The “CareyLocal” is Carey Baptist College’s brand new initiative to build the Biblical foundations for church volunteers, ministry and mission leaders, and anyone wanting to grow in their discipleship.

Participants learn from Carey Baptist College lecturers in real-time online evening classes with a cohort from a church or organisation. All learning is done from the church or organisation site, from someone’s home, or somewhere else in the community, wherever the cohort is located in Aotearoa New Zealand. The two papers on offer are Mission of God, 7-9 pm on Tuesdays, and Introduction to New Testament, 7-9 pm on Wednesdays, starting 18/19 July.

We have a gift for you! If you can gather a cohort of 10 students, the course is free! With each course being worth $787 per person, that is an incredible deal! CareyLocal courses are to be taken for credit, with the completion of assignments required, as part of an NZQA qualification.

Check here for Further information for churches/organisations

How to register your cohort(s)

To get your cohort formally enrolled at Carey, we require a completed Cohort Registration Form to be submitted no later than 9 June 2023. Please complete one form per cohort (i.e. if you have cohorts participating in Mission of God and Introduction to New Testament, you must complete two Cohort Registration Forms).

Late enrolments will be considered, and we will work to see what alternatives are available if you are unable to reach the minimum of 10 credit students.

Please submit your form in by the due date so we can support you and the participants through the formal application/enrolment process.

If you need to make changes or additions to the list after you have submitted it, please email CareyLocal.

How to enrol your participants

Once we receive your completed Cohort Registration Form, we will provide you with clear instructions for your participants to apply and enrol through the standard Carey application portal formally.

Participants will need to meet the requirements for study at this level and provide the following:

• Verified (e.g. by JP, lawyer, pastor) evidence of Citizenship/Residency (e.g. passport)
• Photo for student ID in .jpg format
• Personal statement of approximately 500 words that describes your life and spiritual history, including:
  • How and when you come to faith in Christ
  • How do you maintain and develop your Christian life
  • Significant experiences that have shaped you
  • Why do you want to study at Carey

If you are under 20 years of age, a verified copy of your academic (e.g. NCEA) transcript or equivalent

The Parable of the Sunflowers and the Tourist

Driving home from Oamaru one Sunday afternoon, we were approaching the vast sunflower field at the southern end of Timaru. From a distance, we saw a woman on the side road looking at the sunflower field.

As we drew nearer, we noticed she was walking back and forth, trying to find a path through the wire fence.

We also saw that the sunflowers had turned their back on the highway and were facing the setting sun.

As we passed, we figured out the tourist was trying to get a selfie with the flowers.

She needs to go over the fence and into the middle of the field to get a photo with the sunflowers facing the camera. We laughed at the thought that the sunflowers might not want their picture taken.

The sunflower is an excellent metaphor for believers who follow Jesus Christ. Yes, Christians are “Son-followers.”

However, some Christians have become so focused and transfixed on following the first part of Jesus Christ’s greatest commandment – to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind but neglect doing the second part, which is to love your neighbour as yourself.

“Son-followers” are not like rigid sunflowers with no flexibility to turn around and cater to the tourist’s (pilgrim) needs.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

As we praise and worship Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Light, let us turn around and look out for pilgrims we need to rescue, save, and love as we love ourselves.

Jonan

Exciting Children’s Ministry Curriculum for OBC

This week we bought our Sunday school curriculum subscription for kids and students from Lifeway. It’s called “The Gospel Project”.

“The Gospel Project” is a Christ-centered, chronological Bible study curriculum for kids, students, and adults. It follows a proven plan to nurture disciples from preschoolers to senior adults with Christ-centered Bible study resources.

Please invite kids to join our Sunday school. Let us pray for Erin and her team as they implement “The Gospel Project.”

Weekly Reminders

• Prayer Meeting – Thursday from 3:00 to 4:00 PM
• Music Jam – Thursday from 4:00 to 5:00 PM

How you can participate in the Lord’s work at OBC

OBC is a participatory church. Please see the rostering sheet on the side table in the dining area and write your name on any task you select.

If you’re unfamiliar with the technical tasks, we can orient or teach you how to operate the sound desk and computer. Please ask Bevan.

Preparing the Lord’s Supper elements is very easy. Val can orient you.

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms (1 Peter 4:10).

Sunday afternoon TEE Session

On Sunday, 19 February 2022, at 1:30 PM, we will hold our first TEE class for 2023 at the Dining Hall. Tomorrow’s session is an introduction and orientation to the TEE course. You are all invited.

TEE stands for Theological Education by Extension. It is an effective discipleship program to teach and equip all God’s people to be effective ambassadors for Jesus, society changers, and missionaries in the world, in the neighbourhood and the all-important world of work.

Group Leaders’ Training – 31 March to 1 April

We will host a Group Leaders’ Training from 31 March (7:00-9:00 PM) to 1 April (10:00 AM to 5:00 PM). This is training on facilitating a Bible study group using the TEE resources.

There is a registration fee of $50.00 per participant to cover materials (Bible materials and leaders’ guide) and lunch. Hopevale Trust is sponsoring the travel expenses of our resource persons.

The training is open to interested participants from other Christian churches in Oamaru and nearby towns.

Read about the resource persons from TEE Aotearoa who will come and conduct the training.

Ann Borquist

Rev. Dr Ann Borquist serves with Arotahi/NZBMS, TEE Aotearoa and International Ministries, ABCUSA.  

She works alongside partner Baptist conventions in Asia-Pacific and worldwide in theological education, pastoral care, holistic development, servant leadership, cross-cultural mission training, and refugee work.  

She lives with her family in Wellington. 

Lewis Varley

Lewis Varley is from the UK, has lived in NZ for six years, and previously worked as a missionary in Bangladesh for 17 years. 

He has been involved in TEE for many years and is passionate about seeing God’s people equipped for service and strengthened in their faith. 

He is a lecturer at Eastwest College of Intercultural Studies in Gordonton, Hamilton.

Giving

Thank you very much for your continued support for the ministries with which the Lord God has entrusted us. Your generosity means a lot for the development and progress of His work.

If you would like to set up an automatic payment for regular giving or to make a one-off donation via internet banking, the Oamaru Baptist Church account number is (ANZ) 06-0941-0015036-00.

May the Lord God bless you and keep you.

On the last 9 July working bee, we worked on the inside. This time, we cleaned the church’s surroundings.

Our workers started early. Praise the Lord for the beautiful weather He gave us.

Ray and Bill’s water blasting the church’s walls restored the bricks to their original colour.

Bevan trimmed the trees and bushes, giving much clearing for the sun’s rays on our lawn. You should have seen the packs of cuttings on his trailer.

Tina started weeding the flower patches outside the kitchen and the Sunday school rooms area and proceeded to clear the green area bordering our parking lot fences.

When Jonan arrived at 10:00 AM, the moss and algae busters were fully engaged. So, he joined Tina, clearing the flower patches.

Later, he moved to the back end of the church because Bevan’s chainsaw and Bill’s water blaster generator were rocking a duet. The “music” was too much, he said.

Mic and Nolan came on their bikes. They took the challenge to dig out the box thorn and its root network growing at the side of our building. They did an excellent job at it.

Later, Nolan got a water-blasting apprenticeship with Bill.

Thank you, Mary, for the scones with jam and cream you brought for our coffee break. The working bees also enjoyed the savoury muffins that Diane, Sheryl, and her kids brought later.

Ray saw that the drainage holes along the church driveway were blocked. Bevan opened the drainage grills and shovelled out the silt and other deposits.

It was a challenging but enjoyable day for our working bee team.

We thank the Good Lord for a productive and safe day for all who came. Thank you to those who came and contributed their efforts, labour, food, and equipment. Thank you to those who prayed.

The working bee day was a success. To God be the glory!