The women of our church gathered this week to celebrate with our Senior Pastor Bobbie Houston 20 years of Sisterhood.

Sisterhood is about the gathering, strengthening, equipping and mobilising of women who make a stand against injustice and are mobilised to be the change in their world.

Something special happens when women gather in an inclusive environment, equipped with a message that speaks of value and worth and mobilises them to find their purpose.

Sisterhood is a collage of stories of thousands of women.

Nicole Van Der Merwe is one of those stories. She moved to Australia from South Africa and became a part of our church about a year ago.

One of the first things she discovered was a Next Steps course called ShineWomen and was immediately drawn to trying it out as the content resonated with her.

She found herself in a challenging season of moving to a new country, and realising that she needed to create a new life all over again, make new friends and find her place in the world.

In joining the Shine Women group she found an instant connection with the other ladies during the 9-week course, who were a great support in her journey of settling into a new country.

It impacted her so much that she felt compelled to share the Shine Program with women seeking to make a new home in Australia, so she could encourage them, as she had been encouraged.

This led her to help our Shine Team facilitate a Shine Women course for refugee and newly arrived migrant women from Africa at a community centre in Sydney.

“First of all I’m an African and what makes us tick is music, passion and drumbeats and I could sense it in all of them and we hit it off straight away,” Nicole Van Der Merwe.

Inspite of the language barrier the message of Shine that stands the test of time such as “I am valuable’, ‘I am one of a kind’, ‘I am wonderfully made’, broke through their hearts and transformation took place.

“A lot of the women who had started out really quiet and timid began to speak out, walking taller, their shoulders back and smiles on their faces. It was truly an honour to be a part of their journey of growth.”

ShineWomen courses are run through Hillsong CityCare and is an externally accredited personal development program birthed out of our Sisterhood message. It helps women to develop an understanding of her personal worth, strength and purpose.

The Shine Team

Hillsong CityCare

To find out more about our Shine Curriculums