Disciples Church Springfield - 2026-10-members-update

MEMBERS UPDATE - OCTOBER 2026

"Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn."
Romans 12:15

Welcome,

It's been a big month for our church family... not only are we mourning Ben's death, but several others in our church family have also lost loved ones this month. As we grieve together, let's remember to be praying for one another and remind our brothers and sisters in Christ of the hope we have in the gospel.

"Therefore encourage one another with these words." - 1 Thess 4:18

This is a hope we can gently hold out to one another, even through tears. As we make room for the sorrow, remember that you don’t need to find the perfect words or hurry someone towards feeling better. Often love looks like listening, sharing a meal, or asking how someone is going.

As we sit with one another in grief - or any kind of pain and suffering - let's help each other hold onto Jesus and his promises. This is how we follow Jesus together.

If you need prayer or help, please reach out to your discipleship leader.

2026 National Church Life Survey

Before you read on, as a church we are participating in the 2026 National Church Life Survey. Hundreds of thousands of voices will contribute to this survey of church life nationwide. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey below. The DC church code is ZE300005.

COMPLETE SURVEY NOW

CHURCH FAMILY

Farewelling the Wongs

Anthony, Peppa and Gemma Wong have been a part of our church family for a few years, but the Lord is calling them to Sydney to be closer to family. We’ll miss them - but as we say goodbye, there’s something about belonging to Jesus that makes this farewell bitter sweet...

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” - 1 Corinthians 12:27

Through Jesus, we belong to a family that reaches well beyond DC. In Sydney, the Wongs will find brothers and sisters who share their Saviour and their hope – people they haven’t met yet, but to whom they already belong in Christ.

That’s a wonderful comfort as we farewell people we love. We’re thankful for the Wongs’ part in our church family, and we’ll be praying that they find a local church where they can keep growing, serving and following Jesus with others.

Be in prayer for the Wongs!

GLOBAL MISSION

One Gift. One Gospel.

You’ve been so generous with your Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes! Thank you to everyone who has participated and helped make a difference.

We love being part of this mission to share the love of Jesus and the good news of the gospel with children around the world. Thanks to Jenna for organising it again this year.

Pray that the gospel reaches further this year than it ever has through this ministry!

LEADERS RETREAT

New Venue, New Format

We have outgrown our ability to stay at our favourite mountain lodge, Mt Alford, and so just over 30 of our DC leaders gathered on the Gold Coast earlier this month for our first retreat in a new format. That’s more people than the core group who started DC nearly 15 years ago - but the greatest encouragement was what happened as we spent time together.

From 15–17 October, we spent time in God’s Word, worshipped together, and heard from Dr Jonathan Andrews, a professional psychologist (and follower of Jesus!), and Peter Sondergeld. They helped us consider how to care for our hearts and keep walking with Jesus – no matter where he leads us!

It was a blessing to step away together, and we came home more united as a leadership team and grateful for what God is doing among us.

Thank you to everyone who attended, and to everyone who helped babysit so our leaders could be there. You helped make this time possible!

Be in prayer for our leadership team as they continue in gospel ministry.

NEXT GEN MINISTRY

A Morning to Invest in You

From Crèche to DC Kids and Youth, our largest ministry team faithfully turns up to share Jesus with the next generation week in and week out. On 14 November, we’re gathering you for our annual training day - and we have more planned than the usual Child Safety refresher.

Our Next Gen Ministry Training Day is our annual event for everyone serving in Crèche, DC Kids and Youth. We’ll cover Child Safety training, equip you for ministry, and take time to thank you for the love and faithfulness you show our young people.

And because a thank-you tastes better with food, we’ll feed you too!

Saturday 14 November | 9am–12:30pm

CHRISTMAS EVE

Locked in!

For the last few months, some major film releases have had our usual Christmas Eve cinema booking looking uncertain. However, we have some good news - we’ve now secured it and this year, there’s an extra reason to start thinking about who you could bring.

We have more seats! 170 more to be precise! That means more room to invite your not-yet-believing friends and family to join us on 24 December and hear the good news of Jesus.

As usual, our Next Generation will be involved in the service too. Save the date, and start praying about who you could invite to celebrate Christmas with us.

UPDATES

Ministry & Financial Reports

September brought higher costs, lower giving, and some challenges counting attendance as we settled into V-Max.

September brought our first increased venue costs for V-Max, making consistent giving especially helpful as we plan and support our ministries. Although giving for the month fell below our forecast, we still have 278 people engaging with our church. If everyone came on the same Sunday, we’d be at 66% capacity already! Praise God that we now have room to welcome visitors! Who could you invite?

As for counting Sunday attendance, this has been tricky in the V-Max, so we’re treating these figures with some caution as we settle in. September’s recorded averages were below average at 174 for Sunday services, 49 in children’s ministry and 22 at DC Youth.

Thank you for your generosity. As we settle into this new space, please keep praying for our church and considering how you can support the work of sharing Jesus.