Resonate Mystery HUB

Tuesday night is Resonate HUB. (Whats HUB you ask? The third Tuesday of every month all the Resonate connects get together and hang out:) ) This time is our mystery HUB! Its going to be a crazy fun night - Resonate style!!

So a couple of things you need to know:

We are meeting at church at 7pm on Tuesday night. You need to bring $5 and make sure you don't eat tea before you come:) This will be a great night to bring your mates to as well!!

See you there!!

Fuel Conference

Wow how to describe Fuel Conference? I have once again been wrecked by the amazing love and grace that is to be found in Jesus, and challenged beyond belief about my time here on this earth and what I choose to do with it!

Fuel Conference is our annual youth conference here at the Invercargill Christian Centre and unlike most youth conferences which have a strong leadership focus, ours is purely Holy Spirit. We had the incredible Ps Caleb Murdoch of Elim Christian Centre in Auckland as our guest speaker. Ps Caleb has an amazing passion for things of the Spirit and a desire to see young people impact their world for Christ. He brought a message that showed the supernatural power and importance of Gods Word - a huge challenge for those of us who aren't avid Bible readers!

More than 100 people attended Fuel and it was so amazing to see young teens - some as young as 12 and 13, losing themselves in Gods presence and embracing all that He has for them. Below is a snippet of some photos to give you an idea about the happenings over the weekend. If you couldn't make it this year them make sure you get along to Fuel 2012!!

Enjoy

Cam rapping it up - BOOM! Worship was off the hook!

Worship was so powerful!


Shanan our illustrious MC

Tim from Timaru!! Tim is the youth pastor at the Elim Church there and boosted down to Invers after his own youth on friday night. They saw over 50 young people give their hearts to God, AMAZING!! Hes a young guy but we learned so much from his servant heart in the time he hung out with us.


Ps Caleb Murdoch preaching at Fuel. He carries an amazing message!



Hope you enjoyed these!! See you next year at Fuel!!

SIT Orientation Week!!

Summer Blast - Yes it was!!

To sum it up Summer Blast could only be described as one word - EPIC!!

We had such an amazing time - big fun, big sky and even bigger God. A huge ups to the awesome people who helped make it happen, and to everyone who came.

Below are just a few pics from our night under the stars. When I get hold of them I will post some of the others:)

Trying our hand at Curling at the Indoor Rink in Naseby - was so cold I got an ice cream headache!!
Our illustrious leader Ray getting his curling on.

A bit of volleyball action in the campsite.

Our campsite when we slept under the stars - no pics of the stars but the incredible beauty won't be forgotten!!

Becca chilling on top of Dinosaur Rock

Bet you wish you made it now!!! Don't worry - we have Winter Blast coming up in August! See you there!

Shan

Resonate Roadie!!!

Hey guys of you want to join us for am awesome road trip get in touch to find out more info or to book your seat in the van - shannon@christiancentre.org.nz

Hearing Gods Voice

The voice of God is that secret voice unheard by any other ear,

which our own ear, opened by the Spirit of God recognizes with joy.

Charles Spurgeon

One of the things that I often have people ask me is how do I know if God is speaking to me? How do we know God’s voice?

Good question!

Hearing Gods voice is one of the things that I was so unsure of – what if it’s not God its just me? What if I get it wrong? How do I know its Him?

To be honest I don’t think there’s an easy one-stop-shop easy answer, but it all comes down to relationship. As I have grown closer to God and developed my relationship with Him I have come to learn how He speaks to me. Each of us are created uniquely so it makes sense that the way God speaks to us may be different to the away he speaks to someone else.

"My sheep listen to my voice;

I know them, and they follow me."

-- John 10:27

God knows the best way to speak to me. I am a visual person – images and pictures speak to me far greater than reading the Bible or listening to a preacher. But for others, reading the Bible can really speak to them. Neither are more right than the other – they are both just as valid.

When our kids were born, even as babies they recognized mine and Rays voices. They'd spent the whole time in the womb listening to us talk to them. They knew who we were and it would comfort them. When they were upset we could settle them just by our voice because they knew it was us.

As we get to know God more we learn to recognize His voice. I realize this sounds all too simplistic but its true.

There are many different ways in which God can speak to us. I would love it if God would just use massive sky-writing or a big booming voice from heaven like he did when Jesus was baptized but unfortunately it never seems to happen!! I know people who God speaks to them through impressions, a whisper, feelings, numbers - I even have one friend who God uses Physics equations! How crazy is that?

Benny Johnson from Bethel Church said recently at Manifest Presence Conference in Auckland that "God's not English, but English is one of the ways He can speak to us. God's not Russian but Russian is one of the ways He can speak to us." The same applies to pictures, numbers, feelings, impressions etc. They are all just a tool that God can use to communicate with us.

How awesome it is to know that God can to speak to us in a way that works for us - regardless of language!

I want to encourage you, as you spend time developing your relationship with God - it will become easier to recognise His voice. Take some time and chill with Him today.

Shan

SNOW!!!

We've been turned into a winter wonderland! Things are a little crazy at the moment - this is the 3rd day in a row I have been holed up at home due to the crazy weather! Snow in September - its a first for me after 8 and a half years living in Invercargill.

But what an amazing thing it is. I absolutely love snow and have always felt ripped off in winter here because we don't normally get anything decent here. I grew up with snow days from school, power cuts cooking on the fire in the dark and a tonne of afternoons in the freezing cold skidding round on the motorbike and sledging. But now we have it!! Wahoo!

Church has been cancelled all over the city because the roads are too treacherous for travel, the Stadium in town - our provinces pride and joy, had its roof collapse under the weight of the snow and more rough weather is yet to come in. With all this crazy happenings not only here but throughout our nation - flooding in the north island, crazy winds in Auckland, tornadoes and the massive earthquake in Christchurch many peopleit is encouraging to know that we do not have to be afraid or live in fear because we have Jesus.

It says in the Bible (yes I am actually going to mention scripture!) that God is our refuge and so we should not be afraid.

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging" Psalm 46:1-3
"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, will rest in the shadow of the Almighty I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, My God in whom I trust" Psalm 91:1-2

Even when the world around us is falling down and unpredictable we can rely on God. Place our faith and our trust in Him and we do not have to worry - we are in Gods hands. I'm not sure about you, but I would rather place my faith in the One who is unfailing than anything else!

"Lets do this thing..............."

So today is the first day of my big adventure. Sounds exciting huh? It is - and its pretty scarey!
So whats the haps I hear you ask? Well.............

You may have seen from the previous post I have recently been in Tonga on a missions trip. It was an incredibly impacting time for me - and not just from what I saw and experienced, but in the way that God spoke to me so clearly and challenged me.

My heart has always been to live a life of reckless abandonment for God. A life that is glorifying to God and impacts those around me. Well to be honest that wasn't really happening. It was more like a life of coasting through on a treadmill - repeating the steps and going nowhere. I had gotten comfortable. There was nothing wrong with my life - in fact I liked it. I was doing my thing, loving God, family and church. BUT God has more than that for me. He knows the potential within me - and YOU. He wants the best for us.

My dream for as long as I can remember has to be a photographer - to take amazing images that inspire people, challenge their worldview and change the world. I wanted to reach a generation of young people and see them become the person that God created them and designed them to be. To preach the gospel and see lives, cities and nations changed. As a young (yes I consider myself young!) mum with 2 small children that was kind of put in the "one day" basket. The place where I'll return to when its the right time, when the kids are grown and I have the resources to fund that kind of ministry. So in the meantime I opened a photography studio and started doing weddings and portraits as a way to "keep the dream alive" until I figured out how to make it work.

Well I have not been designed as an administrative type person in anyway! So the day to day stuff of running business did not come naturally to me in any way shape or form and was more stressful in ways I cannot express. Dont get me wrong, I love taking photographs of people, letting them express the beauty and uniqueness in the way God created them and capturing special occasions - it was a privilege and a fantastic creative outlet. But it wasn't the best that God has designed me for.

When in Tonga God breathed life into those dreams that I had put aside, that I didn't know how to make happen or how it would work with the family and stuff. And He just said to me "Come on Shannon, lets do this thing................................."

Come on lets do this thing. Crap.

"This thing" was to close down my photography studio and to come and volunteer at my church full time doing the creative design stuff - graphics, web, photography etc and build the young adults ministry, Resonate - which is you guys! God was calling me, giving me permission to step into the things that He has for me, to live the BEST life designed by Him and just saying "its now. Don't put it off, lets just do this together. Lets make it happen and change your world."

So here I am. Recklessly abandoning the path I have known in favour of one where I can only see a few steps ahead. Its scarey because my safety net is gone. I can no longer tell people I am "a photographer and have my own studio". The worlds idea of success and identity can no longer matter because I am living a life on the edge for Jesus, standing in the place He has designed for me. And to be honest, theres nowhere else I would rather be.

Come on lets do this thing.................

O week 2010

Hey guys,

If you are new here (in Southland or on the blog), click to find out what we're all about! We've got some exciting activities planned for SIT OWeek 2010 in Southland. Hopefully you saw us around @ the SIT Market Day and grabbed some info that obviously led you to here!

On Tuesday we'll be on campus providing a free barbie ( the sausage kind not the doll) during the chilled music festivities and generally hanging out being cool.!

This week we have some awesome things happening in the life of Resonate - Tuesday connect is up and running, 7.30pm at Shan and Rays. If you are aged between 18-25ish and are looking for a place to connect with other Jesus freaks then we're the place to be!

Wednesay night Resonate Girls kicks off for the year with a coffee and dessert night at the Invercargill Christian Centre. This is going to be an awesome chance to hang out with some really cool chicks, as well as have a great munch on YUMMY food. Resonate girls runs fortnightly on a Wednesday nite so come along this week to find what we're all about!

PLus on top all that we have amazing guests Ps Clark and Ann Taylor from Brisbane speaking this weekend at the Christian Centre. These guys are legendary and are definately worth coming along to hear. Service times are Fri 7pm, Sat 7pm and Sunday 10am and 6pm - all at the Christian Centre Leet St Campus.

Anywho hope you have a fantastic and blessed 2010 and we here at Resonate look forward to catching up and hanging with you!!

Shan

Branded Take Over

Branded was an absolutely phenomenal weekend just held at Southlife Church, Dunedin. For those of you who have never been or heard of it, Branded is the Acts Churches NZ South Island youth conference.

One of the things that came through strongly was a new focus towards young adults, 18-30 year olds, recognising that often we find they enter into this stage of life only to become old and boring. Hope no one is offended by that!!!

But really its true and its one of the frustrating things I have seen happen continuously over the past 7 years I have done Resonate. People are all excited and passionate about making a difference for God and living a life of significance but only until they graduate. Once that happens its time for them to "grow up, get a haircut and get a real job." Their new focus finding a spouse, getting a good job, and having babies. Don't get me wrong, these are all good things (and I have them too), but suddenly they are too old for being involved in youth or jumping up and down a little. I don't know about you but I think that sucks!!! I so don't want to live a boring life where I do what society says I should be doing at this stage of my life.

In fact I want to be living a passionate life, be significant for God in reaching a generation and be able to look back at the end of my life and have no regrets, no "what if " moments.

We often look at youth and talk about how alcohol, drugs and sex are such a distraction for them, pulling them away from their Purpose in God, but in realilty the white picket fence can be just as distracting for us young adults.

My challenge to you is to don't become so focused about the things this world says are important that you forget about the call and purpose God has placed within you.

Something to consider

Well so it's been a little while since I have posted - sorry for being so slack!!

Life for the average Reson8r has been pretty busy, and I have been no exception. Between work, study, family and church it's difficult at times to take a few moments for myself let alone jump on the computer and write about how busy we are!! But it has got me thinking.

How often do we actually take the times to appreciate the little things? Sounds cliched I know but in all honesty I find that sometimes I get so busy doing the work for God that I forget to actually spend time with God. Which is crazy because when you love someone and are in relationship with them then you should actually want to spend time with them.

Imagine being best friends with somebody but you don't actually talk to them, hang out them or even answer the phone each time they call you.

In fact you ignore them completely - except maybe when your world falls apart and then you need a shoulder to cry on. But you still consider yourselves to be best friends and believe you have an amazing, understanding, loving relationship because you just happen to do things on behalf of that person.

Lets be honest , real relationships don't actally work that way. But yet how often are we like that with God?

We spend so much time doing stuff in His name, and for the church, but in essence we are so far removed from God it's not funny. We don't hang out with Him, we don't talk to Him unless we want something and we certainly don't listen when He has something to say. Would we even recognise His voice at the other end of the line if he called?

There is a saying my old youth leader used to have - "If the devil can't make you bad he'll make you busy." Often we allow our busyness get in the way of whats really important - RELATIONSHIP.

I don't know about you but when it comes my turn to go hang with Jesus in eternity I want to know that I am going to be hanging with my best friend, not a random accquaintance. I don't want to get so hung up on serving Him that I forget to know Him.

What about you? Do your priorities lie in the doing of Jesus or your relationship with Him?

Revival Pics

OK guys so as promised here are a few shots from when we had Roy and Melanie Fields here the other week. It was a phenomenal time of worship and God really switched something in the Spirit. It was like taking a 60 watt light bulb and then shoving 2000 volts of electricity through it to see what would happen - things will never be the same again!!!!

SUNDAY MORNING SERVICE

Singers Band in Worship
Worship led by Roy Fields. You can't really see but Church

was PACKED out.

Pastor Ian (with Dayle in background) deep in worship

SUNDAY EVENING SERVICE

Love this shot!!!! Resonator Lulu and members of the ministry team during the evening service.

Southern River pastor Danny Steel (centre) responding to a call for healing while Melanie Fields (right) prays.

Melanie Fields praying for people during an altar call.

Associate pastor Grant hanging with his kids after the evening service. (It was 11.5pm and they just got their second wind!!)

Revival Weekend

Wow what an amazing weekend we just had with the amazing Roy andMelanie Fields. If you ever doubted Revival was in the air then those doubts should be well and truely gone now!!!

For those of you who aren't aware, Roy and Melanie led the worship at the Lakeland Outpouring and are a phenomenal couple who carry an incredible passion to see God move in miraculous ways transforming lives and seeing Revival break out across the globe. These are just a couple of pics from the weekend and we will have testimonies and stuff coming soone:)

Shan

Let us feed u!!!!!

Hey Guys,

Yep its here again! The Resonate $2 Student feed. If you haven't worked it out by now it gonna be a regular occurance - like real regular, like every 2 weeks, fornightly or bi-monthly (however you want to look at it!)

So get involved!! Tell your class mates, your workmates, your neighbour, your nana, WHOEVER!! Bring them along and enjoy our scrumptious, yummy (and may I add healthy - who would a thought it was possible to taste good and not make you rot?)

Just make sure you let us know you are coming - we would hate for you to miss out!!

O Week Highlight

Well so Orientation Week is over and now it's into the everyday grind of study, work and of course plenty of play. We have had an awesome, if not crazy, hectic, random, and most all fun time hanging with you guys. Big thanks to everyone who has helped out over the last few days.

We have some pics to give you a bit of a taste of some of the fun - this is the first time I have tried to upload multiple images so just bear with me if it looks a bit rough!!!


- The 3rd Annual Ninja Parade was a HIT!!!! Ninjas turned out in droves to celebrate their heritage while a small crowd eagerly awaited their appearance. Video footage still to be uploaded complete with exclusive interview with someone who has actually seen a ninja - once.





Apparently they spotted a ninja. Turns out was a false alarm - someone shot a seagull.....





Jai hanging on campus........

Resonate freshers Richard, Tiwa and Josh ->

mmmmm coffee........






So there are some of the highlights from O Week. But don't fear thats not the end of it for the year. We have heaps of stuff in the pipeline for 2009, plus of course connect groups are up and running. Come along and join us for a coffee.

Oh and if you see any of us around campus, come say hi:)

Shan

Leader Focus: Lyle Penisula

I thought it would be a great idea to look at some of the Christian leaders in our nation. Lyle and Debbie Penisula are the Senior Ministers @ Hawkes Bay Equipper's Church in NZ. Lyle is a passionate communicator and a gifted artist (the painting to the right should leave you in no doubt). He has a heart for seeing revival in NZ, and firmly believes that it will start with our generation's youth. Anyway, here's a self-introduction, and a post from Lyle's Bebo which illustrates his vision for revival.

Ray

---------------------------------------------

FYI: I AM a husband (Debbie's man), a father (4 boys & 1 girl), a son, a brother (2 Sisters), an uncle. And I abolutely love my aiga (family) to bits... we serve Jesus and His cause.

I AM an Artist... inspired, influenced, motivated, and gifted by the greatest artist of all the one and only Creator of the Universe, God Himself... by the way God and I are friends.

I AM a preacher called by God commissioned by Jesus and endorsed by the Holy Spirit... Yeah, I AM blessed.

I AM Samoan, I AM Palagi (Scottish) I AM a son of Aoteroa, New Zealand... However my citizenship is not of this world. I AM a child of God an ambassador of Jesus Christ... I AM on a mission from God!!!...

How about you? have you found your purpose in life? True purpose can only be found in the great I AM Jesus Christ! Common I dare you to ask Him right NOW to reveal Himself to you. What have you got to lose?

Youth Revival

The vision? The vision is JESUS ? obsessively, dangerously, undeniably Jesus. The vision is an army of young people. You see bones? I see an army. And they are FREE from materialism. They laugh at 9-5 little prisons. They could eat caviar on Monday and crusts on Tuesday. They wouldn't even notice.

They are mobile like the wind, they belong to the nations. They need no passport.. People write their addresses in pencil and wonder at their strange existence. They are free yet they are slaves of the hurting and dirty and dying.

Such heroes are as radical on Monday morning as Sunday night. They don't need fame from names. Instead they grin quietly upwards and hear the crowds chanting again and again: "COME ON!"

And the army is disciplined. Young people who beat their bodies into submission. Every soldier would take a bullet for his comrade at arms. The tattoo on their back boasts "for me to live is Christ and to die is gain".

Sacrifice fuels the fire of victory in their upward eyes. Winners. Martyrs. Who can stop them? Can hormones hold them back? Can failure succeed? Can fear scare them or death kill them?

And the generation prays like a dying man with groans beyond talking, with warrior cries, sulphuric tears and with great barrow loads of laughter! Whatever it takes they will give: Breaking the rules. Shaking mediocrity from its cosy little hide. Laying down their rights and their precious little wrongs, laughing at labels, fasting essentials. The advertisers cannot mould them. Hollywood cannot hold them. Peer-pressure is powerless to shake their resolve at late night parties before the cockerel cries.

They are incredibly cool, dangerously attractive inside. On the outside? They hardly care. They wear clothes like costumes to communicate and celebrate but never to hide.

Would they surrender their image or their popularity? They would lay down their very lives - swap seats with the man on death row - guilty as hell. A throne for an electric chair.

With blood and sweat and many tears, with sleepless nights and fruitless days, they pray as if it all depends on God and live as if it all depends on them.

Their DNA chooses JESUS. (He breathes out, they breathe in.) Their subconscious sings. They had a blood transfusion with Jesus. Their words make demons scream in shopping centres.

Don't you hear them coming? Herald the weirdo's! Summon the losers and the freaks. Here come the frightened and forgotten with fire in their eyes. They walk tall and trees applaud, skyscrapers bow, mountains are dwarfed by these children of another dimension. Their prayers summon the hounds of heaven and invoke the ancient dream of Eden.

And this vision will be. It will come to pass; it will come easily; it will come soon. How do I know? Because this is the longing of creation itself, the groaning of the Spirit, the very dream of God.

My/Your prayer of faith invokes a thunderous, resounding, bone-shaking great 'Amen!' from countless angels, from hero's of the faith, from Christ himself - the original dreamer, the ultimate winner.

Community and Connection in the Church

Over the last wee while we've been looking at the whole idea of community and connection, particularly how we can use community to be relevant to a lost and dying world.

To me, community is all about connection between people, the links that bind people together. Sometimes we get so busy doing church, that we forget to do life together, and it's clear in the New Testament in particular, that doing life together was an integral and inextricable part of what being part of a church meant.

We have to be relevant to the communities in which we are a part of and who we serve. If not, then we are just a historical institution, far outdated, and a far cry from the early church (See the end of Acts 2 for more information).

The local church is the hope of the world.
If it's not going to be us that's relevant, then who?

Anyways, here's the latest podcast episode - I really hope you get something out of it. Oh, and BTW, some of these guys have not really spoken in a public environment like podcasting can be before, so full respect. As for me, I'm still learning how to do this well, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Seen and not heard?

Shane has been with us now for three weeks, and his Discovering your Design programme is going to revolutionise the way we introduce people to our community.

Recently, in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and Spiritual Language seminar, he made some really relevant comments about women speaking in the church, taken from 1 Corinthians 14. It really stresses the importance of taking biblical passages in context, and checking Hebraic sources.

Essentially, women are absolutely able to speak in churches. In the context of this passage (1 Corinthians 14), the word for woman is WIFE, and is talking about how wives should not humiliate their husbands in public places like churches by disagreeing with the point they are making, or prophetic words they are bringing. Instead, it would be more appropriate to voice their doubts at home.

To the right is a podcast copy of some of the points Shane Willard was making if you'd like to hear for yourself. Click on "Reson8rs update - Spiritual Language" to hear part of his excellent message. Thanks to Shane for making this available.