set amount each week or month by automatic payment. We will take any amount, be it $2 a week or $20. This can all be
  done through our office.

  I am not asking you to change or alter your tithe, but I will ask you to prayerfully consider what you could do. Sam and Nimol would be the last people to ask for financial help, but I am aware that they are living with a limited income and we want them to be focused on their call and not be burdened with making ends meet each week.

  Let me also take this opportunity to thank you for all that has been given to this church. We are extremely grateful for your generosity. For example, someone walked in last week to give $5000 towards the flat next door. This is the kind of generosity that has helped us over the years, so we continue to stand in awe of what God is doing through His people.
  
  Sam and Nimol Mom

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• 2012-02 Mission for 2012

  04.04.12

• God is not looking for people of great faith, but for individuals ready to follow Him" — Hudson Taylor

  So far this year we have been privileged to hear the stories of our missionaries within our church. They have varied from Northland, Africa, Cambodia, America and much more. The stories are rich in terms of culture and working environment, but the depth of the stories are discovered in the work of God through ordinary people, ready to follow Christ.

  Romans 10
  14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

  The heart of this passage in Romans is about mission. We have often applied this for overseas mission, but the Apostle Paul is writing out of concern for Israel. In other words: “home mission”. Jesus takes home mission to a new level when he sends out the 12 (Lk 9) and then the 72 (Lk 10). Mission in this case is with a familiar culture, but with strangers. They return with great joy, experiencing spiritual powers in the name of Jesus (Lk 10;17).

  A good friend of mine (Max Tuck) once told me that if you want to be effective in mission, “there must be a power encounter”. He went on to explain the need of a supernatural experience of God defeating evil, very much like the 72 who
  were sent out. Notice this was not done in a healing meeting with a music band, but simply in a house visit offering prayer. Max went on to tell me that when they went out to Papa New Guinea some 55 years ago, they built their house on a place where human sacrifices had taken place, making the ground evil. Unbeknown to them, the village was waiting for them to die from the curse. But when this did not happen, the village discovered for the first time a power encounter greater than the norm, and following Christ became attractive.

  As I have pondered on this story I realize that I have had personal power  encounters, and so have most of us who have decided to follow Christ. We just seem to forget, and fall into the grind of living, ignoring the task at hand. Mission is not a destination, but rather a mode of living, overseas or at home. This mode has to be deliberate, or we will use the Word of God to fatten our own souls. As Oswald J
  Smith claims: "We talk of the Second Coming; half the world has never heard of the first."

  This statement is a sobering reminder that we have a mission far beyond our personal well- being. Nor do we do mission for the sake of power encounters, but God simply operates at a different level, and signs and wonders follow the work and the mission God has placed in our hands. We are all missionaries.

  Pray for the sick
  Proclaim the Word
  Provide for the poor
  Prove that love exists

  Pastor Ed
  
  

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• 2012-01 Accountable ?

  04.04.12

• We are living in times of pressure and temptations, with easy access to
  “adult entertainment.” Having a good time is using “recreational
  drugs,” or better still, “party drugs”. We are greeted in the supermarkets with rows of alcohol, ready to indulge. Swap your sexual partners because they have a used by
  date. Nike has the slogan, typifying how Kiwi’s should behave: “Just do it.” We are consumers, needing to quench our narcissistic souls which thirst for more. Make no mistake, Christians are not immune!

  God has warned us of these times (2 Timothy 3:1-8), and we are called to live at a different level than Nike. In Genesis God calls Adam and Eve to account. Adam blames Eve and Eve blames the serpent (Gen 3: 12,13). We seem to gravitate to this pattern. Blaming someone else or the devil is an easy way out of taking responsibility. The biggest problem I am facing, as a pastor, in our Nike society, is that we refuse to be accountable. Yet the Scriptures propose and command the reverse.
  James puts it bluntly:

  Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed (Jam 5:16).

  What is Accountability? It is a check and balance system to protect us from harm from ourselves and others. We do this by being open to what we are thinking and in doing so we can receive encouragement to live as victors instead of victims.

  At the end of last year I designed these small “business” cards with the intention of helping men to stay accountable.

  The cards are called Face to Face, with 3 questions.
  How have you been keeping yourself safe? Internet, workplace etc.
  How have you been serving your family, friends and community?
  How have you been influencing others?

  These questions are to encourage discussion and honesty. We have to deal with the beast of porn. It is chewing up too many families. My personal belief is that no man is safe unless he has some form of accountability. Mix accountability with “self-control,”  the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:23) and you have got the recipe for blessing. Our influence will depend on our spiritual health more than anything else.

  Become accountable!!

  Have a blessed 2012

  Pastor Ed Karlsen

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Phone: 03 352 4227
Fax: 03 352 9818
Email:
Office hours: Tuesday to Friday, from 9 AM to 3 PM
Sunday Services: 10 AM
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