2nd September 2026 Welcome to Spring from Travis It's hard to miss the change of seasons as Spring begins across the Central Coast! The warmer days call to us to come outside, the earlier morning sun and warmer overnight temperatures make it easier to start our days, and the fresh life in our gardens motivates us to get out there and cultivate away. As we emerge from our winter hibernation, many experience a natural uplift in energy and motivation. Suddenly we seem to have en

26th August 2026 Celebrating Unity on the Coast from Johnny While you're reading this Newsletter, I'll be having lunch with the pastors of Baptist Churches on the Central Coast up at Greenhouse Long Jetty! It's wonderful seeing the ways that God is creating unity amongst churches in our region, and the fruit of that unity is so exciting to see. We worshipped and fellowshipped together last Sunday night at the Coast Baptist Worship Night (click to watch the slideshow below!) S

19th August 2026 More on A.I. from Johnny On Sunday, I preached about AI, and how we can apply the wisdom of God to this new technological revolution that is beginning to reshape our world. To receive God's wisdom, we should ask Him for it in prayer (James 1:5) – then listen to what is the Spirit is saying, mediate on what the bible says, and watch what happens when I begin putting it into practice. Some people have been asking me about all the things that I didn't get time t

12th August 2026 Keep Praying! from Travis “Pray continually.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:17 As we come to the end of our six-week series on prayer, 1 Thessalonians 5:17 remind us that prayer was never intended to be something we simply study and then move on from. Prayer is an invitation to a life continually turned towards God. It is a blessed practice that we are continually learning, putting into practice and growing in across our lives as disciples. My encouragement at the end

5th August 2026 Sunday Follow Up from Travis Many years ago I heard another pastor use a phrase that has become part of my own vocab... "Sundays come around with alarming regularity." Don't I know it! Barely seems like we've had time to blink and catch our breath before another Sunday is upon us. What a joy right?! Yet there is also an inherent danger that we move far too quickly on from what God had for us. Last Sunday, I believe held two significant things for our church th

29th July 2026 Prayer as Formation from Ps. Johnny Last Sunday, Travis preached about prayer as formation, and encouraged us to seek God Himself in prayer, to be changed as we encounter him. This process takes time - not treating prayer like a vending machine, where we simply make requests for things, but to be more like a slow-cooker, letting our hearts and minds be softened and changed over time. One ancient prayer practice that has helped me to pray transformational prayer

22nd July 2026 Resources from Sunday Last Sunday Johnny spoke into the Biblical model of prayer called lament. Lament is a deeply personal, vulnerable and transformational form of prayer that arises in response to our disappointments and heartbreaks. Across a lifetime we each will experience and carry all sorts of hurts, griefs, disappointments and injustices. We will, at times, perhaps even have cause to question God or be angered by what we perceive is unanswered prayers. W

15th July 2026 Organised to Intercede! from Travis How often have you responding to becoming aware of a friend's need by saying "I'll be praying for you"? For most of us, I'd imagine the answer is: quite often! In that moment that commitment to pray is a genuine intention, an expression of our care for the person and an outworking of our belief in the power of prayer... ... and yet, skip forward in time and how easy is it to suddenly realise that we neglected to do so?! Not b

8th July 2026 Prayer as First Response from Travis How are your prayer reflexes going this week since Sunday?? On Sunday I encouraged us to be a "prayer first" people, the type of believer who builds an instinctive response of going to God in prayer. As Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, always respond to every impulse to pray. For most of us, such responsive prayer-reflexes will develop over time as we intentionally seek to grow in them. Below are some "When-->Then" triggers to he

1st July 2026 The 'Prince of Preachers' on Prayer from Travis As someone who preaches regularly, I find myself feeling in awe of the preaching ministry of Charles Spurgeon. In 1854, at just 19 years of age he became pastor of the New Park Street Chapel and his preaching was immediately so powerful that a new, much (much!) bigger church building had to be constructed! Thousands upon thousands were drawn to hear God speak through Spurgeon each week, with those sermons then tran

24th June 2026 Space for God to Speak "Be still, and know that I am God" - Psalm 46:10 "Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him" - Psalm 37:7 "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me" - Jesus (John 10:27) We love hearing stories of how people are meaningfully engaging with God in prayer and making space to hear his voice. Recently, Sue Solomons shared a great story from one of our connect groups and we thought it too good not to share! Have a

17th June 2026 Have you considered... Last Sunday, many of us took the opportunity to fill out a "Have You Considered...?" card, naming gifts, strengths, and possibilities we see in someone else. This was more than a simple response after a sermon, it was the chance to live into our values as the people of God. In a world that can be quick to overlook, criticise or compare, we are the church - a place where people are seen, encouraged, affirmed, and called forward. Throughout

10th June 2026 Have you ever thought about...? From Johnny When I was a young adult, I had a group of Christian friends who were really passionate about serving God. They all dreamed of one day becoming pastors and ministry leaders. They even joked about one day writing their memoir, and remembering our little group where these dreams all began. I was the odd one out in that group. I didn't think I could be a leader, and I had no idea that I would be a pastor one day... but G

3rd June 2026 They devoted themselves... to eating? From Travis I'm back in the office today fresh from the National Baptist Senior Pastors Gathering. It was my second year being part of this annual peer-to-peer learning community that places a high value on the importance of relationship. Unsurprisingly then, the gathering did not take place in rows of chairs facing forward - it took place around tables. Nor did the agenda for each day finish at 5pm or 6pm - it ended with a

27th May 2026 Reflection: LeadUp Conference Johnny, Zach & Rachel On Monday and Tuesday Johnny, Zach and Rachel attended LeadUp Conference, a Baptist leadership conference at Kiah Ridge in the Southern Highlands. It was a great opportunity to learn about discipleship - for ourselves in our own spiritual formation as leaders, and for those we lead, that they too may grow and lead others to faith and in faith. It was also a great opportunity to meet with other associate pastors

20th May 2026 They Devoted Themselves... to Prayer from Travis Like most, I am so inspired by the description of the early church Luke records for us in Acts 2:42-47. I find myself captivated each time I read through Acts by what seems to be such an alive, vibrant, exciting, Spirit-filled community on mission together. Unsurprisingly, one of the defining characteristics of their shared life is a commitment, what Luke describes as "a devotion to" prayer. Their example issues a

13th May 2026 Forget not... from Johnny Over the past couple of months, we have had the privilege of witnessing a series of baptisms: (22nd of March, 3rd of May, and a few more are happening this coming Sunday!). If, like me, you've been a Christian for a while, witnessing baptisms and hearing testimonies might bring back memories of your own baptism or your own coming to faith in Jesus. Hopefully, these celebrations help you to return your focus to the simple, foundational G

6th May 2026 Cut to the Heart from Travis There are moments when God’s truth moves beyond something we simply hear, read, sing of or remember. In those moments we feel the weight of the Holy Spirit's voice, instinctively knowing that God is at work within us. Over the course of my Christian life it is an experience I have become very familiar with and couldn't imagine living without - I welcome God the Holy Spirit breathing correction, affirmation, rebuke, calling or confirma

29th April 2026 More Than History Throughout the book of Acts we read of the beautiful and impactful movement of the Holy Spirit in the life of the early church. The life and example of these first believers to receive the Holy Spirit continues to be an inspiring (sometimes challenging!) one for us today. Across this term we will celebrate their courage, admire their faith, be thankful for their faithfulness and praise God for their impact. Yet this is more than a history le

22nd April 2026 Alpha starts THIS SUNDAY! Our Alpha team are prayed up, ready and beyond excited for the launch of our Term 2 Alpha Course from this Sunday night!! Our 2026 Alpha Host Team The Alpha Course is a warm, non-threatening opportunity to ask the big questions about life, faith and meaning in community together. All around the world, many have found Alpha Course to be deeply encouraging and helpful. You can watch the below trailer to get more of an idea of what is in