About Us
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)
At Effective Life Church we have the vision to be a church that displays Jesus' heart. No matter who you are or where you're from, we want you to feel welcomed, accepted and loved. Guided by the Word of God and The Holy Spirit, we aim to show you the love of God as best we can. We not only want to help you grow in the Lord but we want to develop a relationship with you that will help stretch God's Kingdom further as well.
Our heart is to become the people that God desires us to be. In the Bible we find different descriptions of the church or people of God. We are called His people, His Bride, His children, His loved ones, His holy ones, His family, His sheep and His ambassadors. So if we are called these names, do we act and feel like all of them? This is our hearts' desire, to truly become all that these names depict.
WHAT WE ARE ALL ABOUT
Pastor Matthew & Mara Guest
We were nicknamed 'life-bringers' at the fellowship we attended during the first years of our marriage because of the life we brought, and that is exactly what we intend to do at and through Effective Life Church; we want to let Jesus in us affect the rest of the leadership team, those who attend the fellowship and the wider community where Effective Life Church is planted.
It is an amazing thing that we have been saved, forgiven, given eternal life and been restored to a relationship with the only true and living God. And not only that but we have been made new creations filled with The Holy Spirit, free from the grip of sin.
Every day should be a celebration of the grace, goodness, faithfulness and love of God to us. And we want that joy to be contagious so we all bring life to those around us. We have been given the Good News to tell others and it is good news because it brings hope where there was none. It is the work of God and He will bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6). We just have to surrender to Him and keep falling in love with Him.
Our desire is to equip the saints for works of service so that the Body of Christ may be built up to make disciples of Christ by reaching out to those without hope, those who do not know the unconditional love of Father and Christ for them and how to be reconciled to their Maker, and to offer all the prodigal children of God a way back to a fruitful relationship with Father God. Why? Because that is the heart of God, His will, His desire and His passion. That is why Christ came to earth and died on a cross.
We both made adult commitments to Christ in 1991. Out of our thankfulness to God for His unconditional love and unmerited grace to us, we have served Him in different roles within church life, starting as small group leaders to senior pastoring. Matthew also founded and led a day centre for the homeless and marginalised.
We have both learned, and are still learning, how to and how not to do life and church. We do not presume to be perfect and to know it all; far from it. This life on earth is a learning curve and we will continue to learn whatever God wants to teach us and allow Him to change us in order to become more like Christ.
We have been married since 1992 and have three children: Leah, Luke and Caleb. We have, and still do, experience the ups and downs of married and family life like everyone else. No one is immune to life, but with Christ, we come through each one of them.
The Guest Family
To see more on the ministry of Matthew & Mara, click the logo.
Meet the rest of the Team
No man is an island; we need each other in so many different ways. As Jethro, Moses' father-in-law said to him, you can not do all the work alone. Exodus 18:17-18: "Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone."
Find out more about our leadership team by simply clicking on the photos below.
What do we believe and why?
Who was this Jesus really?
Why attend a church?
Does God really love me?
Click on the Bibles to find out more!
At Effective Life Church, we not only have a heart for the local community but for the whole nation and the rest of the world too.
We are a leadership team with years of experience in Kingdom ministry, from starting a homeless rehabilitation centre approved by government ministers to overseas outreach ministry travelling to India, the Philippines, Brazil and Ghana in previous years with other ministries and churches.
We are from various nations, but in Christ Jesus, we are all one family working together to see God's plan come to action.
Our desire is for more than a revival - in other words, The Holy Spirit being poured into the church; our desire is for reformation, which is the church being poured into the community and nation.
It is important to make a difference whenever we can. Join us in making a difference. We hope when you visit you will feel welcome.