As we move into the second half of January, for many of us the wheels of 2018 are slowly starting to turn, and we will soon be back into the normal rhythm of the year. Here at St. Mark’s we have a quiet time over summer, and we’ve been looking at the story of Jonah who encourages us that even if we run away from God his love still pursues us.

This is going to be an interesting year for us at St. Mark’s.

In February, we will launch the process of developing a new Vision for the future of our church, praying and talking together about where God is calling us to go and what he wants us to be in the next season. This kind of conversation will be the basis for many decisions in the years to come. I’m very excited to have the opportunity to lead St. Mark’s at this time.

I encourage all our members to come to God in prayer for our church and listen to what He is saying to us.

This year we will also be working together to develop our sense of how we grow as Christians together. In Term 1 we will start with a teaching series on the book of Leviticus called ‘The Heart of Life’, which lays out a helpful way of understanding what it means to put God at the centre of our lives. This is what it means to be a Christian, and there are many practical ways that we can encourage each other in being intentional in how we do this. In particular this year we are going to encourage our members to participate in the ‘Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Course’, which is a helpful set of studies on the journey of becoming a healthy, Christ-centred person. There are many others things that we have planned as well.

Anyway, I hope that 2018 has started well for anyone reading this, and pray that you will have a year of blessing and growth. I look forward to learning more about what God is doing here in Emerald and the Hills.

-Andrew-