ReChurch Staff

Starting Tuesday, I am "officially" a staff member at ReChurch... well... for 6 months.

I have spent the last two mornings at the ReChurch office (right across the street from the pub and movie theater they meet in every Sunday for church).  I have been going through a little but of an orientation with a couple of the different pastors and directors I will be working with over my time here.  Even though we haven't gone into too much depth about all of my responsibilities and my specific tasks, it's been good to get an idea of Kiwi culture and team/personality dynamics.

In preparation for day one, I had to complete two surveys: one being a personality profile and the second being a basic values chart/survey.  (For the personality profile, I found out I am an ENFP... which means Extrovert, iNtuitive, Feeler, Perceiver... no surprises there after reading the discription: "Curious, energetic, adaptable, creative... unconventional approaches to life... talkative and playful... conversations with these people can be very circular as they move excitedly from one topic to the next... sees significance in all things and has a strong sense for the possible.) The orientation was basically spent evaluating my personality, my potential role on the team, the personalities of other team members, and strengths and weaknesses.  We also talked about conflict and conflict resolution.  It wasn't a very long day, but provided me with a lot of information on how to work with a church planting team and address future conflict while aiming toward similar goals.

Today was the second day of orientation.  The first part was talking about culture, culture shock, and different stages of adjusting and dealing with change and living in New Zealand.  It was really interesting learning about comparisons of New Zealand versus American culture and was also so so so helpful to understand more fully the values and objectives of ReChurch in relation to the culture patterns and beliefs of ChristChurch. I also met with the family director to discuss spiritual accountability, boundaries, and continuing to strengthen my relationship with the Lord.

It's been really nice getting to know all the staff of ReChurch and being able to spend time with them over the past few days I have been here.  It's refreshing to see a team of church planters so eager to see the Gospel lived out in the community while also acknowledging the challenges that they will face while in the culture so they can problem solve.  They desperately want to see God rejuvenate this city and nation that is 40% non-religious affiliated.  I am excited and honored to live and work amongst these people. Pray that Kiwi hearts would see the freedom and truth of a relationship with Christ.