11th March 2026 As We Keep Growing It has been a wonderful and encouraging start to the year together as a church, don't you think!?! We currently have over 110 people working through our SHAPE short course, had 16 present for our first Welcome Lunch of 2026 last Sunday, and have been experiencing a steady stream of those searching for faith or a new church week to week. The upshot of all this is that we have certainly been experiencing fuller than normal AM services on Sunda

4th March 2026 Come Lord Jesus Once again our newsfeeds are filled with evidence of the brokenness of our world as increased geopolitical conflict spills over yet again. In 2026, this is all captured on video and streamed to our devices, along with all the political masquerading and social media opinions that accompany it. Over two thousand years ago the disciples of Jesus asked outright for insight on the future 'end of the age'. Jesus famously responded, "You will hear of w

25th Feb 2026 S.H.A.P.E.d to Serve All Called. All Gifted. All Needed. When we think about serving in the church, it can be easy to picture a sign-up sheet, a schedule, or a gap that needs to be filled on a roster. And while these will always be part of church life, the Scripture paint a much fuller and more beautiful picture of what serving is. Serving isn’t just about plugging roster holes — it’s about living out who God has uniquely created each of us to be. In 1 Corinthia

18th Feb 2026 Lent Starts Today! For the past two Sundays we have been exploring passages from 'the upper room' chapters in John's Gospel. These powerful chapters record the last evening Jesus spends with his disciples before his arrest and crucifixion. By reflecting on them we have, in some ways, already been engaging with the lead up towards Easter. These final hours of Jesus with His disciples prepare them for what is to come and invite us to live in light of the Cross afr

11th Feb 2026 Washing Feet What motivates you? What moves you to act? So much of our culture today revolves around the motivation, 'What's in it for me?' People say things like, "You should only do those things that bring you joy." "Do the things that are life-giving… and if there are things that are hard or boring or unpleasant, do them with a view to the pay-off, that those things will be worthwhile in the end." There is a kind of wisdom to this way of thinking - but at its

4th Feb 2026 Recap: Vision Sunday A big thank you to all who made it to our Vision Sunday Services on the weekend, and to all who joined online or caught up since! More importantly, thank you for being the kind of church who wants to be part of a movement, as we join together on mission with the God who is on mission. If you weren't able to make it on Sunday and haven't had the chance to yet, the message portion of Sunday's Service has been uploaded separately for your conv

28th Jan 2026 Let's Go! We are about to tick over to the month of February, also known as the official start of the church calendar year. Most people are back from holidays, students are heading back to school or uni, and the normal weekly rhythms of home life are taken up for a new year. On the church front, our regular church ministry programs resume for a new year with fresh vision, plans and added new leaders. And we launch passionately towards the things of God together

21st Jan 2026 Eternity from Johnny For about three decades, Arthur Stace wrote the word Eternity on the pavements of Sydney. He had first been captured by the word in a sermon at his church, Burton Street Tabernacle, a Baptist church in Darlinghurst. The sermon was by an evangelical preacher, John Ridley, who said, “Eternity! Eternity! I wish I could sound, or shout, that word to everyone in the streets of Sydney. Eternity!” Arthur thought to himself, 'perhaps I could write i

14th Jan 2026 Pursue Prayers for a New Year from Travis I love nerding out on statistics to do with church life and health (especially ours!). One of the stats that stood out from last year's NCLS report, is that 9 in 10 people who filled in our survey last year said that they experienced personal spiritual growth and transformation over the past 12 months. 90%!! And when asked about what our church should prioritise in the coming 12 months, the top priority by a substantial

7th Jan 2026 New Year, Renewed Rhythms from Travis It is a new year, HAPPY NEW YEAR to each of you! It is also the time where many rethink their rhythms and habits that they desire to build into their life in the coming year. Looking back on my own life, I know that some Januarys have involved bold declarations of gloriously ambitious "new year's resolutions"... that then turn out to be embarrassingly short-lived. Oops! In other years though, I can look back on deliberate shi

31st Dec 2025 2025: A Year of Pursuing Jesus Together As 2025 makes way for 2026, we want to give an enormous PRAISE GOD and share a heartfelt THANK YOU for an incredible year together!! At the beginning of 2025, we set the theme of 'Pursue' over the year as a church from Philippians 3:12-14. Our heart and hope was to see a year of pursuing Jesus - both individually and collectively - and taking hold of all that he has for us. It flowed from the faith-fuelled conviction t

22nd Dec 2025 Merry Christmas from our pastoral team From all of our team we wish you each a very Merry and Meaningful Christmas Celebration! Whatever the coming days hold for you, we pray that Jesus will fill your vision and heart. Allow the scandal of God becoming flesh to lead you in wonderous amazement, as you are moved afresh by the depths of God's love for you and for our world. Teen Missions Update Continue to pray for our amazing teens (Leo, Amity, Mercy & Sarah) who

17th Dec 2025 Prayer for Bondi from Johnny "The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1:5 On Sunday night, Jewish communities around Australia and across the world gathered to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah. Yet in Bondi, the celebration was turned to tragedy as two gunmen opened fire of civilians in an act of terror and hatred. I know we are all reeling as we seek to come to terms with what has happened. Many of us have seen footage

10th Dec 2025 Advent: A Season for Peace from Johnny I think our world is desperate for peace at the moment - so many people seem to be living with a background level of fear, a sense of dread gnawing away at the back of their minds. Perhaps you feel this too - fear of war, fear of natural disaster, fear of economic collapse, fear of evil people with too much power... God's people have lived in fearful times before. Throughout the bible there are countless examples of people

3rd Dec 2025 Advent: A Season of Hope from Travis This week I found myself hoping for the best. I had chosen to take a longer, in-land, less direct but hopefully more beautiful route up to my Arrow Leadership Residential in QLD. It would be a single lane road that had experienced flood damage earlier in the year with questionable phone reception. As I sat in my mid-way stop before tackling this alternate route, I admit I was hoping for the best - "I hope the traffic is light.

26th Nov 2025 Observing Advent from Travis In our household the Christmas tree is now set up and shining brightly each night, Christmas fruit mince tarts are being enjoyed, the Names of Jesus Advent Calendar is up and wrapped presents are already appearing beneath the tree. Of course, you don't need to visit our home to know what we all know... Christmas is coming! In the liturgical calendar, this Sunday marks the official beginning of the Season of Advent. For Christians acr

19th Nov 2025 Serve With Us! from Johnny Wasn’t it wonderful celebrating and thanking God last Sunday morning. We want to take a moment to reiterate our thanks for the army of volunteers that serve with us every week, and to relive the fun of our Thanksgiving service on Sunday. There are over 150 who serve on a regular roster, plus all the people who sign up to help with special events, and those who lend a hand in more informal ways. Thank you all!! Travis shared an exciting

12th Nov 2025 So incredibly grateful for us from Travis (+NCLS!) Recently I sat down to read through our returned NCLS report (remember that big "National Church Life Survey" form you filled in back in September? That's the one, thanks for filling that in!) . I had been eagerly awaiting it's return, ready to dive into the report as it is such a helpful snapshot of our church and measure of our health. Plus, it helps give shape to our focus and priorities for the coming year.

5th Oct 2025 Christmas Season at NVBC Dates for your diary! The world may say that we are heading towards the "silly season", yet for us at NVBC we believe that we are approaching a season of spiritual significance! Across our Christmas Season we are facilitating opportunities to be deeply impacted by the love of God, who came and dwelt among us. And that good news of great joy for all the world!! There will be moments to remember, laugh, mourn, celebrate and invite our frie

29th Oct 2025 Maintaining 'Mountain Top' Momentum from Travis I love mountain top experiences! Who doesn't?! I love those moments where we feel God speak to us so clearly, where we sense His presence in a powerful way, and where we feel our hearts be stirred to make real change in our life. Whether a conference, retreat, worship night or some special occasion, these mountain top experiences can bring moments of great clarity, healing and renewed focus on the things of God in