Faith Growth Lessons from Our Lemon Grass

We thought our lemongrass wouldn’t make it (see the brown stems on the upper right portion), as the colour indicates it is nearly dying.

Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) is easy to grow in the tropical Philippines. Its lemon-like scent makes it a good herb for cooking and medicine.

Read this short inspirational, an illustration about not becoming weary in doing good. ➔ CLICK TO READ MORE

9th March Annual General Meeting

Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Sunday, 9 March 2025, at 11:00 AM at the OBC Auditorium.

We will start our worship service at our regular time, but we will have a short one on Sunday to accommodate our AGM.

Please read the AGM documents that were emailed two weeks ago. Bring your copy during the meeting.

NZBU President, Allan Taylor, will be our guest speaker on 16 March

Our church is honoured and privileged to have Allan Taylor, President of the New Zealand Baptist Union, as our guest speaker on 16th March.

Allan dedicated 44 years to full-time pastoral ministry within the Baptist Church, during which he served seven years as assistant pastor at Te Atatu Baptist and 37 years as senior pastor at Eastgate Christian Centre. His extensive experience reflects a deep commitment to his faith and community.

Hearing God’s message from His seasoned servant will bless us all. Let us pray for God’s protection and provision of health and wisdom for Allan as he travels to join us on March 16th.

CONGRATULATIONS!

OBC LADIES for holding a successful morning tea fellowship at the church tea area last Saturday, 1 March. Twelve ladies attended their first fellowship for the year.

ABUNDANT LIFE TEE-ers for finishing the “Abundant Life: The Life of Jesus In You” on Sunday, 2 March. It has been an almost two-year journey. There were many disruptions, but I sincerely appreciate the commitment and dedication of our learners.

Join the Life of Christ Course

We are launching the Life of Christ Course on 16 March 2025. You are invited to join the orientation meeting on 16 March at 1:30 PM.

Please talk to Jonan for more details about the course. Thank you!

Upcoming OSBA Events

Please pray for the following events in the Otago-Southland Baptist Association region in March and April. Let us pray for good health and safe travels for all participants.

• 2025 Regional Hui on 14-15 March at Gore Baptist Church.
• Connected Across the South 2025 – Regional Women’s event on 5 April, 10 am to 3:30 pm at Dunedin City Baptist Church. OBC women are encouraged to join this event.

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