RAISING THE BAR ON LEADERSHIP
Easter Sunday was a significant day for two reasons. First and most important was the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus and all that entailed setting us free from the condemnation of sin and opening up the fullness of relationship with God the Father. We are the righteousness of God in Christ.
Second significant part of the day was that Yvonne and I celebrated 46 years of marriage. It was a splendid day. I am so blessed to have such an amazing wife whose faith in Christ and support of our ministry over the years has meant so much to me. The following day, Monday was my birthday and a week later it was Yvonne’s birthday. So two weeks of celebration and now we wait another year.
I have continued to preach at different churches and since early December I’ve had only six Sunday’s off. I have a bit of a break now which is good.
In late January I took a two day retreat for a group of Elders and their two pastors from a Baptist church up north. Their response to the time was very affirming. We worked on their mission and vision and on how to introduce significant values into their peoples lives. They went back home and two weeks later sent me a note to say their promotion of the mission and vision was well received. I have since then been working with the pastor on how to manage the growth of his team. They are looking at doing a Bridge Builders course later this year.
I have picked up another pastor who is Indonesian as a supervisee. He will meet with me once a month. I have also had a missionary couple here in NZ who meet with me every two months stop their time with me.
The ITA Curriculum committee I lead has now begun our work in earnest. The two men working with me are excellent men and good friends. The committee will be working longer term on tightening the way the Leadership Matters course workshops are presented.
I had day one yesterday taking management training with a young pastor from the Waikato. He is great to work with and we will be doing at least another day and possibly more as we work to develop his abilities to lead and grow his team and the church he leads.
Last week the ITA Board of Directors had our quarterly meeting. The five on the board are all missions’ workers. The new CEO attends as does the treasurer/secretary. We were finalising the transition from one treasurer to another.
Over Christmas Rachel and the family stayed with us for 18 days. It was a wonderful time especially with the two grandchildren. It was also exciting to watch all four of our grandchildren relate so well to each other. While Rachel and Jonny were here, we had a family meeting with them and Jeremy, Sakura, Tim and Amiee regarding what will happen for Hannah when Yvonne and I can no longer support her. It was a very emotional and stressful time for all of us especially for Yvonne and I. As a result, we have rewritten our will and have to trust the Lord that when the time comes, the family will be in a position to look after Hannah and do the best for her. Incredible as it sounds, as we move through this first quarter of 2026 the family are doing well.
In February, Connect Baptist Church which we attended closed down. It was a difficult and sad time. Since then, Yvonne Hannah and spent a month searching for a new church to attend. We wanted one closer to home. We finally settled on Drury Presbyterian church. It’s a small church with good people. The young pastor is one of my supervisees. Yvonne is now playing piano once a month at the service. We seem to be settling there ok. I’m brushing up on my Scots accent.
Yvonne Hannah and I went down to Ashburton late March for our granddaughter Ada’s 6th birthday. It was a good time with the family. Last Friday, Ada finally had her surgery for the removal of the plates and screws from both her hips and legs. I was surprised by the size of each item. Ada was given bright yellow crutches which she used for a day then decided to walk without them. She loved taking her metal bits to school to show her class mates.
Thanks for your prayers for Aimee. She has a ‘casual’ job with Scholastic Books. The hours are hard but she is settling in well.
We trust that Easter was a good time of celebration of the result of Jesus work on the cross. May the truth that in His resurrection Jesus has brought us into a sin free relationship with God ignite afresh your faith and your outworking of that faith. We are very grateful for your faithful support and prayer.
Every blessing
Rex, Yvonne, Rachel, Jonny, Caleb & Ada, Jeremy, Sakura, Kayla & Chloe, Tim & Aimee & Hannah.