24th June 2026

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 read and be encouraged to make space for God to speak to you.

-- from Sue --

Thursday evenings we meet in our home with a group of wonderful young adults . We start with lively conversation around the dinner table ,then settle down to look at a bible passage together, ending the evening with prayer. A few weeks ago we tried something new and did a Prayer Activation, where we imagined Jesus in a place that was special for us. Each then prayed and waited on the Lord, listening for anything he wanted to speak or "give" to us.

That evening, every group member had a meaningful encounter with Jesus. So exciting!

Here is my little “testimony” for our prayer activation activity from connect. “As I listened to Sue’s prompting, I began envisioning myself in a safe place: the paddock on my grandparents property. I saw Jesus slowly walking towards me, but never quite reaching me. I realised I needed to walk towards him. As I reached him, Jesus handed me a small branch. An olive branch. It felt so random, but I couldn’t picture anything else! As I reflected on what I saw, I realised that Jesus was giving me his peace, something I desperately needed in that moment.” - Hannah C

"In my imagination I was taken to a point out near the water on a small bush trail I often go to. I was sitting on a bench and Jesus was sitting next to me. I realised that this place was a culmination of different meaningful parts of me; my interest in nature and marine life, a place where I regularly go for runs and walks, and a place where I spend time with my girlfriend. When trying to see if Jesus was giving me a gift, I realised the gift was Jesus reminding me of my value and that all these things that makes me who I am are good." - Jacob H

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May their testimonies prompt us each to find time and ways to make space for God to speak to us! Speak Lord, for we long to hear your voice.

Ministry Highlight - Equip Conference

from Sarah

Last Saturday, we hosted our Equip Women’s Conference. 35 women gathered together and delved into the story of Jonah, reflecting on the questions, ‘How can God be not only the God of Israel but also the God of the whole world?’ and ‘How can He be both merciful and just?’

It was a wonderful time of, learning, growing in faith, worshipping, connecting over a meal, and discussing our thoughts on the story of Jonah.

Newest Ministry Partners!

from Travis (on behalf of the elders)

Coming out of our last 'Count Me In' lunch we are thrilled to formally welcome another 17 people into Ministry Partnership at NVBC!! Each have a genuine and growing love for Jesus, have made NVBC their spiritual home and are committed to participating in the life and decision making of our church family. How good is it being the church together hey?! Our newest Ministry Partners are:

Jason & Shelly Fittler

Peter Cannings

Bec Hince

Jane Jones

Doug Carloss

Hendrick & Anna Lorentz

Milly Rao

Michelle Chea

Christine & Colin Bailey

Lisa Jones

Joel & Alice Clement

Paul & Melinda Stiles

If you missed the last 'Count Me In' lunch and are also keen to move towards partnership at NVBC, you know I'd love to have that chat anytime!! Flick me an email and we'll make a time to get together soon.

The Gathering Camp - Ticket Launch

from Johnny

We have officially launched 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:

Following Sundays announcement, we want to provide some more clarity around caravans - if you want to bring a camper-trailer or small caravan, there are some basic facilities for that in the campground area of the site (you can book 'camping' tickets for this). However, the access road to the site is not suitable for towing anything long, so please contact us if you are planning to tow anything down there, and we can discuss these challenges with you and help you decide.

If you have any questions at all about The Gathering Camp, please don't hesitate to ask Johnny - or send us an email. We would love to have as many people as possible come and join us!

Quick Clarifier

You may be aware of the recent 60 Minutes report (or seen the news and blog posts since) which raised significant concerns regarding Redeemer Baptist Church and School in Sydney. Despite their name, Redeemer Baptist Church is in no way connected to or affiliated with the Baptist Association of NSW/ACT nor the broader Australian Baptist Ministries movement in Australia. They are a completely independent entity.

This Week

Senior Service (Thurs 25 June)

Join for a time of communion, hymns and encouragement as one of our newest seniors - Doug Carloss - shares his story.

Senior Service (Fri 26 June)

Our Valley Youth are offsite this Friday, at the Youth Alive regional rally! 6:00-9:00pm at ISEE Church in Erina.

This Sunday (Sun 28 June)

We continue our Acts series with one of our elders, Dianne Carloss (Wicks), speaking in the AM Service and Nathan Wood speaking in the PM Service.

Coming Up

Creating Safe Spaces Workshop (Sun 28 June)

We will host an onsite CSS workshop Sunday June 28 for any needing to complete (or refresh) their training. For more info or to RSVP.

Kids Day Out (Tues 7 July)

Regoes are coming in and we're getting excited for Kids Day Out in the upcoming school holidays! Time to invite your friends and rego here for a fabulous peak experience.

Kids 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. Limited lounges available.

For all other upcoming events, visit:

https://www.nvbc.info/whatson

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