Pioneer Again Part II

Isaiah 43:19, Acts 1:8, Hebrews 11:1
Our church sets out to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ for generations to come. We will
always seek to be a church that lives with a pioneer spirit, thankful and open to the big things
God has for us.
God uses ordinary people to outwork his extraordinary purpose. When we open ourselves to
God’s purpose and advance his gospel into the different spheres of life we see territory
previously considered uninhabitable flourish. With a pioneering spirit we will reach the
unreachable and include the excluded. As in the book of Acts, pioneering the gospel can be
music to the ears of those who are lost and uninitiated but clashing brass to the establishment.
Despite opposition, like the apostles, and faithful believers before us, we step out in faith into the
new things God is doing. A pioneering spirit centred on Christ will give us a supernatural ability
to beat the odds and bring longevity, stretching boundaries and extending horizons; reinventing
the parameters of the possible and violating the laws of the impossible.
With pioneering hearts we hold to the faith that paves the way for others to come to know Jesus,
faith that is “the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen.” Let us then
put our whole lives into what God is doing, not taking the easy road, but putting the will of God
first in our lives to see fruit in our generation and generations to come through the advancement
of his kingdom on earth.

BIBLE AND BELIEF Use these questions and
scriptures to help believers develop a biblical
worldview.

Read: Isaiah 43:19, Acts 1:8
Q: What extraordinary things does God
promise in Isaiah 43:19 and Acts 1:8?

Q: What did it mean for the apostles to
be a ‘witness’? What does being a
‘witness’ mean for us today?

Q: What ‘new things’ did God do
through Jesus in the Gospels, and
through the apostles in Acts? What
can we learn from their experience?

Q: The Church was a “new thing” in the
New Testament. What “territory” was
taken by planting churches in Acts?

Q: What kind of things will it take for Acts
1:8 to be fulfilled? Where do we need
to pioneer the gospel today to see
this become a reality? How are we
doing that as a church?

CONNECTION AND ACTION Use these questions to promote conversation and connection.
ICEBREAKER: Share the most surprised you have been and how you reacted.
Q: Who is the most “extraordinary” person you have met? What makes them extraordinary?
Q: What does it take for God to do extra-ordinary things through ordinary people?
Q: What ordinary areas in your life would you like to open up to God to do something new?
Q: Pioneers make uninhabited land habitable. We recently celebrated 30 years as Hillsong
Church. During that time, what “uninhabited land” has been made “habitable” for
others?
Q: What does your pioneering faith gain from being part of a pioneering church, with
pioneering leaders?
Q: In your family, circle or world, what “uninhabited land” could you pioneer that would
allow those who come after you to live freely?
Q: In what ways have you been stirred to step out in faith this year?