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We Do Sundays a Bit Differently….

At Holdfast we value meeting together as God’s people.  Learning together from His word, The Bible.   We also place a high value on our relationships with one another.  We remind ourselves often that Jesus said people would know that we’re His followers by the way we love each other.

At about 10.00 we move into our main gathering.  This is the part that you’re probably more likely to associate with “going to church”.    Our gathering lasts for about an hour.  We usually sing some songs together (It’s fine just to sit and listen if singing is not your’ thing).  We’ll pray together.  We want to thank God for what He’s doing in our lives. We might ask God to assist those we know with specific needs.  We often pray for our community and for the wider world.

Sometimes we’ll have a special item, maybe a short dvd presentation or a piece of music.  Often, we listen to one of our people share what’s been happening for them.

The central feature of our gathering is usually our Message Time.  We spend about twenty minutes exploring a part of the Bible.  We want to understand God’s story and how it interacts with, and impacts, our own story.  We try to keep the messages simple to listen to and easy to understand, even for those with little or no church experience. Whilst easy to understand, you should expect to be challenged. We’re keen to explore practical application.  We believe that following Jesus should make a difference to the way we live.  Things like, the way we treat our neighbours, our attitudes and responses to life’s challenges, the reason we understand why we are here…

Our gathering concludes at about 11.00 and is followed by Morning Tea.  Enjoy coffee.  A chance to spend some more time catching up with one another.  During this time, if there’s anything causing you concern you might like to  ask someone to pray with you.

What About My Children – Is there a program for them?

Good question!  At Holdfast we are keen to see people of all ages discover what it means to live their lives as followers of Jesus.   We’re particularly keen to support parents in their endeavour to teach their children the ways of Jesus.  When it comes to learning though, we recognise that, whilst we adults have much to teach our children, we also have much to learn from them.  In fact, Jesus said that unless we learn to come to Him as children we really are missing the point!

Rather than run a parallel children’s program,  at Holdfast we’ve made the intentional decision to make our gathering an all age experience.   This is not without its challenges.  It means, as different generations, we need to make allowances for one another.  It brings us much joy however, to see several generations worshipping and learning of God together.

We appreciate that, if you’ve been around churches before, this may be a new approach for you.  We are the first to admit that this is a journey for us and we are always open to suggestions of how we can improve things.  That said, we remain committed to exploring what it means to be a family together in worship.

What if I’m not a Christian – What if I’ve never been to church before?

We’re open to believers and non-believers.  Used-to-be believers and want-to-be believers. Maybe you’re not sure where you fit? How you’d describe yourself? Maybe you just want to check things out?  Maybe you have more doubts and questions than certainty right now?   It’s O.K!   We’re all on a spiritual journey.  Wherever you find yourself on the spectrum of belief, you’ll find someone among us who’s been there.

Whatever you believe, or don’t believe, we believe that God is interested in you!   It’s our intention that Holdfast should be a safe place to explore your deepest questions.

 Is there a Dress Code? 

If you’ve only been to church for a wedding or funeral, you’re probably not sure what you should wear.  Most churches these days don’t really have a dress code.  Occasionally you’ll see one of our men wearing a tie but jeans and tee shirt are more prevalent.  Dress for comfort.  We’d like you to feel you’re visiting friends.