Join us on the 3rd June for a free-to-play board games evening. There will be a wide selection of games but you are welcome to bring your own to play with others as well. Brickworks will be serving refreshments throughout the evening too.

Join the Board Games WhatsApp Community to have your say on the games that are played!

All ages are welcome!

On June 7th, it will be our absolute joy to baptise people who have come to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

If you'd like to find out more about what baptism is, listen in to our recent Baptism FAQs podcast on the app (linked below)! 

 And, if you'd like to discuss getting baptised yourself, you can get in touch via this form. 

Join us next Wednesday 3rd June for a free-to-play board games event. All ages are welcome to join!

Join the Board Games WhatsApp Community for upcoming dates and to have your say on the games we play!

This Saturday 30th May is the next edition of our 'Side by Side' book study.

We'll be looking at chapters 9, 10 and 11 so please read these beforehand if you can. Whether you've been to every session or none of them, you're more than welcome to join us! And why not stay behind for a refreshing drink at Brickworks and sit in the sun with other women from our church!?

See lots of you lovely ladies there!

Discover Our Newest Christchurch Kids Spotify Summer Playlist! Perfect for road trips and kitchen discos!

On our Christchurch Kids Spotify page, you’ll find a growing collection of playlists designed to keep your family dancing, singing, and looking to Jesus.
 
Music has a powerful way of helping truth stick in our hearts. As children sing along to songs filled with the gospel, they are planting seeds of truth that can stay with them for life.

Not Sure How to Use Spotify?
You don’t need to pay to enjoy these playlists — they’re available to all Spotify users!
Spotify is a free music streaming platform that you can use on your phone, tablet, or computer.
 
Option 1: Free Account
Visit Spotify or download the app and create a free account using your email address.
With a free account, you can:
* Listen to all of our Christchurch Kids playlists
* Shuffle songs
* Stream music using Wi-Fi or mobile data
* Enjoy music at no cost (with occasional adverts)
 
Option 2: Premium Subscription
Spotify Premium is a paid subscription that includes extra features such as:
* No adverts
* Unlimited song skips
* Downloading music for offline listening (perfect for long car journeys!)
* Higher sound quality
 
Spotify also regularly offers free trials and family plans, so it’s easy to try it before committing.
 
We hope you enjoy
Lindsey x
 

The Doctrine Course returns next week!

From Tuesday the 2nd June we will begin a new doctrine course for five weeks.

We will be continuing our study of God and his perfections – this time focusing on God‘s communicable perfections (those attributes of God we were made to resemble).

Whether studying doctrine is a huge passion of yours this would be your first time, everyone is welcome!

Sign up here!

Calling all Crafters!

In Psalm 8, we are reminded that God delights in using even the smallest children to proclaim His greatness. They are treasured, valued, and used for His purposes.
“Through the praise of children and infants
You have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.” Psalm 8:2
 
As a church family, we have the wonderful privilege of sharing the gospel with our youngest children. One creative and engaging way to do this is through story sacks.
 
What Is a Story Sack?

A story sack is a simple storytelling resource, particularly suited to very young children. It is a drawstring bag containing:
- A carefully chosen storybook
- A collection of crafted or bought items that help bring the story to life
 
These items might include: Wooden, felt, crocheted or knitted figures and animals
Small plastic models or objects linked to the story (for example, a boat, a trumpet, or plants)
Swatches of fabric to represent settings such as the sea, a river, or fields
 
Importantly, the sack does not need to contain an item for every single page of the book. A few well-chosen pieces — around five to seven items — are more than enough to help tell the story effectively.
 
The bag itself should be large enough to hold both the book and all the story items. For ease of organisation, the name of the book should be clearly displayed on the front of the bag so that each story sack can be easily located.
 
A Creative Invitation:

We would love to invite the talented crafters in our church to volunteer to create one of these story sacks for use in our toddler crèche and Parent and Toddler groups.
A book will be provided — all you need to do is get busy creating suitable items and a sturdy drawstring bag to store them in. You might choose to work on your own or join forces with another crafter and make it a shared project.

When designing your story sack, please ensure that:
- Items are robust enough for frequent handling
- Materials are safe and suitable for young children
- The story title is clearly labelled on the outside of the bag
 
Looking Ahead:

In four months, we will host a special evening for all our crafters to come together. It will be a chance to: share your creations, celebrate the creativity within our church, and pray for our toddlers, our Mum and Toddler groups, and the families we serve.
 
If you would like to be involved, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please contact the church office.

Next month, there are four blood donation sessions at Christchurch! That means there are over 400 spaces to fill!
 
If you have a spare morning or afternoon, would you consider booking a slot? From entering the building to leaving again (with your Brickworks beverage!) takes under an hour.

There is currently medium availability for Tuesday 2nd June, and high availability for Thursday 11th, Tuesday 16th June and Wednesday 17th June.
 
Sign up here! 

What are spiritual gifts? How are they used in the gathered church? Should we seek them? How do we practise them?

Come along this Tuesday evening from 7:30pm as we unpack what the gifts of the Spirit are and how they can be used to bless one another.

Sign up here!

As it is a bank holiday next week, we will not be having our regular fortnightly prayer meeting.

May this well-know psalm bless you as you enjoy an extra long weekend!

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

EPIC is our Friday night event filled with games and activities for children years 3-6. But what actually happens at these fun-filled evenings!?

Each EPIC evening is full of energetic games, creative crafts, and lots of noise and excitement. Every week also includes a short, engaging faith-based talk where the gospel is clearly explained and shared. In the middle of the fun and silliness, the aim is to help children understand who Jesus is, what He has done for them, and what it means to follow Him.
 
A Place to Belong — and to Invite
EPIC is loved by our own Christchurch children — but it is also regularly attended by children from non-church homes. One of the main aims of EPIC is to create a space where our Christchurch children feel confident and excited to invite their friends.
 
They are brilliant at doing just that! Because of their invitations, EPIC is regularly attended by several children from non-church families. We have even seen some of these children continue on into Junior Teens once they have outgrown EPIC. What a joy and privilege it is to welcome them, build friendships, and share the good news of Jesus.
 
An Amazing Team
Our EPIC team have boundless energy, brilliantly crazy ideas, and — most importantly — huge hearts for sharing Jesus. They pray, plan, build props, organise crafts, lead games, give talks, clear up glitter (so much glitter!), and still somehow leave smiling.
 
They also beautifully model gospel-hearted serving and intergenerational community to their own children, some of whom arrive early each week to help set up and pray for the evening. These “little helpers” will one day be students, young adults, and parents sharing the gospel and serving in their own local churches.

Join us this 
Sunday 17th May from 7:30pm-9:30pm for an information evening about the Leadership Training Initiative - LEAD.


LEAD is a course designed for men aged 18-50 to grow in servant-leadership, learning to better reflect the heart of Jesus to those they lead and serve.

Click here to sign-up!

Get your magnifying glasses and notebooks at the ready! Next week at Legacy there will be a murder mystery theme!

Legacy is our monthly meeting for members of our Christchurch and the wider community who are over the age of 65. On May 21st from 10:30am, we will gather together again to enjoy each other's company, eat together and maybe even... solve a murder!

As some of you may know, members of our church are involved in the work of Eden Gate - a Christian charity serving some of the most marginalised people in our city: those who are homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless. It is a charity very close to our hearts and they have a very exciting new project which has the opportunity to set the tone for future homelessness support in the UK!

Eden Gate are currently in the process of launching a new Skills Training Centre in the heart of the city, to support individuals in gaining practical skills, confidence, and opportunities for a more stable future.

In light of this, we are hosting a Volunteer Recruitment Evening on 28th May at 7pm at the Hill Street, Salvation Army. This event will be an opportunity for people to hear about the vision of the centre, tour the current centre, and explore how they can get involved in a meaningful and practical way.

We look forward to seeing some of you at the volunteers evening!

Doctrine is returning!

From the 2nd June to the 30th June, we will begin a new doctrine course for five weeks.

We will be continuing our study of God and his perfections – this time focusing on God‘s communicable perfections (those attributes of God we were made to resemble) such as his wisdom and knowledge, love, mercy and grace.

Whether you've been to a doctrine course before or this would be your first time, everyone is welcome!

As we study the doctrine of God we want to grow in our understanding – however little that may be – and seek to be in greater awe of God and know him deeper. Expect this course to be both hugely encouraging and mind-stretching!

Sign up here!

On Sunday 7th June, we will be holding our next baptism service at Christchurch!

This is a wonderful occasion where we have the privilege of hearing people's personal testimonies of the power of Jesus at work in their lives. As they are baptised with water, we celebrate the beautiful symbol that baptism is of dying to ourselves and our sinful desires and being raised to new life in Christ!

If you are interested in getting baptised or you would like to have your questions about baptism answered by one of our elders, fill out the form here!  

Meet Andrej Ivanov, the pastor of ICF Church Kyiv.

In the latest episode of We Are Christchurch, Lewis sat down for a conversation with Andrej as they discuss life in Ukraine and how we as a church family can serve and be praying for them.

Give it a listen below!

On Monday 10th May at 7:30pm, members of our church will gather together to thank God for his faithfulness and to boldly approach his throne to lay our requests before him.

Whether you have something specific you'd like to come and pray for, or whether you'd just like to join in praying with other members of your church family, we'd be delighted to see you!

If you can't come along but would really appreciate prayer for a particular situation, please submit a prayer request here. We will make sure to bring that thing before the Lord in prayer together.

Come along to free-to-play board games event at Brickworks this Wednesday evening!

Expect a huge range of games, great coffee and cake, and extreme competitiveness!

Join us from 7pm-9:30pm tomorrow! See you there!

We have lots of evening events in May!

Interested in learning more about spiritual gifts in the church?
Are you currently a community group leader or would like to become one?
Are you a man aged 18-50 looking to grow in servant-hearted leadership?
Do you want to gather to pray with other brothers and sisters in Christ?

 We have some really exciting events coming up in May! We hope to see you at some of them!

Links to sign up to certain events are attached below!

6th May: Board Games Evening
10th May: Community Group Leaders Meeting 
11th May: Prayer Meeting
14th May: CAP Money Course 
15th May: Teens & Senior Teens Social
17th May: LEAD 
19th May: Spiritual Gifts and the Gathered Church 
21st May: Legacy
21st May: CAP Money Course
30th May: Women’s Ministry Book Study 

If you are a man aged 18-50, join us on 
Sunday 17th May from 7:30pm-9:30pm!


LEAD is a course designed for men to grow in the grace of the Lord and fellowship together as we learn the principles of servant-leadership.

Our hope is this will serve the church, and you for years to come. Click here to sign-up!

Join us for a free-to-play board games event at Brickworks next Wednesday! All ages  welcome!

There will be a large selection of games but please bring your own game to play with others if you would like. The café will be serving up food and drink throughout the evening.

Come by yourself or bring your friends along and see you there!

What does it mean to be spirit-filled church? And what ought it look like to live out the gifts of the Spirit described in the New Testament?

Join us on Tuesday 19th May at 7:30pm for a practical insight into eagerly desiring the spiritual gifts for upbuilding of the church.

Sign up here!  

Are you currently leading a community group or are you perhaps considering becoming one? If so, this event is for you!

On Sunday 10th May, from 7:30-9:30pm, we will hold a Community Group Leaders Training evening where we eat together, learn from each other, and receive training on how to lead a group well.

Register to attend here!