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

15th April 2026 Try Alpha with us Have you ever asked yourself the question "is there more to life than this?" Starting April 26, we are hosting an Alpha course where you can ask and wrestle with this and many more questions about life, faith and meaning. Our Alpha course will be a warm, friendly and open space to connect and explore the big questions of life, faith and meaning together. There is no pressure to speak or to commit to the whole course, first we encourage you

8th April 2026 Thank you Lord! Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. 1 Peter 1:3-4 We are continuing to give great thanks and praise to God for his love expressed through the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus! And we are continuing to praise God for a fabulous Easter Weekend at N

25th March 2026 Generous Worship from Johnny Today we are halfway through 'Holy Week' - the week leading up to the Easter weekend. We read in John 12:1-11 that Jesus shared dinner that Wednesday night with Lazarus, Martha and Mary. Lazarus was the man Jesus raised from the dead, and perhaps partly in response to this, his sister Mary stooped down in the middle of the party and anointed Jesus' feet with expensive perfume, wiping his feet with her hair. Judas is appalled, sayin

25th March 2026 What a Great Sunday! How encouraging was last Sunday!?! Introducing Sarah as our soon to begin Admin staff team member, "meeting" Doug and Michelle in service, lots of visitors across the day, lunch together, youth leaders prepping BAMCAMP, six baptisms and a courtyard dinner to round the day off... we love how God is at work among us, continuing to build a movement of His Church here at NVBC!! A huge thank you to Mink and Joel (and family!) for helping to cat

18th March 2026 A Place at the Table from Travis One of the powerful images in the Christian life is the image of a table. Around a table we share meals and stories; we listen, we laugh, and we remember that we have a place of belonging with one another. I can recall many powerful memories of celebrations, shared sorrows, deep encouragements and growing connection that have taken place around a table with friends. Even just today I shared a table with some pastor friends, an

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