This year, as the Hatfield family, we are excited about God’s promise to make us more fruitful on our frontlines. What better place to draw inspiration than through a fruitfulness testimony from one of our own members? Since taking over our youth Ministry, the effervescent Mamiala Mamiala has doubled the attendance numbers post-COVID – and he shares his story of how!  

A member of our Hatfield family for over a decade, 32-year-old Mamiala’s ministry journey demonstrates Jesus’s words in John 15:8 that the world will know we are His disciples by our fruitfulness. 

Mamiala, who has been leading our church’s high school ministry (Reverb) for three years, began his ministry in Hatfield, serving in our children’s ministry (C4G) for five years. The fruit of his obedience in serving God is seen in the growth in numbers and the health and vitality of our youth ministry in his care. Passionate about the next generation, his mission is to lead young hearts to encounters with Jesus that will transform our society. 

Mamiala shares his story, 

“When I joined Reverb in January 2020, many of our youth congregants were connected digitally yet socially disconnected. This social disconnection caused a significant culture of isolation among our teenagers. We saw an increase in mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety amplified in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our congregants were not fruitful in their relationships with one another. While they had many social media followers, they did not have many deep, meaningful connections to draw from during those difficult times. 

One question we asked ourselves as Reverb youth leaders was how to disciple our congregation to be fruitful in their relationships. 

The answer to that question was connecting our youth into real community. The leading cause of the shift was our intentional investment into group times through our Friday Night Youth gatherings and Sunday morning services. We split our youth into groups of four and encouraged them to ask each other relationship-building questions. Our teens also studied the Bible in these groups and asked pertinent questions.

Hatfield Young Adults is a space where those aged 18 to 35 can believe, belong, and grow in the Hatfield Christian Church community. Our evening services are primarily geared towards this age group and are a great place to worship God, receive the Word and make lifelong friends who share your belief and values. Attending the social, Connect, at 17:30, joining a community group and signing up to volunteer are fantastic ways to be plugged into our young adults’ community.

To know (what’s happening) and be known is an invaluable gift, especially in these times when people are the most connected technologically, yet the least connected relationally. So, if you are new to our church or have been here for a while but hiding in the crowd, we encourage you to lean in and let us get to know you.

Still not sure? Read this compelling testimony from 26-year-old Chante, who has been a part of our community for four years. In her words, 

“First, I just attended; then I volunteered. After a while, I was asked to be a leader, and I became a shepherd about a year later. Although I had to step down a while later as I had a lot on my plate, I continued to volunteer whenever I could.

Before joining this community, I had never truly felt like I belonged anywhere. I constantly felt out of sync in any environment I found myself in. You could call it being in fear of rejection, so I would resort to isolation. 

But being intentional about attending Young Adults, volunteering and being part of a community group – a safe space to share and do life together – brought me a sense of belonging. God used these spaces to take down, brick by brick, the wall I had built around myself until it finally crashed down. I will never forget the moment I realised I was free. In one evening service, my friend suggested that we share and thank God for what He’s done for us before taking communion. All I could think of at that moment was that God broke me free and called me His beloved. From that place of knowing who I was and to whom I belonged, isolation and rejection were no longer playing the lead role in my life. And although I still struggle with the fear of rejection at times, I hear that small voice again calling me His beloved. It also helps that I have people around me who can help me hear His voice encompassing me.