Posts from New Community Church Blog

Men's Evening

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 04:20:19 GMT

Don't forget this Sunday evening (11th July), we have a men's meeting with John Lanferman, Elder at Jubilee Church, St. Louis, at the NCC Centre, from 6pm-7.30pm.

We will find out about John's life and his passion for God. So come prepared to be encouraged, stirred and challenged!

And for all the football fans amongst us, the talk will be followed by a showing of the World Cup Final at 7.30pm: all are welcome (men and women!).

New Adventures for the Albertyn Family

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 11:42:27 GMT

Mark and Laura Albertyn have been part of New Community Church for the past 7 years and are leaving with their young family to volunteer in Zimbabwe. They have set up a UK charity called ‘Makomborero’, aimed at aiding the relief of financial hardship and the advancement of education in Africa by making grants of money for training and community based projects. ‘Makomborero’ is a shona word meaning "blessings."

From personal experience of working with scholarship students at an independent school in Zimbabwe, Mark feels there is a huge need for A-level studies in communities where HIV and other socio-economic factors have forced gifted young adults to cease their education and attempt to find employment in order to support their family.

Post-independence (1980 – present) the provision of secondary education to O-level has been outstanding in Zimbabwe (although more recently the economic situation in the country has damaged this infrastructure). However, A-level studies have been much more limited and places are extremely competitive.

A family has to make a real sacrifice in order to allow a child to stay on an extra two years at school. The aim will be to identify talented young adults within a community, where these students have little or no resources or finances available to progress beyond Ordinary level in their secondary education and beyond.

The A-Level centre will become a focal point for the whole community. Its primary aim will remain that of providing A-level education, but it is hoped that the centre can be used for various initiatives to bring people together within a Christian environment. The centre could be used as an internet café, provide computer training (web design, ICDL, programming etc), church meeting place, revision centre during holidays and a variety of community based projects. The vision is to raise leaders in Zimbabwe that will impact the nation. We want to grow an attitude of continued blessing, that these students will bless their families through the education and subsequent employment they receive. We see these centres affecting whole communities.

Mark and Laura will be returning to Zimbabwe permanently in July 2010 to an A-level Centre, set-up in March 2009, in the town of Turf, a rural mining town about a 2 hour drive outside Harare, where they will also be living. They will partner with a local Charity (The Mabukuweni Foundation) on the work at Turf. Mark sees his role as a teacher, training up teachers from the community, identifying a head to ultimately run the school and to give the pupils the best possible opportunities, before hopefully moving on to replicate this model.

Mark and Laura also have a vision for the wider community and look forward to working and living in Turf. They will be looking to establish various community based projects. Initially this will take the form of a toddler group that will meet once a week, a kids club on a Friday afternoon for primary school children and a movies and games evening for senior school children. Within rural communities there is very limited exposure to children just having fun. A lot of the children are orphaned and have had to grow up very quickly, looking after siblings and running a home from a very young age. For all children concerned the daily economic hardships they face have also made them grow up far too quickly. Mark and Laura feel that an outlet for them to just be children is very important. They also hope to be able to establish some home based care groups for HIV/AIDS sufferers in the community, as well as encouraging entrepreneurship within the community.

NCC Football team

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 09:31:09 GMT

Established out of a popular Sunday afternoon kick-about, a number of young men from NCC found a manager and entered the Bromley and Croydon Christian Football league as Athletic Football Club Sidcup (AFC Sidcup).

With the success of the inaugural season and continued interest the club doubled in size to two teams (Inter and Roma). Since then the club has reverted to one team, New Community Church Football Club (nccfc).

The team plays Saturday afternoons, kicking off between 1:30 & 2pm. Home games are played at Waring Park, Sidcup.

Training:

During the season we train every Thursday at 8pm at a local school, focusing on anaerobic fitness and individual skills.

In the off-season we have a casual ‘kick-about’ on Monday evenings at Waring Park from 7:30pm till…we’ve had enough or it gets dark!

Further details, including fixtures and results, can be found on the Bromley & Croydon Christian Football League’s web page. We are always pleased to welcome new members of all abilities. For more information contact team manager Gary Panton via office@newcommunitychurch.org.uk.

Club Honours

1999/00

AFC Sidcup Division 3 runners up

2000/01

Inter Division 2 winners

2001/02

Roma Division 3 winners

Inter National Cup finalists

2002/03

AFC Sidcup Division 2 winners

AFC Sidcup Mike Laxton Cup winners

2006/07

nccfc Mike Laxton Cup winners

Welcome to Launchpad

Fri, 28 May 2010 04:25:53 GMT

Welcome to Launchpad at New Community Church – for all children aged 0-11

On Sunday mornings we provide activities and care for children throughout both the morning meetings in age related groups.

“Rockets” is for 0 – Walkers. A manned crèche with a room for feeding and for babies to sleep.

“Moonwalkers” is for Walkers to approximately age 3. It is linked with Rockets with activities and singing.

“Zoom” is for Preschool and Nursery aged children. It provides bible stories, craft activities and big play.

“Shooting Stars” – is for those in reception through to year 2. Meeting with Mighty Meteors (below) this group is full of fun with teaching, bible teaching and worship though the use of various media formats.

“Mighty Meteors” is for those in year 3 – year 6. The Meteors meet with Shooting Stars (as above.)

Our vision for children is that they:

Know about God, Choose to follow God and grow in their relationship with God

We have other events running throughout the year such as our RISE event held at Easter and an alternative to Halloween. In the future we are hoping to expand the frequency of events outside of a Sunday morning so please keep checking back. If you have any questions or would like us to add you to our mailing list then please contact us at launchpad@newcommunitychurch.org.uk.

Dan Hopley's funeral

Fri, 21 May 2010 03:17:18 GMT

After a year and a half of being diagnosed with cancer and being given 6 months to live Dan finally went to be with God a few weeks ago. On my last visit to him we read Philippians 1 v20 together. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.” These verses did truly reflected Dan’s approach to his illness.

As a church we had been praying for Dan to be healed but what we have encountered is a man whose faith in God has been strengthened through the tough times he has had to endure. Like the carbon that is transformed into a diamond, the heat and the pressure change a soft black powder into a resilient sparkling gem that refracts light in all different directions. No one could have had contact with Dan without noticing that sparkle. It was the light of God bouncing off every facet. This was perhaps one of the reasons why some 280 people turned up to the funeral. Family, friends, work colleagues, doctors, nurses, neighbours and members of the church.

Dan was such a talented man in his field of engineering. If you were to picture Dan’s life as a race, it would be a distance race, if Dan’s talent was translated into running, it would be an Olympic race. Often the runners are all bunched up as they go round the track until they get to the bell, the final lap. Suddenly one runner emerges from the pack. Up until then he was just part of the pack, now he surges ahead. The crowd rise to their feet, wondering if he can sustain this supreme effort. But he does. Dan’s last lap was very much in the public gaze, he ran it strong, he ran it well, he ran with faith and hope and inspiration, he ran with an ever increasing sense of God’s presence, he pressed through the pain barrier, he discovered things about himself he never knew before, he showed perseverance, devotion to his family and appreciation of all those helping him. This was a final lap worth seeing. It was a lap that touched so many who would often gather to pray at his house. Rather than leaving despondent we would be filled with faith.

At times such as these many questions arise in our minds. So many mysteries, unknowns, what ifs, why’s. For me I try to focus on things I do know and then hold on to them.

Dan tenaciously hung on to life not because he was afraid of dying but because he wanted God to be glorified in his healing.

Dan was able to hang on to life for so long because he hung on to Jesus so tenaciously.

Dan knew Jesus as his saviour and he had a full and certain hope that he would spend eternity with him.

Dan was an inspiration to all those he came into contact with.

Dan’s race was a race run well.

Dan’s prayer for you would be to take a considered look at the God who sustained him through this time. The God who gave him such a wonderful hope of eternity with him.

Derek Gibbs

Sidcup and Old Bexleys Hustings

Thu, 13 May 2010 03:10:16 GMT

It gave us great pleasure to host the hustings of Sidcup & Old Bexley’s parliamentary candidates, organised by Churches Together in Sidcup.

It was an impressive turnout, with well over 350 people attending, a substantial number of whom were from New Community itself. It’s great to see the church interested in politics: as Christians we are not called to hide away in ivory towers; rather we should be engaged with our culture and our society and this necessarily involves a degree of political awareness. We are called to be ‘salt and light’ (Matthew 5:13) in this world but we can only be as such if we know the world we are dealing with! It is only if we are aware of the issues that we can address them from a God-perspective, to help people, both Christians and non-Christians, to see the truth of the Gospel and apply it to their lives.

The evening was certainly interesting, with the candidates putting forth their views on range of issues, from the nation’s nuclear program, to the fate of Queen Mary’s hospital. The audience were also very forthcoming with a number of challenging questions for the candidates.

It is beyond the remit of this blogger to pass judgement on the policies espoused by the candidates, or indeed the results of the recent election. However, the result of a hung parliament does seem to indicate that we are living in a period of indecision and uncertainty. Yet as Christians, we put our faith not in worldly systems but in a God who is eternal, unchanging and sovereign over all: He does not need validation of His power in the form of sizeable majority in Parliament, nor does He need to haggle a coalition deal in order to secure his premiership!

With God there is no doubt: the security we have in Him becomes even more apparent when compared to the transient, fragile nature of the world’s governmental systems. It is so amazing to know that we serve a God who reigns in all circumstances and all ages: ‘Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.’ (Isaiah 9:7)

Bored or what?

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 13:26:51 GMT

Are you all election-ed out? Fed up with the endless procession of manifestos, swing-o-metres, spin-doctors, wives and pundits across your TV screen? Well don’t despair: times of great controversy are also times of great opportunity to raise issues dear to us as the people of God.

At a time when even the BBC is asking the question:

“Are Christians being persecuted in Modern Britain?”

Thirty Christian leaders (including Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, the Principals of three Bible Colleges and Dave Stroud from Christchurch Central London and leader of the Newfrontiers UK team), have launched a Declaration of Christian Conscience, Westminster 2010. This calls for the protection of human life, the protection of marriage, and the protection of freedom of conscience.

Launched on Easter Sunday, the Declaration calls upon all parliamentary candidates to pledge that they will 'respect, uphold and protect the right of Christians to hold and express Christian beliefs and act according to Christian conscience’. It appeals to Christians of all denominations who subscribe to the historic Christian faith to sign the Westminster 2010 Declaration of Christian Conscience.

In just ten days it has attracted 20,000 signatures and 2,000 Facebook fans. So don’t just get the election blues (or reds, yellows or greens for that matter); shake off boredom and inertia and check out the statement on www.westminster2010.org.uk/. Add your signature and pray it will help provide a platform for an informed debate of Christian values. Remember the bible says:

“Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a disgrace to any people.” Proverbs 14:34.

Roger Harris

Hope Unleashed

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:30:00 GMT

Last Saturday we held our first ever social action conference 'Hope Unleashed'. As the name suggests, it is all to do with unleashing hope throughout our local communities, through acts of mercy and compassion. The overriding theme of the morning was that 'actions speak louder' and that if we want to make a real, positive and lasting impact upon our neighbourhoods we need to not just "love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth" (1 John 3:18).

The focus of the morning was on the practical things that we are currently involved in and things that we hope to be involved with in the very near future: the response was overwhelming. We had close to 100 people sign up to be involved in practical action through our involvement with the Besom foundation, working with vulnerable adults and with our ever expanding debt advice service. Quite simply, wow!

Our vision is that we make a lasting and positive impact on our local communities; quite literally our dream is that they will be redeemed and transformed. Whilst initially we will be taking small steps we genuinely believe that God has called us to make a serious impact upon the boroughs of Greenwich, Bexley and Bromley. This is the first of many exciting steps.

If you weren't able to attend the conference but would like to find out more or be involved in any way then please contact James via the Church office.

Oasis: Parent & Toddler Group

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 04:00:00 GMT

What is Oasis:

Oasis is New Community Church’s Parent & Toddler Group.

There’s lots for the children to do whether they are babies, crawlers or toddlers. Children can enjoy the craft & messy play area, soft play, slides, ride-on area, baby area, construction toys, vehicles, dressing up, book area, and many more. The morning ends with birthday time and a sing song as well.

You can enjoy spending time in the coffee & chat area. Refreshments are also provided for the children.

We want Oasis to be a place where you can come to meet new people, see old friends, and for it be a safe and stimulating place for children to play.

When is Oasis?

Wednesday 10:15 - 11.45am, term time only.

Handy Dates:

End of Summer Term Party (With Bouncy Castles): 14th July

There will be NO OASIS from 21st July – 14th September

Oasis Team & Newcomers Coffee Morning: 14th September (By invitation ONLY, for all new children and parents starting in the Autumn term.)

Start of Autumn Term: 22nd September (For all children)

Who can come to Oasis?

Oasis is a Parent & Toddler Group for 0-4's. Childminders can only be added to the waiting list if they also bring their own child/ren. Mums, Dads and Grandparents are welcome. Due to its popularity there is a waiting list. You are welcome to come and visit Oasis to see if you like it, and then decide if you want to add your name to the waiting list.

How much does it cost?

Free entry.