Hi St Michael’s family!
My name is Aubrey, and I attend our 7pm service in Wollongong. I’d like to share a bit about our Church Day Conference which is coming up on Sunday 22 September. It’s a great opportunity for us to meet together from across our congregations and locations and spend quality time together growing in the Word.
Last year was my first experience of the St Mick’s Church Conference, and it was a day I thoroughly enjoyed. As someone who was relatively new to the church, I really valued the opportunity to meet new people from other services and get a better understanding of how St Mick’s operates on a larger scale.
Last year, we had the pleasure of hearing the Word explained by Simon Flinders, who helpfully challenged us to think about what it means to truly fear the Lord. Something I found particularly encouraging was Simon’s explanation that proper Fear of the Lord means that we don’t have to worry about looking foolish to others in our worship of God; for example, like David in 2 Samuel 6 when he dances ecstatically for the Lord. I found this encouraging and personally applicable in areas of my life where I found it difficult to show my love and joy for the Lord, such as at work, or among my non-Christian friends. It has had an impact on the way I talk in these situations, even when sharing a Christian perspective might not be popular or expected.
This year the theme of the conference is the ‘Dependent Discipleship of Prayer’ and we’ll be hearing from Moore College’s Archie Poulos. It will be a fantastic day for our 6 congregations to be challenged and encouraged on how we can faithfully depend on God through prayer. I am really looking forward to spending time with other church members, particularly those who I wouldn’t normally cross paths with on Sundays. The day will see us learning from the Word, worshipping the Lord together, fellowship over a meal and snacks, as well as spending some free time together. In a church the size of St Mick’s, it’s a real blessing that we can have events like this and unite through scripture and worship.
As we prepare for the upcoming conference, please pray that God would prepare our hearts for what He wants us to hear, and that our prayer lives would be challenged and encouraged as a result. If you haven’t got tickets yet, make sure you register here by the 16th of September and lock them in! I look forward to seeing you there.
Aubrey
7pm member
