Hosted by Hope Vineyard

DE-ESCALATION TRAINING | Building Calm, Confidence, & Connection

Every day we encounter people carrying stress, frustration, grief, anxiety and conflict. How we respond will do 2 things: Increase tension OR create understanding, safety and healing. This interactive training will equip you to respond well.

Come and learn:

• How stress, fear and trauma can influence behaviour.

• How to recognise early signs of escalation.

• How to remain calm and communicate effectively under pressure.

Join us for a practical morning that will help you navigate tricky moments with confidence, calm and kindness.

Presenter

Justin Cherry is a chaplain, pastor, entrepreneur, coach, husband and father with a passion for communication, wellbeing and building community. He facilitates chaplaincy studies at SPBC and through his work seeks to embody the principles of compassion, empathy and service. After a successful corporate career in the USA, Justin made the switch to life in ministry in Auckland, New Zealand in 2008.

Details

• Venue | Hope Vineyard church

• Date | Saturday 3 October

• Time | 9-12pm

• Cost | $25* subsidised by Hope Vineyard

• RSVP | hopevineyard.nz/rsvp

Hosted by Central Baptist Church

Voting in the New Zealand General Election

You are invited to an evening with our local representatives talking about current issues on Thursday 1st October @ 5.30pm at Central Baptist Church, along with light refreshments.

We are writing to encourage all members of faith communities to enrol and participate in the upcoming general election on 7 November 2026.

As a first step we would ask all congregations to encourage their people to go to the Electoral Commission website https://vote.nz/ to enrol or update their enrolment online, to ensure all people of voting age are able to participate in the general election. This particularly pertains to young voters.

As people of faith, we are called to exercise our civic duty to ensure the last, lost, and least are adequately cared for, which is a universal measure of the health of society.

As a commission we are very concerned about current issues such as:

• The rising levels of poverty and mental health

• The challenge of adequate housing

• The weather events that impact our country as global climate change affects our nation and the world

We have no desire to tell you who to vote for. We are simply wanting to point to a careful consideration of the issues of our day, in light of the conscience we have had formed in our respective faith communities.

These are the things we hold in common across the faith spectrum which point to voting responsibly in consideration of the ongoing justice, peace, development, and ecological concerns pertaining to all people.

Ngā manaakitanga,

Nigel Webb | Assoc. Pastor – Central Baptist
Nick Wilson | Pastoral Services Director – Catholic Diocese

On behalf of the Justice Peace Development and Ecology Committee – Palmerston North

Hosted by Conversation Seminars

Dealing with Complaints | Online Event

• Date | Wednesday 30 September

• Time | 1.00-2.30pm

• Facilitator | Dr Brett Mann

• Cost | $45

• Register Here | https://events.humanitix.com/complaints

Despite our best efforts and ethics, sadly all of us can expect to receive complaints about our ministry. Our society is becoming more litigious and complaints more common.

This seminar will guide you in practical steps, but more importantly, train you for the emotional skills and processes involved:

• Be less anxious about complaints

• Manage your own needs and reactions

• Know what to do and what not to do              

• Grow your competence for calm mature handling of a complaint

Celebrating 90 years of student mission with TSCF

This year, TSCF is celebrating 90 years of student mission in New Zealand! To mark this milestone and celebrate God’s goodness, we’d love you to join us for a special evening.

• Venue | The Centre Chaplaincy / Te Waiora, Massey University

• Date | Thursday 24 September

• TIME | 7pm

The evening will be a chance to reminisce, thank God and hear stories from generations of students involved with sharing the gospel on campus. There will also be a chance to pray together for this mission and for the students sharing their faith on campus today.

Whether you were involved with TSCF in the past, are still part of the work today or are interested in learning more about what it means to reach students for Christ, we'd love you to join us.

A light supper will be provided.

Please register at www.tscf.org.nz/90years

About TSCF

Since 1936, TSCF (then known as Inter-Varsity Fellowship) has been a fellowship of students, supporters and staff reaching students for Christ and changing students for life. Today, this looks like student-led groups on campuses at universities and polytechs across New Zealand. These groups are Christian communities where students can come to explore faith, find answers to their questions and support one another in living for Jesus through the joys and challenges of study.

Find out more about TSCF at www.tscf.org.nz

Hosted by Conversation Seminars

A Time With Alofa | Online Event

Do you have Samoan folk in your church? I invite you to 'A time with Alofa’. Cultural competence for pastoral care with Pasifika people

• Date | Tuesday 22 September

• Time | 1.00-2.30pm

• Cost | $35

• Register Here | https://events.humanitix.com/a-time-with-alofa  

In this seminar you will:

• Refresh what cross-cultural respect looks like, sounds like and feels like

• Reflect on how you provide effective support across cultural diversity

• Grow your grasp of Samoan protocols and pronunciation

• Connect and share and laugh!

Every day, the media helps shape the stories we hear, the conversations we have, and the culture we live in.

On Sunday 20 September, join hundreds of churches in taking a moment to pray for the people behind those stories, the content creators, and influencers.

Watch this powerful and heartfelt prayer featuring Simon Barnett. We encourage churches to share it during their services and invite their congregations to pray along together.

Watch here: https://youtu.be/h1wFY-ygpXc?si=Hi9zzPCi6yg-X8Xw

For downloadable resources to help promote Media Prayer Day, check out the website: https://mediaprayerday.nz/

You are warmly invited to join us for morning tea as we welcome Gerard Boot, the new Practice Manager at Open Home Foundation. It will be a great opportunity to come together, meet Gerard, and connect with other Christian leaders from around Palmerston North. Refreshments will be provided. 

Date | Wednesday 16 September
Time | 10:00am
Venue | Manawatū Service Centre – Level 5, ETC Building
               142 The Square, Palmerston North
RSVP | Jo.Berringtonhince@ohf.org.nz by Wednesday 9 September

Date | Saturday 12 September
Time | 9.00am-3.00pm
Venue | Christ Sanctuary Church - 50 Queen Street, Palmerston North
Cost | $30 per person
Register | Click Here - Link to come

Whether you've got a large kids' ministry team at your church with paid staff, or a couple of faithful volunteers, we hope this will be a helpful training day for them. 

Dealing with Addiction: An Introduction for Pastoral Care

• Date | Monday 7 September

• Time | 7pm

• Facilitator | Helen Schmidt-Sopoaga

• Cost | Koha Registration

• Register | https://events.humanitix.com/equip-september-addiction

Addiction is sadly a part of many people's lives. The Drug Foundation reports that more than a 1/4 of people have problematic use of alcohol and drugs, plus other forms of addiction. How can churches support individuals and families through addiction recovery? This online training is open to anyone with a pastoral heart or leadership role, as an introduction to addiction and how to offer pastoral care. 

Helen Schmidt-Sopoaga is Clinical Lead at Community Alcohol & Drug Services in South Auckland. Her long service was recently recognised with a Lifetime Award by DAPAANZ.

This is part of The Equip Series of online seminars to equip life group leaders and all who offer pastoral care to grow in confidence in Christ to support people facing mental health challenges in your church, community and home group. Run by a national across-churches network of mental health specialists. 

https://www.conversationscounselling.nz/equip-series.html

Solid Ground: Mental Health Skills for Christians

Join counsellor and Presbyterian minister Silvia Purdie for a 2-part online training to grow your confidence in pastoral care.

• Dates | Monday 31 August and 7 September

• Time | 1.00-2.30pm

• Cost | $40.00

• Register | https://events.humanitix.com/solid-ground-aug26

Online Training Overview:

• A Biblical understanding of mental health

• How to hold a mental health first aid conversation

• Avoiding common pitfalls

• The top 4 needs of people in mental distress

• Safe and helpful questions to ask

• Ways to bring the peace of Christ

Talk Justly and Love Mercy?
The Victim-Persecutor-Rescuer Triangle

• Date | Friday 28 August

• Time | 12:00 - 1:00pm

• Facilitator | Dale Campbell

• Cost | Koha registration

• Register Link | https://events.humanitix.com/talk-justly-and-love-mercy

How do we work for change without ourselves becoming part of the problem? How do we help others without rescuing? The Karpman Drama Triangle is a powerful tool for Christian leadership. This session will give tools to prevent our well-meaning responses to injustice from becoming counterproductive, and explores how Micah 6:8 provides an ethic that is simultaneously just, merciful, and humble.

Dale Campbell is Communications Manager for Visionwest, and an Adjunct Lecturer for Pathways Bible College. He has previously worked for Auckland Church Network, Tearfund NZ / The Justice Conference. He holds a Masters in Applied Theology from Carey Baptist, and has a weekly segment on LifeFM called 'Say What?' discussing misunderstood Bible Verses.

You’re invited! Join Palmerston North Aglow for a morning of anointed worship and an inspiring message.

• Guest Speaker | GLYN ANDREW

• Date | Thursday, 27th August

• Time | 10am

• Venue | Gateways Christian Fellowship, 174 Church Street, Palmerston North

• Contact | Ailene 021 022 18182
  

Glyn Andrew has spent much of his life serving the Church and encouraging believers to recognize and respond to what God is saying and doing in their communities and across the nations. He currently serves as the National Advisor for Aglow International New Zealand and is also part of the leadership team in his local church. Glyn is also the founder and host of God's Voice in the South Pacific, an online platform dedicated to sharing accounts of what God is saying and doing throughout New Zealand and the nations of the South Pacific. Through interviews and conversations with Christian leaders and believers, his passion is to encourage faith, raise expectation, highlight God's work across the region, and inspire others to listen to His voice for their own communities.