What We Do
As a church, we are seeking to be a Community of Hope in all of life. Sunday services are one of the ways in which we seek to know and follow Jesus. Beyond our services, we are involved in ministry to children and youth, growth groups, service to our community, care for our elderly, and beneficial engagement with those we meet in life, work, and play. Each area of engagement helps us belong and grow as people.
Read on to find out more about what we do for Sunday Services, Children’s Ministry, Youth Ministry, Growth Groups, Community Engagement and other Assorted Activities.
Sunday Services
Sunday services are a big focus of our church family life. They are a time when we all meet together. Each week is different but you can expect to spend 90 minutes together singing, praying, hearing a Bible teaching, taking communion, and visiting with others. While we love it when people join our community, everyone is welcome to visit our services.
Our 10am service includes all ages from 0-100+yrs, with a relaxed atmosphere, fun at appropriate times but also takes seriously the important work of worship, prayer and hearing from God’s word. During the morning service, we have age specific programs for children 0-13 years old.
The 6:30pm service is smaller and more informal. There is no provision for children, although they are most welcome to attend.
New to church and wondering what we mean by worship, prayer, bible teaching and fellowship?
Worship: Singing songs together is one way in which we can worship God together. When singing, we are reflecting on God, expressing truths about God, and often, experiencing a sense of God’s presence with us. Together, these elements comprise worship. In fact, there is more to worship than a song and our services are more than singing, but people find music particularly helpful. At Blockhouse Bay Baptist, we mainly use contemporary Christian worship songs but we enjoy hymns as well.
Prayer: Prayer is the act of speaking to God, in particular to ask for his involvement in the world. We try and use a variety of approaches to praying together. Sometimes it is simply someone leading prayer from the front for the rest of us to agree with. Sometimes we use written responses and sometimes we use other interactive or participatory styles of prayer.
Bible Teaching: We want to know God. God has made himself known through Jesus. The Bible is all about Jesus. So by taking time each week to read from the bible and to have it explained and applied to us we can know, love and serve God better.
Fellowship: Fellowship is one of those funny words that Christians use and not many other people do. It means the relationship we have with other believers when we meet around a shared purpose, a shared love of God, and a genuine caring interest in each other. Fellowship is noticeable in our valuing of regular gatherings, enjoying each others company, sharing the challenges of the journey with Jesus and the care we offer to support the church family and our community.
Children
At the Bay, children are welcomed and included as an important part of our church family. Our Sunday morning children’s programmes are Bible based and fun providing opportunities for the church to work alongside parents in helping children discover who God is through the scriptures, and to develop a relationship with Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
Glenis oversees all our Sunday morning programmes and values the importance of children and adults participating in worship together.
Children are a very important part of our church family and welcome at all of our services. Children are included in the first part of the church service where they can worship with their church family and then go to age sensitive programmes.
The aim of our children’s ministry: To provide a safe nurturing environment where we can work alongside parents to see the children come to know God as their Lord and Saviour and grow in Him.
THE ARK:
Crèche for newborns – 3 years
10:00am in the church lounge. Our supervised crèche is a welcoming place where you can leave your young children with experienced caring people. They will enjoy music, stories and play activities.
SUNBEAMS:
3 – 5 years. 10:00am in the kindergarten next door to the church.
Our fun programme is designed to introduce them to God and stories of the Bible at a level they can easily understand and enjoy.
KIDZ EXTREME:
Primary age children.
10:00am In the KidZone (Upper Hall).
An interesting fun-filled programme that includes large group teaching, songs, games and age sensitive small groups. Each week the children experience a Bible truth and are challenged to apply this to their everyday lives as they get to know Jesus better.
Every effort is made to ensure that your child is safe and cared for while at one of our programmes. All volunteers are police checked and well known members of our church community. If you would like more information on any of the above programmes please contact Glenis.
More Programmes for Children & Family
MAINLY MUSIC:
Every Wednesday during school term time mainly music starts at 9.30am in the Upper Hall and is followed by a morning tea, play and chat time. The fun music sessions are full of songs, dancing and the use of lots of different instruments. Open to everyone in the community with preschoolers.
Contact: Mary Penman – 828 9027
Email: penmans@thepenmans.nz
Visit our Facebook page.
BLOCKHOUSE BAY BAPTIST KINDERGARTEN:
We are a community-based, sessional and all day Early Childhood Kindergarten for children aged 2½ - 5 and their families. Our kindergarten is well resourced and offers small group sizes and excellent teacher-child ratios. We provide a friendly, dynamic and safe learning environment founded on Christian values and beliefs.
We are very proud of our latest ERO review.
Contact: Jingwen Verina – 09 626 6655
Email: bhbbaptistkindy@gmail.com
Visit our kindergarten website
HAIR RAISING HAT PARTY:
Our annual party on October 31st, is a fun and safe alternative to trick or treating for those aged 4 – 14. Games, sweets, prizes and family friendly entertainment is what we are about.
Youth
Blockhouse Bay Baptist Youth is a community of young people who are seeking to know and live into the hope that comes in Jesus Christ. We meet together to have fun, play games, open the Bible together, ask questions, have discussions, eat, and pray.
If you’re in intermediate or high school, we hope you’ll come and join us!
Max is for students in Year 7 - 8 and meets during the morning service on Sundays throughout the school terms. We begin in the service to participate in worship with our church family and then head downstairs. We also meet on Friday nights about once a month for "Stories & Shenanigans" - an evening where we hear a short story from someone in our community about what following Jesus looks like in their everyday life, and then we have a bunch of fun together.
Youth Group is for students in Year 9 - 13. We meet on Friday nights between 7:30pm - 9:00pm throughout the school terms. You can find us in the youth room, on the lower level of the church building.
All of the leaders for our youth programs go through police checks are trained to interact with vulnerable people, like our youth, in ways which are healthy and safe. We place a high value on the safety of our young people and commit to act in ways which are good for their flourishing.
For more information about Youth at Blockhouse Bay Baptist, feel free to be in touch with Ash Brice, our Associate Pastor for Youth.
Growth Groups
Ministry to adults takes many different forms. Each area of ministry is meant to help us connect and belong, find hope in Jesus, be transformed to be more like Jesus, and to help us serve others in increasingly more thoughtful ways.
Growth groups are another name for small groups, life groups or fellowship groups. Growth groups are 3 or more people that gather at least 2 times a month for the purpose of growing through community, prayer and some study that relates Bible to life. We encourage everyone to be involved in a growth group to foster individual and communal growth in the areas of worshipping God, connecting to the church, transformation toward Jesus, and serving the local and global community in the Spirit.
We have numerous groups that meet throughout the week and weekend. Here is a list of our current groups and who they are aimed towards. To join a group or for more information, contact Rebecca on rebecca.w@baybaptist.org.nz or contact the church office.
You are also free to start your own group. Get in touch for resources to help you along the way.
Community Engagement
We are proud to be and participate in the community of Blockhouse Bay and beyond. Our church seeks to make a real difference in our community as a way of sharing the love and goodness of God with our neighbours. As part of care and engagement with and for our community these are the groups, activities and events we run and support.
Combined Blockhouse Bay Food Pantry: Friday afternoons at 1:30pm the doors open and we welcome you to come and have afternoon tea with us.
Monthly Friendship Groups: First Tuesday of the month from 10-12am a group meets for various activities and fun. Everyone is welcome.
Cooking Classes: Friday fortnightly at 9:30am. We try out various recipes as the season changes and space is available for younger children to play.
Shed Matters: This a huge project set up to promote community development through intergenerational learning around tools (powered and hand). Through sharing of experience we value wisdom and know-how and ensure these skills continue onward. Blockhouse Bay Baptist remains a key player in this ongoing project.
Hair Raising Hat Party: A yearly party on October 31st for those aged 4-14 which is a fun and safe alternative to trick and treating.
Making Ends Meet: Every year the church collects clothes, toys, linen and kitchenware to host a giant free garage sale for our community. This yearly activity happens just before winter hits.
Party at the Park (formally Christmas at the Beach): In conjunction with other local churches this yearly celebration is a chance to gather friends and family for an early evening picnic to get you ready for Christmas.
Christmas Lunch: Not everyone has a place to belong on Christmas, nor does everyone have the means to make a special lunch. Come join us on Christmas day from 11:45am-1.30 pm for food, festivities and fun.
Assorted Activities
Beyond growth groups, we host short classes, weekend sessions, speakers, and fellowship groups for those interested. This has ranged from Alpha courses to guest speakers to Men’s nights to Women’s tea to Winter Workshop courses to a monthly fellowship group. All are welcome to these various events. Each are meant to foster fellowship and further growth. Not involved in any way? We are glad to have you join us.
