Dear brothers and sisters

"For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’  Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.  So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Luke 14:28-35

On Sunday 28th March we celebrated our 40th birthday as Servants of Jesus Community. What was begun in 1981 has grown to where we are today in 2021. 
 
In the building of this body God initiated, we can't take the credit for any of this. Yes we did respond at some point because without hands and feet God can't do everything that He wants to do. He can of course but He chooses to use you and I.

So that's how this journey began for Servants of Jesus Community, back in 1981. The scripture verse above was very important to us for this journey because the initial people did count the cost. They gave up careers, where they lived, EVERYTHING, to build the Kingdom of God. Without that initial sacrifice we wouldn't be here today. 

I would like to thank, firstly God and, secondly, every member of Servants of Jesus Community - both past and present - for bringing us to this present day. We pray that God will continue using us for at least the next 40 years and beyond. This is His work and it is a great privilege to be part of it. 

Your brother in Christ

Joseph

Below are some highlights of our 40th birthday celebrations. It was a wonderful day, the weather was perfect. As our main hall is still being refurbished, we met in the carpark for our Sunday Gathering followed by great fellowship as we shared lunch together. All in all it was a blessed day in every way. We thank God for His faithfulness to us and His amazing goodness towards us over the past 40 years:

May the Risen Lord fill you and your families with every blessing during this most special season

 YOUTH CONFERENCE (above) 
14th - 16th April in Springwood, NSW
Check out our website in the coming weeks for registration details

"He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:13-14 ESV 

This is one of my favourite scriptures because it’s literally what happened to me. 
 
The June long weekend in 1986 my life totally changed when I met Jesus and received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. I thank God and will be eternally grateful first for my friends’ mother who was praying for me to encounter God.

I am also grateful for the Servants of Jesus Community especially in the way they outreached to the lost which is how I came along. I went to an outreach meeting at Granville town-hall this is where I first encountered the SOJ Community. I had never been to church and had never heard about Jesus.
I never sang the songs I just watched up the back and listened to the talk then left straight after the meeting so I didn’t have to speak to anyone. I went to that outreach meeting four times when someone invited me to a weekend called “He’s Alive.” I found myself with two of my close friends at that weekend which is a story in itself.

While on the weekend I heard the gospel presented in a way that made me feel like Jesus was kind and merciful and I was contemplating whether I wanted to follow him or not. Everyone made me feel very included and I never felt judged by anyone on that weekend outreach although I knew my background was extremely different to most of them.
 
On the last day I gave my life to Jesus and received baptism in the Holy Spirit which lead to many changes in my life. The most significant change at that time was, I no longer had the urge to take drugs or alcohol,  my foul language was no longer an issue and I learned to read and write. I had been addicted to drugs for 15 years and was sovereignly delivered when I received the Holy Spirit. 
 
Three months after my conversion I had to leave my family home where I was living, and not long after that I needed to leave my job that I had worked for ten years. At the time I didn’t realise there is a cost involved in following Jesus. I went to stay in a single women’s household within the SOJ Community.

It’s been 35 years and I am still a member of SOJ. I can’t say living in a covenant community is always easy because it’s not, but here I have not only found a spiritual home, I have Spiritual parents, brothers and sisters, spiritual children and I love the multigenerational part of our community where we fellowship with people of all ages. Honestly living in a community such as ours has brought me to life I know I wasn’t living before but just surviving and there’s a huge difference.

I have received so much healing, deliverance, and counselling and felt so loved and accepted. And I continue to receive healing through ministry and allowing others to love me.

I wouldn’t change my life for anything because God is good and his plans are so big for all of us!  Chrissy