kerithcommunity church magazineissue 12

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simon benham senior pastor

Hello and welcome to the12th edition of our Life inKerith (LinK) magazine.

Our church has a history ofgrowth: more people of allages coming to our meetingson a Sunday; more nationsrepresented by the people inour church community; moreinitiatives which serve thelocal community; and morecountries where we'repartnering with otherchurches and organisations.

Growth is great, but just as Ifound when my children wereyoung and they seemed toneed new shoes every sixmonths, growth needs roomto expand if its to continue.

This is one of the reasonswhy in September, we'restarting a new site inSandhurst - to give us spaceto grow in both the Bracknelland Sandhurst areas.

In this issue you'll read allabout our new site, as well ashear what God is doing in thelives of a whole host ofpeople in our community.I hope you find it interesting.

Simon.

Welcome to the 12th edition of linK.

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neW looK

3

A Journey of Discovery 4-5

Kerith Sandhurst 6-7

Kerith Kids 8-9

Interview: Andy Partington 10-11

This is Ray Foley 12

Serenje Bikers 13

Its a Small World 14-15

Gossip the Gospel 16-17

Alpha: Gary Grant 18-19

Precious Gem 20

Coffee Break 21

Review 22-23

Diary Dates 24-25

Kerith Contacts 26-27

CONTENTS

TEAM

LINK Chief EditorBeccy Oliver

Copy EditorSuzanne WhittonConsulting EditorsSimon Benham Penny Lander Colin BoyleMagazine CoordinatorKara ChallisEditorial ContributionSuzanne Whitton Penny LanderSimon Benham Helen Cottee Beccy Oliver Karen MehtaMatt CooperRuth PoveyNatalie JonesArt DirectorMike Charlton Head of PhotographyJohn MitchellPhotographiccontributionSarina Cooper Lorraine Hart Stephanie CroninProof CheckingRuth PoveyDiane BryanClive ChallisGlynis Challis

www.kerith.co.uk

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Central line

Group for the deaf and hard of hearing

Womens book club

Womens writing group

Midweek small groups

Midweek group for the retired

Friday night youth event

TMTL Deaf Hope

Childrens Ministry

Unique Womens Ministry

United Mens Ministry

Life Groups

Bubblesunder 2s

Raindrops2s

Puddles3s

Ripples4s

Splash5-7s

Plunge7-9s

Quench9-11s

Hydrate

Freedom in Christ

The Alpha Course

The Marriage Course

Bracknell

Sandhurst

Wokingham Binfield

Discovery Workshop

Simply Events

Activate

Football Club Golf Club Events

ExpositionWomens dayretreat

Fourteen

Youth ministry

LifeLife Unleashed

Schools Work

Sunday youth meetings Yrs 7-9

Networking within localsecondary schools

Saturdays

Encounter

Sparklers

Kerith Courses & Academies

Midday bible study group

Parent and toddlergroup

Intermediate discipleship

Introduction to the Christian faith

Building great relationships

Bereavement CourseCoping with the death of a loved one

Evening theology study course

Realise your spiritual gifting

Money managementCAP Money

Year training in theology and practical service

Kerith Academy

Life within Kerith

KerithKids

Half term holiday club forprimary school children

A JOuRNey Of DISCOveRy

INvest

W

The Parenting Children CoursePractical skills to help with parenting

SerenjeSupport for thecommunity of Serenje inZambia on the impact ofHIV/AIDS

Womens annual Kerith event

REAL conference

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International hub

OakwoodYouth Challenge

District lineKerith

CommunityChurch

Partner organisation, outwardbound activity and leadershiptraining centre

LithuaniaHelping establish firstLithuanian Willow CreekLeadership Summit

AlbaniaDeveloping leaders andsupporting youth eventsin churches

PolandSupporting leaders intwo churches

EstoniaSupporting leaders andtheir ministries

Sound, lighting,projection & recording

Website, graphics,set designand literature

Support for adults with learningdisabilities

support and advice to help break the cycle ofpoverty in the local community

Feeding local people in crisis in partnership with a national charity

Free debt advice through a national charity

Support groups for children with disabilities and their families

Social Justice

Hilltop

Bracknell Area FoodBank

Social Justice Outreach

advice and support through nationalcharity cap to those who are looking toget back into employment

CAP Job Club

partnering with national charities working in prisons and supporting ex- offenders

Prison Ministry

charity shop supporting Kerith social Justice projects

K4

Konnections

Debt and Money Advice (CAP)

partnering with a national charityto support struggling primaryaged children

Early Intervention

Creative Arts

Volunteers

Car Parking

Welcome Team

Refreshments

Tech teamPhotography and illustrativemedia

ImagingVideo editing and animatedproduction

Media team Graphics Team

Sunday meetings and productionsDrama

OnePlus

Keriths outreachwork

Events

Facilities

Courses

www.kerith.co.uk

Resound Adult worship bands

WorshipRevolutionYouth worship band

BRACKNELL

SANDHURST

Support for thoseparenting alone

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When I was a child I was always fascinated bybonsai trees - the ones where you take a treeseed, such as an acorn, and put it in a tiny pot sothat what grows is not a majestic oak tree, but aperfectly formed miniature oak tree instead. Thesize of the pot determines the size of the tree.

One of the things God has been teaching us isthat the same principle applies to churches - if achurch wants to reach its full potential then itneeds to keep making space or the growth willbe stunted.

That was what we did as a church, when wemoved from our original town centre location toour current site in 1964. We have done it manytimes since: building the Kerith Centre in 1989;K2 in 1999; going to three meetings on a Sundayin 2010; and moving all the staff off-site to makemore space for children's work, at the start ofthis year.

each time we've made space, God has filled itand that's what we're going to do again with ournew site in Sandhurst - make space to grow inboth locations.

Making space is part of our history and willalways be part of our future

If you're not currently part of Kerith, then knowthat we've made space for you to come. There isspace on a Sunday, space in our small groups andspace on our courses. you can then become partof the adventure - creating space for the next setof people wanting to join us.

Why Kerith Sandhurst?by Simon Benham, Senior Pastor

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Ben and Heather, please tell us somethingabout yourselves.

We have been married for two years and live inBracknell. I (Ben) grew up in Kerith andHeather has been coming for 7 years. We are both on the the staff team here atKerith - Ben heads up Kerith Academy and I(Heather) work with the Operations andCreative Teams.

You are going to be heading up the new sitein Sandhurst. What is your vision for thisnew venture?The vision for Sandhurst and Bracknell are thesame - one church, one vision - to love Godand love people. Above all we want to impactmore people through our Sunday meetings andSocial Justice Projects, but we also want tomake it easier for those who live in the area toinvite people to a local church. We aim to bring together the best aspects ofbig church such as quality meetings and avariety of ministries, with the best bits ofsmall church including deep community. Therewill also be more opportunities for volunteersto get trained up and grow in areas that theyreinterested in but ultimately, were passionateabout sharing the gospel and showing the loveand grace that Jesus offers, to as many peopleas we can.

Can you explain a little about what isactually going to happen in September?We will launch on Sunday 15th September at10am in Sandhurst School and the format willbe exactly the same as our meetings inBracknell, including the same message. Wewill worship, hear vision for whats ahead inthe Reveal video and provide kids church forthe under 14s. Other ministry areas and mid-week activities will begin to start in Septemberand will grow as we do. We have exciting plansfor a CAP centre, life groups and social justiceoutreach happening very soon!

How are you feeling about overseeing thenew site?excited and a little daunted! At Kerith we havenever done multi-site church before so werestepping into the unknown but weve got agreat team who are committed to Sandhurstand are deeply passionate about the new site.

Exciting timEs arE ahEad

for KErith as wE launch

our multi-sitE church in sEptEmbEr.

hElEn cottEE caught up with thE

nEw lEadErs of KErith sandhurst ,

bEn and hEathEr pococK.

If youd like to get involved and join the adventure,please contact either Ben at ben.pocock@kerith.co.uk or Heather at heather.pocock@kerith.co.uk.

www.kerith.co.uk 7

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Lydia has an inspiring vision for thechildren, sparked from Psalm 1:3.Mydream is that they wou