Last Thursday marked the day of Ascension, the moment when Jesus was taken up into heaven before His disciples. It is one of those events in the life of Christ that sits quietly between Easter and Pentecost, yet it carries profound significance for how we understand Jesus’ reign and our hope as His people.

On Thursday I was speaking with Scott, our Tech Director, who is currently in Switzerland, and he mentioned that Ascension Day is a public holiday there. It is interesting that in Australia this day passes almost unnoticed, yet in Switzerland and other parts of Europe, whole communities pause to commemorate Jesus ascending into heaven.

In Acts 1:9, Luke writes, “... he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.” The disciples stand looking into the sky as Jesus is taken from their sight, lifted into the clouds. It is not hard to imagine the mixture of awe, confusion, and perhaps even a sense of loss. And in many ways we can relate. Even though we haven’t seen Jesus with our eyes, we still know something of longing, uncertainty, and the ache of His physical absence.

Florence Chadwick was the first woman to swim across the English Channel in both directions, setting records along the way, and she went on to swim many other channels as well. Yet she recalls a time in 1952 when she attempted to swim the 26 miles between Catalina Island and the California coastline. After about 15 hours in the water, a thick fog set in and she could no longer see the shoreline. Exhausted and disoriented, she gave up, only to discover she had been remarkably close to her goal, just one mile away. Two months later, she tried again. The same thick fog set in, but this time she succeeded, keeping a mental image of the shoreline in her mind as she swam.

The Ascension lifts our eyes through the fog of daily life. We don’t always see clearly what God is doing, or how far we’ve travelled, or how close we are to the fulfilment of His promises. But Christ is not distant or disengaged. He is risen, and He reigns over all. 

After the Ascension, the disciples returned to Jerusalem and Acts 1:14 says, “They all joined together constantly in prayer…” It’s a beautiful response as they trust that Jesus reigns and that His promises will come to pass. As we move toward Pentecost, there’s an opportunity for us to respond as well, and join a prayer meeting this week, as we gather together to seek the Lord with expectancy!

God bless, Mel

We finished our first Alpha course for 2026 on Thursday night. Among the group of over 20 people, there were beautiful stories shared of how God’s grace changed people over the seven weeks. In the discussion group I was leading, we even celebrated that one of our group has decided to get baptised on Easter Sunday. Praise God!

In term 2, we are running Alpha again starting with an Alpha dinner on April 23. There are already some people enquiring about the next course, so if you are exploring faith or know someone who is, then you are invited to join us for the Alpha dinner. 

I had lunch with Ryan Vallee this week, who is the national director for Alpha church relationships. In our conversation it was so clear that God is working in ways we have prayed about for so many years. There is a growing hunger for the things of God, and Alpha courses are being run more than ever in history. We are seeing more and more people put their faith in Jesus, confirmed by the amount of people being baptised. 

We have celebrated baptisms over the last three weeks, and this Sunday night we are filling up the pool again. On Easter Sunday there are four people getting baptised, all who have stories of Jesus changing their lives in the last year. And there are more people getting baptised after Easter. It's totally remarkable what the Spirit of God is doing, and if you love Jesus, I hope you are full of thanksgiving and faith today. 

I realise some of us have been praying for many years, but are stilling waiting for hearts to open to God’s grace. If that’s you, I want to encourage you, because there are more stories being told about long term prayers being answered too. Let’s never give up praying, because God is working in mighty ways, awakening even the hardest of hearts. 

Can I encourage us to put on our raincoats. Last Friday I was sitting next to Andrew Carnell, the new senior pastor of Bridgeman Baptist, at an event called The Awaken Network Leaders Day. When Andrew was inducted as Senior Pastor, the previous lead pastor, Nathan Harris, gave him a raincoat and said, “rain is coming”. This of course referred to the countless lives that will pour into God’s Kingdom. Then the leader at the Awaken day prophetically said those same words to all leaders, “rain is coming”. Sitting next to Andrew, we laughed as this was clearly not only for him but for all churches. 

We need to prepare for rain Grovers, which requires us to invest in Jesus church here and be available to help others belong in The Grove, believe in Jesus and to become all the Lord has planned for people of every age. 

It’s an exciting time to be following Jesus! Many of us remember when it was so dry, but it’s sprinkling now, so we better get ready for rain (Isaiah 43:19). 

Marty

Throughout Scripture we’re continually reminded of the powerful truth that God is good. His goodness is not dependent on our circumstances, our emotions, or the season we find ourselves in. Whether life feels joyful and full, or challenging and uncertain, the character of God remains the same. He is faithful, present, and good in every season.

One of the ways we’re reminded of God’s goodness is through His Word. The Bible is more than a collection of stories or teachings, it’s the living Word of God that reveals His heart to us. When we read Scripture, we’re reminded of who He is and who we are in Him. It shapes our thinking, strengthens our faith, and helps us see life through the lens of God’s truth rather than our circumstances.

The psalmist invites us in Psalm 34:8, “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.”

This is a beautiful invitation. God doesn’t simply ask us to know about His goodness from a distance, He invites us to experience it personally, to trust Him, draw near to Him, and take refuge in Him. Faith was never meant to be something distant or abstract, but something lived and experienced day by day as we walk with Him.

For many of us, the daily habit of opening the Bible is one of the most powerful ways we experience that goodness. Through Scripture we’re reminded that God walks with us in every season, celebrating with us in times of joy and strengthening and comforting us in seasons of difficulty. His presence never leaves us.

Sometimes it’s when we step away from the usual pace of life that we see God’s goodness in particularly clear ways. This weekend, more than 70 of our young people and leaders are heading away for Youth Camp. It’s a special opportunity for them to pause from the busyness of everyday life, build deeper friendships, and spend focused time hearing from God’s Word together. Please keep them in your prayers over the weekend, that this would be a time where they not only hear about God’s goodness, but truly taste and see it for themselves.

It’s always encouraging to see the many ways God is at work among us. Let’s continue to seek Him, spend time in His Word, and encourage one another in faith. No matter the season we’re in, we can be confident that the Lord is good, and His love endures forever.

God bless, Mel

I was reminded this week that every relationship begins with a conversation. It may start with a few hesitant words, a simple greeting, or a small question, though over time, as trust grows, those conversations become deeper, more honest, and more personal. Prayer works in much the same way.

For many people, prayer can feel mysterious or even a little intimidating. We may wonder what to say, or whether we’re doing it the “right way”. But at its heart, prayer is simply a relationship with God expressed through conversation. It’s not about perfect words, it’s about connection.

The beautiful thing about prayer is that we can speak with God anytime, anywhere, about anything that’s on our hearts. We don’t need special words or a special place, God is listening, and he welcomes our honesty, our gratitude, our worries, our questions, and even our silence.

Jesus gave his followers a simple model for prayer in what we now call the Lord’s Prayer (Matt 6:9-13), and you’ll find it printed on the cover of this week’s newsletter. In those few lines, Jesus shows us that prayer can include praise, trust, asking for daily needs, seeking forgiveness, and asking for guidance.

A little later Jesus adds these encouraging words, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matt 7:7)

Jesus encourages us to persist in prayer because the more we talk with God, the more we learn to recognise his voice in our lives. And while prayer is often personal and quiet, it is also something we’re invited to share with others. When we pray together, we encourage one another and listen together for what God might be saying to us corporately.

Jesus gave us the Lord’s Prayer not only as words to repeat, but as a pattern for prayer, something to shape our conversations with God and to pass onto others. So let me encourage you to pray the Lord’s Prayer each day this week. Pray it quietly on your own, pray it together with your family or friends and teach it to your children. Let’s allow the words of Jesus to guide our prayers and conversations with God this week.

Pete Greig, the founder of the 24-7 prayer movements says, “we don’t need to make grand speeches to God or pretend that everything’s ok. All we need to do is, keep it simple, keep it real and keep it up.” 

May you know God’s presence and peace this week as you pray!  God bless, Mel

One of my favourite stories in the bible is the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). In particular, I love how the father is daily scanning the horizon, longing for his son to come home. Then one day, he sees him returning from a distance and can’t contain his compassion, so he runs to his son and embraces him. Then he throws an extravagant party to celebrate that his lost son is now found and home.

If there’s a story that describes the kind of church I’ve always wanted The Grove to be like, its that’s one. Maybe because I was also like that lost son who ran away, but was welcomed home by God and into a local church. My life changed, and pretty quickly I became part of the team that welcomed others to church. One day that same church, Bridgeman Baptist, called me to be a Pastor, and sent Leanne and I to plant The Grove. It’s been 32 years since I was welcomed home, and I believe more than ever that a church must reflect the welcoming heart of the Father, and throw homecoming parties. How do we do that? Celebrating baptisms! 

Last week I was thrilled to meet Calum. A young man in our neighbourhood who emailed me to ask if he could be baptised. Calum came to church last Sunday, was warmly welcomed, and after hearing his story and Jesus call on his life, we are excited to fill up the pool this Sunday for him. In fact, we will be celebrating baptisms over the next three Sundays. Praise God!

Prodigals are coming home, so Grovers, let’s get ready to welcome them. I remember Peter Sweetman, the founding pastor at Bridgeman Baptist once said, that the effectiveness of a churches mission is directly related to their capacity to welcome people. I totally agree. Our welcome is a person’s first impression of what God might be like. May we always reflect the heart of the Father in that most wonderful of all parables. 

While welcoming is something for all of us to be involved in, I am praying we could increase the size of our welcome team. Our team is currently quite small which limits the breadth of our welcome. I would love to see more people on carpark, on the door and ushering in the auditorium. Friendly faces who welcome others as they arrive, and coming soon, in newly designed welcome T-shirts. 

This Sunday at 3pm you are so welcome to come to our welcoming training session here at church. Its for those in the team, and for all who would like to join or explore being on team. Maybe as you are reading this, Jesus is warming your heart to be a welcomer of all who he is calling to come home this year. 

You’re welcome here, Marty