Sunday 22 December is our Celebrate Christmas evening

Please note there is no service in the morning.

Celebrate Christmas is a free event including carols, food and fun for kids (even adults)

Our celebration commences at 5.30p and we aim to finish at 8.30p. 

Inside, we will be serving food and refreshments from 6.00-7.00p. 

Along with activities for the children where we will have a small bouncy castle for young children, and a horizontal bungee run and a Christmas bucking bull for the rest.

At 7.30p, our plan is to gather outside the Church and sing carols together, fantastic warm evening weather permitting. So have your deck chair and outdoor-ware ready

We have a Plan B setup for an all indoors occassion too!

This is a great opportunity to invite your neighbour, family and friends and celebrate Christmas together in a family friendly environment.

Digital Downloads

You can download a PDF or PNG file here for the 22nd December to share/print/email.

• A4 - Portrait - Image PNG
• A4 - Portrait - PDF
• A4 - Landscape - Image PNG
• A4 - Landscape - PDF

Christmas Day Gathering

At 9.30a, we  make it a point to gather first to worship Jesus.

Our Christmas Day service is about reading the story of incarnation of Jesus, and singing and worshipping Jesus. 

Join us for a one hour service as we wrestle with the “indescribable” of Jesus and Christmas!

A morning of hope through music and story

10a Sunday 27 October - 2 Avenue Road Stirling

Digital Resources to share can be downloaded here and here.

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Benny, originally from Bangalore, India, holds the Guinness Book of Records title for Fastest Time to visit 245 countries travelling to 194 Sovereign Countries, 50 Dependant Countries and Antarctica in 6 years, 6 months & 22 days from May 1, 2004 to Nov. 22, 2010.

His global journey, spreading the gospel through his music has brought him to Oceania. In 2005 he crossed through Fiji a few times as he visited Australia, Vanuatu, Tonga, Niue, Western Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Guam, Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Norfolk Island, East Timor, Maohi Nui, Pitcairn Island and New Zealand.

Benny achieved fame when he created the first Bongo Guitar, with 52 strings, called the Bentar. He has performed on this unique guitar to many Presidents, Parliaments, Universities and even during prestigious events such as the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and 2007 Military World Games in India.

Now when Benny travels, he shares the journey of “Hope to the Hopeless” all over the world, from the least in slums, old age homes, to prisons, war zones, Military Bases, Parliaments – wherever he can.  Benny has lived a simple life and spent less than $140,000 USD in order to complete his travels to 245 Countries (even though he has repeated many countries).

Even though in many Third World countries it's almost impossible to travel without paying bribes, he has been able to travel to every nation in the world including every African Country without ever paying a bribe, even once. Often he has been detained at borders & sometimes sent back, but he never paid extra.  He says: "I would rather give up my concert than my character. If everyone takes a stand like this, then we will see corruption slowly vanish."

Benny's story is like most...his birth was celebrated by his family with the highest of hopes for his future. Those hopes were dashed when he was diagnosed with severe asthma which required him to take cortisone steroids from which he developed rheumatoid arthritis, 60% lung damage and an immune system which regularly failed him, threatening his life even to this day.

The pressure to succeed academically and be a role model for his younger siblings, and failure to achieve these high expectations resulted in Benny suffering from severe depression and negative behaviour. His rebellious lifestyle brought his family shame and disappointment.

Finding no fulfillment in life, Benny reached out to what seemed the only way out for him and tried to attempt suicide at the age of 16. By this stage he was almost beyond caring about where he went or what he did, so it was not too difficult for his mother to "convince" him to attend a youth retreat as she had desired and there began his journey towards new life.

In reality, Benny had an encounter with God.

“I heard god speak to me, saying. ‘Benny, even though you have been useless all your life, I need you now and I can make you a new creation.’ Finally a fresh start! A new birth!”

That was all it took to bring about a complete transformation in this lost and hurting young man. For the first time, he heeded this positive call, leapt at it, and began life with what we would all long to have - a clean slate. God gave him new dreams, new goals, and a positive desire.

Benny now walks with dignity and with the joy of the lord. When we humble ourselves, living according to God’s plans and God’s will; and tune into the Divine Voice, often muffled or drowned out by the noise of the world, we find a way to live that is in harmony with both God and Creation.  Listening to God’s voice has led Benny around the world, with opportunities he never dreamed possible.

We are trusting that our June Series will impart a growing desire to ‘make a difference’ in our community and world, implying the growing desire of our need for the operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Our desire is that we the Church live into the mission of ‘making a difference in the name of Jesus’.  We cannot do this in and of ourselves!  In order to make a difference in the name of Jesus, we need to be full of the Spirit, anticipating the work of the Spirit, expecting the gifts of the Spirit to be at work in and through us.

Let us pray that June will deliver key moments for us each to ‘take on’ the calling and challenge, opportunity, privilege and mandate of living in a way that is desiring and expectant of the Holy Spirit working through us wherever we are…home, work, school, park, gym, café, community.

And may we be desiring to be hungry with prophetic expectancy around living ‘Spirit Led’ and making a difference. 

We look forward to Pr Barry and Vanessa Chant attending and ministering with us across Sunday 23 and 30 June.

On Sunday 23 and 30 June, our Evening Workshops will be aimed and designed to discover, learn and hopefully practice the gifts of the Spirit in a practical way.  These nights will be informal, Q&A based and inspire us to seek the gifts (1 Cor 14:1).

It is our faithful and confident anticipation that our Church will fulfil its calling in God.  And this is because Jesus is at work in us!  Our motto describes this, our vision declares who we are, and our mission expresses what we do.

Christ-centered, Spirit led, People focused - is how we describe Stirling Family Church.

We see a church living in His Power and Presence - is who we are, expressed as vision.

We are a church who Make a Difference everyday in every generation in the name of Jesus - is what we do, expressed as mission.

The month of May is about power and presence, His power and His presence at work in us and through us, His people.

Over two weekends, we will be encouraged with ministry with Pr Neil Milne and Pr Barry Silverback, along with a Tarry Night of waiting upon the Lord on Pentecost evening.

And we have a 14 Day devotional that helps to give focus to the Power and Presence of the Holy Spirit at work in and through us.  Feel free to pickup a copy from the Info Table in the Foyer!

We are looking forward to what is ahead as we discover new revelation in the Lord together!

During April, we will have a focus on the testimony we have in Jesus, because of Jesus and for Jesus.  This testimony is the basis of our prayer to the Lord.  April will then continue the theme of New Creation around the practice of our testimony, and the way our prayer life is shaped by the testimony we have in Jesus.  And how our prayer life then shapes our the practical living of His testimony.  We have a number of resources ready for individuals, Life Groups, parternships, homes - and evening workshops as we get into the practical and exciting nature of testimony.

Take some time to visit our resources and links to written and visual media at www.stirlingfamilychurch.au/testimony.

I was very encouraged by the Christian Heritage we enjoy in Australia, which was the determined result of individuals who allowed the testimony of Jesus to outwork through their lives for the sake of others and the glory of the Lord.  Not everything is perfect in the Church, but Jesus still chooses the Church, and this is a testimony in and of itself.  So may we give time to reflect on the seed of faith invested across the history of our nation, and within Stirling Family Church, and be encouraged that Jesus is our testimony, we are not ashamed of the Gospel of His name!