This is an event we’ve been talking about for some time at freshchurch and it’s now nearly arrived! On Thursday evening, 28 August - freshchurch men will hear from Mark Driscoll, international spreaker and founding pastor of Mars Hill Church, Seatle. Mark is sure to give a real challenge about what it means to live a radical life for Jesus. And that’s only fitting because it’s Jesus who radically changes us!

The thing is, registrations are about to close because the venue has nearly maxed out (Northside Auditorium, Everton Park has a 900 seat capacity), so if you haven’t yet - you need to register now! Visit www.300menforjesus.com to book your spot. If you can make it a bit early, the plan is for freshchurch fellas to meet together for dinner at a local restaurant. More details to come about where we will be chowing down. Hope to see you there!

If you ever come along to check out Eatons Hill Presbyterian Church, we hope you’ll receive a warm welcome . It’s certainly always our goal. Our church is a ‘work in progress’; we’re not perfect; but this is one of the areas we always want to improve in and be better at. We believe welcoming is more than just giving a friendly hello at the front door, though it certainly involves that. Welcoming is about explaining to the visitor what will happen in church (eg. when kids go out for our ‘kidzbiz’ program) so they are not caught by surprise. Welcoming is about offering information so that a new person can learn more about the activities of our church. Welcoming is about having a friendly chat so that you can get to know others and vice-versa. And welcoming is also about not being ‘over the top’ with introductions and information - we want visitors to feel at ease so they can take the steps to be more involved as they feel it is appropriate for them.

Being a welcoming church flows out of knowing the character of God. He is a welcoming God! As one example, check out this passage from the bible.

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On Saturday morning 16 August come along with other men to chow down a hot breakfast, get to know some other fellas and hear something about what it means to live as a Christian bloke. It goes from 830-1000am and it will be a great time to have together. To rsvp or to get more info, contact Peter Murphy, peter@growinggreat.com.au

Last Sunday saw the start of our high-energy loud crazy wild fun kids program on a Sunday morning, ‘Church4Kids’. Every Sunday we have a kids program but this 8 week series is like ‘Sunday school on steroids’! The kids have a great time with music, skits, craft, games and bible stories. And the leaders have a bit of fun too! If your kids are interested, they are most welcome to come and try it out. It’s held at the normal time of church, 930am-1030am and parents are most welcome to stay for our friendly church service. If you would like more information, contact the Church4Kids Coordinator, Andrew Millsom, andrewmillsom@mpc.org.au

Join other women for an evening of Bollywood Bling! There will be sari wearing, an indian dancing class and sweet tasting. It will be a night to meet others and have some fun. During the night there will also be a short presentation from the bible, ‘the greatest love story of all’. Time is running out to book your place but you can still get tickets from Wendy Allan, wallan@tpg.com.au

730pm, Tuesday 29 July, Pendicup Community Centre, Samsonvale Road Warner.

Last Saturday morning was a time for the dads and their sons of freshchurch to get together for a game of soccer. It was a fun morning and all of the dads managed to get through without having a heart attack. Well done! Here are some images from a top morning.

This coming Sunday we launch our new Sunday sermon series and accompanying growth group bible studies. For the next 8 weeks we’re exploring ‘The Big Picture of the Old Testament’ . Eight weeks to look at three-quarters of the bible sounds like a very ambitious task, and it is! But on the other hand it will be helpful to gain a big picture perspective on what’s going on. By taking big sweeps of parts of the bible, the aim will be to see what all of the bible is actually about. By the end of the series, hopefully we’ll all discover that the Old Testament isn’t a series of disconnected ancient stories that have little relevance to us, but in fact is hugely important for us. The Old Testament shows God’s faithfullness to bring ultimate salvation to the world through his son Jesus. This coming Sunday we’re starting at the very beginning - God’s creation of the world, Genesis 1 & 2 . Check out the latest sermon and bible studies by clicking on the tab above.

Throughout July, freshchurch is raising money for the ‘Evangelical Bible Church’ in Namibia - in southern Africa. Through a contact at Gateway Presbyterian (Nundah) we have the opportunity to give money that will provide ‘real help-right now’ to this church which is seeking to show the love of Christ to their community which is deeply affected by the AIDs virus. EBC is running a bible club for kids, an after-school care program, and a home-based care program. All money given will be sent directly to the church. Here at freshchurch one of our mottos is to grow ‘compassionate followers of Jesus’ - compassion that even reaches around the world.

Starting on Sunday 20 July, we’re holding our second annual CHURCH4KIDS program! Going for 8 weeks, this program is all about learning about the great things of the Christian faith in a fun and high energy way. Music, games and craft are some of the things the kids will be doing at church4kids. Held at the same time as our normal church, 930-1030, parents are most welcome to join us at our friendly church service. All our church4kids leaders are blue card holders and ‘childsafe’ accredited. Come and join the fun!

Starting this Sunday, we start a sermon series titled ‘One Hit Wonders’. Each week for the next 3 Sundays we’re looking at a different book of the Bible. This Sunday we’re looking at the Old Testament book of Haggai. Our guest speaker is Andrew Pearce, the pastor of ‘latechurch’ at Mitchelton Presbyterian Church.