Last week, Bonnie and I were invited to meet with the Principal of Perth Modern School and the Manager of Corporate Services. They let us know that they won’t be renewing our contract and that we need to find an alternative venue by January next year. Let me say three things about that:

First. the school’s leadership were excellent to deal with. They were professional, kind, and even willing to extend our time by a few weeks in 2024 if we got stuck. They were clear that the decision was to do with their needs as a school and nothing to do with us as a client. All good.

Second, they’ve given us really generous notice. It means we can get cracking on our plans in good time. And they’ve even said that if we find somewhere earlier than January 2024, we can end the contract—no harm, no foul. Excellent!

And third, we trust that God is in this. God faithfully provided this venue when we needed it several years ago. And we fully trust he’ll provide in the future.

What does that mean for now?

1. We’ve got some clarity! Wherever we’ll be from January next year, it won’t be at Perth Mod. We’re a church on the move. An adventure is ahead of us!

2. We also have a clear priority. Over the coming weeks, we’ll focus on Sunday options for next year. Bonnie has extensive knowledge of the options, but if there’s something you see that you think we might not have noticed, do let us know. In particular, if there’s something you’ve seen that we couldn’t possibly know about (because it’s not on the market, but you know about it through personal contacts), great! We’ve started a channel on Slack (called “#venues”) where you can park your ideas.

3. Finally, prayer. We are asking you to pray.

If I can be a bit open with you for a moment, I’ve been here in this role for nine years now. It’s one of the greatest privileges of my life to serve you and our Lord in this capacity. And I am aware in a particular way that God is at work amongst us. God has always been at work, of course. But I am aware that, in particular, in the last 12-24 months, we’ve seen God at work in thrilling ways. We’ve seen people coming to faith, and we’ve seen significant growth in numbers and in ministry. The Evil One, of course, never likes to see God doing his thing of saving and sanctifying sinners. So, can I encourage you to pray that God will be victorious and that he will guide us through this and come out the other side stronger in prayer, closer to him, and more delighted in his love and faithfulness?

Meet Mike Raiter

This coming Sunday we have the privilege of Mike Raiter teaching God’s word to us. Mike is a pastor, author, missionary, and preacher. He has served in Pakistan, Sydney, and Melbourne. And he has taught and preached across the world. I’m thrilled that he’ll be here with us!

But wait, there’s more! Mike has kindly agreed to join us for the summer while I am away on Long Service Leave. He’ll be doing the majority of the preaching over the December-January period. I’m delighted! It will be such a treat to have him teach us over that time.

Your brother in Jesus,