A couple of weeks ago I reflected on the Big-Hearted generosity that our community of faith has consistently demonstrated over the years whenever a financial appeal is made. The context was an appeal for our Ministry Budget. We were significantly behind and trending in the wrong direction and I asked you to prayerfully consider how the Lord might be inviting you to respond: with a one-off gift and/or an increase to your regular giving. The hope was that we would catch up and arrest the slide.

I am delighted to report that the response has been as generous as I have been led to believe it would be! Last week we received almost three times more than what we have any other week of the year. While we have not totally caught up we are now only 1% behind our budget rather than nearly 8% - a difference of nearly $35,000!

If you have not yet done so, it is not too late to participate with a one-off gift or an increase of your regular giving. It is, in fact, the second of these that will be most significant to insure that we don’t continue to fall behind between now and the remainder of the year. As I noted in my church-wide email, even a modest increase in regular giving will make a big difference over the rest of the year. We will be sending a brief report next week that will have a bit more detail.

At this point, however, I simply wanted to genuinely thank everyone who responded so generously!

Marc Rader | Senior Pastor

This Sunday

9:30am Service: Survey Sunday and Marc Rader preaching on Genesis 3:9-24. Stick around after the 9:30am service for coffee and tea!

11:30am-1pm: Volunteer Halftime (11:30am-1pm)

6pm service: Survey Sunday and Marc Rader preaching on Genesis 3:9-24. Join us for dinner after the service!

Next Sunday  

31st August: Adam Stewart's Induction Service + Soundings (11:30am-1pm)

Soundings 2025 is coming up. This year’s theme is Spiritual Journey, we’ll be gathering on Sunday 31st August, after the AM service, from 11:30am to 1:00pm.

Join us for a time of listening, sharing, and reflecting in small focus groups. This is your opportunity to have your voice heard as we seek God’s direction together. We would love love love to hear from you!

The event is free, we just need to know if you're coming.
Click the link below to RSVP!

All Women are invited to the Embrace Morning Tea!
Join us on Wednesday, 20th August from 10:00am to 11:30am at The Pan & Stone Café, 29 Marshall Rd, Kirrawee.
Come along for a relaxed morning to catch up with friends or meet others from GBC—feel free to bring a friend too!

To RSVP, see Janine at the tall table after the Sunday service or contact her on 0405 629 790.

Men’s Breakfast 

Friday 6th September, 7:30–9:00am at Gymea Baptist Church

Join us for a great morning together and hear from Bruce Munro! 
Register below.

Another chilly night when around 30 supporters gathered at the Coffee & Cake Evening, welcomed by Soul Revival and Board Members - for a delicious spread! Thanks Sandy and then topped off with coffee & hot chocolate served by Hayden & Liza. 
We were encouraged with Jai’s interviews of students from the lunchtime Kirrawee BYO group and our SRE teachers Joanne and Aaron.

Please keep praying for sharing faith opportunities.

Thank you for many extra donations which have been given. $585 cash was given at the door plus some credit card giving.

God Bless you, Sue McCubben

We are looking for someone to fill a fixed-term or casual role as an administration assistant which will include reception and other administration support here at GBC. This role seeks to assist the staff team while Karen Watkins continues to recover from brain surgery to remove a benign cyst in May.

* Please continue to pray for the Drury family and for Karen Watkins as they each recover from major neurosurgery.

* While we don’t know of any other specific updates, we encourage you to pray for all those in our church family who may be unwell, weary, injured, or struggling in any way. 

If you have something for Family News, contact office@gymeabaptist.org.au or call on 9521 4611. 

You are invited to join us for a short but effective time of “zoom” prayer Thursday at 7:30pm. A 30 minute guided prayer led by one of our wonderful GBC Elders. You can join in using this link JOIN PRAYER ZOOM or using the Meeting ID: 919 1693 5880 Passcode: f603j2. We look forward to spending this time together in prayer.

All men are invited to join for the next Men’s Lunch at Donald Robinson Village (DRV), Wednesday 27th August meeting at 12:15pm for a 12:30pm start.

The Guest speaker this month is Mr Pat Furci, a local builder and developer, who will share about his family, his work, and his passion for helping men.

The cost is $20, which includes a light lunch. Please note the new booking process: all bookings are now to be made directly with the DRV Café by calling 8543 7273 (between 9am and 2pm) by Tuesday 19th August.

Payment can be made by credit card when booking, or in cash on the day.

For any enquiries, contact Ian Scarfe on 0439 914 957.