Bad weekend. Firstly my favorite team the Warriors lost in the Grand Final but worse than that; on Friday, ten days out from One Conference we got word that our guest speaker Chris Hodges from the States was not able to come because of a health issue. We searched around through our contacts, but Chris directed us to a friend Rob Ketterling from River Valley Church Minnesota. Rob and his wife Becca pioneered the church in 1995 and have built a thriving church with over 3,800 in attendance across four locations. Rob will be an awesome replacement for Chris at conference. Thanks Chris, trust you are back to full health quickly.

A great part of the weekend was travelling to speak at our campus in Whangarei. Marilyn and Rob Redfearn travelled with me, with Rob singing an awesome song. What an amazing voice.

On Wednesday and Thursday we are blessed to have Cindy Cruse Ratcliff, worship leader at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church with us. Wednesday is only for worship team members but Thursday night is an open night of worship. Make sure you do not miss this great night.

I've been struggling for the past ten days with a cold which doesn’t seem to be letting go. I guess there has just been a lot on this year.

The latest news is that our church in Whangarei has come under Elim Christian Centre as our fourth campus. Unfortunately the church is under a lot of pressure financially and Pastor Bruce has been off since early this year on sick leave. There is no way Bruce can come back into ministry soon so Bruce and Lil have resigned.

We are sending Steve and Rebecca up from the East to replace them, along with Adrian and Abi to help rebuild the youth. Their last Sunday in the East will be the 19th June.

I have learnt that it is really important to place the leader in the campus that has the same DNA as the main church; otherwise it just does not work as the leader keeps pulling the congregation in a different direction. Keeping the congregation as a campus means that we can share the responsibility with Steve and Becs.

It is a good church, great people and lovely facilities. Unfortunately they have just overextended themselves. Obviously it will mean a change of name; from Equip to Elim Christian Centre North, and a change in emphasis in some areas. But the people have been so welcoming to Steve and Becs. They just seem to be the right couple at this time.