1st July 2026

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 transcribed and distributed across the world. Over the course of his ministry life he spoke to millions, who experienced preaching so powerful and transforming that he earned the nickname: “The Prince of Preachers.”

Imagine then, how significant it would be to hear him famously say:

"I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach.”

Charles Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, understood the vital importance of prayer. As one of history's greatest preachers, he believed that teaching someone to genuinely pray was an even greater contribution to the life of the church!

Let's get a little more personal though. In one of his sermons (The Conditions of Power in Prayer, 1873) he brought the following challenge to believers:

I know of no better thermometer to your spiritual temperature than this: the measure of the intensity of your prayer.”

Friends, in a world filled with noise, hurry, and endless distractions... how is your personal prayer life going?

From this Sunday we start a teaching series on Prayer (and to say I'm excited about it is a more than an understatement)! We are going to explore prayer as our first response, prayer as intercession, prayer as formation. We're going to talk through how we pray through disappointments, how we can fast and pray, and how we can together become a house of prayer a NVBC. Together let's learn, grow and deepen our prayer lives!

That's a wrap - Alpha

from Johnny & the Alpha team

Alpha concluded on Sunday night - Thank you to Brad & Jenny Jones and the whole team of volunteers who made this happen.

It was a great course with quite a diverse group of people attending: New Christians and non-Christians, old and young, and lots of questions and ideas they brought with them. It was wonderful to see the Holy Spirit at work in so many people, revealing Himself to them week by week. We continue to pray for our guests who attended, that they would continue seeking God and staying connected to NVBC as they journey in faith.

Jo Mackie & Kay Murray coordinated the food. They write:

We would just like to express our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to our cooking volunteers, for their faithfulness generosity and servant hearts, they made our job so enjoyable, and thank you Jesus for knowing exactly how much of everything we needed each week…always enough for everyone and how we enjoyed serving each week to such grateful people.

Ministry Highlight - Youth Alive Rally

from Zach

On Friday, young people from across the Central Coast gathered at Charmhaven and Erina for a combined youth event. Events included food stalls, sports, inflatables, giveaways, singing, a bible talk and a whole lot of community. This event is done in the name of unity. A space that young people can come together no matter what denomination or social status. We are always amazed at the incredible things God is doing in young people's lives. An event like this is yet another testimony!

Praise God for the unity and faith of young people!

2 Locations

28 Different Youth Ministries

665 Youth & Leaders

90 Volunteers

71 Bibles Received

110 Gospel Responses

(Commitments & Re-commitments)

The Gathering Camp - Ticket Launch

We have already had our first 40 rego's come in for The Gathering Camp 2026!

The Gathering Camp is our biannual time away together, where we get to spend an unhurried weekend together as a church family. This year, we'll be heading down to Crosslands for the weekend 30th Oct - 1st Nov.

There will be time to make new connections and strengthen old ones, over meals and fun activities, in small groups and big ones, with prayer and worship times and a special off-site church service on the Sunday morning, and so much more!

We've chosen a site that is entirely ours to use, as affordable as possible with good facilities, in a beautiful peaceful location, and not too far from Narara. We hope Crosslands can be all those things.

Click through to our new gathering webpage below for all the info, and to book your spot:

This Weekend

This Saturday (Sat 4 July) - next men's breaky, RSVP here.

This Sunday (Sun 5 July) - we excitedly begin our next teaching series on Prayer, with Travis speaking on having Prayer as a First Response!

Kids packs will be available in the services.

School Holiday Activities

Kids Day Out (Tues 7 July)

Final chance to join for our Kids Day Out in the upcoming school holidays! Rego here by Friday to not miss out!

Family Movie Night (Sat 18 July)

Come and join us for a time to spend unhurried time together as a family as you enjoy your final few days of school holidays. Movie of the night is Zootopia 2. Sausage sizzle, drink and popcorn included. Bring something so sit on and a blanket to get comfy. Rego here.

For all other upcoming Term 3 events, visit:

https://www.nvbc.info/whatson

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