What's been happening at Hope City Presbyterian in Cape Town, South Africa
It's been a while since we updated you with news from our little community. A lot has happened in the last few months. By God's grace we're now in the second year of our plant (in 2 months time we'll celebrate a year of Sunday worship services). At the start of this year we really felt we needed to focus on the basics of the Christian faith. 2013 had been a good year for us and our basic structures were all up and running but we felt we were lacking in doing some of the basics well. So we made two commitments to each other in January, and asked God for his help in these:
1) That we would cultivate deep spirituality both individually and corporately. We got together and prayed for God to meet with us in a special way, filling us with his love and assurance. Without the life-blood, which is the love of the Father, we cannot hope to plant this church and so cultivating a robust and deep spirituality had to be a number one priority in 2014. This means increased focus on prayer, corporate worship, and the practice of spiritual disciplines - both communally and as individuals.
2) That we would cultivate meaningful relationship both inside and outside of our church. God's love needs to spread - that's simply the very nature of his love. And the way he has consistently spread his love is through relationships - people sharing their lives with each other while keeping the gospel at the center. We knew we couldn't hope to plant this church if we were not cultivating these relationships with people in our church and with people who are not yet part of our church. We ask for God's help in this great task and privilege.
So far the year has been exciting as we've committed to these two things. New people have joined us, for which we praise God, and our church has been growing in depth and in opportunities to serve our city. The Lord has brought interesting and diverse people to us and is teaching us how to be community to each other in all the ups and downs of life. He's also opened doors for us to serve the community (see the picture of the the team serving at the Arise Family Day).
I prayed earnestly at the beginning of this year that God would expand our relational base - to date he has been very faithful in answering that prayer. God is definitely at work, and for this we are deeply grateful.
Please uphold the following things in prayer with us:
- Continued growth both numerically and in terms of the depth of gospel understanding in our group.
- That God would honour our commitments to cultivate deep spirituality and meaningful relationships.
- Please pray for us as we think about how best to serve families with children. To date we haven't developed this area of the church and so we're looking to expand here and serve people in this life stage.
- Pray for God's spiritual protection over our community. I seem to be having way more pastoral meetings this year than last. I have no doubt that Satan would like to disrupt the work here so please pray for God's strength in the hard times.
Thank you again for this partnership in the gospel.
God's Richest Blessings,
Stephan and Robin Murray (and the rest of the Hope City Crew!)
Spotlight: Ralph Cunnington & City Church Manchester
Ralph Cunnington is the newest member of the Spanish River Church Planting family. Ralph is planting New City Church in Manchester.
A note from Kris Hassanpour
Joanne and I have been doing really well! We've worked hard to find a rhythm that works for our family in this busy season of planting a church and having our third child. We now have three children: Braylon (5 years), Kyler (3 years), and Sayla (7 months). Each of them brings so much joy to Joanne and I as we watch them grow and make new discoveries. Please pray that God would protect our family from the enemy and that God would continue to provide for us in 2014. Our church plant recently celebrated one year in September! 2013 has been our first full year in church planting, and we've seen God protect us and provide for us in special ways. We're rejoicing in the people whose lives are being changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Please continue to pray for us to have a spiritual and tangible impact on the people in our city. We want to see more people coming to faith in Jesus and worshipping him.
Thank you so much for your support of my family and our church. Spanish River Church will forever be part of any legacy our church leaves behind in this city. We are grateful to God for the leadership and committed members of Spanish River Church and pray the same prayers of protection and provision for you.
Love, Kris Hassanpour
Prayer Focus: Brant Bosserman & Trinitas Presbyterian Church, Everett
Brant Bosserman, lead pastor and church planter of Trinitas Church is advancing the Gospel in Everett, Washington. Brant and his wife, Heather, joined the Spanish River Church Planting family in May 2013.
For the first six months of our meeting as a core group (prior to our formal launch) we did an in-depth study of the character of Biblical worship. This study left our core group members feeling like they rediscovered the purpose of the sacraments, prayer, observing the Lord's Day, preaching, song, responsive readings, confessing our faith together, catechizing children, corporate confession of sin, etc. With this rediscovery that there is a way to indulge the Gospel in the Christian Life as worshipers together, there has been a tremendous zeal among our members to see the church grow, and to share its message with others. Literally every member of our core group has invited friends, family, nominal Christians, and unbelievers to hear the Gospel preached, and see believers worship together.
We have been tremendously blessed by special events in church (our launch service; several infant baptisms; visits from missionary preachers; etc.), and special gatherings outside of Sunday worship (Summer BBQ's; Monthly Lady's and Men's Outings; Play-dates for mom's and children; and Discipleship Groups). At this point, none of our events have failed in their intended purposes or in their ability to draw attendants. I can accredit the eventfulness of all such gatherings to God the Holy Spirit as he has worked within our core group members to bring about a joy and excitement to be present, and to invite others. There would seem to be no substitute for genuine joyfulness to gather on the part of church/core group members. In the next six months we are especially excited for (a) the opening service in our new meeting space; (b) our member reception service; and (c) the continuation of our weekly discipleship groups.
We would appreciate prayer regarding regarding our facilities. As our plant grows, we are in need of facilities that can facilitate that growth with sufficient nursery space for our children, and sanctuary seating for adults and visitors.