http://www.gc3.org.nz/blog/ The latest Blog feeds from www.gc3.org.nz en-us Fri, 30 Oct 2026 11:01:20 +1300 Rocketspark http://www.gc3.org.nz/blog/post/171366/a-season-to-give-serving-short-term-in-south-east-asia/ It's 6:30 in the morning in the main city of South East Asia, and the doors of Life Bakery Café are opening. Behind the counter are young tribal men and women who, not long ago, had little formal education and few prospects for work. Now they're learning to bake, manage a kitchen and serve customers, while living and training as part of the Life community. By late afternoon the focus shifts. Students arrive for evening English classes, from young professionals hoping for better jobs to sch... Mon, 19 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.gc3.org.nz/blog/#post171366 http://www.gc3.org.nz/blog/post/171363/the-thread-of-gods-call-in-png/ Few stories in New Zealand Brethren mission are as fruitful as Papua New Guinea. From the first New Zealander who reached the remote West Sepik in the early 1950's followed by many others from New Zealand, Australia and the USA, the Christian Brethren Churches of PNG (CBC) has grown to over 450 congregations, many of them in places reachable only on foot, by river or by aircraft. Photo credit: Peter Cade... Mon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.gc3.org.nz/blog/#post171363 http://www.gc3.org.nz/blog/post/169438/updated-nepal-flash-flood-response/ Latest update: 25 SeptemberDevastatingly, we understand that more than 1450 people were lost because of the flood.   We have now distributed 1430 Dignity Kits to women and girls, with the final 1070 Dignity Kits to be distributed shortly. We are also giving some relief supplies for men. When we asked these two women if they have men in their household they both said their husbands had been lost. Pray for them and others who have lost their loved ones.Our team have also been able t... Fri, 11 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.gc3.org.nz/blog/#post169438 http://www.gc3.org.nz/blog/post/169547/using-what-was-already-in-her-hands/ It started, by Margie Vincent's own account, as nothing more than a prayer as she was planning an overseas trip. "Wouldn't it be a good idea if I did some volunteer work somewhere on the way home?" she remembers asking God. She didn't mind where. She just asked to be shown something. That small, simple prayer led to a conversation with her boss at Open Home Foundation , a training request from an organisation&nb... Fri, 04 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.gc3.org.nz/blog/#post169547 http://www.gc3.org.nz/blog/post/169541/a-letter-to-our-current-day-mission-partners/ Every time a gift reaches you on the field, or a prayer update goes out to Churches back home, you're taking part in something that started 130 years ago with one man, one bicycle, and a calling he couldn't ignore. We wanted to write to you, not just about you, because you're not reading someone else's history. You're living the next chapter of it. In February 1896, a young man named James Kirk left Owaka, in South Otago, and set out for Arg... Thu, 03 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.gc3.org.nz/blog/#post169541 http://www.gc3.org.nz/blog/post/168706/walking-alongside-the-global-church-in-ethiopia/ One of the privileges of my role at GC3 is connecting with churches and church leaders from around the world who are part of our movement. The Christian Brethren (Open Brethren) movement emerged in Ireland and England in the 1820s–30s, and through its missionary activity it has spread to every corner of the globe. It now exists as a worldwide network of independent local churches.  IBCM (International Brethren Connections for Mission) is the main global ... Thu, 13 Aug 2026 13:17:13 +1200 http://www.gc3.org.nz/blog/#post168706 http://www.gc3.org.nz/blog/post/168450/loved-not-left-behind-the-work-of-his-safe-haven-in-liberia/ In parts of Liberia, a child born with a disability is not seen as a child in need of care. In some communities, they are seen as cursed, as evidence of a mother's sin, as sadly, something less than human. Families with a child with special needs can find themselves shut out of their own village: barred from the well, turned away from the market, refused treatment at government hospitals. Some children are taken to a witch doctor to find out "what happened." Again very&n... Thu, 06 Aug 2026 15:31:03 +1200 http://www.gc3.org.nz/blog/#post168450 http://www.gc3.org.nz/blog/post/168048/caring-for-our-own/ By Michael HansonPaul, writing his last letter from a Roman prison, names two kinds of people he has known. "You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me... The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains... he searched for me earnestly and found me." (2 Timothy 1:15-16) Some deserted him. Others searched him out. The question Paul's own experience puts to every sending church is simple and uncomfortable: wh... Wed, 29 Jul 2026 19:26:27 +1200 http://www.gc3.org.nz/blog/#post168048 http://www.gc3.org.nz/blog/post/167140/every-mission-journey-starts-somewhere/ Sometimes the most encouraging moments don't come from a major event or a significant announcement. They come from noticing how God is connecting people across different stages of His mission. Recently, two seemingly unrelated conversations came to light within a short space of time. One involved Sue Hanna, who is faithfully serving in Cambodia through FLAME, investing in the lives of children and families through education. S... Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.gc3.org.nz/blog/#post167140 http://www.gc3.org.nz/blog/post/166989/venezuela-earthquake/ In late June 2026, Venezuela was shaken by a rare and devastating “doublet” earthquake—two powerful tremors striking just seconds apart—unleashing widespread destruction across the country’s northern regions. Measuring magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, the quakes were the strongest to hit Venezuela in over a century, collapsing buildings in Caracas and devastating coastal areas such as La Guaira. As rescue teams raced against time to reach survivors trapped beneath rubble, the disaster quickl... Tue, 30 Jun 2026 15:43:56 +1200 http://www.gc3.org.nz/blog/#post166989