Like many churches, live-streaming is a totally new experience for us. Here’s a bit of a look behind the scenes and some reflections from the team that made yesterday’s service possible!
This is our new one-stop page for all the info, links and resources you’ll need to stay connected to our church community during this challenging time we are facing. From this Sunday (29 March) we’ll have ONE livestream gathering at 9am. There will not be any Sunday gatherings in the Ministry Centre. We encourage everyone to join together at the same time to hear God’s Word, worship and pray together. In coming weeks we’ll be building into our live-stream more participation and interaction.
You will always find the upcoming live-stream link at the top the right hand column on this page. The recording will be available for you to access at any time after the live-stream is finished. You’ll find all our live-stream gatherings and recordings on our Youtube channel here. To prepare for a smooth experience on Sunday, it would be helfpful for you to do the following in advance:
- Click on the link above, or go to YouTube and search for ‘The Lakes Church NSW’ (look for our logo)
- Click the ‘Subscribe’ button
If you need help preparing to connect online, please contact Damien van der Meulen or James Dearness (their contact details are in the church directory). We look forward to connecting with you in this way on Sunday!
Our Helping Hands ministry allows us to centralise help for situations where a Growth Group needs help to support people. At The Lakes we encourage all members to be part of a Growth Group so that we can encourage one another in God’s Word and care for one another in our small groups. If you are able to help with:
Over the coming months let’s make sure we all care for one another. We’ve always been great at helping others, but also be prepared to ask for help yourself if you need it. The Lakes has a terrific care team called Helping Hands. If you’d like to contribute by donating food, doing some shopping or phoning to keep in touch with members of our church family we’d love to hear from you. If you’re in need of help, please let us know.
You can help by:
- reaching out to each other;
- providing a frozen meal or non-perishable groceries for our food bank – groceries can be delivered to the tub on the church verandah at any time and frozen meals can be dropped off to the office freezer (please phone ahead on 43530977 to make sure someone is at the office);
- shopping, meal delivery, or phoning people by filling in this simple form here;
- letting us know if you hear of anyone in need by emailing helpinghands@thelakes.net.au
Let’s spur each other on to love and good deeds with our Saviour’s encouragement:
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:35
From this week our Kids Church team will provide material for the whole family to be doing at home. This will include activities for church online as well as separate resources to use mid-week that line up with our current Kids Church curriculum. These will be available through email as well under Kids Church Downloads on this page. We hope this is a great opportunity for your family to be encouraged together as we partner with you in discipling your children.
Concerned about doing church at home? Ask your kids to help set up! They’ll have ideas about what you need (pencils, bibles, morning tea, craft, toys for toddlers etc). Encourage them to own the process and take part in helping. We’ll also be posting ideas and resources here in the future so be sure to stay tuned.
Salt Lite
Salt Lite will not be running for the foreseeable future. However, keep your eye on your emails for ways that the Extremities might be able to connect with one another digitally over the next few weeks.
Salt
Salt will no longer be running this term due to safety concerns. If your child would like to engage in a youth program over the next two Fridays, EV Church at Erina has a great live-streamed program on a Friday night from 7.30. To access it click here.
Beginning in term 2, our Salt leaders will be creating their own content on The Lakes YouTube channel for teens to enjoy and plug into community with.
Senior Salt Camp
Unfortunately it will not be possible for Senior Salt Camp to go ahead this year. If you’ve paid for this already, you will be reimbursed. This is understandably a big disappointment for our teens. We’re looking into how our senior youth can connect with each other during that week so keep the 20th to 23rd of April in your diaries and stay tuned for updates!
This is a testing time for our seniors, particularly those with underlying health issues for whom the necessity to be isolated is very important. We understand how vital it is for us to stay connected during this time therefore we’re exploring different formats to allow for communication and engagement with each other. Rest assured we will be seeking opportunities to love and care for our seniors. In this regard you may be hearing from some of our church members as they reach out to make sure you’re going ok.
Seniors events postponed
Understandably all our Seniors ministry events have been postponed, however it could be possible to enjoy an outdoor walk or to catch up in a park with another person (as long as you adhere to social distancing guidelines). Please be in touch with each other if you would like to meet up in this way.
Online chat groups
Don’t let the idea of an online chat group frighten you. Over the next few days our Seniors ministry team will be exploring ways to meet in small groups using online technologies available to us. For those unable to participate in this way, we’ll endeavour to connect with you by phone. If you need any help or someone to talk to, please contact Russell Windon (his details are in the church directory).
It’s great to see that more and more of our Growth Groups are meeting online and enjoying the experience. Remember, at The Lakes this is our main way of caring for each other, especially now that we can’t gather at the ministry centre on Sundays. We encourage you to keep informed about one another’s needs such as food, collecting groceries and transport. Take the opportunity to talk to each other and build relationships and community with one another in Christ.
Please also be prepared to welcome new group members as we invite people who are new to The Lakes or who haven’t previously been in a Growth Group. If you are not in a group and would like to join at this time, please do not hesitate to contact Darren Box (his details are in the church directory).
We are hoping that from this Sunday our Chinese brothers and sisters will be able to share in Sunday worship through live-streaming with Mandarin translation. If we can’t arrange it in time for this week, a translation will be included to the recording for you to watch after the live-stream. You can find videos in the Chinese playlist on The Lakes YouTube channel here.
We are also working on a virtual Bible study meeting after the service. Growth Groups are encouraged and supported to meet virtually as well through the week. If you have any questions or need any help, please contact Susie Schubert (her contact details are in the church directory).
