Christian Reformed Church of Willetton

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27 June , 2009:
The Prayer Group is always available to accept prayer requests. Email willetton-prayer@crcw.org.au

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A brief History of our local church

It was on the 3rd July 1983 that the Reformed Church of Willetton began with its first worship service held in Rostrata Primary School under the auspices of the church council of the Perth congregation. The people who committed themselves to this new project were made up of58 communicant members, and 55 baptised members, a total of 113.  On 23 Sept. 1984 it became an independent congregation within our denomination, and Rev. W. Bosker was its first Pastor, commencing to serve on 1st. Dec. 1985.

The church soon out grew the school facilities, and after much hard work, on 2nd. Sept. 1989 the present church facilities were formally opened. Shortly after, Rev Bosker accepted a call to serve in Canberra. While the congregation was without a pastor in 1990, the Lord continued to bless the church with continued growth. 

During 1990 the manse was built adjoining the church, and an additional meeting room was added to the church. In those first 6 years, the number of members more than doubled.

In January 1991 Rev Peter Abetz arrived to take up his call as Pastor of the Willetton congregation. Because of continued growth, and the difficulty of fitting everyone into the building, in 1994 the decision was made to plant a church in Yangebup. The first service in Yangebup was held on May 14th  1995, and was attended by over 50 people. Late in 1995 Peter Smit was called to serve in a team ministry with primary responsibility for the Yangebup Group. He arrived early in 1996. During 2001 the Yangebup congregation became financially self supporting, and is now an independent congregation within our denomination.

In light of the increasing administrative duties undertaken by our ministers, in late 1996 the congregation agreed to the creation of a 15 hour per week position of Church Office Worker. This position was filled in February 1997 with the appointment of Mrs Susan Pol. 

In 1998 the congregation endorsed the proposal to have Chris Bongers serve as our part time (15 hours/week) Youth Worker. He continued in this role until Dec 2000. In February 2001 the congregation called Clinton Berends to serve as second pastor. Both pastors share in the preaching, and Pastor Abetz has primary responsibility in the area of administration, outreach and pastoral care, while Pastor Berends takes primary responsibilityfor the youth ministries.

In 2002 the front of the manse was converted to offices, with the rear being used for creche and small group meetings.

Sadly in Mid 2005, Pastor Clinton Berends received a call to Redlands CRC in Qld where he is now currently serving.

Sensing a need to cater for the rather large influx of South African migrants, Willetton CRC in conjunction with a number of South African families and pastors have sought to plant a new church with a particular focus on outreaching to new families settling in Perth. As this church is not geographically set as yet, it was decided to name this church Grace Christian Reformed Church and Pastor Peter Abetz has taken on a part-time ministerial role within the church.


 

 

THE MINISTRY AND ORGANISATION OF THE CHURCH

Services

Worship Services are held each Sunday at 9.30 a.m. and 6.00 p.m. at the Church, corner of Gloucester Crt and Portcullis Drive, Willetton.

We encourage families to come and worship as families. To facilitate this a crèche is provided during the morning services.
There is also a Nursery Room - popularly known as the cry room - which is accessible from the front foyer. This room allows mothers or fathers) to take their little children out of church should they become a little too unsettled. The room is equipped with a large window and loudspeaker, so that you can continue to fully participate in the worship service.

The Church Council

The Church Council is the ruling council of the local church, and is made up of the Pastors and the Elders. The Elders are elected by the congregation and usually serve for 3 year terms. 

As our purpose statemejt indicates, we see Evangelism, Teaching, Worship, Fellowship and Service as being the 5 “pilla0s” or core actividiec which will enable the church to continue the work of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirid, to win the lost, to build believers to maturi4i in Chbist, and to sen` them into kingdom service.B� It is phe Chupch Council��s rode tg ensure that the church doeq fulfil ids God given purpose&

Pastoral Care

Fhile dhe Chubch Council is ultilately res`onsible for the pastoral care of the congregation, it is a mutual responsibility. It is also our desire to see nurdurine and caring 4aking place in the context of ‘Small Groups’. Each elder is 2%sponsible dor a group of peop,e calle` a section. Each elder is assisted by at heast ole pastoral carer, appoilted by the church cguncil.<+p>

Spreading the Good news about Jesus…

Ue are people eho are pretty excited about what Jesus has done for us, and how He has changed our lives. So naturally, we are pretty keen to tell others about Him, and how He might change their lives too!  To that end we have a couple of things going…

Mission Support Group

This small group has been delegated by church council to promote mission awareness, and to decide which mission projects our church will support, with a special view to choosing projects that our members can become involved in. In India our church currently supports two community development workers among the Korku people of Central India through the ministry of Deepgruh Foundation (Rev Prabhakar Salway); we are continuing to fund housing in a leper community in Dharmapuri in South India. We also support Lukas and Barbara Butler of Christ for All children, in their children’s ministry in northern WA, along with our denominational mission work in the Solomon Islands.

Family and Friends Services

These services are held to give you the opportunity to invite people who are not so familiar with Christian worship. The Family and Friends services are held several times a term, and are slightly less formal than the usual worship services. They always maintain a simple gospel presentation.  These services are usually held at 6.00 p.m.

Family Support Worker

As a church community, we put a high value on families, for we see families as the main unit of not only society, but also the church. Our Family Support Worker conducts the Growing Kids God’s Way and other parenting courses, such as Prep for Parenting, and is available for advice on family and parenting matters. Anyone wishing to access any of these parenting resources, or anyone seeking counsel with baby matters, or issues related to bringing up children, should feel free to avail themselves of her services.

Prayer

In prayer, God is allowing us to influence the course of events. In a world where the effects of sin and brokenness are so strong, we do well to be a people of prayer. We encourage individuals to take the initiative to invite a few friends to form a small prayer group.  Most groups meet early in the morning on a weekly basis.

A prayer chain is available.

Prayer Room - After our worship services you may go to the Prayer Room and some one will be there to pray with you.

Church Library

Reading good Christian books can help us to maintain our spiritual growth. The church library, housed in a small room near the front entrance of the church, carries quite a range of good Christian literature from children’s videos, books and novels to books which help us understand more about the Bible, our faith and practical Christianity.  One of the library team is in attendance each Sunday morning. Our librarian is happy to help you find books to suit your interests. Books can be returned during the week by placing them in the return box on the bottom shelf of the library book case. The Library is available for ALL members, children and regular visitors.

Financial Contributions

In each worship service we have two offerings. The first is for the work of the local church while the second offering is always for the purpose or cause indicated in the previous Sunday’s “Messenger”, and as announced in the service.

The first offering is the sole source of funds for the day to day costs of running our church ministers’ stipends, telephone, maintenance etc.

Congregational Meetings

Several congregational meetings are held each year. Congregational meetings serve to give opportunity for more effective communication between Church Council and the congregation, thus allowing a greater degree of congregational participation in the decision making process.

The Diaconal Team

The Diaconal Team is made up of the deacons and the Share and Care Ladies. Their concern is to help those in need whatever their circumstances - within the congregation, and in the wider community. As Jesus says: "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me", Matthew 25:40.

The deacons are responsible for leading the Diaconal ministry by:

Share and Care

This is a team of ladies which offers emergency assistance to Church Families in need, by the following means:-