SG Parramatta - One Year On
An update from Riley Spring, Lead Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church of Parramatta, Sydney, Australia…
In September we had the joy of celebrating our 1st Birthday as Sovereign Grace Church Parramatta! We were able to gather live and in-person at a great local church who opened their doors for us so that we could all fit, we heard testimonies of how the Lord has used our church in people’s lives, and we baptised two members! It was an awesome service which allowed us to look back on it all and say, “This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes” (Psalm 118:23).
After being sent out in September 2019 with 28 members from Sovereign Grace Church Sydney and with the support of SGC’s, we have seen 22 new members plus kids join our church, 4 babies born, we’ve had 2 weddings, 2 baptisms, 3 people taken through Christianity Explored, and a large number of non-churched people have visited us over this time! No one could have predicted that we’d spend 4 months of our first year gathering online on Zoom on Sundays and for Life Groups or that we’d be in 4 different venues, not the greatest start for a church plant! But through it all, God has truly strengthened us, made us dependent on Him, used us to reach the lost, encourage the saints, bind up the broken hearted, and renew the faith of the wandering, what a privilege! We couldn’t have done it without the continual support of our sending church! SG Sydney have poured into us by continuing to mentor me and support our marriage, they have filled the pulpit monthly, and we have partnered together in many cross-church discipleship opportunities!
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One of the most remarkable aspects of our first year is the joyful and sacrificial service of our members who have given their lives to helping make it all happen. With every awesome event, walk-up outreach, church service and life group, our members have gone above and beyond to use their time, talents, and treasures in service to the King of Kings. It truly moves me as a pastor to see the saints serve with such eager willingness, creativity, perseverance and skill!
Let me share with you Jordan’s story as one small example of how God is using our church. Jordan arrived in Australia from the Philippines and she and her husband visited our church because they were staying with some of our members. Jordan grew up Roman Catholic and was always uncertain of her future destiny even though she went to mass, confession, and services regularly.
“I did all those things out of fear – fear from getting reprimanded by my parents, fear of getting judged by other members of the community, and most of all, fear of going to hell for not doing good. There was a time when I even went to confession on a weekly basis because I kept sinning and I was afraid to die and go to hell just because I missed to confess my sins to a priest. And even though I religiously confessed, I did not strongly believe that I was saved.”
During College she went searching for truth and found herself attending different churches but eventually sucked into new age religion and astrology. When she arrived in Australia she loved attending our church but it wasn’t until we preached through Ephesians 6 on spiritual warfare that she realised she needed to completely leave her new-age religion behind and follow Jesus.
“It was when we were going through Ephesians 6 when I felt a strong kick in my gut that I was doing everything wrong. Everything that I used to believe, everything that I held on to, everything that I thought would give me peace and salvation just dissolved. It was as if an ice-cold bucket of water was splashed to clean the dirt off my face that allowed me to open my eyes to see the only truth – that Jesus died on the cross for me and has saved me completely from eternal damnation. My salvation is not a result of my good works, but because of His grace through faith. From that moment, the word “sovereign” just started to make sense to me. I mean, I always knew the dictionary meaning of the word, but it was just that – flat. I have never felt so free and at peace and being able to surrender all my fears and anxieties. And those who know me well, would all agree that I am, or now used to be, a total control freak. On repentance, I have shared with the ladies in our life group that over my 34 years of living, I think it was only twice or thrice when I can honestly say that I felt the agonising remorse for my sins. So now, I’m declaring my choice to constantly repent and follow Jesus. Jesus is now and forevermore my Lord and Saviour.”
Isn’t that amazing!? We don’t know what our future holds as a Church, but He does, and we just hope that we get to meet more Jordan’s and see more people liberated from sin and death and brought into new life in Christ! And we want to do this in partnership with Sovereign Grace Churches, our family! Our mission is to be a church passionate about knowing, applying and proclaiming the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ in Parramatta, please pray for us as we seek to make this happen for God’s glory and the good of our city!
The following video was played at their one year anniversary celebration. Enjoy!