Take time to invest in your marriage on The Marriage Course. Starting at 7pm and running till 9.30pm each night, The Marriage Course will be held at St Barnabas over 7 consecutive weeks. There is a cost of $40 per couple to cover the course materials.
After a yummy dessert on the first evening and coffee and cookies at the following evenings, a video presentation is interspersed with discussion between husband and wife.
There is no group discussion! Couples will sit at individual tables.
Topics include:
Building a strong foundation
The art of communication
Resolving conflict
The power of forgiveness
Parents and in-laws
Good sex
For further information or to register by 09 February please contact Euan or Yvonne Thomson on (04) 234 7940 or 021 267 2906.
When we say that we are a church family, we're not just saying it. We are, and it's actually how God describes us.
We're a family that's not only reflected in our range of life stages and faith experiences; we're also a family in that we care for and encourage each other, regardless of our Christian maturity.
To meet these different stages of our respective Christian faith walks, we have a range of programmes and ministries.
For enquirers - The Alpha courses are where we look at the meaning of life. Alpha is an opportunity for anyone to explore the Christian faith in a relaxed setting over ten weeks.
For new Christians - Our discipleship courses work on the premise that the challenge of being a Christian is discovering how to live the whole of our lives in relationship with God and applying Christian values 24/7. The courses help you to understand Christian principles and establish strong practices for your Christian walk.
For Christians looking to identify their God-given giftings - To understand and appreciate the giftings that God has provided each one of us with to serve His purposes, we run Network courses. We encourage everyone who works through the simple scripture-based identification process to also share a brief consultation to match their giftings with ministry work in our parish and community.
For on-going fellowship and pastoral care - Home Groups are about meeting for fellowship, encouragement and bible study. All this takes place in smaller, informal and more personal groups where people can develop friendships, fell supported and feed their spiritual growth. We have a number of Home Groups operating so it's not difficult to match your life stage or Christian walk to one of our groups. At St Barnabas everyone is encouraged to be part of one of our Home Groups.
The Alpha Course
The Alpha Course The Alpha Course is an opportunity for you to come to a non-threatening introduction to the Christian faith with plenty of delicious desserts provided and good company. Our course is run regularly starting at 7.15pm with dessert, coffee and tea. This is followed by a video and discussion.
Alpha is for everyone and particularly caters for:
People inquiring about spiritual meaning
Those seeking a faith with a meaning for a new tomorrow
People wanting to investigate Christianity
New Christians
Those who feel they have never really got going as a Christian
For newcomers to the church
For further information please contact Jono at the office on 233 8572 or email jono(at)ppp.org.nz
Bear Grylls & Alpha
Bear Grylls is one of the best known survival experts in the world through his show Man vs Wild. You can see more of his comments on his experience on Youtube.com
An Experience on The Marriage Course
My husband and I thought our dating days were over when we got married. So we were surprised to find ourselves back in the dating game when we joined The Marriage Course – dating each other, that is. Every Wednesday evening for seven weeks, we left home together to spend an evening in each other’s company, and during the following week we consciously set aside time to spend together. Along the way, we discovered much more about ourselves and each other, and learned how to make the most of our marriage.
We went along to The Marriage Course simply because we were curious, as two people who had met and married rather later in life than usual, to learn what we could do to strengthen our relationship and learn to live together well. We felt no need for formal counselling, and certainly didn’t want to get involved in an encounter group situation, sharing our private world with strangers.
Courses
Next Course: STARTING 14 FEBRUARY 2012! 
