Fresh Hope News

NEWS

STEPPING OVER THE THRESHOLD

Just over the ACT border, a healing home is being established by the Missionheart Christian faith community. Dubbed ‘Missionhouse’, this new place is the realisation of a dream that began in the formation of this church some 24 years ago.

“Donations were given right back at the start of Missionheart, which we knew needed to be set aside for this place. We have been dreaming of this for a long time. It’s an extension of what we are called to do and gives us the space to journey deeply with people in healing,” says Missionheart leader Jason Hayduk.

An extension of their work in the centre of Canberra, Missionhouse will allow for those on the fringes to find relationship, restoration and reconciliation to God in an established loving community where they can belong and contribute. There will be opportunities for people to find freedom from addiction and illness, develop life skills, train for future employment, be spiritually nurtured, and to grow in relationship with God and others.

Leaders Jason and Kelly Hayduk (pictured above), who planted Missionheart, are amazed at God’s provision of this property and deeply aware of his preparation in their lives. “Personally, God has been preparing us for this kind of community living. Having four kids and foster kids and having people come in and out of home over all our married life, has helped us to get here. If we hadn’t had that full household, the transition would be much harder,” says Kelly.

And God has also provided many of the tangible goods needed for furnishing the new home. Kelly recounts that in packing she kept wondering why she seemed to have more than they needed, and then the property’s former owners gifted them an expansive table around which meals with an extended family could flourish. “We want to be able to extend an invitation to people to come live with us and learn a new rhythm of life,” she says.

The property is currently housing the Hayduks and two of their children, and another Missionheart family – Stew and Bec Henderson and their daughter – who are the nucleus of this new live-in healing community. The first step for this team is to go deep in formation over the next six to 12 months to create a healthy community and to prepare the home physically for its first intake. After the spiritual and physical foundations are laid, they will begin to invite people in to journey in community.

“We know that we have to prepare the foundation and build something that will last. Within the live-in team we have to find new rhythms and hosting some short-term visitors will help us learn how to do hospitality together,” says Kelly.

As well as spiritual renovation within the team, this time is also for physical renovation. There are several spaces throughout the property that need to be converted into bedrooms, bathrooms and living spaces to welcome people into the community. Fresh Hope Engage is supporting them in fundraising towards the fit-out of the new living spaces. The team are also aware they will need to partner with many different people to realise the potential of the property.

Kelly says, “Some days it feels overwhelming. But when you look out the windows at the land around us, there’s also a relief in finally getting here and knowing this is all happening in God’s time.” – Naomi Giles

NEW LEADERS INDUCTED

Five churches affiliated with Fresh Hope inducted new senior leaders at the start of the year, all of whom are aged 40 or younger.

Jeremy Bromhead (Nowra Church of Christ), Adam Miller (Penrith Church of Christ), Jono Prince (New Day Church in Wollongong), Dave Standen (Kingsway Community Church in Caringbah, (pictured with his family being inducted by Daz Farrell) and Tanwin Tanoto, (Hurstville Church of Christ) have all been appointed to an exciting new season of leadership and vision.

It has been a ‘baptism of fire’ for these new leaders, with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing churches to adopt a new way of doing mission, including the hiring process for new ministers. However, the privilege of leading kingdom spaces and faith communities has kept spirits high, regardless of this unique season.

Jeremy Bromhead, who with his family moved from Red Hill Church in the ACT, has experienced a significant shift in his environment, through accepting the Senior Pastor role at Nowra Church of Christ. “I was working three days as an electrician, studying a day and helping out where I could at church, so I am straight out of Bible college and into this role,” he said. “My wife [Jordan] and I are trying to live a lifestyle where God has our first ‘yes’. Sometimes that doesn’t always line up with our comfort, or our logic. Sometimes ‘yes’ means stepping into something you’ve disqualified yourself for, but Jesus has qualified you for. That’s the only real qualification, isn’t it?”

One of Jeremy’s first decisions was to put services on hold, but this cultivated an opportunity to begin building personal relationships with church members. “COVID has actually given time and space to get to know people individually,” he said.

Like Jeremy, Tanwin Tanoto’s journey to his new role was one that was many years in the making. “I was the volunteer Associate Pastor at Ecclesia [in Sydney] since 2014. I worked in tech. It was a hard job to leave – the job was good, and the company was growing, they just hired 20 new people.” As a successful business analyst in a growing start-up, ministry wasn’t an easy pivot for Tanwin, but the attraction of full-time ministry was always there. “I had always felt a pull, that my gifts weren’t being used appropriately [in a secular space]”, said Tanwin. “It’s been hard not being able to meet everyone with half the church on Zoom. The next 12

NEWS

months is a journey for myself, Hurstville and Fresh Hope to discern God’s leading for what’s next.”

For Fresh Hope, these new appointments bring a sense of anticipation, with a new generation making their mark on what the future of our faith communities looks like, both inside our movement and beyond.

Daz Farrell, EMD, said: “There’s a lot more collaboration within the younger generations … I think there’s a move in our city for collaboration, and because the younger generation doesn’t hold everything the older generations did, I think we will see this cross over and partnership, and I’m excited because it’s wider than just us.” –Gil Corr

ETHOS SUB-COMMITTEE FORMED

Fresh Hope is a movement that prides itself on embracing and celebrating unity in diversity. To bring clarity in a time of rapid cultural change, the movement is again seeking to draw out and distil its essential DNA through the formation of an ‘ethos subcommittee’.

Executive Ministry Director Daz Farrell has called for the formation of the sub-committee to begin the important work of capturing the movement’s essence and restating its core values. The group met for the first time on 19 March. “As I listen across the churches, I see a beauty in the variety in our movement. But there’s also some real challenges about how we hold the line in terms of our beliefs and values,” says Daz. “I felt we needed to bring the voices of our churches together and take the time to distil our ethos and core values. This kind of work is so important, and it must involve an intentional listening to each other and the Spirit as we come together.”

To facilitate that, the sub-committee is comprised of nine leaders from across Fresh Hope churches and is facilitated by Kevin Sheehan of Coast Community Church. Daz Farrell, representing Fresh Hope, is also a member of the sub-committee. “In a time of change we need to be clear about who we are,” says Kevin. “We have to go deeper, discovering what’s already there but labelling it, capturing it, so it can be communicated with clarity. It’s knowing what’s under the surface at that foundational level so we can build from that. The deeper we go in understanding who we are, the more fruitful we will be.”

The members of the sub-committee are (pictured, from left) Stephen Cha (Conference Executive and The Chapel Sydney), Edwina Blair (ACOM & Rivergum Community Church), Daz Farrell (Executive Ministry Director), Pat Cox (Blaxland Church of Christ), Mark Curtis (Broken Hill Church of Christ), Alasdair MacDougall (Liberty Church), Kevin Sheehan (Coast Community Church), Ryan Graham (Campbelltown Church of Christ), Stephen Martin (Living Hope Maitland), and Kym Dixon (Kingsway Community Church).

All church leaders across the Fresh Hope movement will be encouraged to participate in the work of the sub-committee through a survey and discussion paper that will be tabled at Collective in November. “We’re not landing a document to say, ‘This is what we are doing.’ We’re crafting something on behalf of the churches, and with input from the churches, to open up this conversation,” says Kevin.

The sub-committee is keen to ensure that every voice in the movement is valued, so that through shared wisdom and insight, clarity and unity will emerge. – Naomi Giles

BECOMING PART OF THE FAMILY

Sometimes a simple phone call can be God’s way of directing His people to new and unexpected missional opportunities.

Such was the case when Your Church in Coffs Harbour was contacted early in 2020 by support worker Cing from the Myanmar community, who said they were looking for a church building where they could worship. Your Church Senior Pastor Mark Deutschmann arranged to meet with Cing to discuss their needs and show him the church’s facilities. “Our elders all agreed we should open our doors to this community. They began meeting in our kids church building the next Sunday,” Mark said.

When the members of Your Church met the small group of Myanmar Christians for the first time, they decided they would drop any charges for renting the building. It seemed like the right thing to do, Mark said. “The Myanmar community wanted to contribute, so they suggested instead of rent they would give a tithe.” Since then, the two worshipping communities have been growing in their cultural understandings together, with lots of interchanges. Although only three of the Myanmar group understand English, they have begun to bridge the gap through the sharing of meals, worshipping together and joining in with each other’s gatherings. Cing acts as an interpreter.

“Once COVID restrictions began to ease mid-year, Cing asked for help, mainly to lead communion or speak in their services, and we even had the joy of helping with a baby dedication,” Mark said.

This year, Your Church has also reshaped its kids outdoor and indoor play spaces for the Myanmar children. Cing shared with Mark that the mothers of their community had struggled to find a safe space for their kids to play due to cultural and language barriers. A Fresh Hope grant has given Your Church the chance to refresh their equipment and the construction of a new playgroup is set to begin next month. The long-term aim is to move towards integrating both communities into one worshipping entity. – Naomi Giles