Senior Pastor

Hamish Baxter

Year ending 31 July 2026

You welcomed Cheryl and me beautifully, both at the pōwhiri held at Ngā Hau e Whā on 24 January and at my induction service here at Franklin Baptist Church on 1 February. Thank you. We have felt genuinely welcomed and are grateful to have been received so warmly into the life of this church.

Getting a sense of who you are was always going to be a slow and intentional process. I appreciate the effort so many of you are making to wear your name tags—of course, that benefits us all! I have also valued the many conversations, stories, and insights people have shared with me. Together they are helping me understand the heart of this church. So far, I see a community that has long valued prayer, local outreach, life groups, and intentional ministry to both the youngest and oldest among us.

One of the real highlights for me has been visiting a number of our life groups. They have given me a perspective of FBC that Sunday mornings alone could never provide. There is a warmth, joy, and intimacy in these gatherings that speaks volumes about the way you care for one another. It has been a delight to witness. It also leaves me wondering how we might make more of that richness visible whenever we gather as a whole church.

It has been a privilege to begin my preaching ministry among you by exploring what it means to be people who worship with our whole lives—through submission to Christ, acts of service, generosity, and witness. From there we journeyed through Easter, before spending time in Acts 2, reflecting on five pathways that help us share the good news of Jesus with the world around us. After a brief series on joy, we joined with Arotahi in the Renew Together series and have now begun working our way through the Gospel of Mark. My hope throughout has been that our teaching would not simply inform us, but increasingly shape us into a community that looks more like Jesus.

Our staff team has been a pleasure to work alongside, and I remain deeply grateful for the time our pastoral team shared together at the Hanmer Prayer Retreat in May. It was a significant gift to us all. The coming financial year, however, will also bring considerable change. The financial realities facing our church required us to undertake a significant staff restructure process. It has been a difficult season, particularly for those most directly affected, and I remain grateful for the grace, patience, and prayerfulness with which our church has largely navigated it. While these decisions have not been easy, I am hopeful they will leave us in a healthier financial position and create greater opportunity for the gifts of our whole congregation to flourish in ministry.

Baptisms and Membership

This year we’ve baptised 3 people, and bought 14 into membership. (I imagine the calling of a new senior pastor might have influenced this.) One well respected measure of health in a church is that it is baptising 5% of its average attendance each year – which for us would be 12-15 people. That seems like a goal worth praying for!

Another important measure of health is our engagement with children. With about 20% of our Sunday attendance being made up of 0-12 year olds we’re excelling, and that’s something we will continue to prioritise. A big thank you to all the people serving our children.

As I look toward the next twelve months, my hope is that we will continue to grow in clarity about who we are and what God has uniquely called Franklin Baptist Church to be in this place where he has planted us. I am convinced that God has already given us the people, the gifts, and the opportunities we need to participate in his mission. The challenge before us is not simply to do more, but to recognise that the work of ministry belongs to the whole body of Christ. As each of us discovers our place and faithfully offers what God has entrusted to us, I believe we will become an even stronger, more joyful, and more fruitful church for the sake of our community and for the glory of Christ.

Thank you for allowing Cheryl and me to begin this journey with you. We look forward with great hope to all that God has in store for us together.

Dr Hamish Baxter

Executive Pastor

Penny Day

The past year has been a busy and productive year, filled with both opportunities and challenges, and through it all God has continued to lead and provide for Franklin Baptist Church.

Last September we farewelled Rachel from her role as Interim Senior Pastor. During the months before Hamish joined us as Senior Pastor in February, many people stepped into additional responsibilities to ensure the life and ministry of our church continued to flourish. Thank you to everyone who served so willingly during that season.

It has been a real joy to welcome Hamish to Franklin Baptist Church. We are excited about the leadership, vision, and heart he brings, and we look forward to the journey ahead as we continue to seek God’s direction together.

This year has also brought the difficult reality of restructuring our staff team in response to our financial situation. These decisions were made with much prayer and careful consideration. We are deeply grateful for the faithful service of Carol, our Children and Families Pastor; Josh, our Youth Pastor and Worship Leader; and Sherrell, our Admin Assistant, as they conclude their time on staff. We pray God’s blessing on each of them as they begin new chapters.

At the same time, we are pleased that Den and Sandra have been redeployed into new roles within our team. We are also currently seeking God’s provision as we recruit for our Emerging Generations Pastor and Operations and Communications Manager positions.

As we look ahead, our confidence remains in Christ. Together with our church family, we are committed to building God’s Church, loving our community, and faithfully following where He leads.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Galatians 6:9 (NIV)

Thank you to every staff member, volunteer, leader, and member of our church family. Your faithful service, generosity, and commitment continue to make a lasting difference. We look to the future with hope, trusting that God will continue to lead us as we seek to love God, love people, and see lives transformed through Jesus.

Penny

MANAGEMENT TEAM

Aaron Snook

This year was another of those financially strained ones where this wonderful team worked hard to keep the church ticking along. Den worked hard on increasing and promoting the rental income stream from our amazing facility. I still believe we are under-utilising our complex; however, we potentially need to do some sprucing up to make more rooms as appealing as the café/lounge space, which everyone likes. It will require some money, but this should be offset by the increase in rental income. Years ago, Tim Roper spearheaded a team to look at other possibilities, and while nothing became of that, it is still there to consider, especially once we clear our debt by September 2027.

I personally have been so encouraged by Hamish arriving here and looking at the church as a whole with fresh eyes, essentially from the outside. It meant he could see things that were blatantly obvious to him but that we saw more murkily, and therefore we sat up and took notice. I think that while some decisions have been particularly hard, they were decisions we needed to make, and the church will be in a much better place in the coming years.

I want to especially thank Den for his years of service on this team as a staff representative. Den always had lots of valuable input, and his understanding of the whole operation was extremely valuable, so he will be missed. Going forward, Penny will attend the meetings so we maintain that staff link.

I also want to thank Sherrell for the work she has done organising working bees and simply making sure we have all the consumables needed for Sunday services and beyond — things that we often take for granted.

On the building side of things, we were very pleased to finally replace the roof over the C3 room, and potentially in the next two years we will need to do the opposite side over the crèche room. So unfortunately, there will be another significant cost, albeit a one-off cost that should last for another 20-odd years or more.

We have engaged Neville to upgrade our fire protection system after being alerted to some systems that are no longer fit for purpose.

We have brought Thomas McKelvey onto the team to assist with property maintenance matters, so it’s great to have another practical tradie on board. Also new to the team is Grant Faucet, who I see as someone with great leadership qualities and an eye for detail, so we now have a bit more depth.

Thanks, Russ and Phil, for covering your roles so well.

Finally, a huge thanks to Krystal, who has the massive role of being our Treasurer. Krystal is amazing with detail, and the graphs and spreadsheets she presents at our meetings certainly make it easier to understand the complexities of our finances. It isn’t an easy role and can be very stressful at times, so we need to be very grateful that we have her. A little encouragement to her, and in fact to all the people who serve in this church, goes a long way!

Our finances aren’t going to be solved overnight just because we have restructured our staffing, so they will continue to need a watchful eye across all areas as we strive to get to a point where we can do some extra things, such as developing new ministries as God leads us into this new season.

Thanks for your support.

Aaron Snook

Pastoral Search Team

Jill Courteaud

Team members: Jill Courteaud (Chair), Selina Hira, Liz Kelsey (Leadership Team rep on Search Team), Jane Potter, David Quinlan, John Rice, Lisa Snook, Phil Walker.

On Tuesday 18 February 2025, prospective members of the 2025 Search Team (ST) were called together for a briefing with, and the chance to ask questions of, a few members of the Leadership Team (LT).  We were issued with the Baptist Union Pastoral Search Handbook and on Sunday 9 March 2025 we were commissioned and began meeting fortnightly on Monday evenings, alternating with LT, our only free evening in common.  From different walks of life and employment backgrounds (self-employed, state services, private companies) and supported by our Interim Pastor and Baptist Union advisor, Rachel Roche, the team set out on the learning curve of employment in the context of the Baptist Church.

The first few months and earliest meetings were dominated by familiarising ourselves with the search process as outlined in the Search Handbook, becoming informed about Baptist Distinctives, training in discerning the mind of Christ, and familiarising ourselves with the history of FBC, church and Pastor profiles from the 2023 search, and current FBC activities and ministries. This involved a mixture of attending gatherings, listening to podcasts, watching videos, reading articles/booklets/theses then debriefing and sharing observations with each other.

By the end of May, our background work was diminishing, and we were able to move forward.  We began meeting weekly – sometimes more – in order to accommodate the gathering pace, with LT altering some of their meeting times to accommodate our need to meet more often.  With finishing touches being put to the Church and Pastor Profiles, adapted from the 2023 Search Team’s work and with input from the Leadership and Staff Teams, we saw our way clear to making a timeline.  Our information pack for candidates was nearing completion and we began drafting an advertisement and FBC-specific questions for the application form.

Once we reached this point, Rachel announced her intention to pull back from the process and stopped attending meetings in early June.  Around this time, too, we began considering whether to shoulder-tap as well as advertise and, after reading what we could find online and listening to sermons of people recommended to us by the Baptist Union, we identified several people of interest to follow up on.  

A decision was made to close applications on 7 July, shortlist on 14 July and carry out first interviews on 19 July.  Attention turned to designing questions and preparations for meeting candidates.  From June to August our discussions centred around prospective candidates.  Much of the ruling in and out has been straightforward, guided by our profiles, job description (provided by LT) and other stipulations.

As I write, on 8 August, the day of the deadline for this report, we are still in the interviewing process, grateful for the high quality of the people on our shortlist, and confident we will soon be able to bring to LT, and subsequently the church, the name of the person God is calling to  lead FBC into its next season.

Jill Courteaud (Chairperson)

Life Groups + Care ministry

Sandra Bruin

I love people and hearing their stories, I love helping and lending an empathetic ear. I love praying for people and seeing them blossom under God’s love. Lately, I have been pondering, what would it look like if love for people would flow naturally and abundantly from my love for God? Can you relate?

The 4 C’s of Pastoral Care

A robust Pastoral Care Ministry consists of:

Connection

Cultivating spaces of belonging and where friendships can grow. Life Groups and other Common Interest Groups, i.e. Parent’s Café, are Connection spaces.

Care

Care encompasses more intense needs, including the birth of a new baby, hospitalisation or sickness. Care also takes place in Life Groups. In addition, our Pastoral Care Team and those around us come into action when Care is needed for people who do not attend Life Groups, or to help Life Group leaders care of the people in their group.

Crisis

In the case of a crisis, i.e. death in a family, serious medial diagnoses, mental health events, the Pastoral Care Coordinator (which would be the Care + Connection Pastor) has been trained to offer help or refer for professional intervention. The PC Team would also be called upon in some cases.

Critical

Unfortunately, life is not fair or easy. Sometimes critical intervention is needed, which would require the PC Coordinator and professional trained people to help. This would include, amongst others, severe mental health events and cases of abuse.

We are very blessed at FBC to have all these elements present in our Pastoral Care Ministry. But – we are not “there” yet. Here are some ways in which we can all get involved in growing and strengthening our Pastoral Care Ministry:

Life Groups: For our FBC family to be well connected and feel that they belong, we need more Life Groups. Talk to one of the pastors (Penny, Sandra or Hamish) if you feel called to birth a new Life Group.

Our existing Life Groups – you have amazing leaders who all go above and beyond the expectation. I am sure you have all expressed your gratitude to them. From my side, I want to express my gratitude to all our Life Group leaders for your faithful serving over this last year, and in advance for the year ahead. With a smaller staff team and less hours, we are very blessed to have you all.

Pastoral Care Team: Our core team consists of 5 people. To help us care better for those in our family as well as our community, we need to build our WhatsApp Pastoral Care group to include many more. No one (apart from the Core Team) will be expected to attend meetings. We just need a larger group of people (some of you already know who you are) to sign up to the group so the core team don’t spread themselves too thin. Thank you to everyone who has not officially signed up but who lovingly care for those who are challenged by life’s hardships.

Pastoral Care Meals: Thanks to Lynda and the cooking team, the freezer is kept full of home cooked meals to bless those in our church and community who may be unwell or going through stressful situations. We have an amazing dedicated team of helpers who come together maybe every 2nd or 3rd month to prepare ready-made meals. On an average we make 40-50 meals per cook up, which are used up every time. We try to include Gluten Free meals and sometimes desserts. To everyone who supports and has supported this ministry with meat and other ingredients, thank you! We couldn’t do it without your donations.

Sunday Connect Teams:  Since Hamish joined us, we have started building our Sunday Connect Teams. We have focused more on the team in the foyer, assisting with signing in, as well as identifying and welcoming guests and visitors. Going forward, we aim to build all Hospitality Teams so we won’t have to rely so heavily on just a handful of people, and we can all get to know one another better. Sunday Connect Teams going forward will include Security, Info Desk, Welcomers, Connect Team, Hospitality (kitchen) and Café Teams. 

Together we love God and love others to the best of our ability by giving hands and feet to our whanau statements and building strong Pastoral Care and Connection teams.

An encouragement, and a challenge, to me and you:

John 21:15-17 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?^[e]” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said. A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.

Thank you,

Sandra Bruin

Youth

Josh Temu

I’d like to thank my outstanding youth leadership team—Nicole Camacho, Emily Palmer, and Sebastian Partridge (Bash). You have been a steady, faithful, and joy-filled presence in the lives of our young people. Thank you for showing up week after week with hearts ready to serve, listen, pray, and lead. Your friendship, support, and ongoing encouragement have meant so much to me! For those that have come into the youth ministry space either to help with the Community Garden, be present as camp parents at Southhead or Easter Camps and for everyone who have come to speak or be a part of our intergenerational nights. These have all been significant moments of growing together as we seek to lead by example to those that are newly developing in their faith.

Over the course of this year we have noticed a significant increase in attendance from 17 to 27 people on average. This is largely due to people within our youth group inviting their friends. An exciting challenge for us as we seek to lead those that are new to faith, been on the journey for a little while and those looking to grow deeper.

Youth continues to be a safe space for young people to come and have fun, worship and connect. This year’s theme has been Growing Together to which we have focused on The Garden and Discipleship. Taking opportunities to do things together like starting a community garden, delivering Hope Project booklets, partnering with the Salvation Army food bank, delivering fresh lettuce and broccoli from the garden and making chicken and vegetable soup to contribute toward Pukekohe Reformed Church’s soup kitchen. These opportunities have only been possible due to the support of those in our church community that have taken time to come and teach us how to prepare the soil of both our hearts and the ground to be able to produce good fruit.

Annual events:

Southhead Camp continues to be a space to recentre ourselves at the end of the year and reflect on what God has done in and through us. 

Easter Camp felt different this year. I would say this year’s camp was not only the best to lead but also the best Easter Camp I’ve been to. Thank you to our Camp parents (Grant and Heather) and to all those that contributed to making camp happen! 

Shout out to Joseph (Year 13 Student) who joined us at the Kings Birthday weekend training as someone who is interested in developing in both his faith and as a leader. King’s Birthday Youth Leaders Training is an intentional space directed at investing in youth leaders and pastors to connect and share resources and stories. 

Intergenerational Nights are genuinely one of my favourite nights of the year where we invite some people from our congregation to come and do an activity at youth and for the youth to get to know them and vice versa. So please continue to pray for our youth – that the seeds sown will grow strong roots. That they would continue to learn that life isn’t developed in isolation but rather in community and that growing together is just as much about them taking opportunities to grow as it is people coming alongside them and being that example. 

Josh Temu

24/7 youthwork

Carol Dobbe

24/7 youth work in our local Pukekohe Intermediate School has continued to thrive this past year.  The team have been working on meeting our 24/7 key outcomes. These key outcomes are:

• Supporting Students
• Building Positive Relationships
• Cultivating School Spirit
• Leadership Development
• Integrating Students with Out of School Activities

Our amazing youth workers have done really well with connecting with Students and staff to see these outcomes being met.  

This year we farewelled Anna, as she started her motherhood journey and welcomed Roxy into the team.  Roxy was able to shadow Anna for the best part of a term to learn from her.  We also farewelled Utiku, as he stepped in to work with the Te Kauwhata attendance services and welcomed Thomas into the team. 

Our youth workers use a presence-based model, being available for the students at lunch times, running small groups with students that the school have identified as students needing extra support and doing one on one mentoring with a handful of students that could use some extra one to one support.  

The school have noticed that the youth workers are an asset to the school and are able to walk alongside students in different ways. In particular, they are able to guide students who are struggling to transition and develop new friendships into groups where they can discover and cultivate their people and place in the school.

We continue to support the school outside of the school day as we partner with them to host socials here at the church.

In June this year Roxy and I were able to attend the 24/7 Youth Work National Hui in Cambridge.  This was a great few days, soaking in God’s presence, learning from inspiring people engaging with youth work across the country and connecting with other youth workers and team leaders from across the country. 

Please join us in praying for our local schools.  There are many other schools in our area that we could partner with as the Franklin Baptist Trust and 24/7 youth work programmes.  This is a great opportunity for us to be present in our community.  Please pray for our ongoing conversations with the schools and the right youth workers.

Thank you so much for all you invest in our community.  

As I step away please pray for a new team leader to step in and mentor our youth workers.

Thank you 

Carol Dobbe

OASIS

Charlie Potter

It has been a wonderful year for Oasis, a large life group that meets each Wednesday morning.

This year our numbers have grown, despite losing some members due to age-related health issues. Ten people now regularly attend our meetings while worshipping at other churches on Sundays, showing that Oasis is meeting a real need in the community. Average attendance remains steady at 25.

We have varied the programme by including Bible studies once a month, led ably by Evan Squires.

Our monthly video programmes, featuring Gary Hamrick, Max Lucado and David Jeremiah, have been well received and have at times challenged us and strengthened our faith journey, even as an older group.

We have continued to celebrate special birthdays this year, including George Archer’s 80th, Malcolm Garner’s 90th and  Elaine Brown’s 85th.

Our monthly programme is varied and generally follows this pattern:

First week – Chapel service and lunch

Second week – Video or Bible study

Third week – Visiting speaker, when available

Fourth week – Video programme

When a month has a fifth Wednesday, we enjoy an outing that includes lunch. This year we had four outings:

Chapel services are ably led by Helen Elley, and we have welcomed a variety of speakers:

Colin Maloney, Penny Day, Ian Moorhouse, Sandra Bruin, Evan Squires, John Koutsimanis, Jane Potter, Stewart Bent, Helena Round, Jill Courteaud and Maggie Quilan.

For the second year, students from Pukekohe Christian School joined us for a morning. Once again, it was an excellent gathering with strong interaction. There was warm interaction between the young people and our older members. During morning tea, the students engaged enthusiastically with our group and came well prepared with food, which was greatly appreciated. Some played cards and chess with our members. Two people from Oasis shared testimonies, followed by three students from the school. Singing was also a shared experience, with two songs led by students, one of whom played the piano.

With Val Horne retiring and Helena Round moving north, I have invited Margaret Adams, Evan and Jackie Squires to join the team.

I am very grateful to the leadership team for their help and support throughout the year.

I am also very thankful to Sheryle Spyve, Sheilah Lendrum, Cher Scott and Jean Archer for their work in the kitchen, providing lunches after chapel services. Jane Potter and Arlene Hutcheon have played the piano for our singing, and Colin Maloney has faithfully managed the computer and sound system.

In conclusion, I want to thank everyone who has supported and helped this ministry continue to serve our church and the wider community. I also thank God for His direction and guidance through His Spirit.

Charlie Potter

Oasis Ministry Leader

corporate prayer

Ian Moorhouse

GLOBAL ACTION

Stuart Smith

The Team:

Marian Whitehead, Carol Dobbe, Stuart and Julie Smith, Patricia McKelvey

Over the past year we have continued to meet monthly to pray, discern, and support our global partners. It has been a year of transition, perseverance, and fresh opportunities, as God continues to build His Church among the nations. Sadly, we acknowledge that Carol Dobbe will be departing the team in August as she finishes at FBC and relocates. Her contribution has been greatly valued and appreciated. 

Partner Updates

• Greg & Rosie Blok (Thailand / NZ)
  After many years of faithful service in Thailand, Greg and Rosie have now returned to New Zealand. Their translation work continues from here, with ongoing trips back to Thailand planned. We also note Rosie’s ongoing recovery following health challenges and give thanks for her progress. 
• Kevin & Gillian Bird (Cambodia / NZ)
  This year marks a significant milestone as the Birds concluded their partnership with Wycliffe and FBC. A special decommissioning service was held, celebrating their many years of impactful ministry. 
• Alan & Fiona Murray (Rolleston)
  The Murrays continue to grow in their cross-cultural mission journey, with Fiona’s internship and Alan’s leadership of a Cambodia mission trip through their church. These activities slot in alongside their ongoing role with SIM in communications.
• Peter & Leonora (South Asia)
  Their ministry continues to expand through leadership development, community engagement, and business initiatives such as Basanti Crafts. They remain committed to building a sustainable, long-term impact in the region and preserving the legacy of those who have come before.
• Peter, Dasha & family (East Asia)
  This year brought the joy of welcoming baby Liam to the family. Their ministry continues through community engagement and business initiatives, creating meaningful connections in their local context. 
• Aimee Reid
  Aimee has successfully completed her year of leadership and ministry training with YWAM and is now progressing toward longer-term mission opportunities, starting with an initial placement in Central America.

Promoting a Global Focus @FBC

• Monthly mission updates and Prayer Focus resources have kept the congregation connected to our Global Action Partners. Also, there were periodic opportunities to engage with people directly involved in both short-term and long-term cross-cultural mission over Sunday lunch in the café.
• Planning and delivery of Arotahi Renew Together remained a central focus, with the 2026 series built around the theme “Building Life, Building Home, Building Church – We are God’s co-workers – say Yes!”. 
• We are investigating short courses which could be used at FBC for those who are interested in exploring more about God’s heart for the world and how it relates to them.
• The annual Christmas Offering raised awareness and funds ($2,154) for a Joyya Christmas event for children and new beds for the Baptist hostels upgrade in Bangladesh.
• Arotahi – Renew Together offering that was recieved and passed on was $2,841.50.

Despite financial constraints, the commitment to global mission at FBC remains strong. As we look ahead, we do so with faith, trusting that He who began a good work will carry it on to completion. “And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.”

Thank you,

Stuart Smith

Women’s Ministry

Kylie Lendrum

Once again I have been reminded of the words ‘Navigating the Weaving” and what this looks like in a ministry setting. In the last 18 months or so in the Women’s Ministry it has been like moving with the tides, especially behind the scenes, from postponed or cancelled events to plans that have changed at lightning speed. You can feel the currents of change, the ebbs and flows of tidal movement.

I wasn’t sure what to write for this AGM report but God told me to be ‘real and raw’ so here I am laying it all down. 

A section of this weaving has been personal for me as I’ve had to navigate these changes that have mostly been out of my control. Yet another teachable moment in life where God is taking the pieces of weaving out of my hands and placing them back in his, where they rightfully belong. This ministry is God-given and God-directed.  The reasons for these changes have been genuine and God-led but as you are all aware it can be frustrating when things don’t work out as you want or foresee, but when God is partnering with you there is hope and expectation.

I see God weaving the Women’s Ministry into something special and unique as He is still refining and defining what this looks like but He is doing this with bucket loads of grace. God is taking the little we have and multiplying it. It just looks different from what we expected.

At the end of 2025 Pip Brown, Patricia McKelvey and Heather Fausett did an amazing job of leading a Christmas Wreath making event. I loved how they took rags and other cast offs, encouraged and  guided others to create something of beauty, something to be proud of to take home. We had food galore, laughs and lots of talking. 

Recently we got to celebrate with Jane Potter at her book launch “Conversations with the King”. Jane has been on a  journey of vulnerability and courage, of obedience and trusting God as she wrote and published her book. We got to hear her story, lessons learnt throughout her life and her heart for people and their relationship with God. This is yet another example of what God is up to with the women at FBC as we journey, challenge, celebrate and support one another in life.

The Women’s Ministry is in a season of change but even though I am currently seeing the messy side of this weaving, I know God is creating something beautiful. He is the master weaver and he is bringing all the strands together to add depth. Navigating is part of partnering with God and trusting the Holy Spirit to be the wind in our sails, keeping our eyes on where we are going rather than the circumstances themselves. 

God’s weaving is about sharing our lives and our stories, so I would love to chat with you and have a coffee (or a hot chocolate in my case) and hear your stories, to hear what God is doing in your lives, to hear what’s on your heart  for women’s ministry and what you feel God is highlighting for you. 

Keep praying for each other and for our women’s ministry. 

We have some plans and events at differing phases of planning and we hope to bring these to fruition in the near future.

Our email address is: women@fbc.nz 

or find us on Facebook: Franklin Baptist Women’s Ministry.

May God bless each one of you.

Kylie Lendrum

alpha

Sandra Bruin

Over the years, God has richly blessed our church. Today, there are several within our congregation who came to Christ through Alpha. This was God’s work, not ours, but He graciously allowed us to be part of it.

This last year (August 25 to July 26) two Alpha courses were run at FBC. In September last year we had an Alpha Course on site which was attended by 22+ from within our church. At the same time, several Life Groups ran Alpha in their groups on various days of the week. The church-based course was open to anyone and 4 non-FBC guests attended, who did not have a faith. Some Life Groups also invited their neighbours and friends to join them. A blessed and successful event all round.

We have recently finished an Alpha Course facilitated by Jill Courteaud, and supported by Tina-Ree Ferguson, Craig Dexter, Theresa Luke, the late Emily de Bruin, Mario (from Elim church) and myself. On behalf of the team, I want to thank everyone who prepared a meal, joined us for prayer and offered their home for the Holy Spirit weekend. Without you all, we could have never served as well as we did. Teamwork always sees results. 

With the recent restructuring of the staff team, leadership of the Alpha Ministry has been returned to the wider FBC family, like in previous years. If you are passionate about evangelism and discipleship and seeing more people coming to Christ, please talk to Sandra, Hamish or Penny.

Sandra Bruin on behalf of the Alpha Team

The Marriage Course

David and Dianne Gray

This year, the church ran ‘The Marriage Course’ over seven weeks in March/April.  The course, which is produced by the same organisation which produces the well-known ‘Alpha’ course, is aimed at married couples at any stage of their marriage, from newly-weds to those who have been married for many years.  A more accurate title for the course would be ‘The Marriage Enrichment Course,’ since the emphasis of the course is on strengthening and enriching marriages, whether Christian or not.

Four couples completed the course, including ourselves (David and Dianne) since we had not previously done the course.  The feedback we received from the participants was uniformly positive, and all of the couples said they would highly recommend the course to others.

The church intends to continue to run the course regularly, as demand dictates.

David and Dianne Gray

The Pre-Marriage Course

Sandra Bruin

Over the course of the last year, Titus and I have taken 4  couples through the Pre-Marriage Course. Marriages, and especially Christian marriages, have been an important part of our calling as a couple for many years and we are blessed every time we are asked to do this. We are thrilled that, even though I did not officiate the wedding of two of the couples, they chose us to take them through the course. The Pre-Marriage Course has been crafted around important Christian values, but is not exclusively for Christian couples. The course usually takes 5 weeks, with one session per week. Topics covered are: 

• Communication
• Conflict
• Commitment
• Connection
• Adventure.

Christian or not, the Pre-Marriage Course is a great resource to help any couple prepare for married life. 

Sandra Bruin

Parents Cafe

Sarah-Anne Keall

Purpose

Parent’s Cafe is a weekly gathering held on Thursday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30 am. It provides a relaxed and supportive environment for mothers (with children of all ages) to connect. While the children can play in a safe, supervised space. The initiative addresses the challenge many mothers face in building meaningful community connections, particularly across generations. Older women in the church are warmly encouraged to participate as mentors, honorary aunties, or grandmothers.

Activities

Attendees enjoy tea, coffee, and baked goods in a low-structured setting. Children are free to engage with toys, activities, or outdoor play under parental supervision. No formal children’s program is offered, allowing natural conversation and relationship-building among families. The cafe is primarily for women and children, though fathers have occasionally participated.

Participation and Outcomes

In its first term, Parent’s Cafe consistently attracted between 2 and 8 families per week. The group enables both Church guests and established members to find deeper connections. Several church mothers have invited friends from other churches, and being next to the toy library has facilitated additional outreach. 

The primary goal is to foster fellowship between mothers outside of Sunday services. Although still in its early stages, the cafe has contributed to a growing sense of community and connection among the church’s women and young families.

Support Received

The ministry has been sustained through generous donations of time, baked goods, and experience. These contributions have been essential to the program’s operation and warm atmosphere.

Looking Ahead

Parent’s Cafe has demonstrated strong potential as a valuable outreach and discipleship initiative. Plans for the coming year include continued growth in attendance and deeper connections with women in the church. 

Sarah-Anne Keall

heartfelt catering ministry

Lynda Wilde

Our ministry has had a quiet year, praise the Lord for this.

This ministry came together to help families with the loss of loved ones to  ease the burden of the funeral arrangements after the service with light refreshments.

This is a stressful time for the family and we as a team come together to make this a special and personal  tribute to their loved ones.

We have an amazing dedicated team of helpers who, when required, come together to help in preparing and serving the food needed at these times.

If further information is required re this service please contact the church office for more details.

Blessings from the Heartfelt Catering Team  

Lynda Wilde

Prison Ministry

Ian Moorhouse

It has been a great privilege over the past year to work with a dedicated team of people who have each felt God’s call on their lives to carry the Gospel into the prison environment.

Each week, a number of our team join with Christ who is already at work amongst the prisoners at Springhill.

As we walk into this unfamiliar environment, we grow spiritually ourselves as we learn quickly to love and respect as Christ does, to see each person as a creation masterpiece whom God loves without judgement.

We watch in awe as God brings hope and light and transformation to many.

Our ministry, as all need to be, is underpinned by prayer. The team meets online each week to celebrate stories of what God is doing at the prison, to pray for the team members going in the next week and to pray over the work in general. We wait before the Lord weekly and so each feel His heartbeat for the men at Springhill.

As we go in each week, God never fails to give the opportunities to share and always gives us the words to say. We find many people hungry to receive the message as God has already prepared hearts and minds in response to our prayers.

All in the team would say that God has grown us as Christians and as people by being involved in this ministry. In the prison environment, we find a place where the faith and life conversations are real and robust. We learn quickly to hear and speak what God’s Spirit puts in our minds to say during each encounter.

My thanks to all in the team for their dedication and to the many in the congregation who cover us in your prayers.

Ian Moorhouse

mortgage repayment scheme

Alan Calvert

The position relating to the Mortgage fund: 

Thanks to the generous response to the special appeal we were able  to repay $44,000 off our mortgage over this past year leaving a balance owing of $66,000. 

This balance is due to be paid by September next year and we are confident that with fundraising and continuing donations we will achieve that target.

Alan Calvert.