ACC National Reports 2019-2021

NATIONAL REPORTS 2019–2021

PROVIDED FOR THE 43rd B1IENNIAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE 1

CONTENTS

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REPORTS PROVIDED FOR THE 43RD BIENNIAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE NATIONAL REPORTS NATIONAL PRESIDENT

Wayne Alcorn

NATIONAL SECRETARY

Sean Stanton

GENERAL MANAGER

Jeffrey Bartlett

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MINISTRY REPORTS ACC INTERNATIONAL Alun Davies 13 ACS FINANCIAL Stephen Crouch 16 ALPHACRUCIS COLLEGE

Stephen Fogarty

SAFER CHURCHES

Allyson Parker

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NATIONAL ENGAGEMENT Brad Bonhomme 24 ACC COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Paul Bartlett

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CHAPLAINCY AUSTRALIA

Ralph Estherby

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ACC INDIGENOUS FORUM

William Dumas

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AUSTRALIAN CHRISTIAN WOMEN

Julia A’Bell

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ACC PASTORS EMERITUS Laine Willis 34 ACC KIDS

Andy Kirk

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CHURCH HEALTH Joel A’Bell 38 YOUTH ALIVE

Cameron Bennett

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STATE REPORTS NEW SOUTH WALES + ACT

Paul Bartlett

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QUEENSLAND + NORTHERN TERRITORY

John Hunt

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SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Joshua Brett

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TASMANIA

David Morse

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VICTORIA

Matt Heins

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WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Joel Chelliah

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\ NATIONAL PRESIDENT’S REPORT \

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ur God is faithful, in every season. This two-year Conference period has been marked and impacted by extraordinary events – from the devastation of drought, bushfires and floods, to a global pandemic not experienced before in our lifetime. Yet the Church has continued to shine in the darkness, bringing faith, hope and love in the name of Jesus.

It would be true to say that we’ve spent much of the past two years on our knees. Prayer has been a consistent call to our pastors and congregations as collectively we have faced enormous and unpredictable challenges.

Prayer in all seasons In 2019, we were fervently praying for rain to break the severe drought that had gripped our nation.

Communities were running out of water, facing the loss of their livelihood, and were succumbing to a loss of hope. We were compelled to pray for our nation, calling for 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting leading up to the federal election on 18th May 2019.

The scripture in 2 Chronicles 7:14 has long been the foundation of our prayers for our nation, and in July 2019, we asked all our churches to stop on the 14th day of the 7th month and pray that the Lord will heal our land.

The 2019 Australian bushfire season kicked off earlier than usual, and as we entered 2020, entire regions had been devastated by the millions of hectares of land destroyed. Yet who would have known that just around the corner, a global pandemic would affect everyone on the planet?

We committed to fight the Covid-19 virus on our knees, launching a National Prayer Initiative on 19th March which saw other church denominations unite with us, both across Australia and worldwide.

Individuals and families set their alarms for 19h00 hours every night to stop and pray for 19 minutes.

One of the great highlights in the midst of the pandemic was our Pentecost Sunday Prayer meeting, on 31st May 2020. It turned into the largest prayer meeting in our movement’s history when 3,000 Spiritfilled ACC Pastors joined together across our land on a private Zoom platform. A surprise guest was Prime Minister Scott Morrison who prayed fervently with us.

Unity The power of leaders and churches praying together has resulted in the beauty and strength of unity. As we’ve reached out to assist and support each other – in the drought, bushfires, floods and pandemic – we’ve experienced the power of being ‘one’.

As we’ve stood together, we’ve been able to achieve great things for the Kingdom. In the midst of the drought, churches rallied to support those ministering in the dry, arid regions through our Adopt A Church program.

Support for the ACCI Drought, Bushfire and Flood Appeals enabled us to collectively make a difference for those who needed it most, to help rebuild devastated communities. By working with local ACC churches on the ground and our Chaplains, we have been able to respond to the needs of so many affected by the crisis.

I loved how we shared resources as we all navigated new concepts of doing church in the Covid pandemic, helping each other with technology and programs, and ideas to connect and care for people.

At different stages, we may not have been able to gather in buildings, but we still gathered in unity – the way the early Church did in the book of Acts.

Church in the pandemic When places of worship were among those closed for public gatherings, we all had to step up and embrace technology to continue preaching and ministering to our congregations and communities. In our church, we used this phrase: “Church isn’t closed; the way we meet has changed”.

I applaud all our pastors and thank every church that embraced technology to reach people in their homes with the hope of Jesus. It was a steep learning curve for many of us, but it was incredible to 4

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WE’VE SPENT MUCH OF THE PAST TWO YEARS

ON OUR KNEES.

Hope Centre worship

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see so much faith and enthusiasm as people gathered online to worship the Lord all around the nation. We all had to step out into new territory and wonderfully, discovered that the fields are ready for harvest.

Church Health The natural disasters and Covid pandemic may have brought with them great stress and uncertainty, yet this was also the time for the Church to shine. Our churches emerged from months of lockdown and restrictions to find that people were excited to gather together, and many new converts from online services have begun their discipleship journey. We have long prayed for a spiritual awakening in our nation, and seeing people come to know Christ remains our greatest purpose.

Conferences & Events The annual calendar events such as Easter and Mother’s Day may have been different under Covid restrictions, but church creative teams went above and beyond to make these occasions extra special. Kids ministry leaders did Easter egg drop-offs in driveways; surprise hampers and care packages were delivered; and homes became churches, as people prepared their own Communion and found creative ways to love their neighbours.

National Matters Giving attention to matters of national importance, it is now over six years on since the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Our Safer Churches strategy continues to protect those who are vulnerable and at risk.

Likewise, our commitment to the National Redress Scheme has taken years of immense work to enable our churches to be able to opt into the Scheme to support the victims of child sexual abuse.

While Covid affected many Conference plans, it was exciting to see how ACC States and Ministries embraced the opportunity to connect further afield by hosting online events. This enabled many to attend and participate in 2020’s virtual Pan Asia and Kidshaper conferences. In August 2020, Youth Alive’s United We Stand became Australia’s largest ‘Watch Party’ online for youth in homes, small groups or back in local churches.

Health & Wellbeing

The ACC has continued to be actively involved in standing for and speaking up about specific issues in our nation that affect people of faith. This has included submissions and drafts of Religious Freedom legislation, and working behind the scenes to ensure that our freedom to preach the Gospel is protected for the generations to come.

In 2019, the National Executive identified and affirmed a commitment to the health and wellbeing of our pastors, to ensure each one of us is refreshed and supported, particularly in the area of Mental Health. One way is through building a culture of Mentoring. Across our movement there are wonderful mentors who are supporting others in ministry. We rolled out a series of resources on Health & Wellbeing to the movement throughout 2020, and Pastor Alun Davies initiated and hosted a number of online Mentoring Seminars in 2020 and will continue to run these in 2021.

ACC Leadership

Due to the different restrictions across Australia, State Conferences were a mix of those who could meet in person, with those who held online conferences. Amazingly, attendance at every State conference was up on previous years.

Our historic Pentecost Sunday prayer meeting fell in the midst of Reconciliation Week, at a time when a light was shone on the evils of racism and injustice that has pervaded society for decades and centuries. We recognise that there is still more to be done in this space to see healing from the pain of the past.

Our wonderful Indigenous leaders under Pastors Will & Sandra Dumas have provided a wealth of resources on how churches can acknowledge and celebrate Indigenous culture in their programs.

More than ever, we discovered the value of connection in 2020.

While it was a challenge for pastors to find ways to keep their congregations connected, but also so important to connect with others in ministry.

Our movement is full of faithful, servant-hearted people and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all our State Executives and Ministry Department leaders who serve our movement, to build and resource our churches, and reach people in all walks of life across our communities. Many of them serve the movement above and beyond their usual ministry roles, and we’re grateful for their passion and commitment. Read their reports of their fruitful season of ministry over the past two years.

Looking out for each other and the ‘invisible’ people became a ministry for everyone. Two major concerns relating to home isolation were the increase in domestic violence and mental health issues. While the Covid season affected the mental health of many Australians; our young people were of particular concern. Young adults seemed to struggle more with their faith and involvement with church as isolation and loneliness are major factors when social activities are limited.

Our national Bible college, Alphacrucis, is still on track to reach the goal of becoming a University, and ACSF continue to serve us admirably and flourish under the great executive leadership of Jon Holloway and the board.

We were grateful to Dr Robi Sonderegger and others who generously made available their resources to ACC pastors and their congregations, to help people deal with and recover from advancing mental and emotional health in a time of crisis.

For the past 12 years, our ACCI Missions and Relief arm has gone from strength to strength under the leadership of Alun Davies.

He made the decision to retire from this leadership position in 2021, and the National Executive endorsed the ACCI Board nominee, John Hunt, as the new director. Alun leaves a strong

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foundation for missions in our movement, enabling a smooth transition of leadership after National Conference.

In September 2019, Pastors Laine & Ros Willis were appointed as the new national oversight of our ACC Emeritus Pastors, after Pastors John & Val Lewis retired from the role. Sadly, almost a year later on 22 August 2020, we farewelled John Lewis who fought a brave battle against the aggressive cancer.

The Executive appointed Pastor Julia A’Bell as the new National Women’s director in 2020. She has come alongside the State Women’s leaders, and brought connection among the ACC women. We celebrate all the credentialed female pastors in our movement, and encourage more young women to get their credentials and take up leadership positions.

Our Executive team I would like to express our immense thanks and gratitude to our National Executive team who have stood shoulder to shoulder with me and carried specific portfolios: Alun Davies (Vice President), Sean Stanton (National Secretary/Treasurer), Joel A’Bell, Shane Baxter, Brad Bonhomme, Joel Chelliah, Matt Heins and John Hunt. Their faithful stewardship has kept us on course through the highs and lows. I’d also like to thank our General Manager, Jeffrey Bartlett and the National Office team in Sydney for their ongoing work behind the scenes.

Alun Davies has been a tremendous asset to our movement, serving 32 years on the National Executive. Ever since I took on the role of National President 12 years ago, he’s given me phenomenal support as Vice President. He has also been a great friend and wise counsellor, through all kinds of seasons, and I’m immensely grateful for his wisdom, experience and clarity in every situation. We want to thank Joan for releasing him and standing beside him during this leadership season They have both been a wonderful gift to our ACC Family and beyond.

The largest prayer meeting in our movement’s history was

3,000

SPIRIT-FILLED ACC PASTORS joining together on Zoom.

I’d also like to specifically thank and honour Shane & George Baxter for serving 12 years on the National Executive, and to Joel & Julia A’Bell for the past six years. We are thankful for your love and commitment to the ACC family, and your ongoing passion to build the Kingdom.

The theme of our 2021 National Conference – ‘ONE’ – is very significant for these times. I love the spirit of unity and camaraderie that marks our movement, that crosses generations and geographical locations, that makes us one great family.

It is a great honour to serve and lead our great fellowship at this time in history. Lyn joins me in continuing to pray and believe for a spiritual awakening across the earth, and that as we move into a new season, we are ready for a significant move of the Holy Spirit.

WAYNE ALCORN ACC National President

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\ NATIONAL SECRETARY’S REPORT \

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t has been a privilege to serve the pastors and churches of our ACC Movement in this past Conference season. This has been a time when every pastor and local church experienced the challenges of the global pandemic and added to that, and many felt the devastating effects of drought, bushfires and floods. With over 1,000 registered churches and more than 3,300 credentialed pastors, we have emerged grateful to God for His faithfulness.

Resourcing our pastors and churches I am thankful and appreciative that every ACC pastor and local church has had available to them the support of an extensive network spread across our nation, from the National Office team in Sydney, to our State offices, and regional leadership. Added to this are our Ministry Departments and Boards that have provide appropriate governance and resources.

When faced with the Covid pandemic restrictions in 2020, we continually provided practical and necessary resources to pastors and churches via our digital platforms, ranging from ideas for online services and creative ways to stay connected to congregations.

Sound governance for pastors and churches We are committed to providing sound governance support as this is an essential facet of every local church. Input is drawn from professionals across a wide range of relative fields to ensure our churches and pastors are supported and have up-to-date resources on necessary compliance and due diligence.

Building safer churches is always a key focus, and we are ensuring our Safer Churches strategy is being effectively implemented and strengthened at national, state and local levels.

Child protection remains at the forefront of our Safer Churches strategy. We have expanded this to include detailed procedures and policies that protect everyone potentially at risk, such as those with special needs and in situations of domestic family violence.

A detailed report on our Safer Churches strategy is included in this report on page 22.

Policies, Procedures and Position Statements We constantly review and update all our policies and procedures. During the two-year Conference period, a number of ACC policies were assessed and revised where necessary

by Committees of selected professionals in their respective fields. This includes the proposed updates being presented to the 2021 Conference regarding the Child Protection Policy and the Ministerial Code of Conduct. Should the Code be adopted by Conference, the Grievance Procedure will be updated accordingly in consultation with State Executives.

The National Executive commissioned a thorough review of the Doctrinal Basis of the Movement in 2020. The intent is that our Statement of Beliefs be more credal in form, precise in language and more coherent in structuree. We have sought to reflect orthodox theology as proclaimed in the Apostolic and Nicene Creeds while firmly holding to the Pentecostal ethos and distinctive of the ACC Movement. Over the past two years, we have consulted and worked with respected theologians and leaders in our Movement. Additionally, we have consulted with Pentecostal theologians globally. Two primary documents have been produced: A revised Statement of Beliefs and a Theological Supplement that provides a Scriptural foundation and a more extensive explanation for each Statement. These will be put to the 2021 National Conference for acceptance.

ACC Position Papers for pastors on a variety of issues are also updated accordingly. The Position Statement on Human Sexuality was reviewed and updated in 2020. The Position Statement on Domestic and Family Violence was also updated, with a supporting document produced that provides Procedures and Good Practice Guidelines as a resource for pastors.

National Redress Scheme During the two-year Conference period, we worked together with ACS Financial to assist churches in opting into the National Redress Scheme, which was launched in 2018 in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

We deem this extremely important to support the victims of child sexual abuse. All ACC 8

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I want to pay tribute to our NATIONAL EXECUTIVE and the collective wisdom around the table that steers our Movement. churches have received regular communication inviting them to opt into the National Redress Scheme. We are pleased that the vast majority of our churches are registered with the scheme.

ACC Census Our annual ACC Census helps us track the growth and strength of our movement across local church life. Due to the Covid pandemic, we did not run the ACC Census in 2020, as suspended in-person programs and online services were held by many churches. We are looking forward to comparing the data of the 2021 ACC Census with that of 2019 to track any shifts in church life.

Health & Wellbeing The National Executive gave the health and well-being of our pastor’s high priority in 2019, to support those pastors of churches struggling during the drought and bushfires. This intensified in 2020 with the Covid pandemic, with a particular focus on Mental Health. The Mentoring Seminars hosted by Alun Davies, with Tim Hanna and Keith Farmer, provided great insights for our pastors and will continue continue to be a regular resource for our pastors.

New Executive team 2019

Behind the Scenes Sydney.

Behind the public face of our churches and ministries are incredible people who sit on Boards and in Administrative roles that keep every church on track and moving forward. I want to pay tribute to our National Executive and the collective wisdom around the table that steers our Movement. At State Level, our State Secretaries do an incredible job of giving attention to every detail of running the States efficiently. A big thank you to Chris Smith (NSW+ACT), Chris Mulhare (QLD + NT), John Griffiths (SA), Gus Yearsley (Tas), Mark Bates (Vic) and Grahame Barlow (WA) for the outstanding job they do, ably supported by their State Administration teams.

The National Office team continues to efficiently support our entire Movement across the nation and beyond our borders. My long-serving Executive Assistant, Elba Broadhead, retired in 2020, and I am grateful to each team member who has stepped up and continued to run at full strength amid the Covid pandemic.

Thank you to Sharon Hamman (Accounts), Robyn Douglass and Ann Byron (Member services), and Daryl-Anne Le Roux (Communications) for their daily support of the pastors and churches in our movement.

Conclusion

I am particularly grateful to the ACC Review Directorate, which supports the National Executive in the duty to govern and control the entities of our Movement. Thank you to Ian Maynard (chair) and members that include Stacey Bonney, Graham Corney, Stephen Crouch, Michael Kilham, Carl Wood and Matthew Zschech for sharing the wealth of their expertise and professional experience.

This Conference marks ten years since I became the National Secretary/Treasurer of our Movement, and it has been a great honour to serve our pastors and leaders over this time. In the past decade, we have made tremendous progress and built solid foundations to be in a position of strength for the future.

I want to thank Wayne Alcorn and the National Executive for their leadership and vision over the two-year Conference period, as well as my gratitude and thanks to my wife Lynda and my church team in Canberra for releasing me to serve you.

National Office I am incredibly grateful to God for Jeffrey Bartlett, our ACC General Manager, and the entire National Office staff, who are a massive support to me as ACC National Secretary/Treasurer.

Jeffery is dedicated and responsible for the oversight of the business administration and legal governance, and we value his attention to detail and management of the National Office in

SEAN STANTON ACC National Secretary/Treasurer 9

\ GENERAL MANAGER’S REPORT \

Financial Statements I am pleased to present the financial statements for Australian Christian Churches (ABN: 58 123 514 361).

The financial comparison periods presented are:

1 January 2017 to 31 December 2018, &

1 January 2019 to 31 December 2020.

The result from the current period is a strong net surplus. When comparing the presented periods, it is encouraging to see Income increase by more than 10%, combined with a decrease in overall expenses.

The full audit reports for 2019 and 2020 are available for your review on Pastor’s Login.

COVID-19 Response The COVID-19 season has been a challenging one for all. We have witnessed our Churches quickly adapt and innovate according to the gathering restrictions of the day. It has been our privilege to provide help, support, ideas and resources to assist this adaptation. This season has also seen ACC at both National and State levels, engage with politicians and government departments, giving voice to the importance of our churches gathering together when safe to do so.

ACC Review Group The ACC Review Group (ACCRG) continued to function throughout 2019 and 2020. As a subcommittee of the National Executive, the ACCRG is essentially an Audit and Risk Committee charged with supporting the National Executive in its duty to govern and control entities (companies, incorporated associations, and unincorporated associations - over 40 in total) within the Movement.

The ACCRG is a skills-based subcommittee comprised of business professionals from churches within our Movement. We were pleased to add two additional business professionals to the ACCRG over the period, being Stacey Bonney and Michael Kilham. I am very appreciative of the wise contributions the ACCRG members have made, and the additional layer of governance oversight provided by them.

In closing, let me say that I greatly appreciate the ongoing work of our National Office team in all seasons, but particularly in the lead up to National Conference. I would also like to acknowledge the incredible volunteer contributions from various ACC churches in preparing for National Conference.

On behalf of the ACC National Office, it is an honour to continue to serve this great Movement of ours.

JEFFREY BARTLETT ACC General Manager

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\ ACC INCOME STATEMENTS \

AUSTRALIAN CHRISTIAN CHURCHES ABN: 58 123 514 361

INCOME Pastors Dues Church Dues Contributions Received Conference Other Income TOTAL INCOME

2017 & 2018

2019 & 2020

$365,896 $3,510,863 $291,077 $551,713 $146,140 $4,865,689

$413,229 $3,434,775 $569,510 $543,805 $405,410 $5,366,729

$4,798 $3,700 $17,477 $8,020 $602,672 $427,484 $796,418 $8,899 $81,198 $962,226 $49,150 $8,660 $36,588 $183,336 $68,621 $58,696 $229,591 $689,870 $4,237,404 $628,285

$4,046 $0 $11,776 $4,277 $613,365 $542,724 $862,483 $9,503 $108,720 $1,022,865 $103,661 $14,274 $18,415 $197,842 $40,468 $400 $208,459 $392,615 $4,155,893 $1,210,836

EXPENSES Assets Purchased <$1,000 Bad Debts Bank Charges Cleaning & Pest Control Conference Expenses Consultancy Fees Contribution to Ministries Depreciation Donations & Gifts Employee Expenses Insurance Membership & Subscriptions Motor Vehicle Expenses Occupancy Expenses Office Expenses Staff Training Telecommunications Travel and Accommodation TOTAL EXPENSES NET PROFIT

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/ MINISTRY REPORTS /

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\ ACC INTERNATIONAL \

ACCI

changing lives in 2019 & 2020 In the past two years, with your support, we’ve seen: • 110 missionaries serving • 255 new churches planted • 3,927 leaders trained • 3,678 salvations • 1,608 people baptised in water • 698 people baptised in the Holy Spirit • 520,947 adults and 174,629 children

assisted through community programs • 123 communities benefit from community

transformation projects Thank you for your continued support of ACCI missionaries and field workers around the world.

ACCI IMPACT OVER 12 YEARS

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t is my privilege to give this my final report to Conference. This Conference completes my final term as Director of ACCI. It has been an honour to serve the fellowship as Director of ACCI for the past 12 years.

During this time, ACCI Missions has changed in too many ways to cover in this brief report. We have relocated the missions centre and restructured and refreshed the ministry. We have re-staffed Missions, initiated new ministries, expanded and strengthened our missionary team and improved our performance achieving greater outcomes. As a result, ACC Missions is stronger and more effective than ever before. We serve our fellowship’s mission vision enabling missionaries to fulfil the call of God and take the gospel to the nations with the support of our churches and partners.

We have an amazing team of passionate people working tirelessly to implement the vision of the fellowship. This includes an extremely effective team of dedicated missionaries, associates and partners who achieve amazing things to help change lives and extend the kingdom in many nations. These heroes, supported by our Melbourne team, have together over the last 12 years of my time as Director, have:

• Planted 2,229 churches

• Seen 72,000 accept Christ

• Trained 54,498 national leaders

• Total Missions & Relief revenue raised: $95 million

These figures reveal the powerful results that our fellowship has seen as a result of our partnership of churches and missionaries working in unity together.

During the last 12years, we have also new initiatives that have increased our 13

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effectiveness and fruitfulness including: • ACCI Relief that raised $60,175,206 over 12 years to transform communities, provide relief in disasters, train leaders, engage in antitrafficking programs, poverty reduction programs, rescuing at risk youth, engaging in prison ministries, and much more.

• Our Kinnected program and related children’s community ministry has helped 908,850 children.

• Village Life and our community programs have assisted 1,759,642 adults.

• Our PanAsia Conference held each year in Phuket has seen hundreds of people, leaders and Pastors from Australian churches attend. The conference connects churches, leaders and missionaries in new partnerships that assist the churches of our fellowship to have a greater direct relationship and understanding of field workers and their ministry.

• Our annual 1Day campaign – which encourages individuals and churches to give one day’s salary to help those in need – is another initiative that continues to go from strength to strength. In the past 11 years, 1Day has raised over $2.7 million for vital missions and relief work around the world enabling us to train leaders, plant churches, develop ministries and assist national churches.

There is a great deal more we could report on as we have seen and continue to see an abundance of the Lord’s favour and blessing on this ministry.

I am very grateful for everyone I have had the privilege of working with – our wonderful Melbourne team, Ps Wayne Alcorn our national ACC President, the National and State Executives, the boards of ACCI Missions and Relief, our many generous supporting churches and stakeholders and especially our amazing missionaries, who remain my heroes. The support of these wonderful people and churches have made all of this possible.

I feel confident as John Hunt assumes the position of National Director at the conclusion of this conference. John is well suited for this ministry and I know our mission and the vision of our fellowship will thrive under his leadership.

Thank you for the privilege of serving you as Missions Director for our fellowship and working for our missionaries this last 12 years. I have been humbled and honoured to serve the Lord and promote the Great Commission in this capacity.

ALUN DAVIES ACCI Director

Total Missions & Relief revenue in the past 12 years:

$95 MILLION

Pan Asia Conference, Phuket 14

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\ ACS FINANCIAL \

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CS Financial is the movement’s trusted leaders in insurance, lending, investment and risk management for churches and schools. We are pleased to report our report for the conference period (2019 - 2021).

Insurance We have been able to keep our insurance pricing stable over recent years despite a very challenging insurance market that has impacted other insurers. 2021 will see some level of increases in response to the current market and significant storm and flooding events across the country. Whilst most ACC churches are our clients, we continue to reach a great number of churches and schools who are not ACC. Insurance highlights include: • Grown our assets insured by 25% ($3.6 billion to $4.5 billion) • Continued to update our Risk Guide for Churches on our interactive online portal • Online Insurance Declaration now saving you time with renewals (now 98% of renewals) • The team works tirelessly to asses, advise on and pay claims made, to reduce downtime as much as possible.

Investment Management & Commercial Lending • Grown Accumulator to $34.1 million at 31 December 2020 • Most of the fund has fixed interest deposits, for higher earning returns Goals and Vision At the start of this decade, our team is more focused than ever at building our services to you and continuously improving products and services to provide to you, our clients.

This year our staff will move into our recently purchased facility in Surrey Hills, Melbourne. It is an exciting time for ACS Financial, having finalised all legacy loans at the end of 2020. We are now looking forward to and planning for a hope laden decade ahead. To this end we are working on our 10 year plan which we hope to share with you in future reports.

This year, possibly by Conference, we hope to announce our largest leap forward in Church and Commercial Lending, with the launch of a $100m+ lending warehouse fund which has the potential to grow significantly over coming years to position us to compete with the major banks and dominate the lending market in our space with competitive, aligned and tailored lending with our specialised skills and experience and knowledge of church. This will leverage our existing expertise with much greater levels of our own funds to lend directly, and greatly improve access to funding for our clients and the ACC Movement and increase ACSF’s profitability over coming years to grow two substantial business revenue streams in Insurance and Lending.

Leadership Jon Holloway, our Chief Executive Officer, has led his team through the Covid-19 season with strength and grace. The team have served with high degrees of professionalism and dedication. The ACS Financial team deeply understand the business, our clients and the professional and Christian markets in which we operate.

The board have been committed to building the value of the ACS business. I am grateful for their diligence and the care taken to enable the business to flourish.

We are grateful for your continued support of ACS Financial.

STEPHEN CROUCH Chairman of Board: ACS Financial Group, including ACS Mutual 16

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\ ALPHACRUCIS \

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lphacrucis College (AC) is the oldest and largest Pentecostal College in Australia, and has had a long and fruitful relationship with Australian Christian Churches. With around 40,000 graduates, AC alumni have provided significant leadership and ministry to the Pentecostal church in Australia and around the world.

Alphacrucis College (AC) celebrated its 73rd Anniversary on 14th February 2021. AC alumni have provided significant leadership and ministry to the Pentecostal church in Australia and around the world.

The College has been on a sustained growth trajectory for the past 20 years, and during 2019 and 2020 AC continued to grow. In this last conference period total enrolled students increased by 15% and annual revenue increased by 42%. This included over 90 candidates into AC Higher Degree Research (HDR) programs, making it one of the largest Graduate Research Schools among independent colleges in Australia.

Since March 2020, AC’s Council and Executive Team have been carefully monitoring the COVID-19 situation and advice from State and Federal Governments to ensure the health and safety of AC’s community and the integrity of AC’s current operations and financial projections. Overall, the college navigated the COVID-19 pandemic with agility and creative thinking. Faculty and student support acted quickly to transition students from face-to-face to entirely online learning within a matter of weeks, as various states went into lockdown. Students have since reported a very high level of satisfaction with their learning experience during COVID. Fortunately, AC has not historically been heavily reliant on international students and in 2020 AC recorded growth in international enrolments and nearly achieved its 2020 forecast student enrolment despite the disruption of the global pandemic.

The University vision still holds strong and inspires our forward progress. In 2020 the College applied to the Australian Government for University College status, which is the next stage toward becoming a University.

Leadership and Structure The leadership of AC has remained stable during this conference period. Stephen and Sandra Fogarty celebrated 27 years of leadership and service to AC in January 2021.

Several staff received Dedicated Service Awards, celebrating 10, 15, or 20 years with the College.

AC remains closely aligned to ACC in leadership and governance. The governing body of AC is the College Council which is elected by the Members of the College at the Annual General Meeting. Pastor Michael Murphy is the Chair of the College Council. The Members of the College are the elected National and State Executive Members of ACC. The College Council members are: • Pastor Michael Murphy (Chair) • Mr Mark Burgess (Deputy Chair) • Pastor Brad Bonhomme • Dr Stephen Crouch • Prof Stephen Fogarty (President) • Mr Scott Haslem • Prof Martin Hovey • Mr David Jones • Mr Gary Lottering • Dr David Perry (Chair of Academic Board) • Assoc Prof Stuart Piggin • Prof Denise Austin (Company Secretary)

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By 2023 Alphacrucis will be a

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE with over 6,000 students.

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The members of the Executive Team of the College are: • Prof Stephen Fogarty (President) • Prof Lily Arasaratnam-Smith (DVP Student Affairs) • Prof Denise Austin (DVP Research & Standards) • Pastor Greg Cortese (VP Operations) • Mr Gary Lottering (Director of Campuses) • Pastor James Macpherson (VP Advancement) • Dr David Perry (VP Academic)

ACCI Fieldworkers, Christian teachers and educators, Christian business and Not-For-Profit leaders • Leadership resources for ACC pastors and leaders • Training for chaplaincy for Chaplaincy Australia, including the first ever Australian Indigenous contextualised chaplaincy training program • Local Church College program and resources designed specifically for discipleship and leadership development within the local church • Online e-journal Crucis and resources for leaders • Regular forums featuring internationally renowned experts in theology, leadership, education, political science, social science, and economics

Statistics and Facts AC is both a Higher Education Provider (HEP) and a Registered Training Organisation (RTO). It is one of only 12 institutions in Australia with the same Self-Accrediting Authority as universities, demonstrating the government’s high level of trust in the College’s quality and standards. AC offers courses at Certificate, Diploma, Bachelor, Masters, and Doctoral level.

• Total enrolled students increased by 15% from 3,431 in 2018 to 3936 in 2020 • AC has campuses in Adelaide, Auckland, Brisbane, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney • AC partners with over 130 churches and colleges in Australia and overseas • AC has five Higher Education Third Party Arrangements to deliver AC degree courses: Hillsong College (Sydney); National Institute for Christian Education (Sydney); Planetshakers College (Melbourne); Iso Kirja College (Finland); and Asia Pacific Theological Seminary (Philippines) • AC operates Learning Centres at St Philip’s Christian College, Hunter Valley (Education Hub), C3 Oxford Falls, and Iglesia El Lugar de Su Presencia in Bogotá, Colombia • AC offers courses in four Languages Other Than English (LOTE): Korean, Spanish, Finnish, and Italian • Annual revenue increased by 42% from $19.9 million in 2018 to $28.3 million in 2020 • Net equity increased by 39% from $29.1 million in 2018 to $40.4 million in 2020 • Total staff grew to 220 permanents plus 30 casuals and 100 sessional lecturers • Doctorate qualified academic staff grew to over 70

Events • Celebrated 73rd Anniversary of the College • Celebrated 50th Anniversary of the James Wallace Memorial Library • Celebrated 20th Anniversary of the Australasian Pentecostal Studies Centre Highlights • AC opened its new Melbourne CBD Campus in October 2019 • AC opened its new Hobart CBD Campus in December 2019 • AC continued its strong growth in student numbers, courses, campuses, and influence • AC received an 89.1% student satisfaction rating with teaching quality in 2020 (well above the sector average) • AC received 89% graduate satisfaction rating with course experience, 91% satisfaction rating with graduate qualities, and 87% graduate satisfaction rating with generic skills • New courses were accredited, including: Master of Education, Master of Education (Leadership), Graduate Diploma in Leadership, Graduate Certificate in Education, Graduate Certificate in Education (Leadership), Graduate Certificate in Teacher Preparation, Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Honours), Bachelor of Education (Secondary), Bachelor of Arts (Education Studies), Associate Degree in Education Studies, Associate Degree in Business Studies, Undergraduate Certificate in Bible, Undergraduate Certificate in Business Studies, Undergraduate Certificate in Christian Music, Undergraduate Certificate in Community Services, Undergraduate Certificate in Ministry and Undergraduate Certificate in Discipline Studies, Undergraduate Certificate in Teacher Preparation, Undergraduate Certificate in Arts, Advanced Diploma of Ministry, Diploma of Ministry, Diploma of Education Studies, Certificate IV in Ministry, Certificate III in Christian Ministry and Theology • New academic appointments were made, including: Associate Professor Ben Myers, Associate Professor Philip Fitzsimmons, Dr Katherine Hurrell, Dr Robert Pope, Rev John Guerra, Mr Tim Healy, Dr Kyoung-Jin Kim • Noteworthy appointments for existing staff including the appointments of Professor Jacqui Grey as Dean of Theology, Pratima Durga as Director for the Centre of Learning and Scholarship Skills, Rev Dr Daniel Thornton as Master of Leadership Program Director and Director of The Jagelman

Training & Resources AC continues to serve ACC through developing resources, providing training, and offering professional development for leaders. During 2019 and 2020, in addition and apart from regular educational offerings, AC has provided: • A range of Professional Credential courses, including Leading Through Crisis, Understanding Revelation, and Leading Change • Expertise to the ACC National Executive developing positional papers on current issues • Expertise to the ACC National Executive revising the ACC doctrinal statement • Professional Development at ACC Regional Meetings and Pastors’ Intensives • Professional Development and short courses for ACC pastors, ACC youth and children’s ministers, ACC Chaplains, 20

Institute • AC’s Higher Education Third Party Arrangement with Iso Kirja College launched its Helsinki Campus • Council awarded AC Distinguished Alumni Awards to Pastors John and Anne Iuliano, 2019 • Council awarded an AC Community Engagement Award to Ruth Lesmana, 2019 New Initiatives • Launched Transforming Leadership Program • Launched Teaching School Alliance Sydney (TSAS) • Signed a partnership agreement with Christian Revival Church • Established a partnership with Scots College • Implemented new Student Management System • Implemented new Library Catalogue and Research Repository • Established new Research Centres: Centre for Innovation, Research, Creativity and Leadership in Education (CIRCLE), Korean Diaspora Studies Centre, Centre for Intercultural Research and Engagement (CIRE) • Integrated Auckland campus as an international campus Goals AC’s Mission, Vision, and Values remain consistent.

Our Mission: Equipping Christian leaders to change the world.

Our Vision: A global Christian university, transforming neighbourhoods and nations.

Run With Me 2020 - towards AC beocming a University

• By 2023 AC will be a University College with 6,000 students who are being equipped to change the world through the successful impartation of AC’s graduate attributes.

Values: • Christ-centred: We are committed to the Christian faith, to serving one another in humility and engendering compassion for all peoples.

• Excellence: We are intentional in selecting foci and initiatives that raise the quality of our course offerings and research and are committed to modelling excellence that inspires emulation.

• Integrity: We value transparency in our processes and interactions, accountability that fosters maturity, and reliability that is consistent.

• Innovation: We value creative, purpose-driven innovation that provides accessible solutions.

The College Strategic Plan contains a more elaborate and specific description of goals, strategies, and intended outcomes.

The Council and staff of AC consider it a privilege to serve God and Australian Christian Churches. The College has a wonderful history and a significant future as it participates in ACC’s expanding influence within Australia and overseas.

STEPHEN FOGARTY President: Alphacrucis

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\ SAFER CHURCHES \

A

CC is committed to the highest standard of protection and safety for children and young people who attend a program, service or facility run by churches or ministries associated with our movement. Over 15,000 people have completed Safer Churches since we launched the ACC Safer Churches program.

2021 is a significant milestone, marking five years since the implementation of our Child Protection Policy and Safer Churches Strategy. As we look back, we can celebrate the tremendous steps we have taken to implement this policy through training our people, embracing child protection procedures and embeding Safer Churches culture across all ministry areas with all people. It is also time to look ahead. We have moved beyond the immediate, needed response to the Royal Commission, to embracing the National Principles for child safe organisations and seeking to continue to improve resources, training and procedures to regain trust that was lost within our communities and ensure that children and young people accessing our programs and ministries are safe, protected and flourishing.

preventing face to face church. Since last conference, over 4,000 ACC pastors and leaders have undertaken Safer Churches training and a total of 15,500 ACC people and Pastors have completed training in the past five years.

Ongoing work and new initiaties • The development of simple infographics of our Child Protection Policy for children, youth and adults to ensure all our people understand the commitment we have to their safety • Further update to the Implementation kit • Continued review of the recommendations from the Royal Commission, and how effectively we are implementing them • ACC will continue to work with experts in the field and ACC Kids and Youth Alive to provide resources for parents, children and young people around safety and protection.

Safer Churches Team The State Safer Churches Officers meet regularly to review our progress and refine our Safer Churches strategy to increase its effectiveness across all ministry areas. We thank them for their dedication and commitment.

• We are committed to giving our children and young people a voice within our organisation and hear their perspective on safety and how best to facilitate their ability to report concerns and care for them should they be harmed.

We particularly want to acknowledge the work and commitment from Susan Hislop (WA) and Jonathon Bonyathon (SA) for their time as State Safer Churches Officers. Both Susan and Jonathon have moved on to new roles and we thank them for all they have done to serve our Movement in the State Safer Churches role. We welcomed Grahame Barlow (WA) and John Griffiths (SA) to our team this year.

As we look ahead, our ACC Safer Churches Guideline 2 states: “Our primary motive for establishing and maintaining Safer Churches environments for Children or Young People and all vulnerable people, is God’s love for us. ACC people are committed to providing Children and Young people with positive and nurturing experiences and, as such, shall minister out of the love God has for everyone. We commit to church ministry events and programs built on solid Safer Churches foundations.”

Training & Resources Since the implementation of our Child Protection Policy in December 2016, we have continued to review and update our training, resources and guidelines to reflect current legislation and implementation best practice. 2021 will see the fourth edition of our Safer Churches training.

ALLYSON PARKER ACC National Safer Churches

The Implementation Kit for churches can be found in the Pastor’s Login and Safer Churches. The Implementation Kit is regularly reviewed and updated to assist churches with implementation of the Child Protection Policy and guidelines, and is an invaluable resource for our churches. In 2020, for example, best practice guidelines and permission templates for online interaction with Children and Young People were developed within weeks of the COVID restrictions.

A clear indicator of the embedding of Safer Churches culture in our churches, was the ongoing numbers of ACC Pastors and leaders completing for the first time, or updating their Safer Churches training throughout 2020, despite restrictions

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A total of

15,500 people and pastors have completed Safer Churches training in the past five years.

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/ NATIONAL ENGAGEMENT /

A

CC National Engagement is a portfolio of the National Executive that is designated to Brad Bonhomme and includes National representation with Alphacrucis and ACC media and social media.

Over the past two years I have had the opportunity to engage with key Parliamentarians. As policy is formed in Government, meaningful discussion and dialogue has been widely received. There has also been a demand for comment on several key issues including the bushfires, COVID-19, vaccinations and more, for which we have prepared statements and liaised with mainstream media.

Just prior to COVID lockdowns in March 2020, we hosted a National ACC Social Media Thinktank. The social media managers of our ACC Ministry and State departments from across the nation gathered together in Sydney to brainstorm, collaborate and learn from experts. We saw the creation of new nationally managed Instagram & Facebook accounts to share the good news stories of ACC churches through @accsnapshot. So far, hundreds of ACC churches of all sizes and from all parts of our nation have been featured in regular posts and stories in the past year.

Serving on the Alphacrucis Council has been a joy. As the College now moves towards a University College status,, the influence and expression of AC will only multiply across the nation.

Thank you for allowing me to serve our movement. We are truly moving from strength to strength!

BRAD BONHOMME National Executive Member

FOLLOW @

accsnapshot for more ACC church life 24

\ ACC COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT \

C

ommunity engagement is embedded into our culture. The strength of our gospel is not simple to be the mouthpiece of our great message but the hands and feet of Jesus to the many lonely, disconnected, and struggling people. When we get this combination right, people are transformed.

Leadership Like most National ministry departments, we aim to have a representative Community Engagement Leader in each state:

National Leader – Paul Bartlett

NSW/ACT – Andrew Harper

WA – Josh Fernandez

VIC – Daniel Sanders

TAS – Dermot Cottuli Tara Conradt and John Rewald have stepped down from their role as WA and QLD/NT leaders, we thank them for their hard work and amazing loyalty to Community Engagement.

We are currently looking to fill the positions in SA and QLD/NT. Stats During 2019 and 2020 we continued to train ACC pastors and leaders.

Diploma of Community Services: This course is designed to equip people to think and act differently regarding community transformation. In partnership with Alphacrucis and ACC Community Engagement we were able to offer this course in person and online during 2020.

In 2019 10 Students were enrolled and in 2020 , there were 14 students.

Events Because of our inability to host large gatherings during 2020, we were unable to host our ACC Community Engagement Conference. However, as many organisations did, we moved online. The Community Engagement team hosted over 130 participants for the first online Summit on September 10, 2020.

As part of the Summit Paul Bartlett shared from Isaiah 54:2 “Enlarge the place of our tent” and focused on finding new ways to do this, not just hanging on till we can go back to doing what we used to do. State Leaders were also given opportunity to provide practical suggestions on how to engage with your community and Nic Mackay, National Director for Cinnamon Network Australia, was able to update the participants on the relationship between ACC and Cinnamon.

Because of the success of this format the Community Engagement team intend to host three more Summits during 2021.

Training and Equipping We are almost at the end of our five year strategy to turn the inspiration of Community Engagement into training and qualifications available to every Pastor and Church.

Our ‘Building Strong Communities’ one day workshop was on hold in 2020 but the team is looking to reshape this to be an online course during 2021. The course to date has been run in every state in Australia.

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Highlights Covid -19 Response During 2020 many churches responded with kindness towards their community, giving out hampers, checking in on neighbours. Below right, is one story from Link Church on how they engaged with their community during a challenging time.

New Initiatives Cinnamon Network Australia During 2019 a partnership was formed between ACC Community Engagement and Cinnamon Network Australia. This partnership involves: 1. Our relationship now and in the future is one of mutual relationship to achieve community outcomes through ACC churches.

2. ACC endeavours to have a representative at each of the Cinnamon Advisory councils in each state, all other denominations have a representative.

3. Cinnamon Faith Action Audit (CFAA) The CFAA enables the faith community in a local region to measure their collective social impact. More specifically, the CFAA puts a monetary value on the time given by churches and other faith organisations to serve those experiencing vulnerability, isolation or injustice.

The desire for every CFAA is that it might help increase collaboration within and between faith traditions, open doors to government and other sectors, and demonstrate that faith really can be a force for good.

The first CFAA completed in Australia was in 2020 in the region of the Illawarra. The following data was presented to local government leaders in a report: Together for the Illawarra – a collaboration of local Ministers focused on community transformation, led by Ps Paul Bartlett and Captain Phil Inglis from the Salvation Army joined with Cinnamon Network Australia to conduct a Faith Action Audit of the Illawarra. This audit enables the faith community in a local region to measure their collective social impact.

The audit puts a monetary value on the time given by churches and other faith organisations to serve their community.

101 Surveyed responses (over half of all faith based organisations in the Illawarra) 143 Community service activities addressing 15 of the greatest social needs 141,676 interactions with people in need (equivalent to half the population of Wollongong & Shellharbour combined) $9,710,210 worth of social impact value to the Illawarra region every year (doesn’t include material assistance) Goals and vision Over the next two years we will continue to make available our training courses to all churches and leaders in the ACC, with the goal of having one person in each church qualified in the Diploma of Community Services.

We would also like to see more local areas partner with Cinnamon Network Australia to conduct a Faith Action Audit.

Crisis is the great accelerator and while Covid was terrible, it highlighted to us as leaders that we simply can’t rely on people to walk through our doors. The strong churches of the future will be those that have a DNA of community engagement that has them connected to their community seven days a week physically and online.

Don’t forget no matter what your size of church every church needs the credibility of at least one qualified community leaders. We offer the Diploma of Community Services in partnership with AC College in every state.

Thank you for all you do in loving and serving your community!

PAUL BARTLETT National Leader: ACC Community Engagement 27

LINK CHURCH RECEIVES NSW COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD Link Church pastors Glen & Clare Wysman, were announced as the recipients of the NSW Government’s 2020 Pittwater Community Service Award.

The award was presented by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Member for Pittwater Rob Stokes during a visit to the church’s food distribution headquarters at Warriewood.

Link Church’s team of volunteers provide a range of support programs aimed at assisting local families during COVID-19, particularly the provision of low cost meals and essential food items.

Rob Stokes, Member for Pittwater, said, “Glen and Clare are great examples of the extraordinary efforts people have made to support our community during COVID-19.

Along with their fantastic team of volunteers – they sprang into action at the start of the pandemic, gathered resources and quickly adapted support programs.

“COVID-19 has been devastating in so many ways, but it’s also exposed how much goodwill and kindness exists within our community.

“This award has never been more relevant than in 2020 – and it’s a fitting recognition of Glenn and Clare’s leadership and the immeasurable benefits their initiatives have provided.

“The work Link Church is doing is also an important reminder of how widespread and deep the impacts of COVID-19 have been within our community – and why we must remain vigilant, follow the health advice and continue to look out for those who may need help.

“I’m delighted the Premier was able to join me in presenting such an important award to Glen and Clare.”

\ CHAPLAINCY AUSTRALIA \

C

haplaincy Australia is the ACC’s network of Chaplains delivering professional support and care across every aspect of Australian society, particularly in times of crisis.

Chaplaincy Australia is delivering effective frontline support across Australia at higher levels than ever before. We currently have over 500 Chaplains and Associates and over 800 members in the network.

This has exceeded our growth goal of 7% per annum.

• We have an incredible unified team working across all States • We are receiving more and more requests for Chaplains • More individuals are embarking on Chaplaincy Training • We have good systems in place and we are ready to grow Chaplaincy is progressively becoming part of the DNA of our movement.

During the last 24 months, our Chaplains have been tried and tested with multiple deployments to disaster settings and support of our community during COVID19.

Our Chaplains minister in almost every sector of Australian Society and it is true to say that wherever there is a group of people, there is an opportunity for a Chaplain to make a difference.

Chaplaincy Australia is ready and enthusiastic to become one of the principal providers of highly skilled, thoroughly trained and passionate Chaplains across Australia.

Leadership Pastor Ralph Estherby is the National Director/CEO of Chaplaincy Australia and he reports to the National Board. Whilst a ‘national entity’, the ministry of Chaplaincy happens at the ‘grass roots’ level in each of the States.

Effective state teams are working with their State Executives, and they ‘tailor’ their response to meet the needs of the State they serve.

The National Board is chaired by Andrew Coghlan who works with the other members Sonny Yee, Kerrie Frizzell, John Spinella and Bronwyn Bonnell.

We have an excellent team of State Directors including: New South Wales – Deb Kuhna Queensland – Angie Herranz South Australia – Jeff Marshall Victoria – Glenise Dedrick Western Australia – Jody Sisley We want to acknowledge the incredible work that is being done by this great team and the many volunteers who support them.

I would also like to honour the previous State Directors who served during this conference period: Pastor Susan Marcuccio (now CA National Supervision Director) and Pastor Shane Brigg both made significant contributions to their States.

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Stats

Training & Resources Our ongoing partnership with Alphacrucis College continues to be one of our greatest strengths. The synergy present enables both organisations to offer a standard of training in Chaplaincy and Pastoral Care which we believe is second to none. In many sectors is becoming the accepted minimum standard.

The goal of having at least one CA Chaplain in every ACC Church is moving towards realisation and more and more Pastors are articulating that Chaplaincy is becoming a part of their missional vision.

All of our training is presented by practitioners who have had extensive practical experience in Chaplaincy. There are currently over 200 Chaplains in training either completing the Cert IV or Diploma Courses.

New initiatives • 1800Chaplain - We are excited to announce that we will be commencing a 24/7 Chaplaincy support line (Phone/Text/Chat).

During Covid19 the training pivoted to online and enrollments remained strong. The demand for effective training in this area is increasing year on year.

This service will be activated soon after the National Conference and will be supported by a team of volunteer Chaplains who will be available to all those in need of Pastoral Care.

CA continues to offer ongoing Professional Development training in Chaplaincy specific areas such as Mental Health, Domestic Violence, Grief and Loss, Trauma and Suicide response and prevention. We are also offering training in Practical Pastoral Care for Church teams.

The 1800Chaplain number will be made available to all ACC Churches as an additional support that they can offer their communities especially at times of crisis. This will become a forward-facing help to the wider Australian community.

• Expansion of Workplace Chaplaincy – More and more workplaces, service clubs and agencies are seeking professional Chaplains to become a part of their welfare and support strategies – we are positioning ourselves to meet this need with highly trained, professional Chaplains who will continue to make a difference.

Our Chaplains will continue to be among the best equipped in the nation as we continue to develop courses to meet the needs.

Highlights • Disaster responses to Drought (NSW/QLD), Floods (QLD), Bushfires (Nationwide), Tropical Storms (FNQ) and COVID19 (Nationwide).

Chaplaincy Australia is in a strong position but innovation and adaptation are needed to continue to meet the needs of a community which is always changing.

• 20 Community Chaplains deployed on long term appointments to assist bushfire ravaged communities. (Supported through CA & ACCI)

Goals and Vision We want to become one of the largest providers of Christian Chaplaincy to the Australian Community.

• Citations and honours awarded to our Chaplains from various levels of Government

We are projecting growth of 7% per year – by Conference 2023 we will be expecting 915 in the network.

• Launch of 75% Plan to ACC Churches • Unfolding of the Supervision & Mentoring Strategy across all States. We now have 34 Supervisors and 14 Mentors with more on the way.

We continue to reach for the goal of having a Chaplain or a Chaplaincy ministry attached to every ACC Church.

• Workplace Chaplains placed in FIFO communities in WA.

Chaplaincy is an opportunity for your Church to make an impact across every sector of your community. Imagine highly skilled, well trained and motivated individuals reaching out with passion to demonstrate the love, compassion and acceptance of Christ – what could the Lord do with that?

• Growth in workplace Chaplaincy requests across varied industries.

• Largest Chaplaincy Conference on record (NSW 2019) • 3 State Chaplaincy events in 1 day!

Chaplaincy Australia is ready to assist you prepare your people to make a difference!

• 22 ACC Defence Force Chaplains are now in place with representation at the highest levels.

RALPH ESTHERBY

There is a high level of engagement across each State Chaplaincy team and enthusiasm and confidence are being expressed for the future.

Chaplaincy Australia National Director/CEO 29

\ INDIGENOUS INITIATIVE \

T

he ACC Indigenous Initiative is committed to create awareness and engage with the Indigenous people of our nation, by resourcing churches and leaders, and raising up Aboriginal and Torres Strait leaders.

The National Indigenous Initiative team continues to represent their respective states by providing cultural training and advice to churches, Christian schools and community organisations, who are seeking to understand and include a strategic approach to Aboriginal Cultural Safety and Aboriginal Cultural Heritage.

Aboriginal Cultural Heritage refers to the knowledge and lore, practices and people, objects and places that are valued, culturally meaningful and connected to identity and Country. It also shapes identity and is a lived spirituality fundamental to the wellbeing of communities through connectedness across generations.

Understanding these principles opens the door for meaningful relationships and an openness for Cultural Safety, which in turn prepares for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to significantly impact a person’s life and transform a community.

Learning how to do Ministry Differently 2020 was a year to remember how to continue to be relevant and accessible to minister when our ways of doing ministry is turned upside down. Zoom meetings became a way life for most meetings, training flourished and opportunities to reach more people became a reality.

Events National NAIDOC Week was postponed from its annual celebration during the first week of July and hosted later in November 2020 when COVID restrictions allowed smaller gatherings.

The annual ACC National Indigenous Conference was also cancelled in 2020 and retains the same theme for 2021 ‘Helaing the Land’ which will be held in Tweed Heads on the 3-4 September 2021.

Indigenous Issues 2020 also bought to the forefront Indigenous Issues that have affected and plagued our Indigenous people for years, such as Black deaths in custody. Marches were held around the nation and supported by Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, churches, pastors, and everyday individuals who learnt the stories of years of tragedy and abuse of authority. Many found it confronting and unbelievable, and some minimalised the truth revealing stories that were being exposed, but for the majority of Australians, they saw firsthand the pain and suffering that Indigenous families had endured for years.

This opened great conversations and some challenging conversations as well for us as the Indigenous Initiative team, mostly though, people just wanted to know how they can be supportive and involved with their local communities.

WILLIAM & SANDRA DUMAS ACC Indigenous National Directors

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\ AUSTRALIAN CHRISTIAN WOMEN \

T

he heart of Australian Christian Women is our desire to see all ACC women empowered and functioning in their God-designed full potential, and leading in all spheres of ministry.

Overview

• International Women’s Day - March 2021

I was asked to take on the national leadership role of Australian Christian Women in December 2019. In early 2020, I began to meet one-on-one with some of the ACW State Leaders before Covid shut down travel around the country. This included meetings with Michelle Fredericks, Janine Donato, Georgie Baxter, Roz Zai and Sue Mulhare. Unfortunately the WA and TAS catch ups were unable to take place because of Covid restrictions, although these were done via phone calls.

An email was sent to honour all our credentialed women and female admin staff, as well as encouraging each recipient to honour a woman in her world.

During 2020 I continued to touch base with state leaders through Zoom and Facetime.

Highlights

Events Most ACW State women’s conferences and gatherings were postponed or cancelled or went online during 2020, but will resume in 2021 either in person or online.

My personal highlight has been getting to know ACC girls from around Australia via Facetime and Zoom. There are incredible women doing outstanding things for the Lord, in their communities and spheres, all across Australia.

Leadership

National ACW:

Julia A’Bell

QLD / NT ACW: Michelle Fredericks

NSW/ACT ACW:

Roz Zaia

VIC ACW:

Georgie Baxter

TAS ACW:

Alix Morse

SA ACW:

Janine Donato

WA ACW:

Sharon Chelliah

New initiatives The following initiatives were launched:

• Bi-monthly ACW Zoom Connect for all female credentialed ACC women.

• National ACW Instagram.

Goals and vision

Some of the States / Territories have Regional ACW leaders in place, others are in the process, some are not pursuing regional leaders.

• That we would have a very connected and relational movement of women. That the women around Australia would get to know one another.

National Women’s Advisory Team

• That we would see greater equality for women in local church context and at the highest levels of decision making.

When women are a part of key decision making, the Church across Australia will flourish at another level.

In February 2021, a national women’s advisory team was launched, to include State ACW leaders as well as other specialists from around Australia.

Whilst some local churches have equality for women, it has come to my attention that others do not. We have a wealth of gift and talent amongst the women of Australian Christian Churches! Our desire is to see each woman released to soar at her full potential in whatever sphere or season she finds herself.

Stats The ACC has 1094 credentialed women (as of March 2021).

Training & Resources

We have a wealth of gift and talent amongst the women of Australian Christian Churches! Our desire is to see each woman released to soar at her full potential in whatever sphere or season she finds herself.

• Instagram LIVE Interviews The Covid lockdown season was a great opportunity to do Instagram LIVES with the purpose to introduce some of the fabulous ACC women to the others around Australia. It was evident not many knew other credentialed women outside their state.

• ACW Zoom Connect

JULIA A’BELL

The purpose of Zoom Connects is to build relationships and equip women. These will run bi-monthly and allows us to develop relationships and equip / train from the comfort of their own homes.

ACW National Leader

• Emails of encouragement Every few months ACC credentialed women were sent an email, especially during Covid.

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ACW Online Connect - February 2021 33

\ PASTORS EMERITUS \

P

astor John Lewis said, “Facing retirement from the Pastorate should not be the end of a purpose-driven life. It can be the opening of new doors of opportunity to do things that pastors love doing.”

In presenting this report I would like to pay tribute to John and Val Lewis who laid the foundations for this ministry and served the Fellowship with excellence in their own retirement. The transition to “retirement” can be a very unsettling process as prominent responsibilities are relinquished, and new horizons are sought.

The ministry of Pastors Emeritus seeks to nurture our retiring pastors in this transition period and encourage opportunities for continued viable ministry in a re-formed context.

QLD / NT Laine and Roslyn Willis have been functioning in this role since 2016 and through annual lunches during State Conferences, ACC Regional meetings, coffee mornings, Christmas gatherings, newsletters etc, have endeavoured to keep a sense of connection amongst our members.

NSW / ACT Ian and Doreen Bartley are very active in their roles with a number of connection events in regional centres including Newcastle, Gosford, Liverpool, Campbelltown, and Port Macquarie. A morning coffee connect has also begun in Lismore with Tim Spoor. Their quarterly newsletters also ensure continued relationships around the state.

VICTORIA After seven years of Emeritus leadership,, Barry and Margaret have now stepped aside. They have done an excellent job during their time of service. The new leaders are Shane and Millie Lepp who have enlisted eight pastors to share in the leadership team to share the ministry of providing care and fellowship across the State.

Thank you Barry and Margaret.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA Under the leadership of Patty Hardy, the Pastors Emeritus have enjoyed local connections at State Conference and Christmas events. Significant initiatives flowing from the need to honour our retired pastors include an Emeritus prayer network and a scheduled space at State Conference to honour those who have “gone home” in the past conference period.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA A highlight in the calendar in SA for Emeritus leaders, Trevor and Valerie Auricht, have been the Barossa Emeritus Conference. Unfortunately, this event was dropped last year because of Covid restrictions. The previous year Pastor Andrew Evans was the speaker. Coffee catch-ups are being considered to enhance the fellowship in a more casual and localised setting.

TASMANIA Although the smallest numerically, Pastors Emeritus Tasmania is well taken care of by Ron and Marilyn Wilson through their personal interaction and pastoral encouragement.

ACC National Revised Emeritus Status The introduction of the “Honorary Ministry Certificate” now an option for those who no longer wish to fulfill the regulatory Child Safety Training, has made life much easier for our Pastors Emeritus. This option has been welcomed by a significant number of our pastors who found it difficult to maintain the current conditions required for an active credential.

On behalf of all our Pastor Emeritus members throughout the ACC, I would like to thank our National and State Executives for their support and the honour given to our “retired” Pastors.

National Prayer Network This prayer network under the oversight of David and Ruth O’Keefe undergirds the Fellowship addressing specific prayer needs as they arise. Many of those involved are Emeritus members who feel that this ministry is vital in carrying the burdens of pastors, churches, missionaries and others before the Lord in intercessory prayer. If you would like to participate as an intercessor or have a prayer need at any time, contact can be made via prayer@acc.org.au.

LAINE & ROSLYN WILLIS Emeritus National Co-ordinators 34

\ ACCKIDS \

C

hildren’s Ministry has shifted from traditional Sunday School to an impacting, vibrant, growth-causing ministry in the life of local churches. ACCkids resource the wider church leadership through conferences, training events, formal education and mentoring.

Over the past two years, ACCkids has been focussed on Leadership development through the demographic of Children’s Leaders. In that time we have held our annual National Conference ‘Kidshaper’ in 2019, along with that Kidshaper National Tour event, a five-city training event held over one week. We have continued with our successful Mentor Program, lauched a weekly Leadership Podcast, partnered with Champions Clubs to bring training and resources to churches in the area of additional needs, as well as launching the ACCkids Academy in conjunction with Youth Alive.

Like everyone, we all had to adapt and change our approach in 2020 but through the strength of the programs and initiatives we have been running, we were able to support Kids pastors and leaders through COVID restrictions.

We held four Online Conversations with over 70 Kids Pastors talking through response and strategy. As there was no physical conferences, we held Kidshaper as a Virtual Conference, which was a huge success. We will now run this event annually as well as our in-person events.

Leadership Over the last two years tere have been some changes in State Leaders. The current team is: National Leader: Andy Kirk QLD/NT: Jason Van Vuuren NSW: Allyson Parker taking over from Hannah Shand VIC: Barry Newton taking over from Ezra Boots WA: Jordan Keehan SA: Alice McInnes Stats Kidshaper Conference (2019): Kidshaper National Tour (2019):

Kidshaper Virtual Conference (2020): Number of Mentor Students:

ACCkids Academy:

Up 5% on year before 1000 people attended throughout week Over 1200 People connected in 40 different churches in personal mentoring program 10 Students

Online Resources:

20% viewing increase

Training & Resources ACCkids has continued to develop it’s Mentoring program and well over 40 Kids Pastors and leaders have been trained and mentored. The launch of the ACCkids Kids Ministry and Leadership Podcast has created another platform for Kids Pastors and Leaders to upskill weekly. The Podcast has seen the leading Kids Pastors Internationally feature along with incredible Australian Pastors and Leaders from within our Movement.

ACCkids Academy launched in 2020 in partnership with Youth Alive.After many years of incredible success training Youth Pastors, we were thrilled to partner with Youth Alive. This is a key strategy to see leaders formally trained with a Kids Ministry focus.

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All of our training

and development can be accessed from anywhere in Australia and beyond through

TECHNOLOGY.

ACC Kids - National Conference 2019 36

Events

Goals

The Kidshaper Conference in 2019 had Beth Cunningham from Church of the Highlands, Dave Gilpin and our National Team as speakers. The Conference was strongly attended and already pre COVID communication was around Digital Media, Building Teams and community through small groups.

Over the next two years, ACCkids plan to continue growing and developing leaders in Children’s Ministry. We are looking for a continued growth in attendance in all our events and initiatives as we serve the wider church. We aim to outwork this through• More intentional Leadership development to these Regional Leaders (whether online or other specific training opportunities)

In 2020 we held the Kidshaper Virtual Conference with Justin Edge from Life.Church as speaker. Additionally we held five Electives via ZOOM with the whole resource pack sent out to all delegates. The Conference saw about 1,200 people attend and now the Virtual Conference will be an ongoing event.

• A Key Kids Leaders Summit similar to the Senior Pastors one held in Melbourne • Appoint regional leaders across each State to take ownership of connecting with kids leaders in their area (especially in regional areas).

Highlights The main highlights in the last two has been the expansion into training through ACCkids Academy and the launch of the Podcast.

Our heart is to train and equip leaders so anytime we can find ways to better resource and train further is a highlight.

• Continue to give Kids Pastors / leaders mentoring opportunities (especially to support new leaders as they take on a seemingly daunting role) • Continue to build the Kidshaper tour and Conference, for opportunities for leaders to gather and be inspired.

The other great highlight is a direct response from us having to adapt out of COVID with the Virtual Conference and Webinars hosted which has seen a greater community built through connection and community.

• Create a communal online cloud that people can access resources / templates or that key leaders could contribute resources that may help others.

New initiatives

As ACCkids continues over the coming two years to outwork the training and development of Children’s pastors and leaders, we would like to thank the ACC National Executive for it’s ongoing support. For local churches wanting any information on how they can be a part of all that is being offered, please contact us at info@acckids.org.au

• Online Platforms Increased From what was learnt in 2020, we have realised that the ability to run more webinars and also train remotely has increased our capacity to train. All of our training and development can be accessed from anywhere in Australia and beyond through technology. The Kidshaper Virtual Conference that we ran in 2020 has now been added to the yearly training opportunities to start the year. In 2021 Russell Evans was the speaker at this event that was streamed to individuals or local churches hosting an event for their whole Kids Team.

ANDY KIRK National Leader: ACCKids

• OneHope and YouVersion Partnership OneHope and YouVersion brought us the Bible App for Kids a number of years ago and this has been an incredible resource for families. ACCkids has been joined with both these organizations around a new project ‘Kids Daily Bible Experience’ which has launched stage one on the YouVersion App. The creation of Content and continued joint partnerships will see many of our leading ACC Churches Kids Ministries involved.

37

CHURCH HEALTH

C

hurch Health is a significant portfolio of the National Executive that has been designated to Joel A’Bell in the past two year Conference period.

The health of any family is critical for all its members, and it is incumbent on every member to contribute to the health of the family.

COVID has been the great revealer. It has magnified what has (potentially) been laying dormant inside of us. For those who have a confident hope in Jesus, this season has caused us to emerge relatively unscathed. For others of us, with an unhealthy expectation on others for our support and comfort, COVID has dealt a lethal blow.

All in all, we cannot deny the stripping back of what we once held so dear, and an emergence of the new opportunities that lay ahead of us. Individuals across the earth have instinctively asked, “what is most important?” Is it any wonder that we are asking the same questions as faith communities?

During my time on the National Executive, we have spent a decade measuring health by actual numbers. such as attendance, baptisms, salvations and volunteers etc. These make the most sense to us because they are easy to measure, and we can bench mark across the fellowship. We should continue counting.

This next season will create appetites of new health conversations. Areas about atmosphere, posture, our tone in the community and our social responsibility. Whilst these are difficult to measure, the conversations will shape the way church is felt on our society.

Mentoring has seen a huge spike in interest across the ACC (and other denominations) and will provide the necessary support to keep pastors healthy, which will in turn see health flow down the leadership ranks in to all our churches.

With more than half of our churches in regional and rural Australia, I am excited about all the possibilities that await our future.

It has been a privilege to serve you these last several years and I am more passionate about church health than ever before.

Looking forward to keeping the conversation alive.

JOEL A’BELL. National Executive Member

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\ YOUTH ALIVE \

Y

outh Alive continues to have significant influence and impact on this generation as we engage thousands of youth and young adults across the nation with the truth of Jesus Christ. The national cohesion is greater than ever as we work together as one!

Leadership The National Leadership Team is made up of all Youth Alive State Directors. We thank them as they continually invest into this generation of young people with passion and dedication.

The team includes: Cameron Bennett (QLD) David Edgar (VIC) Sam Long (SA) Matt Sharples (TAS) Matt Wilesmith (NSW) Andrew Williams (WA) A special acknowledgment thank you to all of the State Directors that have finished in their capacity as Youth Alive State Directors since 2019.

Craig Guntrip (TAS) Stephen Lott (NSW) John Mezbourian (WA) Stats The past season has been the most significant, yet challenging, in the history of Youth Alive with thousands of young people directly impacted through Youth Alive activities.

At the beginning of 2020, the impact of Coronavirus and government responses gave us the opportunity to strengthen our online reach. Conferences, outreach events, leadership development and Academy all engaged in effective online strategies and delivery.

Outreach Events • 81,792 in attendance/views • 8,746 responses to follow Christ Conferences • 11,344 in attendance/views Schools • 23,935 in attendance Training & Resources In each state, Youth Alive equips young leaders through various leadership programs and events.

• 215 students trained in the leadership academy in partnership with Alphacrucis • 7,540 in attendance/views at leadership equipping events

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UNITED WE STAND

is Australia’s largest Christian youth gathering with over

28,000

in attendance.

UWS 2019 - Queensland 40

Events • United We Stand continues to be Australia’s largest Christian youth gathering with over 28,000 young people in attendance. In 2020, youth ministries and young people viewed our very first online UWS outreach. This was viewed in a variety of contexts dependent on local government restrictions.

YOUTH ALIVE ACADEMY I can say with absolute confidence that my time at Youth Alive Academy was one of the foundational growth opportunities that equipped and prepared me in my current role as a Youth Pastor leading a significant group of young people. Beyond the academic qualification, the constant, personal leadership development equipped and empowered me to lead teams, increase my personal organisational skills, and confidently tackle incredibly complicated and nuanced issues that affect young people.

Youth Alive’s commitment to partner with and equip local churches meant that I could take the practical skills that I was learning in the classroom and immediately apply them to a real-life youth context in my community.

The speakers that we were exposed to were genuinely world-class. Educators such as Michelle Mitchell integrated detailed lessons about how young people mentally function and is yet to be outclassed by any other tertiary training I have completed – including specific Secondary Education study in one of the top 5 rated universities in Australia.

The commitment from Pastor Renee and the rest of the Youth Alive team to grow each student in their individual capacities is evidently demonstrated in the personal care that the team take to grow each student. Beyond the classroom experience, I had the opportunity to debrief complicated pastoral situations with some of the best Youth Leaders in the nation and those doors have remained open and are valuable resources to me as I have stepped into full-time ministry. It’s clear that the objective of the Academy wasn’t to get people through the door but to walk with each person in their unique leadership journey.

I would not be in the position that I am today without Youth Alive Academy and wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone interested in growing their leadership and ability to work with and lead young people.

• Conferences across the nation have been growing at a rapid rate. Thousands have encountered Jesus in a real and profound way and many have had the call of God awoken in their lives due to these events.

• Leadership Equipping Events have different forms across the country to meet the needs of the local churches in that area.

• Leadership Academy is a significant leadership environment that challenges, trains and nurtures the call of God upon students to reach this generation of young people.

The Academy continues to innovate in its delivery strategies, to connect students across the nation and engage communicators from across the globe. This innovative approach allowed the Academy to adapt with strength through covid.

Goals and vision Youth Alive is being strategic and intentional towards outworking its mandate through: • Reaching the lost • Raising leaders • Resourcing the local church • Reviving a generation Youth Alive would like to thank Pastor Wayne Alcorn and the ACC National Executive for their ongoing support and belief in the next generation.

CAMERON BENNETT National Leader: Youth Alive

– Sandy Collins Youth Pastor Life Church Brisbane South

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/ STATE REPORTS /

42

\ NEW SOUTH WALES & ACT \

T

he past two years has been a period of adjustment for our state, as I navigated my first two years as State President. This meant a re-evaluation across all areas of what we do, who we are, and how we spend our budget.

The State Executive and I have felt to bring a particular emphasis/ focus (with a measurable strategy and outcome) in:

Community Services • Chaplaincy retreat • Supervision/Mentoring

• Raising more young leaders/pastors.

• Planting Churches that plant churches (20 churches a year by 2023 with a commitment to sow financially into places which are deemed growth areas with no ACC Church).

Events Our Core Team and Key Leaders Retreat continues to be an important annual event. This two-day retreat has proven to be important to create a culture and set a common focus(s) that empower our churches and pastors to move forward.

• Resourcing churches to strengthen their discipleship culture.

• Supporting Indigenous (identifying and raising more Indigenous pastors and helping local churches be culturally aware).

Our 2019 State Conference was one of our best attended conference with Jemima Varughese, Paul Scanlon, Paul Bartlett, Corey Turner, and Keith Farmer bringing powerful sessions that equipped and developed our pastors.

We continue to focus on mentoring (we have 30 trained mentors and supervisors) of which we contribute to the cost for any pastor that chooses to utilise.

In the first quarter of 2021, we had a retreat with our executive, regional leaders, and state department heads. Their feedback was the lean in and enthusiasm for our state has never been higher!

In contrast, 2020 was completely different, as we had a oneday conference online! It was a great success as we had 899 registrations and 3,100 people join us online. All our speakers, Carey Nieuwhof, myself, and Shane Willard spoke clearly into this season that we find ourselves leading in, while giving us insight into our future. We also ended the day with 9 optional breakout sessions which were attended by many of our pastors and leaders.

Leadership 2020 was our voting year at our State Conference (facilitated totally online via electronic voting, Zoom and business sessions, and break-out groups, which saw Bruce Robertson (Robbo) deciding not to stand for another term and Stephen Lott (Lotty) being elected for 2020-2022. We thank Robbo for his leadership and friendship.

In February 2021 we held an ‘Indigenous Awareness Seminar’ led

by Sinead Dumas, who consults and works alongside churches and senior leadership to bring cultural safety packages and training. The seminar explains historical issues that Indigenous Australians face, with a Biblical & God-focused lens, to enable change and action from within the Church. This seminar personally impacted our team (and many we talked to) in so many ways and left us with new perspectives, challenged our bias’, and gave us some great ways to reach the Indigenous in our communities.

As a team, the State Executive, have brought new thinking, new strategies and changes to our state, particularly in giving each member of the State Executive responsibility and accountability for ministry areas. We have also prioritised investment into our ministry and regional leaders so they can carry the vision and focus into their spheres of influence.

Stats

Goals

• 323 NSW & ACT ACC churches • 26 new churches have been added over the past 2 years (Church planting is a strong goal for us over the next 5 years) • 924 credentialed pastors • Over the period of 2017 – 2018 we credentialed 6 SMC, 106 PMC, 50 OMC, & 11 OMC Transfer Credentials

As we emerge from the pandemic, and realise how difficult 2020 was, there are many things we have learnt that will help us lead our movement and churches better in the coming decade.

Carey Nieuwhof says, “Crisis is the great accelerator”. We must recognise we can reach more people when we become more strategic with our digital platforms and realise that the goal is not simply large numbers gathering but raising up disciples that themselves make more disciples.

Training & Resources We currently host: • • • • • • • •

Two Ministry Essentials per year.

Two Church Planting/Blank Canvas Retreats per year Emerging Leaders Retreat, Youth Leaders (Youth Alive) Retreat, Kids Pastors Training Days and catch-ups, SRE Teacher Training Days Emeritus Lunches in specific regions Community Engagement Online summit and have partnered with Alphacrucis to facilitate the Diploma in

While the future is different, I believe that ACC NSW/ACT is well positioned to help resource and lead all our pastors and churches strategically into the next decade.

PAUL BARTLETT State President: NSW & ACT

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\ QUEENSLAND & NORTHERN TERRITORY \

T

his season has seen both consolidation and growth in Australian Christian Churches Queensland and the Northern Territory.

COVID-19 One of our nation’s greatest challenges to hit the Church happened in 2020. COVID-19 completely obliterated the status quo of Church. Our churches, with nimbleness to virtual platforms, continued to minister to what became an everincreasing number of people online. Our 2020 conference was held in nine locations across our State and Territory, with worship being led by local teams, whilst the speakers were broadcast across all our locations. We had a beautiful moment at the Brisbane location to stand as the ACC Family with Val Lewis and honour the incredible work she and the late John Lewis have contributed to the ACC in QLD/NT.

We congratulate Ben Naitoko on his appointment as State VicePresident and Lee Dallman on joining the state team.

The leadership current team is: President::

John Hunt

Vice President:

Ben Naitoko

Secretary:

Chris Mulhare

Treasurer:

Craig Tomkinson

Executive Members: Deb Van Bennekom Lee Dallman Ben Teefy

Country Interns Our Country Intern initiative is beginning to take shape. We are working in partnership with Alphacrucis College to select groups of students to participate in a one month internship in rural Queensland. The purpose behind this is threefold; to add practical hands-on experience to future pastors in our movement; to add an extra pair of hands at some of our remote churches for a season, and to seed the idea in many young leaders that pastoring in the bush would be a great option for them.

The State Executive has functioned magnificently as a team, with each member bringing their gifts and talents to the mix. The end result has been that the sum of the whole was much greater than the parts. I personally wish to thank them all.

Torres Strait Boat Since the purchase of the boat, it has transported 10 mission groups to the inner western island, transported resources to western island ministers on six mission trips, facilitated locals to gather for a chaplaincy weekend, and allowed for visiting pastors and the ACC leadership team to speak to the locals. I honour the Torres Strait leadership for their tireless efforts to reach and share the word in an expanded area of influence.

JOHN HUNT ACC QLD/NT State President

Department and Regional Leadership transitions As in every cConference period, seasons of leadership come to a close and others open. Here is a record of those transitions: Sunshine Coast region: Rod Jobe - Josh Bradford Brisbane North region: Mark Elmendorp - James Hensley Northern region: Cami De Almeida - Renee Vucetic I wish to thank all of our retiring leaders for their valuable ministries to the life of our movement. To each incoming leader, I commend you for your enthusiasm and fresh perspective.

New Churches and Pastors During this conference period we have seen 20 new church plants, and 75 new pastors receive their credentials.

State Executive Transition At this conference our Vice-President of the last 10 years, Pastor Steve Kennedy, stood down. His contribution to this movement has been immense.

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\ SOUTH AUSTRALIA \

E

ntering 2021 there are so many great reports coming in from around the State from churches adding new services through to high numbers of salvations and water baptisms. We have seen our ACC pastors embrace and navigate this unusual season and come through with strength, vision and passion. South Australia is in good health and believing big for our future.

Goals and Vision: In 2020 we communicated our focus as the ACC in SA. All of our resources and energy will be directed toward:

Leadership: President: Josh Brett – Enjoy Church Vice President: Rob Santostefano – One Heart Church Secretary/Treasurer: John Griffiths – Lifepoint Church Executive:

David Hall – Lifepoint Church

Josh Greenwood – Influencers Church

Greg Johnston – Influencers Church

Darren Braund – Light Church

• Pastoring Pastors • Producing Leaders • Planting Churches

The State Executive all carry portfolios that link initiatives towards these areas of focus.

A passage we all know very well is Matthew 16:18 when Jesus said “I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” This Church we have the privilege to be co-labourers in, is being built by Jesus. This truth provides a simple reminder that Jesus builds and our part is to disciple. I am loving the realignment to the Great Gommission that is happening around the nation and the globe. Our mandate as followers of Christ, as pastors and leaders, as churches is to see SOULS SAVED and DISCIPLES MADE. For all the craziness of 2020 there is a newfound passion emerging in our hearts for the Great Commission. These are the greatest days for the Church in Australia.

Stats: • Number of Churches – 59 • Number of OMC’s & PMC’s – 200 pastors (121 OMC / 59 PMC / 20 SMC) • Credentialled in 2019 & 2020 - 32 Training & Resources: Like everyone else we have looked at how we can swing more to online platforms. We believe this will provide greater saturation across the State. Josh Greenwood has taken on the Church Health Portfolio in 2021 and is excited to increase our resourcing of churches and pastors.

Wellbeing Check In October 2020 we engaged NCLS to undertake a wellbeing check through an anonymous online questionnaire. The results revealed areas of good health but also highlighted a few areas to focus on going forward. We are committed to the health and wellbeing of our pastors and will continue to look for opportunities to strengthen in this area. This is a conversation we have had with the Alphacrucis team in Adelaide, who in February 2021 hosted a webinar on the topic “Looking After a Weary Soul.” This webinar link has since been shared with all credentialed pastors.

JOSHUA BRETT State President: South Australia

Highlights: Online Church: In the past 12 months we have been encouraged by the strength of the Church in Australia. To see churches of all sizes adapt to online services was incredible. The physical doors may have closed but the ministry doors did not.

State Conference 2020: We were able to gather as a State in September for a shortened conference. This gathering was one of the best we have had in recent years with record registrations seeing our conference sell out. We celebrated as the ACC family and were encouraged to have our Premier attend where we could thank and pray for our government as they navigate Covid.

New Initiatives: Expansion Fund: Throughout 2021 we are building a financial ‘war-chest’ that will be used to sow into Leadership Development, Evangelism and Church Planting in greater ways.

45

\ TASMANIA \

I

t remains a privilege to serve our churches and lead Tasmanian State Executive Team, as we have grown and seen God increase and strengthen us despite the Covid pandemic in 2020. All of our churches have commenced meeting physically after restrictions in 2020.

I am proud, thankful and grateful to God that our churches have remained vigilant during the Covid period and most have reported growth and increased engagement. We have embraced technology during this difficult time and took on the challenge of meeting wholly online in 2020 and have now gradually reverted to having both physical meetings, and maintaining online meetings as well in 2021.

Events We had State conferences in 2019 and 2020. We were blessed in Tasmania to be able to meet physically in 2020 with a strong online engagement. A Senior Pastors’ Retreat was held in September 2020 with 15 in attendance via online streaming. The objective of the retreat was to encourage each other and to continue to enhance relationships. We are thankful to God for churches and leaders who continue to connect well. We are a smaller State and we have capitalised on that. Despite the Covid pandemic, we have seen growth in our churches.

Leadership As President, I’m ably supported by a great team: Vice-President – Matt Sharples Secretary – Gus Yearsley Treasurer – Martin Oravec Church Planting & Health – Ian Kruithof Executive member – Peter Shurley Executive member – Peter Fletcher

Highlights: Despite not being able to gather, we still built momentum, as exemplified on 20th February 2021, where Pastors and Youth leaders from around the State gathered for one of the best and biggest leaders’ meetings we’ve seen in many years. So regardless of Covid and its impediments to gathering, Tasmania continued to grow in unity and faith. We are so expectant to see what the next two years will see us advance in and taking possession of.

In addition, Matt Sharples is Youth Alive Director and Alix Morse overseers ACC Women in the State.

New Initiatives

Stats

A number of churches are working on plans to plant and a number of them taking significant steps at this time, going forward. Our focus in the State has shifted to church planting.

The current number of active churches in Tasmania is 17. We are expecting an increase over the next two years, with some church plants that are well into developed planning stages, as we progress into 2021 and beyond.

Goals Our overall goal is to develop a coaching model with a ten-year vision to develop healthy pastors and churches who will raise up a generation of leaders and church planters.

Training & Resources Technology: Due to COVID19, there were limited physical meetings in the first three quarters of 2020 however, we have fully embraced technology which has enabled us to connect via online. For that, we are forever thankful to God for innovations in technology.

I am thankful and appreciative of the support and efforts of my Executive team, as we continue to maintain our belief and the nature of Christ in serving for greater harvest for God’s glory.

Church Planting and Health: As we continue to build healthy churches, our health team is headed by Ian Kruithoff, leading a small team, maintaining dialogue in building healthy churches and church planting.

Whilst 2020 was certainly challenging, we are thankful for God’s grace in enabling us to resume more normal activities before most other States. We believe God is doing a new thing in the part of the world as Tasmania attracts increased interest, we are planning to be ready to respond to increased opportunity

Youth Alive Tasmania: Youth Alive Tasmania, along with every ministry around the country, had its challenges in 2020 with most events postponed or cancelled due to restrictions of both movement and gathering size.

We have a good and easy working relationship here in the State of Tasmania with the advantage of being a smaller State, which makes it easier for people to connect.

However, the work of caring, connecting, partnering and offering relational support across the State, to pastors and leaders within and outside the ACC denomination, continued to flourish. Youth Alive Tassie continues to lead the charge for unity, growth, health and strength. In 2020 we continued to unfurl the banner of love and the vision for #savetassie

We have to have big hearts and big spirits to embrace what God is already doing, and we are doing exactly that!

DAVID MORSE State President: Tasmania

Youth Alive Ministry is picking up well and responding to challenges that we are facing in our communities.

46

\ VICTORIA \

T

he times we live in are both exciting and challenging. Exciting because of the new opportunities and realities we are all facing. Challenging for the same reason.

New Initiatives Our theme for 2021 is Impartation – Impartation of the Holy Spirit, of leadership, and of vision. Having already begun implementing this new season of leadership and vision, we still have much planned, including:

Leadership This is my first report as President of ACC Victoria, and I am amazed at the overwhelming support and enthusiasm as we move into a new season. At our State Conference in October 2020, we honored and celebrated Shane Baxter for 10 years of leadership and vision in Victoria which saw many great new initiatives introduced. We also welcomed Kerrin Wallis onto the State Executive and transitioned to a new state office administration and finance team.

• An audit of all ACC Victoria churches to properly determine the value and impact of community engagement programs to the greater community. This will be of tremendous value in future engagement with government.

We have new leadership in two of our State Departments with Shane and Millie Lepp taking on the Emeritus leadership and John and Robyn Murray in the Indigenous leadership role.

• Developing new online resources in church health and governance to support local churches.

• Formation of a new Church Life team to directly engage with churches needing specialized assistance. This team incorporates representation from church planting, regions, state office and mono-ethnic churches.

Statistics In this conference period, we endorsed 39 new churches and sadly closed 12 with a net gain of 27 but still reached the milestone of 300 churches. Victoria reached this milestone despite the heavy restrictions being imposed.

• Formation of a specialised Credentialling team of senior ministers to give greater scrutiny and assistance in the credentialing of new ministers. Phil Linden from the State Executive will lead this team.

The State office processed 101 new PMC’s, 64 OMC’s, and 13 SMC’s bringing the total credential holders in Victoria to 923.

Our successful Senior Pastor Mentoring Matters program now in its 12 year has continued to give one on one mentoring to new and growing churches. To date, 121 senior pastors couples have engaged with this program led by Graham and Julie Shand.

• A reformation of our regional structure to better engage and assist with the growing number of churches in our state. This department is led by Tracy Shand.

Many ACC Victoria churches increased their community engagement footprint throughout 2020 in response to high unemployment. A survey of just 40 ACCVIC churches determined that we were supplying 20% of the state governments entire target for material food relief in Victoria.

One ACCVIC church, Planetshakers, through their Empower ministry distributed the equivalent of 1 million meals during 2020.

It has been a tremendous privilege to visit each of the regional meetings around our state. There is a palpable sense of faith and expectation borne out of the resilience and the incredible commitment of the Victorian Church to seeing the Gospel advanced. I have been inspired by the ingenuity of our pastors and churches in pivoting to find new ways to reach their communities in the midst of a global pandemic. It fills me with great confidence that, after a year of constraint, 2021 is going to be a year of great expansion for God’s Kingdom in Victoria.

Events 2020 was a year we learned to adapt in many ways. The COVID 19 Pandemic impacted Victoria more so than any other state.

For eight months, churches had to conduct online services as they were restricted from meeting in person or travelling more than 5 kilometers from home. Many of our normal programs had to be cancelled or deferred. We held a one-day online State Conference in October.

MATT HEINS State President: Victoria

The State Executive responded quickly to the pandemic by reducing State Church dues by 25% for all Victorian churches.

We also gave additional financial support to state departments and some itinerant ministries. This amounted to a $200k investment by the state back into our churches and ministries.

We were also very active and successful in lobbying the government around lifting restrictions and over some legislation impacting freedom of religion.

47

\ WESTERN AUSTRALIA \

G

od has been so faithful to us over the last conference season. In a time of great uncertainty and change, the church in Western Australia has come together in a new level of unity and authority.

Leadership We are thankful for the consistent wisdom and prophetic insight of our state leadership team. There’s such diversity of churches represented by this team - regional and city, large and small, new plants and those with a long heritage.

Highlights We have so much to celebrate in the last conference period, including paying off our State Hub building, simplifying and reducing our state dues, and saw our best-attended State Conference in history. My personal highlight has been the gathering of Senior/Campus pastors for dinner and how it has solidified our movement.

We are excited to have appointed Dr Allyson Cawthorn as our Vice President. We honour Ken Fletcher, who has served in this capacity for many years and continues to lead as part of the State Executive. Christie Blaikie is a new member of the team and replaces Julian Kirtisingham, who now serves as an ex-officio member.

New Initiatives Our current season’s primary focus is to work collectively with churches beyond our movement to protect our religious freedoms in light of proposed conversion legislation. We already have many churches looking to the ACC for leadership.

Stats • 6 new church/campus plants (2019-2020) • 68 new credentialed pastors (2019-2020) • 15% higher State Conference attendance (1,151 in 2020 from 998 in 2019)

It is truly an honour leading this state. As always, the Western Australian Executive are grateful for the visionary leadership of the National Team. We are so thankful for what God is doing in our nation.

Training & Resources We’ve seen the upskilling of our pastors and leaders through the focus on practical masterclasses. These included:

• Preaching,

• Youth and Children’s ministry,

• Growing Churchs’ financial base,

• Community Engagement, and

• Building Contemporary Pentecostal Churches.

JOEL CHELLIAH State President: Western Australia

We’ve also continued to develop pastors through intensives, Safer Churches and Marriage Celebrant training courses.

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PO Box 8093 Norwest NSW 2153 • Tel: (02) 8853-5150 • Fax: (02) 8853-5100 • www.acc.org.au 49