Sunday Worship Service
Sunday service starts at 10am and runs for about 2 hours. A pre-service prayer meeting is held from 9.30 in the crèche at the back of the church.
Our services are open to the Holy Spirit and we encourage freedom in praise and worship and the use of spiritual giftings. Children usually join us for the first part of our service and then head upstairs to Children’s Church. During school holidays the children stay in the service and complete activity sheets. We often spend ten minutes or so in corporate prayer during the service, breaking into small groups of three or four. You are also welcome to come up to the front for prayer from the elders for any individual needs. If you are at all uncomfortable with this please feel free to simply sit out, join a group but refrain from praying, or you might like to pop out to the cafeteria for a cup of tea or coffee. In general we do not pass round an offering bag; there is a box at the back of the auditorium where tithes and gifts may be placed. Once a month, on the first Sunday, we highlight one of the missions the church supports and at this time a free will missions offering is taken.
A cry room is at the back of the church if needed for mothers of babies and toddlers. We invite you to join us in the cafeteria after the service for tea or coffee.
Becoming a member
All who love and worship the Lord Jesus are welcome to become part of the regular life of the Katikati Christian Centre. Official membership of the church is not necessary to be a part of the church family, but if you have decided to make this your spiritual home we would encourage you to think about joining as a member.
Once now and then we will have a newcomers lunch which you will be invited to, after which we will share more on the vision and mission of the church and give you a chance to talk to elders and church leaders. Membership can be discussed then in more detail. You will need to be a member of the church if you wish to vote on matters affecting church life. If you are already a member of an Assemblies of God church you may choose to simply transfer your membership.
Our tenets of faith are published on the A/G NZ website at www.agnz.org.nz.
Part of the body
The Bible uses very visual language to illustrate our relationship to each other and we are encouraged to use our God given skills and talents in the service of the King and for the edification of the body. The easiest way to begin to be used here at the Katikati Christian Centre is to let someone know what you would like to be involved in and what your particular skills, giftings, and talents are.
Just like in a natural family, we are all expected to do our part in helping out. One area where this is vital is the kitchen. Our after service gathering in the café is an excellent place to catch up with others but it requires someone to help make the tea and coffee and attend to the dishes. This is rostered automatically on an alphabetical basis. Everyone from the Pastor, to the Children’s Church members go on this roster. Most people find that they are on once every 3 or 4 months. Of course if you are unable to go on this roster you only have to let the office know.
Giving
The Bible clearly instructs us to give. However Paul cautions in 2 Corinthians that our giving should not be grudgingly or coerced. A lot of people give today via automatic payments (please talk to us if you would like to do this). Some give fortnightly or monthly and some are simply not in a position to give each week. This can cause some embarrassment when an offering bag is merely passed over to the next person in the row. For these reasons we have decided to do away with passing the bag around and have a tithes/offerings box at the back of the church where gifts can be placed. (As mentioned earlier we will occasionally take up special offerings for missions and other causes.)