Morning. The scripture reading today comes from 2 Peter and the Gospel of Luke, chapter 17.
Please follow along in your bulletins.
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient towards you,
not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar,
and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus answered them,
The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed.
Nor will they say, Look, here it is, or there.
For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.
And he said to the disciples,
The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.
They will say to you, Look there, look here.
Do not go away, and do not run after them.
For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky,
so will the Son of Man be in his day.
But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man.
They were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given to each other in marriage,
until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
It was the same as happened in the days of Lot.
They were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building.
But on the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.
On that day, the one who is on the housetop, and whose goods are in the house, must not go down to take them out.
And likewise, the one who is in the field must not turn back.
Remember Lot's wife?
Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.
I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed.
One will be taken, and the other will be left.
There will be two women grinding at the same place.
One will be taken, and the other will be left.
Two men will be in the field.
One will be taken, and the other will be left.
And answering, they said to him,
Where, Lord?
And he said to them,
Where the body is, there also the vultures will be gathered.
This is God's word.
How you guys doing?
Oh, come on.
That's pitiful.
How you doing?
Good.
I don't know about you.
Every time I see that video, it's like, whoa.
You just realize, as in most of life, that we are all just kind of little ants
standing on the shoulders of people who've gone before us,
who were faithful and trusted the Lord.
And it's just amazing to be here where we are right now.
This is our second compass meeting.
That means that we as a church have existed for two and a half years,
which I think is amazing, as we dreamed about this many, many years ago.
So we developed and designed this meeting to be kind of like a dinner table at our house,
which is crazy, chaotic, active.
It's going to be running forward.
There's not going to be any food during this time, but there will be food after this time.
But our hope is that you will see what people do in their ministries as laypeople, as staff,
and see where God is leading us.
The goal this time is to look at where we've been, John Bechtel, his dad, 1940s, 1930s, four people.
Where we are now, you sitting here in this sanctuary, which is an IT center during the week,
and where we hope to go.
I don't know how you feel like when you think of where we hope to go.
Sometimes, to me, that's a scary thing.
And it seems like people are talking a lot about the future and where we hope to go,
where we hope to be.
You look at Korea.
You look at all the things going economically.
You look at the world.
And if you are a Christ follower, often you talk about when Christ will come back again.
The Bible looks at time this way, just so you know.
There was eternity past, and in that, God existed.
Not a ball of gas that exploded, but God.
And God spoke, and we have creation.
God's word, he created everything.
And at the end of each one of those things, he said it was good.
Except for man, where he created a partner, community, relationships.
Then we have the fall.
Sometime amongst that creation, man chose to become God instead of follow God.
And everything was broken.
All the relationships that God meant to be healthy and strong were fractured.
Our relationship with God was fractured.
Our relationship with ourself was fractured.
We became schizophrenic because we can't really know who we are unless we know who God is.
Our relationship with people around us became broken.
Our relationship with nature became crushed.
And then one day, 2,000 years ago, God sends his son.
And in that, there's this period of redemption.
So we have creation.
We have fall.
We have redemption.
And Christ comes, and he redeems everything.
He makes all things new.
He binds relationships.
His spirit is like this seed that's planted in the ground, and it grows.
And you see amazing things happen.
And it's not always a boom, but it's slow, and it's steady growth.
And he's redeeming.
He's buying back.
He's fixing things.
He's healing things.
He's making things new.
And then one day, when he comes back again, there'll be what we call restoration.
That he'll restore all things.
The Bible at the end of the last book, Revelations, talks about there'll be a new heaven and a new earth.
So we have creation.
We have fall.
We have redemption.
And we have restoration.
And we, as God's people, are in this middle of this redemption and this restoration time.
Sometimes it's a weird time.
Sometimes it's a strange time.
It's a now time, but it's a not yet time.
We see God moving.
We see the Holy Spirit moving.
But we don't necessarily see the full manifestation of that.
We don't see families totally fixed.
We don't see people totally free from sin.
We still see brokenness.
We still see problem.
Because it's a now time, but it's not a not yet time.
In the not yet time, when Christ comes again, everything is made new and everything is fixed.
And everything is healed.
And we have this passage today.
And Jesus is talking to two groups of people.
The first two sentences, and that's all we're going to look at today.
He's talking to the Pharisees.
In the last 12 sentences, he's talking to his disciples.
And again, he's talking about the future.
And Jesus talked about the kingdom of God and the kingdom of God coming more than any other thing in the Bible.
He's always talked about the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God is coming.
Up until this point in Luke, we've been going through it for a year and a half,
he's talked about the kingdom of God 27 times.
Okay, and we're only in chapter 17.
So he just talks about it over and over.
And so the Pharisees ask the question, which is a fair question, being that that's what Jesus is about.
When will this come?
They want to know.
They want to know the signs.
They want to know when it's happening.
And so they're in there, and they don't understand that when Christ came, he started this redemption period.
They're still looking back, and they're looking towards the future when Christ comes again in power and strength,
and he restores the kingdom.
He restores everything.
They don't see that Christ started that process when he came.
They have a different expectation of how God should work, and they want him to work a certain way,
and he's not working that certain way.
I don't know if you do that, but I do that all the time.
I want God to work certain ways, and he doesn't work that way, and I get disappointed,
and I wonder if he's still there, and what's he doing?
And this is what the Pharisees said.
And so they said, when is it going to come?
And Jesus never answers the question.
It's interesting.
He always gives another question, or he always answers a different question,
the question probably that we should have asked.
And he says to them in verse 21, it's not going to be something that you see.
It's not going to be observed this first time, but it's going to be something that's quiet and hidden
and working like a seed under the ground.
And then he says in verse 21, which is the words that I just want to end with and we talk about.
He says, therefore, for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.
Now, in the Greek, that word is a very specific word.
It means it's among you.
It's around you.
It's in your presence.
But it's just not a word that says this is what's happening or this is what's true.
It's a word that demands action.
It's like you saying, hey, there's a million dollars on that ground right in front of you.
You wouldn't just look at that and go, well, that's cool, and walk away.
Hopefully you would grab it.
Maybe you would ask to see if someone has it or try to be honest with it or something like that.
But you couldn't just look at it and just observe it and then walk away.
And he's saying that to the Pharisees right here.
He's saying God's kingdom is everywhere.
It's in me.
It's moving.
It's like a seed.
But that's just not enough.
The question is, what are you going to do with that truth?
Are you going to accept that truth and allow God's spirit to come in you and heal you and change you and fix you and redeem you?
And as you do that, are you going to allow yourself to be used by God to go out and redeem and fix and heal and choose and help others around you?
So the Pharisees wanted power and they wanted God to come back and destroy the Romans.
They wanted to be elevated and they wanted the end times.
They wanted the restoration time.
But Jesus says, no, we're in this redeeming time.
And so the Pharisees didn't get Jesus.
But if we're honest, sometimes we don't get him coming a second time.
And if we're honest, most of us want the fun, the compassionate, the loving, the gentle, the gracious, the kind, the suffering servant, the guy who washes people's feet.
That's the Jesus we want, right?
But the Pharisees couldn't handle that.
They wanted power.
They wanted strength.
They wanted a king.
They wanted a king for their kingdom.
But we today, we have a hard time with that, don't we?
I mean, to think that we're accountable to God.
To think that there's going to be a king who's going to come and he's going to ask us how he used our stuff he gave us.
To think that there's going to be a king who's going to come and it's his kingdom that we're living for and it's not my kingdom that I'm living for.
And so in one way, we both miss the meaning of the passage.
The Pharisees missed it because Jesus was there and he was doing these things and he was healing these things and it was taken forth.
And we miss it sometimes because we don't ever think about him coming again.
We don't ever think about his kingdom, what it's going to look like.
We don't ever think about what he's going to ask of us.
That's scary to be accountable for everything he's given us.
But the passage is looking towards the future and the question again is the kingdom of God is amongst you.
What are you going to do with that?
We're going to pray right now and we want to bring up some of the staff and the volunteers.
And they're going to share with you what we've been trusting the Lord for and what we think God is doing.
Because this church is not responsible for bringing God's kingdom.
God is responsible for bringing God's kingdom.
God is the one that changes people's lives.
God is the one that heals people.
God is the one that fixes marriages.
The church is just here to be used by God.
Amongst all that.
God is the one that changes people's lives.
And so we want to share with you what God has used us with as his body this last year.
And then we want to share with you some prayers that we're hoping that he will continue to do as we think he's moving us as a congregation.
Father, we just thank you for this day.
We thank you for your goodness and for your mercy.
We thank you for your message and for your word.
We thank you that the message isn't something that is just looking towards the future when you come in power and strength.
But it's a message that looks towards the now and what we will do with your gospel and how we will use it.
And so as a church, Lord, we don't presume to know for sure this is what you've called all of us to do.
We walk in faith and we trust you.
And we walk in faith.
The question for us, Lord, is help us to be found faithful with all these things.
Help us to be found faithful with the stewardship that you've given us.
And help us to have a vision of a big God who's moving and changing and cannot be bound.
And so we lift up this time to you and we pray that you be well pleased and honored as we serve you.
Amen.
Good morning, church family.
Can I hear a good morning?
Awesome.
Good to hear you have some energy.
My name is Natalie Mann and I'm the director of children's ministry here at Watermark.
I'm Sherman M, the children's ministry coordinator.
And we're so excited that you guys are here.
I'm no one special.
He's talking later.
Graham, you're just our support team.
Okay, so we are excited.
This is Graham.
He'll be talking later.
But we're excited to have you here today.
And we want to share a little bit about where Watermark Kids is today and where we want to see Watermark Kids grow.
It's been exciting to see the hearts of our kids change in the past two years.
We've had phenomenal growth in our kids' lives and in our families' lives here at Watermark.
And without further ado, I want to introduce Graham Smith.
Woo!
All right, I feel like somebody again.
All right, I think we must be the only church in the world where our Sunday schools are named by such names as Ocean, River, and Surf.
And when I heard the name Surf, I had in my mind this picture of sunshine, waves, beach.
It was beautiful.
And my first day in the classroom felt like I was surfing in a typhoon rather than sort of a sunny day on the beach.
And I really thought that what I was going to do was walk into the classroom and be teaching the kids about God and about stories from the Bible.
But what I found was that I was actually learning from them, and these kids were incredibly good at teaching me a few things.
For example, one day we actually had to bring the kids back halfway through the service.
So they're getting ready to come in, and I said to them, all right, when we go in, we need to be quiet.
And there was a little bit of grunting and groaning.
And I said, do you know why we need to be quiet when we go back into the service?
And with that, a certain little boy put up his hand and said, yes, because some people will be sleeping.
So you can't argue with that.
And can't argue with that, right?
And then their biblical knowledge also totally astounds me.
We were doing a little bit of a warm-up activity.
And I said to them, what is small, cute, and has two big ears?
And one little girl put up her hand and said, I know the answer is Jesus, but I think it's a rabbit.
But anyway, when I did start, I really did think that I would be going into the classroom and sort of teaching these kids.
And I really thought more of it as sort of a knowledge about God.
But what I found was that God was taking it much deeper, and it was about relationships.
Relationships about me with them as their teacher, them with each other, because we called into a community.
And above all, their relationship with Jesus Christ.
And it's been amazing to see that that's something that's growing and changing in the kids.
And it challenges me every week.
And one thing I did think about when I volunteered, right?
The word volunteer, I always think it's me giving up my time to serve others.
And yes, that is part of it, right?
But it's much more about an investment.
An investment in the lives of these kids.
And I don't see them as the way we're moving forward.
I don't see them as children.
I see them as these are the future husbands and wives of a community.
These are the future leaders in our churches.
And these are the future leaders in our communities.
And just as we see these kids growing, and I think about the privilege it is to be able to invest in their lives,
I see it as an investment, not volunteering.
But also, as we see these kids growing, an investment in my walk with God.
Because I've seen Him say and do things in the lives of these kids, but also in my personal life.
So, if any of you are thinking about volunteering, I can promise you it's not always going to be a great surf.
It's not always going to be sunshine.
But it is going to be an awesome ride.
And not only with these kids, but also with your walk with God.
So, thank you.
Thank you.
Hi, I'm Eric Scott.
I'm the youth guy here at Watermark.
And this is Dave McConnell.
He wanted to sit down so that he could have a better view of you guys, I guess.
This isn't going to be David and Goliath.
He's a good Goliath.
So, I just wanted to have Dave share a little bit about his experience serving with the youth.
And so, first, why did you start serving with the youth?
I had no thought of serving with the youth until Tobin asked me.
And I'd served collectively in our community group.
And I'd counted money, which I wasn't very good at, in the offering.
And so, Tobin asked me to meet you.
And you seemed quite normal.
Surprising, I know.
So, I met Eric.
And he said, come once on a Friday or a Sunday.
And if you can't take it, you're out of there.
And he was very generous that way.
And so, I said to Eric, I'd give it a try.
And what are some things that you've learned during your time serving with the youth?
I think the first thing, serving with youth, was, you know, sometimes we are reluctant to leave the congregation because we think we are going to miss a sermon and a message.
And what I really enjoyed with youth was that, you know, there was a sermon which you prepared and a lesson.
And it was an interactive one.
And actually, the kids sharpened my mind.
So, that was the one thing I enjoyed is I never really felt like I was stepping out of the service.
And the second thing I learned is that the kids get along really well.
I thought I was going to have to be like your backup.
And, you know, there would be plates and mobile phones flying.
And it wasn't that case at all.
There was a mutual respect.
And the kids really, it's kind of what Graham said, you know, you kind of, it's mutual respect.
The more you put in, you reap what you sow.
And the kids will share.
And I found that fantastic.
And their hearts are open to the gospel.
And sometimes we have to be reminded we need to have a little bit of fun, too.
And church can't be such a serious thing.
So, if you can grasp that, I think serving in youth is really great.
It'll keep you from sleeping in service, too.
But anyways, the youth group has been growing this year, both as a community and in numbers.
And it looks like it's going to keep growing.
There's a huge group of kids moving up from surf to youth next year.
But as a ministry, we've been doing some really cool stuff, trying to reach out to the community around us.
We've been visiting four different international schools every week this semester, trying to interact with kids there, running alpha programs and clubs.
We started a new outreach this week with kids from our local community opening up the community center and offering to help practice speaking English with them on Wednesdays at lunchtime.
And we had over 25 kids come out for our first time of doing that.
So, as we move forward, we're looking for new ways that we can reach out to the kids in our community.
There's a group coming to Hong Kong, starting work here in the fall called Young Life that does a lot of work focusing on the unchurched.
And we have already started talking with them about how we can partner with them, what we can do together with them to help unchurched kids hear about Jesus.
And with the kids in our own group, we've been working with them as well, trying to focus on how we can help them grow as a community, how we can get them connected to the church.
We've started a new big brother, big sister program where we've connected each of the kids in the youth with an adult from the church to try and get them in a discipling relationship and get them plugged into the church at large as a body.
And obviously, with all this stuff going on, it's not stuff that I can do by myself.
And so we need help.
If you guys feel that this is something that God's calling you to do, please talk to me after the service.
Is there anything else you wanted to add?
I just thought really the youth are part of our church family, and it gives you a different level to communicate to the youth.
And one other thing is I don't know about anybody else, but I've been collecting watermark pens in my house.
And this is the lowest number I think I've had, which is pretty embarrassing.
But I want to give these back to you because, you know, whoever designed that pen, that is the greatest pen.
It lasts forever.
So I want to give my pens back to watermark.
But I think collectively we've been all taking away something from watermark.
And, you know, whether it be friendship or fellowship and our spiritual growth.
And Kip, don't be giving me a hard time after about this, taking pens.
And don't take any yourself there.
But I think, as I say, we've all been taking away something from watermark.
And our hearts are growing stronger and are more open.
And it's just nice to think, wow, maybe pens looks a little simple.
But maybe it would be nice if we give a few things back to watermark, too, given what we've been collecting and benefiting from.
That's my last message.
Thank you.
A tremendous amount of brokenness, loneliness, people struggling with just figuring out life.
And they are right in the heart of our community.
And so from the beginning when we started Watermark, just seeing, getting to know their stories and meeting the students,
it's just been obvious that this is something that is too big for anyone to do.
It's too much for a staff member to do.
It's too much to do for the volunteers, for a whole church.
There are 28,000 students.
And so I just want to share two developments that I've seen over this past year.
The first one is student ownership.
So we have really seen a lot of students not just being on the receiving end but actually stepping up and to see that they need to reach out.
And in the lecture theaters, in the dorm rooms, on the lunch tables, to reach out to their fellow students to share the love of Christ,
to be the hands and feet to their roommates struggling and figuring out life.
And the other part is just church involvement and church integration and people within the church stepping up to getting to know the students that walk through the doors
and using their time and their energy to reach out to the students.
And Jason is representative for many of you who have been using their gifts over this past year to reach the students.
And I just wanted to Jason to share a little bit about their community group adopting the students and what they have been doing.
First of all, I'd like to ask my CG members and those who have been involved in the university ministry work to stand up so that people can recognize you.
They can come to you with questions.
Later on, they also feel called.
Can I have my CG members to stand up?
Only two.
Thank you.
It's really an honor to work alongside with Mike and Katie.
I think they've been doing a fantastic job.
If you have noticed, many of the people who got baptized in our church are from their ministry.
So they've been doing a fantastic job shepherding, reaching out, and helping the university kids.
I like to call them kids.
We as a CG felt called to work with Mike and Katie because many of us were once away from home for school.
And many of us have our own children.
And we think it's very important to help the younger generation during the time in the university because this world has become even more confusing than we were younger.
Our CG has been involved with the university ministry in several ways.
We hosted dinner events.
We were involved in Encounter Cafe, the career forum, and the career panels.
Like all other volunteers, we all feel blessed tremendously when we serve because older people like to talk about ourselves.
So we like to share with us kids our failures and some of the stories.
And when we share, very often we recall how God picked us up when we fell and how we were lost.
And Jesus showed the way and bring people into the doors to help us.
So I would encourage all of you.
It doesn't take a lot of time to contact Mike and Katie to work alongside with them.
And strategically, our church is located very close to Hong Kong.
There must be a reason.
So if you're willing and you are able, please contact them.
And the kids are very lovely.
The questions that they ask are very profound.
And then you'll be surprised that we actually get a lot of enlightenment and help from those kids as well.
Yeah, so just to close, as we look in the future, Tobin shared about the redemption journey and just seeing how things are broken in this world.
But God is restoring things.
He's in Christ to restore things.
And that's, I think, our hope.
And that will be our hope until Christ comes back, that we will see lives redeemed and students that don't know him getting to know him and students that know him being restored in their lives.
And wherever you feel you want to be a part of that, you're welcome to join us and talk to Jason and his community group and learn more about that.
My name is Chris.
I help oversee community groups.
And this is Oscar, who is a community group leader.
Community groups in Watermark are really at the heart of life here, of the church.
And in a place like Hong Kong, where so many people are living isolated lives, lives just focused around themselves and their work, we want our community groups to be real families where people can walk alongside each other, where we can grow together to be like Jesus better.
And over the last year, we've seen groups just developing a greater sense of community together.
We've seen people sending out WhatsApp groups where they pray for each other.
They encourage each other daily.
We've seen people doing hikes together, people walking through the challenges of life together.
And not just that.
The community group is not just also about meeting our own spiritual needs.
It's also about reaching out.
And that's also something we've seen just increasingly over the last year.
We've seen one group spearheading an outreach to some homeless and elderly.
We've seen others going into old people's homes, giving bread.
We've seen other groups which have been holding barbecues or junk boat trips, wine and cheese parties.
All of these with a view for actually encouraging people in a non-threatening environment to see the kind of community that God is creating.
Just this week, one lady who's only here for a week said, you know, I've been spending time around your community group.
And this has been the best week of my life.
She said, I've never been so loved in all my life.
And she actually accepted Christ this week.
And that's really the heart of what community is all about.
So I'm going to hand over just to Oscar just to tell us a bit about his community group.
Sure.
Yeah, as Chris mentioned, my name is Oscar.
And by the way, Graham, I'm no one special either.
I help lead a community group here, Meets on Friday Nights.
I would characterize our group as being pretty diverse, I would say.
We hail from many different countries, U.S., Canada, here in Hong Kong, and Pastor Tobin, even Australia.
We've invited one of them as well.
But even though we sort of come from very diverse backgrounds and have different perspectives, we still face many esteemed challenges of living life in Hong Kong,
whether it's with long hours at work or dealing with relationships or trying to figure out what our ministry calling is.
We all face many different challenges.
And it's great to have Christians to walk alongside for both godly support and accountability as well as we live life in Hong Kong.
For us, dinner is a very important part of our community group.
We believe that sharing a meal is an expression of community and fellowship.
And we're very fortunate to have many talented chefs and bakers in our group.
Not me, of course.
But oftentimes Friday night is one of the best meals of the week for me.
So thank you guys for that.
As Chris mentioned, outreach is something which is very important.
And we're trying to make it a culture in our group.
In the past, we've done musical gigs where some of our members have performed, like Jeremy and Celeste.
And we've invited our non-Christian friends or colleagues to these events.
And it's been a great way just to sort of hang out in a social environment where there's no pressure.
But this is a Christian event.
But at the same time, non-believers can still see that people that believe in God and the Bible are actually quite normal and fun, believe it or not.
And so those are the things that we like to do.
Today, I think a couple of our members are visiting an elderly home.
I think Ed's mom is even going to sing there as well.
So that's great.
So, yeah, I hope this gives you guys a good flavor of our community group.
And if you haven't joined a community group yet, I encourage you to sign up.
Thank you.
So just where we're heading next is we would love to see over the next year new groups started on the Kowloon side, on South Hong Kong, Hong Kong Island side, even Discovery Bay, Park Island.
We're all the time looking to see how we can enter into new areas which can impact the neighborhood around.
To do this, we also want to be raising up new leaders and training new leaders to be able to take on these groups.
We also would love to see present leaders equipped more and groups developing an even greater sense of a culture of discipleship even more.
And finally, we would love to see community groups even working together using their gifts, their talents, their passions to reach out to those around them.
So that as we work together, people can see the love we have for each other and they can be infected with that so that they want to know the love of Jesus.
Hi, guys.
My name is Aldrin.
I'm part of the staff and I'm in charge of the Filipino ministry.
I am Arnel.
I'm also part of the Filipino ministry.
All right.
Just to share a bit of a background, I think this is my sixth month here in Hong Kong.
And during my earlier months, God just opened my eyes to see the challenges of my fellow Filipinos.
And I saw challenges like broken families, loneliness or homesickness.
Some are into drug addiction.
But I also see this hope that God could save them and heal all their brokenness.
And God could use them to reach out to more people, to more families, because most of them are helpers.
And they have access to places or to homes which we couldn't access.
So right now we have two groups.
We have a group meeting in Syingpun that's in the community center after the service at 2 p.m.
Consisting mostly of helpers.
But we also have another group that meets every Wednesday.
And it's in Puyo, which is an island in Lantau, which is a part of Lantau Island,
where many Filipino musicians reside.
And Arnel is from Puyo.
So do you want to share to us?
Yeah, I just transferred there last year.
Yeah, and like Aldrin said, there's a lot of Filipino living there.
And also a lot of expats moving in Puyo and actually in different parts of Lantau.
We meet during Wednesday, during lunchtime.
Yeah, and currently we're ministering to three families already.
The difference with our ministry here in the city is that in Puyo,
we're ministering to Filipino families wherein they've been living here for many years already.
Their kids are born here in Hong Kong.
Yeah, and we just started last year, and God is good.
And we see a lot of opportunity in ministering to these families, especially the kids.
I live just in front of the school, and kids running around after school.
And there's a big opportunity in ministering with these kids.
We are praying for more wisdom in how to bring them the gospel.
And you can help us by praying that God give us more energy and wisdom.
I think that's great.
Right now we are in the process of reaching out to more Filipinos.
We've done outreach just last month, and we also have done a retreat last week.
And we're also emphasizing on training up leaders and discipling more.
And I think there's just a huge potential for this kind of ministry because, as I've mentioned,
most of Filipinos are helpers.
And in Western District alone, there are 13,000 Filipinos.
That's big.
13,000 of them.
Many of them are helpers.
And they have access to homes, to families.
And the good thing is you can take part in this ministry by praying for more opportunities in Puyo.
And also by help us to build network.
By inviting your helpers to join our community.
Because maybe your helpers, each of them have like five to ten friends who are also helpers.
And maybe they don't know Jesus yet.
We just want to welcome them in this community and just share them the love of God.
And through them, the hope is they will also share the love of God in homes, in households, where Jesus is not known.
Right?
So 13,000 of them.
So yeah, just pray for God's wisdom.
Invite your helpers to join our community.
We meet every Sunday at the community center at 2 p.m.
And yeah.
And we're excited for what God has in store.
We hope that this year we'll be able to double our numbers and just really, you know, just welcome them in our community.
Thank you, guys.
My name is Jeremy.
I'm Millen.
Hi.
And we're going to talk a little bit about worship arts.
I just want to clear up and make clear, you know, worship arts is really about using all of the arts in our worship of God.
You know, not just music.
And, you know, today in the church, we often kind of equate worship with music and singing.
And, you know, because I'm leading the singing, I'm often called the worship leader.
But, you know, although worship and music, you know, they do have a lot of similarities in Watermark.
It really isn't the only aspect.
You know, we try a lot of things with multimedia.
We try things with drama and sketches.
Charles has done some amazing stuff before as well as other people.
And so there's different things to that.
And there's also the whole kind of background aspect to it.
Production, audiovisual.
Like in a church of our size, none of the music and the worship arts would really be possible without this foundation that's kind of beneath everything.
And, you know, I kind of, just to share briefly, I remember when I was younger, you know, and starting to lead in my college ministry.
You know, one of the things I still remember as being most memorable about our worship services in terms of serving was, you know, wasn't speaking to my group or playing in the band.
But I remember for some reason, 10 years later, you know, it was setting up chairs before service because, I don't know, it was just so simple.
And, you know, I was just setting up chairs there and I knew I was doing it for God.
You know, I was doing it for my dad.
And I knew that he was happy because I was worshiping him through setting up these chairs.
So, I guess all this to say, what you see on stage here, that really is just one perspective of worship and worship arts.
And I'm reminded that everything that goes into facilitating this place, all the sound, all the preparation, all of that is part of leading worship.
The person who sets up, packs up, rolls cables, all of that is part of setting this beautiful table and banquet table for us to experience fellowship with God.
So, what I want to do is I want to highlight the production aspect of worship arts right now.
Not only because it's an important need in our church, but because there's actually so much potential that we see for community, for serving together,
for actually, you know, experiencing worship leading and serving through production and setting up.
Millen here is a worship leader through production and all things visual and audio.
So, I'm just going to hand this over to him and ask him to share a little bit.
Thanks, Millen.
Thank you, Jeremy.
My name is Millen.
And this is more scary to me than being at the back there handling all the knobs.
I'm the sound tech guy here at Watermark.
And everything I do right now is as a volunteer.
It's crazy, intense, but it is so fulfilling each and every week.
I am not a sound tech guy by profession.
The day Tobin asked me to come to Watermark three years ago was actually when I actually started learning about professional audio.
And there's been a lot of times when batteries would be dead and, you know, have to go up on stage and change it in the middle of the sermon.
But, you know, that's what part of learning has always been about.
We have a lot of really, really awesome musicians here at Watermark.
And the job of the sound tech people at the back is to help everybody worship together.
It can seem stressful and overwhelming at times, but it does get easier.
And once you understand how everything fits together, you know, there is that sense of accomplishment that you have with it.
Parents, I completely understand the fascination kids have with the equipment.
And we are very open to telling your kids help out.
It's also a great way for your kids to get involved.
When I was a kid, I used to take apart stereo systems all the time, you know.
And my bed, underneath my bed would be littered with components and stuff like that.
And, you know, that's how we get started.
We need more volunteers.
We need people who understand sound and can work under a stressful situation.
If you're not tone deaf and can commit to helping at least once or twice a month, you know, starting at 7.30 in the morning, please come and talk to Jeremy or I.
If you're unsure whether you are competent enough, please try at least once.
You never know.
This may be God's gifting to you.
We currently have two teams, but we do want to have up to four teams,
which includes setting up in the morning, manning the soundboard, and also putting the lyrics up on the screen.
Including the sound engineer, we need at least five people each week to help with setting up so that we can be done within an hour.
Because rehearsals usually start around 8.30 in the morning.
If you have previous experience and want to get involved, please come and talk to us.
Wives, husbands, if your other half knows the stuff but isn't stepping forward, please help me give them a gentle but firm kick in the butt.
Thanks, Milan.
And just as Mel said, you know, there's the setup.
There's actually the lyrics that you see.
They don't come up automatically.
Jackie's back there.
And the sound actually mixing.
So there's actually different roles for different levels of skill.
And I really want to just paint this picture of, you know, it would be so cool just to have, like, you know, you know how we have, like, bands?
Like, I actually have, like, tech bands.
You know, we spend time together.
We practice together.
We'll give morning calls to each other.
We'll kind of keep each other accountable.
We'll buy each other coffee and all that.
And I just think it would be an amazing thing not just to grow as, oh, I'm just here rolling cables.
But I'm actually, you know, working alongside Milan and whoever else.
I'm actually, you know, we're actually doing this together and grinding through this together.
So please pray about that.
And, yeah, thank you for listening.
Good morning, Watermark.
The world is very good at celebrating.
I believe that as God's people, we have even bigger reason to celebrate what God's been doing in our church, Watermark, over the past year.
And we are going to do just that by, believe it or not, talking about finances.
Now, this is Franklin.
He's very important, actually.
He's one of our elders at Watermark.
And you can kind of tell with the suit.
My name is Kelvin.
I'm Cindy's husband.
And for those of you who don't know Cindy, if you, you know, if you still need a donation receipt, that's the person you go after.
Now, 17th of June 2012 was a very, very happy day at Watermark.
Instead of being passed around a little bag, if you can call that a bag, to put money into, we were actually given money by our pastor.
You can see up there.
I still keep mine because, anyway.
Yeah, without going into the legality of defacing the U.S. $1 bill or the sermon, which I highly recommend you to go back to, 17th of June 2012.
I had a big takeaway on that week.
Okay.
Then the takeaway was, if I were just looking at all the belongings and all the money God has given me, and have a big smile on my face, and say to myself,
Kelvin, eat, drink, take it easy, and be merry, then I am worshipping myself and the money, and not worshipping God who gave me the money.
So, on this slide, you see that, I am very glad actually to report that, the giving in Watermark has increased by 19% over the past year.
Very so often, you hear Tobin saying up here that money is a huge idol in a lot of our lives.
It is an indication of our spiritual health.
It is a strong indication.
And also, it is a reflection of how we respond to the way God is changing our lives and what God is doing in our lives.
And looking at these numbers, without going into too much detail into the breakdown, you know, I believe that as a church, that spiritually we are growing.
Of course, there are many factors that can contribute to a 19% increase.
It could be numbers, number of people, it could be many things, but I believe that God is really changing lives in Watermark.
So, on the next slide, you see the breakdown of the expenses over the past year.
And you notice that the top three areas is personnel cost, Sunday worship and service and worship, and facilities, community center.
Now, some of you might ask, you know, why are we spending such a big portion of our expenses on personnel?
Well, I think the answer to that could be, it depends on whether we believe a church is a building with a pointy roof and a bell going up the top,
or is it a people who believe in God and wants to become part of the mission?
If you were here last year at this Compass meeting, you would have seen me putting up four pictures there, three pictures or four pictures,
of the staff team when we first started the church two and a half years ago.
Today, not in any particular order, you see our staff team growing into about 15 people.
I feel that when I was looking at the video earlier today about how a little church was starting in Mayfue,
and what we are doing right now, I had tears coming to my eyes.
It's because of my unfaithfulness, because I believe, because I never really believed how big our God is,
how big our God is.
So if you look at the mission statement in our booklet today, you all have a booklet on your chair.
Part of it is talking about, if you come here to Watermark, what you will experience is taking and joining us
in taking the next step in becoming fully functioning followers of Christ.
Over the last year, these are some of the things which I've personally benefited and experienced
in making that step.
Baby steps, but making a step.
I'm not going to go through the details of what happened with Michael Ramston teaching us about how to share our faith.
Dr. Hannah giving leadership training to many of the church leaders here
in what they focus on in terms of church planting and so on.
Mark Teder helping us understand, get a better understanding of what worship arts and worshipping,
and how to set the table with worshipping God, either in a service or even on a day-to-day basis.
But the biggest thing that changed, that I benefited from, was the marriage course,
which Tobin and Christina led last year.
I think by now, over 30 couples in the church, so times two is 60 people,
would have actually benefited from that.
And for me personally, it completely changed the way I do marriage,
how we handle conflicts at home,
and also, it just really, when I look back,
it was a turning point in our struggling marriage,
which was a very dark place last year.
So you see this is a very busy slide.
Very busy.
We've been outreaching, and as a church, as a whole,
we've been giving to different organisations.
You see a bunch of logos in the middle,
Redeemer City to City,
Global Mosaic, First Vision,
Ganga, Friends of Hong Kong,
Charities in the middle,
and a pair of hands.
Anyone know that pair of hands?
No?
It's actually a Facebook icon for Worship Planet,
which is the Mark Teter organisation.
It specialises in teaching worship.
On the right, you see,
very busy, right?
We had Easter Outreach,
we had Christmas Outreach at the Community Centre,
we had Christmas Outreach,
Funland,
at Cyberport,
just a few months ago.
And it really breaks my heart,
okay,
during that outreach,
to see that there were a thousand families
who came to the table,
our booth,
who didn't know that Christmas
was really to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ.
And we're so thankful that,
through that experience,
through that exercise,
that Jesus' name was uplifted.
And then the kids and the father and mother said,
oh, really?
Okay, Jesus Christ,
all right, yeah.
Okay.
Sunday school is over here.
Yeah.
It's,
yeah,
it was really,
I feel that it was,
the impact was absolutely huge.
And on the left-hand side,
you see that
there was St. Barnabas Outreach,
up the top left.
We had Stand for Freedom,
going on at the university,
just a few months ago.
That absolutely killed my Facebook,
by the way.
You guys just,
all the videos.
And down at the bottom,
it was
our university mission,
and team,
going out to the Philippines,
to reach out and to help with church planning.
So,
all this,
sometimes we feel like,
hey,
should we pat ourselves on the back?
But no,
it's really God is doing all these things.
And my hope and prayer is,
by next time,
this,
by this year,
sorry,
by next year,
this time,
these pages will be filled with even more opportunities
as God do amazing work in Hong Kong,
using us.
Thank you,
Kelvin.
The Lord has really blessed Watermark tremendously
over the past two years,
not only financially,
but with many dedicated individuals
who were able to carry out the ministries
with limited resources.
We have witnessed the growth of the church
in attendance,
children,
youth,
and Hong Kong youth,
and community groups.
As we look ahead in 2013,
there will be a 22% increase in the ministry budget.
The increase is really into all areas,
which is in your booklet there.
All areas,
we're projecting growth,
as you have heard from the presentations before me.
The biggest increase is in the rent for Cyberport.
As you all know,
this area is maturing.
The rent is always a challenge,
but we are thankful,
and we do not have to switch between three places anymore this year.
As Cyberport committed to give us either a third floor or ninth floor on Sundays,
which is a big blessing for us.
As you all know,
we,
you know,
Calvin just mentioned,
we don't pass an offering back like many other churches does,
but we have witnessed your generosity by giving in faith.
You have shown us that you have not,
you have given not out of obligations,
but truly out of your love for Jesus Christ,
the gospel,
and our growing church family.
For that,
we're very,
very thankful.
As I'm preparing for this presentation,
a verse that came to my mind in Luke 12,
48,
it says,
from everyone who has given much,
much will be demanded,
and from the one who has been entrusted with much,
much will be asked.
So this is the details of the expenses.
There's a little simple chart here
to show that our God is not resting after two years.
And since last year,
we've been amazed at how the Lord continued to move people's hearts,
committing in joining Watermark to plant another church,
not only with great faith,
but with action in giving to the Destinated Offering Fund,
earmarked for church planting.
The fund has reached 1.9 million this year.
Planting a church is not something that a few of us can do.
So we're presenting this challenge and vision
to all of you.
God has already provided us with the seed money,
the 1.9 million.
As you see the diagram,
Watermark itself grow a little bit,
but we're looking at the green,
which is the new church.
He has also brought people along
with many more training planned for the rest of the year.
We'd like to ask all of you to pray together,
asking the Lord to make it clear to the leadership team
as to when and where He will want us to plant the next church.
We continue to see how God has blessed us with godly brothers
who will be equipped and ready to go whenever the Lord says yes.
항상 ready to go through,
Thank you to God for Mark江.
Thank you to Paul здесь.
Thank you to all of our friends.
Okay, so you saw a little bit
of what God has been doing,
and it's amazing as a pastor to see here
and look at what He's doing
and realize that more often than not
it has nothing to do with how skilled I am
or our staff is,
but it's just what God is doing.
and so I want to close here
with just sharing a couple points
and then give you some action points
because we have a meal
so you don't have to worry about catching the meal
you will run out that door
that door is going to be locked
you can't go out there
it's electrified
you have to go out to the food door
but I want to share a couple points
because we've heard a lot of things
in your booklet
there's a lot of things
at the meal time
you'll have the freedom to ask
people who are up here
if you have questions about the booklet
you can look at the elders
and talk to them about those things
and so it's just neat to see
what God is doing
when we started to pray about the church
we started thinking about God's kingdom
and we started asking
what kind of church did God want
for us to plant here
that would help his kingdom
and we realized really quickly
that in some of us
we've never seen that type of church
it was an act of faith
one of the things we kept saying
was that we wanted
felt like God was calling us
to plant a church
that was for his glory
and for the people
who are not in church this Sunday
we start thinking about
what would it look like
to have a church
it was for the unchurched
the de-churched
and for the church
and what would that look like
as we connect people
and bring them together
one of the big values always
was to have the kids
in here with us
statistically
whatever you think
about great Sunday school programs
I think we have a great
Sunday school program
but that doesn't guarantee
your kids walking
a lifetime with God
actually that probably
is against that
what we've seen
and what everyone has said
and I can give you
10,000 pages of information
that what enables our kids
to walk with God
and to understand
that is to have them
sitting with us
seeing their parents
do communion
serve
ask questions
experience it
so that when they go off
to the university
they understand the faith
of their parents
they see their parents
have integrity
they see their parents
live consistently
they aren't just
shuttled off
to another classroom
where they don't see
the parents worship
but they experience
all these things
and over and over
and over
what we've seen
is that that is how
people walk
consistently with the Lord
that's why we have
our kids in here
with us
I know that it's
inconvenient for many
of you until the kids
leave
there's usually about
25 people standing up
until the kids leave
so you can go sit down
but our commitment
is that we would do
things holistically
as a family
and that all age groups
could work and serve
and be a part
to me the most
exciting thing was
two Sundays ago
when the youth band
was up here serving
and when I come in
and I see the kids
pulling cables
and serving in that sense
to me that is amazing
one of the things
we prayed about
as we thought about
God's kingdom coming
is we wanted to be
a church where people
even if they weren't
in church
but they had friends
who wanted to hear
about church
or learn about
spiritual things
that watermark
would come to their mind
and they would say
you know I don't go to church
but I do know a church
it's over there
why don't you go
check it out
and that happens
over and over
and over again
and to me that is
pretty amazing
how God is using people
who aren't in church
to bring people
to church here
in that sense
we continue to pray
about a church
that we can be
theologically sound
that people can come
from different stages
of life
we have people
who come from
all different denominations
here
but we preach the gospel
we are orthodox
in our theology
but that we're also
a place like after sermons
where people can ask
questions
and we want people
to understand
that even if they
don't agree everything
with what we say
or they have a struggle
with that
that there's a freedom
to talk about that
to dialogue about that
and our prayers
that people would walk away
and they would think
wow I don't know
if I agree with everything
but I love the spirit
of those people
and I love what God
is doing in their midst
and that is something
that I hear over
and over and over again
and that is so humbling
to me
to hear people talk
about you
as a church
we realize that people
are not going to see
Christ in you
until they see the church
loving each other
and caring for each other
the Bible says
over and over again
that we're called
to do the one another's
for each other
we're called to love
one another
we're called to care
for one another
we're called to forgive
one another
we're called to serve
one another
we're called to be
exhorting one another
and if we don't do
those things
as we talk about
our faith with people
our faith is meaningless
and so it's amazing
that God is continuing
to develop a community
of faith
which you're sitting
in here right now
in changing people's lives
and he's using that
to reach out to people
and bring them into
the church
you know we prayed
and in your booklet
we pray a lot
about planning churches
we pray a lot
about leadership development
this next year
we have the opportunity
whether you know or not
to develop
over 2,000 leaders
in Asia
they're going to be
in a community center
they're going to be
having these big events
happening
and all of these
are just because
of what God is doing
in the church
because we feel like
God has called us
to raise up leaders
we reach out
at Hong Kong U
do Hong Kong students
at university
do a lot of tithe
no they don't
but they are very strategic
because they are going
to be the leaders
and as they learn
and they grow
and they fall in love
with Christ
all those things
will happen
what do we need
from you as a family
what do we ask us
as a church family
as we live in between
this time of redemption
and restoration
what is God calling us to do
and I want to share
with you four things
and then we're going
to go eat
and the first thing
I think that we are called
to do as God's people
amidst this time
this C.S. Lewis
called it a shadow time
we see God
but we experience pain
and suffering
and we know that one day
he's going to come
and all things
are going to be new
what are we called
to do here
as God's people
first thing is
we're called to pray
God has called us people
to pray
because the work
is his work
we're called to pray
and all these things
that you've heard
all the things
you've read in the book
those are not things
humanly possible
the only way
those things
are going to happen
is if God touches
people's hearts
and shows them
that this is what
we've called you to do
so we ask you to pray
pray for the leaders
pray for the elders
pray for the ministries
pray for your community groups
pray for your neighborhoods
pray for my wife
she has to put up with me
and if you know me
that's really hard for her
so you need to pray
for all of these things
going on
that's a joke
you can laugh
okay
but it's true
but you need to be praying
we need to be praying
as a church
that God's hand would move
the second thing
that we feel like
we are called to do
as a church
in this middle time
is that we're called
to invest
and what I mean by that
is we're called
to invest our time
and our life
and the people around us
we don't have a lot
of programs going on here
we want you to have
free time
in this busy world
because we believe
that you are called
to reach out
to the people
in your neighborhood
who aren't in church
yeah we could do
50 things
we could have 5 things
going every night
but if that happens
as a church
chances are
you're not going to be
out reaching out
to your friends
who aren't in church
because you're going
to be so busy
hanging out with people
who are already in church
which is good
but it's not why
God has called us here
as his people
to reach out to people
who don't know him
and so we want you
to pray
we want you to invest
we want you to volunteer
we want you as
I think as Graham said
we want you to invest
in the kids
in the ministries here
we believe with all our heart
that if you're not serving
you're not experiencing
God's blessing
in your life
I know that's hard to hear
but God has made us
to serve
and he's given
each one of you
talents and gifts
that we desperately need
there are a lot of things
in that book
that aren't in that book
because you're not serving
and we haven't heard
God speak to you
and you haven't been able
to come and tell us
you know God
has been working in my heart
and I think we need
to do this
we need you
to serve
our prayers
that everybody
and it's amazing
we have incredible
incredible servants
and volunteers
in our church
I would say
probably statistically
we have probably
more volunteers
per capita
than most churches
I've ever heard of
and I think that's why
we're so healthy
but I think that we
can't stop there
because we want
to remain healthy
and we want you
to be healthy
and so our prayer
is that everybody
in Watermark
would serve
at least once a month
in some capacity
within the community
so we need you to pray
we need you to invest
in your friends
we need to serve
and volunteer
and the fourth one
is we need you
to give financially
we don't talk about
we don't pass money
but we talk about money
a lot
because it's
it's an idol
in our life
but the things
that we talked about
the things that we shared
the things in those books
those are going to cost
a lot of money
and planning churches
reaching out
to community centers
helping people
in nursing homes
seeing God renew
this part of Hong Kong Island
doing ministry
doing missions
that costs money
and so we
so hear my heart here
I don't want you
to give
because you think
the church needs
your money
please do not do that
okay
my elders will kill me
or someone in finance
will kill me
don't do that
give because you love God
and you know that God
wants you to do that
because it's an act
of worship
did you hear me there
don't give
because you think
the church needs your money
because we're in deficit
we're not
it's amazing God
continue
you are faithful
and you give
give because it's an act
of worship
you love God
and God has called you
to do that
that's how this church
is going to continue
that's how God
is going to use it
and that's how you're
going to be a part of it
so we need you to pray
we need you to invest
we need you to volunteer
or to invest in the people
and we need you to give
of the money
that God has given to you
you're right
you might look at us
and say
well they don't really
need the money
because it's already
1.9 saved up
and you're right
we probably
don't need your money
God will bring money in
through other people
and through other things
but the moment you say that
you've lost the heart
of what God's doing
in the church
you've lost the vision
for reaching out
to people who aren't
in church today
and so we'd ask you
to pray
we'd ask you to invest
we'd ask you to serve
or invest in the people
and we'd ask you to give
okay
so that's where we're at
we're on this journey
to me
every day I walk
into the office
it's not day like
ugh
I mean
this week
I know of five people
in our church family
who came to Christ
five people
who are here
they came in
as not Christ followers
they're asking questions
they're in a community group
they're having people
love them
they're having people
care for them
one lady said
I had no choice
but to do that
because that group
they're like bulldogs
they just clamped on to me
and they kept loving me
and they kept caring for me
and I was like
wow
that's what I want
right
that's what we want
we want to be
we want to be bulldogs
and so I'm going to
what I want to do
is as we grow
we pray for a lot of things
and the biggest thing
we pray for
is just leaders
and so I'm going to ask
two men to come up
who we have put before you
two weeks ago
Andrew McPherson
and his wife Nicole
and Graham Smith
and Irina
we want you to come up here
and I'm going to ask
Christina to come up
and I'm going to ask
the other elders
Charles and Franklin
as we pray
as we think about
planting churches
it's going to mean
we need people
who have a heart for that
they're men and leaders
and so we brought up
Andrew and Nicole
and Graham and Irina
they have been a part
of the church
for two years
I remember my first time
I met Nicole
was at our beach outreach
and they have been serving
you've seen them serve
you've seen them give
and just to be frank
we're talking about
we're here to reach
lost people
and what more lost places
are than Australia
right
so we figured
we need Australian elders
to come in there
and help with that
right
so I'm teasing
okay
I love Australia
they're some of my best friends
but I can't tease New Zealanders
because Kiwis are too sensitive
but I
right Bernard
but I can tease
Australians
right
anyway
so
they have gone through
we've met with them
for over a year
they've been in elder training
we believe they have
the DNA of the church
and the heart of the church
and they are the people
that we believe
that God has brought
before our family
to shepherd you
to pray for you
to care for you
to be the leader
to be the father
an elder is a father
a shepherd in the church
when you think of elders
you think of
what would every family
be like in a church
if they copied their elders
or their leaders
and that is the goal
to have men
who are not perfect
they're sinful
we're all broken
but they're walking
with the Lord
and that is our desire
and so
what we did
is we put together
a plaque for them
you got this one
and so
I'm going to present this
to them
and we're going to pray
for them
okay
so this is
elder certificate
Andrew McPherson
and Nicole
you are the huge part
of that
because behind
every man
there's a woman
ten times better
than he is
Andrew McPherson
is having passed
all the biblical requirements
and qualifying distinctives
of Watermark Community Church
for the office
of church elder
your desire
to serve
your faithfulness
commitment
and sacrifice
has resulted
in countless people
being influenced
for your savior
we love you
the Watermark family
so we want to give you that
and just thank you
for yeah yeah
and then we have
a same
for Graham
Graham is
he's from South Africa
so he's
he's helping in that area
but in the same way
your desire
your service
your faithfulness
your commitment
and sacrifice
have resulted
in countless people
being influenced
for our savior
despite what you say
about people sleeping
in church
when the kids come in
but we are so thankful
for both of you guys
as families
and for Charles
and for Franklin
because I don't want
to be a leader
by myself
and that is very unhealthy
but God has brought
these families to us
and so we would ask
that you pray for them
encourage them
and ask them questions
and they are the ones
God has put over
the Watermark family
for vision
direction
and accountability
for future
so what I would like to do
is I'd like to pray
with you guys
is that good
you want to come with me
so let's just hold hands
and would you guys
bow with us
and let's pray
Father we just thank you
for these couples
who have been serving
for two years
they've gone through
the process
and we've already seen
that they're already
doing the works of elders
we pray for them
we pray for Andrew
and Nicole
and their three kiddos
we pray for Graham
and Irina
and their one kiddo
and one on the way
we pray just for your mercy
we pray for grace
we pray
we pray that we pray
for our leaders
and know that you
have anointed them
to be a part of this church
and to encourage them
as they walk with you
help them to be holy
we know the spiritual battle
is real and true
and so we just thank you
for them
help us to be a church
lifts up our leaders
and prays for them
and exhorts them
and encourages them
in all these things
and so we thank you
for these four
amazing families
and we just thank you
for your blessing
upon them
we pray these things
in your son Jesus name
Amen
yeah so I think that's
okay
as we grow
there's a thing
the staff is growing
we have three types
of staff
we have staff
we have interns
who raise support
to be working for the church
and we have church planners
and so in this last six months
we've had several staff
come
yesterday we had
one staff join us
for the first time
so Alistair
you want to come on up
Aldrin
why don't you come on up
Alfie come on up
yep yep
Henrika come on up
and so I want to present
these
these are people
that God has brought
to Watermark
to serve
and be a part of this
so Alistair
Alistair and I
have been
fighting
Skyping
for two years
Alistair's a pastor
in Australia
Australians need
the help
we brought him here
and he's in Sydney
with the Anglican Church
and he
when he heard about
what God was doing
in our church
and the desire
to plant churches
and to be a part
of what God
is going on
he has graciously
joined us
and so this is
his first day
as our new pastor
at Watermark
and so you can pray
for him
it's
yeah we're so thankful
you're here
and you'll get a chance
to hear her talk
and listen to his funny
accent later on
Aldrin has come back
Aldrin did an internship
and he's come back
as full time
a Filipino pastor
so now we have
two other pastors here
that are serving
and praying through
what does it look like
for them to plant a church
within those congregations
and so that is amazing
Henrika was a college student
you heard her testimony
she's actually raising
support
right now
so that she can come
to Watermark
as an intern
and serve the church
and so she's
she's raising her own support
so she can come
and serve the church
that's pretty amazing
isn't it
and so she's going
to be involved
in the university ministry
and serving that
so we can pray for her
and Alfie has been here
for six months
Alfie is an intern
he's like a jack
of all trade
he has a heart
for planting churches
he's involved
in the university ministry
he's involved
in the youth ministry
and
what else
are you involved in
yeah set up
yeah
training and teaching
with Chris Thornton
and he has been doing
an amazing job
and so he is actually
here as an intern too
making
not a lot of money
doing a lot of stuff
to serve
the Watermark family
and so I
what I want to do
is I want to pray
for them
and then I'll pray
for our meal
and then you are free
to eat
please grab some time
with these people
meet them
talk to them
ask me any questions
look at the booklets
they're just a snapshot
of what's going on
this last year
but hopefully
it's encouraging to you
and it just gives you
something to pray for
let's pray
by the way
thank you for
these servants
who've come to serve
your church here
and for future churches
as we think about
planting churches
and moving forward
and just the right people
and I know there are people
in this congregation
who will be a part of that
as they step out
in faith
and go to different areas
of Hong Kong
on the south side
and TST
and other places
we've been dreaming
about planting churches
to reach people
who aren't in church
this Sunday
we pray for them
Father
we thank you
that you brought them here
some in amazingly
different and diverse ways
we could never have planned
but it's so clear
that you are moving
and you're changing
your kingdom
help us to be a church
that is about your kingdom
and not our kingdom
help us to be a church
that is about lost people
help us to be a church
that lives well
between the here and now
and not yet
and that we look forward
to when you come again
and you make all things new
so I thank you
for my brothers and sisters here
and the leadership
and for all those
who serve
and are part of this church
everyone in this family
we're all family
pray for us Lord
we pray that we would love you
we would love each other
and we love our neighbors
and we pray these things
in your son Jesus name
amen
and we pray that we would love you