Cnr Canning Hwy & Fortescue St, East Fremantle | Sat. 5pm (school terms) | Sun. 10am

Loving God, Loving Each Other, Loving the World

August 2018 Update

Dear East Freo Church family

It has been very rewarding getting back to the words of Jesus as we worked our way through the Sermon on the Mount in our series called The Greatest Sermon Ever Preached. I have personally been challenged to live out my faith in an authentic way and to aspire to kingdom values. I hope it has been both encouraging and challenging for you too. Following this series we will delve into a few passages in Romans where Paul shows us how God’s kingdom is formed in us.

The East Freo Fresh program continues to roll out and freshen up our church. Recently, we have completed the painting and electrical work in the hall and prayer room, installed security lighting in the carpark and a multi-purpose TV in the upstairs room. You may even have noticed a rear facing projector in the auditorium to assist the singers and the speaker during the service. We are anticipating that the new chairs will arrive by mid-August and then after that we will begin looking at the acoustics in the auditorium and hall to better facilitate ministry.

In other developments, men’s and women’s ministries are gaining momentum with a number of you attending the upcoming Perth conferences. The men are also planning a breakfast on August 11 and we have partnered with Red Door church to offer you the Dads and Sons camp in late August, which I’m very excited to be attending for the first time with my son Zachary. Playgroup and kids church continue to engage families and children with the love of Christ, providing key foundations for drawing children and families to faith. We’ve seen some changes in youth and young adults this year, but through all of this, the Lord has been faithful and is blessing these ministries through our excellent leaders. We are also very thankful to the Lord for the elderly in our church, who not only serve us generously with their time, but demonstrate how to lead godly lives of faith. I’d especially like to acknowledge and thank all of the volunteers who serve in our church in a wide variety of roles. We are blessed to have such dedicated and gifted people that form the backbone of our church ministry. May the Lord continue to empower you for service and may you find great joy in serving the Lord among our church community.

In early September, Pastor Adam will be running the Jesus the Game Changer event and we are praying that it will be a significant opportunity for outreach. If you would like to learn more about this, there’s an excellent 3 minute video you can view here: http://www.olivetreemedia.com.au/jesus-the-game-changer/. Please be praying who you can invite to this and that God will use this as a means for drawing people into his kingdom. In the latter part of the year, we have invited A Capella Praise to come and lead one of our Sunday services in worship, and we also look forward to our next annual Stepping Stones Christmas service in early December. Stepping Stones is a vital part of our church and it wouldn’t exist without your generous support. I am pleased to report that under the excellent leadership of Nikki and the board, Stepping Stones has enjoyed a good start to the year with a very healthy attendance level of 75%. Please continue to pray for the ongoing success of Stepping Stones as it seeks to reach out to families in our area.

On a personal note, my family has been in East Freo for almost 1 year now, and we are very appreciative for the way all of you have received us warmly and invited us into your homes and your lives. We feel privileged to be part of this community and look forward with excitement to the journey ahead.

I’d like to end this update with the words of a song we have sung a number of times recently:

Now is the moment, the day of the salvation
This is the hour to be serving the king
Bearing the gospel, go to the nations
Now is the time for our tribute to bring
And live for the kingdom
And give God the glory and honour and praise
Live for the kingdom, all of our days

May the Lord bless you and show you how to live for his kingdom.

In Christ,
Ray Forlin
Senior Pastor
ray@eastfreo.church