NorthPoint - April, 2017

N O R TH N S W CO N FE R E N CE N E WS

APR 2017

Growing connections with our sister mission

spiritually with the kids. The fifth point is to connect all these groups with Jesus through Weeks of Worship, chapels, Bible studies and so on. The sixth and final point is to connect to the church.”

In this way, chaplains act as a “bridge” to connect these people groups with church and God. “This is even more important if a church is on the campus or near the school,” says Pastor Schick.

Gillian was there to share more about NCD with the pastors of the Fiji Mission.

She says, “I shared the benefits of NCD with them and explored their mission profile. Their average is 55, which is high. Need-Oriented Evangelism scored 67.4!

However, Loving Relationships are their lowest factor, so we talked about what can be done to increase that score through things like running small groups. I also shared the NNSW Conference’s UR Church program with them.”

From 2 to 6 February, Pastor Alvin Schick, Chaplain Coordinator for the North New South Wales (NNSW) Conference, and Gillian Knight, Human Resources Director and Natural Church Development (NCD) specialist for the NNSW Conference, shared presentations in their areas of expertise with the Fiji Mission.

Churches in Fiji undertook an NCD survey two years ago. “We were re-introducing NCD to them,” says Gillian. “We hope they will resurvey this year, which they have committed to doing.”

The Fiji Mission is the sister mission of the NNSW Conference and the two have a close relationship, with regular visits happening occurring for staff and members. Pastor Schick and Gillian’s visit saw them speak at the Fiji Mission’s Workers Meetings. These meetings were attended by all the pastors, chaplains and teachers in the mission, which was the first time in 21 years they’ve all met together. “It was a big deal for them,” says Pastor Schick.

One problem area for NCD surveys in Fiji was an issue of negatively-phrased questions. Gillian says, “The interpretation of these questions was difficult for those who have English as a second language. These questions often scored really low — I think that’s because of a misunderstanding about the questions.

I highlighted this in my presentations. One of the other challenges is that, in the culture there, the pastor is the highest authority and older members can struggle to take direction from anyone other than a pastor or appointed leader.”

“The purpose of my visit was to speak with and train chaplains in the education system,” says Pastor Schick. “That grew to include some plenary sessions for the whole group, as well as some sessions with pastors and chaplains, and one-on-one training with the chaplains.”

However, the church is growing well in Fiji. Gillian met with Epeli Saukuru (pictured below, right, with Gillian), who is a pastor of 28 churches in Suva and the surrounding area. Epeli was given 20 churches two years ago and has planted

He also spoke about mission and personal spiritual journeys, sharing what happens with chaplains who work in the NNSW Conference. “I also shared the relevant aspects of our new job descriptions, which came into force at the end of last year,” says Pastor Schick. “I explored what I do for my chaplains here, focusing on what was relevant to chaplains in the Fiji Mission. I also shared Bible study resources for teens and youth.”

(Continued on Page 3)

In NNSW, the role of the chaplain is that of a connector, with six connection points.

“The first is for them to connect personally with God,” says Pastor Schick. “You can’t get water from an empty well. The second is to connect with students and there a lot of ways this can be done. The third is to connect with the families­— parents, siblings and so on. Chaplains are ideally suited to do that. The fourth is connection with staff. We don’t see chaplains as doing all the work of ministry and mission in schools; rather they help drive that in connection with the staff and they assist the staff with their own spiritual journeys, engaging them to connect

In this issue:

Page 3: BBF and ABC online store collaboration Page 4: Year 12 student wins conference grant for charity project Page 5: Busy year for Camden Haven Church as they Lend A Hand N O RT H P O I N T // 1 Page 6: Feature: From atheist to theologian

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OUR Conference CFO report: 2016 financial results

Outstanding success for Avondale School mathematics students

The financial results for the year ending 31 December, 2016, show that the conference made a surplus of $1.4 million. This larger-than-expected surplus was due to us receiving the proceeds from a deceased estate, a record Big Camp offering and improvements in our campground’s ongoing financial performance.

The surplus and deficits for the conference for the past 10 years are shown in the chart below:

From left to right: Avondale School’s Mathematics Coordinator Anthony Hibbard with Michael Pannekoek, Tyler Hobson and Joel Cooper. The three students received high marks in a recent Newcastle University mathematics competition.

In 2016, the tithe increase on the previous year was a modest $230,000 (see the chart below) and not a major contributing factor to our larger-than-expected surplus for the year.

Three Year 11 Avondale School students have received outstanding success in a mathematics competition, run in November 2016 by the University of Newcastle Mathematics Association for the Colin Doyle Memorial Prize. On Monday, 13 March, Avondale School Principal David McClintock and Mathematics Coordinator Anthony Hibbard recognised the outstanding achievements of Michael Pannekoek, Joel Cooper and Tyler Hobson by presenting them each with a Colin Doyle Memorial Prize competition certificate.

Michael is to be especially congratulated for receiving an Honourable Mention, placing him within the top six students to have participated in this competition.

After the competition, Michael stated, “Each problem presented me with a unique challenge. It was very enjoyable to produce solutions to each of the problems that I attempted.”

Likewise we congratulate Joel, who achieved an A grade with his efforts.

Tithe Powers Mission The chart below shows our planned spending of tithe in 2017, noting that 56 per cent of tithe will be spent on front-line Gospel workers and evangelism. This is above our benchmark of 55 per cent.

This competition was conducted for Year 11 Mathematics Extension 1 students who have previously demonstrated an aptitude for high-level mathematics. There were 86 students from the Hunter and the Central Coast who chose to participate.

It comprised of a two-hour competition where students are asked to solve 13 challenging questions, such as: “What is the sum of the digits of (1010101)2?” (if you are interested, the sum is 1020304030201). Calculators were not allowed.

Students’ solutions were judged on correctness of the solution, but also on completeness and clarity of presentation. Each year, students find interesting and innovative ways to solve the problems, and this time was no exception.

— Colin Chuang

Connect with us on Facebook The North New South Wales (NNSW) Conference’s Facebook page is approaching 1000 likes, and we’d like you to be one of them if you haven’t already connected with us on there. You can find us at <https://www.facebook.com/NNSWconference>.

May God continue to bless you and we pray your relationship with God continues to grow.

The NNSW Conference Facebook page is a great place to learn about conference events, find out what’s going on in the NNSW Conference Office, be alerted to employment opportunities, hear about conference news and much, much more (including special offers!).

— Russell Halliday

— NorthPoint

NorthPoint is published by the Communications Department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (North New South Wales Conference) Ltd. President: Dr Tom Evans | General Secretary: Pastor Paul Geelan | NorthPoint Editor: Adele Nash Readers are invited to send news items, stories, testimonies and photographs to: PO Box 7, Wallsend NSW 2287 | Telephone: (02) 4951 8088 | Fax: (02) 4950 1102 | Email: northpoint@adventist.org.au | Website: http://nnsw.adventist.org.au

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Growing connections with our sister mission (Continued from Page 1)

eight more as of December 2016. “One of those churches is a group he started in the park in Suva,” says Gillian. “It was mostly made up of homeless people. He has managed to help them clean up their lives, find jobs and get back to their home villages, where they’re now sharing the Gospel with others. He’s a very inspiring guy! The memberships in his churches range from small groups to 300 members.

“When I asked him what the secret of managing so many churches was, he said that it was empowering his leaders to run their churches.”

Gillian also spent some time speaking about spiritual gifts and helping people learn their gifts — this empowers them to take leadership roles. In addition to this, she went to the Suva Mission and spent time working with the HR Coordinator there.

There was really positive feedback about the presentations given by Pastor Schick and Gillian. “They appreciate what you can do,” says Pastor Schick. “Gill and I had a chuckle a few times, as what we did tended to change and grow. From one session to another, we didn’t always know how much more we were going to do! So we learned to be adaptable and flexible. It was such a good time, and a unique experience and opportunity.”

— Adele Nash

Team-building day for FaithFM The North New South Wales (NNSW) Conference’s FaithFM team had a special day out on 15 February to learn more about each other, experience new things and tour Newcastle’s 2NUR radio station.

The day started out with worship at the conference office, which was led by the always-creative Carly Fletcher. The interactive worship time focused on how God changes people and on sharing positives about each member of the team.

From there, the group headed in to Newcastle to Unexpected Exit. This is an escape room set-up designed for teams, who have to work together to solve puzzles, find the answers to clues and get out of the locked room before time was up. The FaithFM team’s lateral thinking and logic skills were put to the test, and an escape was almost made — so close, yet so far!

After lunch, the FaithFM crew headed over to Newcastle University, where 2NUR operates from. The easy-listening radio station has been on air since 1978, is locally owned, and is funded by listener and business donations. The tour of 2NUR was extremely informative.

General Manager Wayne Stamm shared how programs are created and playlists curated, and explored how the station had changed and grown over the years.

FaithFM’s Breakfast Show, which is hosted by Adele Nash, Michael Lilikakis and Priscilla Mariassouse, is recorded in a studio at the NNSW Conference Office. It has grown in popularity and reach in the past year. Plans are in place to further grow the NNSW Conference’s involvement in FaithFM broadcasting. Stay tuned!

— Adele Nash

OUR COnference Brenda Walsh visits BBF Brenda Walsh from 3ABN is wellknown for her “Kids Time” TV show, cooking shows and children’s storybooks. While visiting Australia in March, Brenda took some time out to visit Better Books and Food (BBF) in Cooranbong.

Jo-Anne Boudan, Manager of BBF, says, “It was a blessing to have Brenda here! She took time to greet us and extended an invitation to her meetings in Wallsend. She also took time to sign copies of her senior devotional — called Moments With God — and the children’s book series Children’s Bedtime Stories.”

These books can be purchased at BBF and Brenda encouraged attendees of her meetings in Wallsend to source them from the store. The signed copies of her children’s book will be given away at Big Camp this month. Details of the competition will be advised at camp.

— Jo-Anne Boudan/NorthPoint

BBF and ABC online store collaboration Better Books and Food (BBF) from the North New South Wales (NNSW) Conference and the Adventist Book Centre (ABC) from the Greater Sydney Conference (GSC) have joined forces to create a single online sale site for both stores, which can be found at <www.adventistbookshop.com.au>.

Michael Pupovac, ABC Supervisor for the GSC, says, “I think it’s exciting to see two conferences working together to achieve a common goal.

By working together, we save money, decrease duplication and realise efficiencies that we could never hope to do on our own. I see this as just the beginning and hope that, in time, other conferences will decide to join us as we seek new, more effective ways of fulfilling our commission.”

Russell Halliday, CFO of the NNSW Conference and Chairman of the BBF Management Committee, says, “The collaborative initiative involves a single point-of-sale system across both conferences for their stores. This will enhance the customer experience. For example, if an item is out of stock in NNSW, it may be available in GSC. The second benefit is that, with the combined resources of both stores, they are able to have a better-quality online store and shared costs for marketing. We both have a commitment to getting quality Adventist material to customers at the best price possible.”

BBF and ABC teams have received training on the operation of the website to ensure confidence in its use and practical application. Jo-Anne Boudan, Manager of BBF, says, “For the launch of the new site, we have 20 per cent off the Jeremy Dixon Revive Cafe cookbook series. Going forward, the webstore will be an effective tool for Adventist books to be distributed in an all-inclusive and comprehensive manner.”

— Adele Nash N O R T H P O I N T // 3

OUR COnference Year 12 student wins conference grant for charity project Avondale School Year 12 student Nathaniel Ginn (pictured, left) has won a grant at the inaugural North New South Wales Conference Shark Tank event (see the March issue of NorthPoint for more details about Shark Tank at the Leadership in the Local Church weekend).

Although his idea started off as a Major Design Project for the HSC with a focus of raising money for charities, it has developed into an outreach project to connect the wider community.

“At the end of 2015, mum and I fundraised and did a bike ride,” Nathaniel said. “Last year, there was a lot of thought process just in the family itself around the problems with charities and fundraising being quite difficult.”

His ideas centre around a project aimed a creating a platform for people to hire each other’s equipment for a fee that goes toward a charity of their choice.

“Dad started forming this idea. But when my [Design and Technology] project came up, this is when I saw that I could start solving the problem. So from that stage is where I saw that I could take this on.”

The project lets a person hire or share their unused assets, like a wheelbarrow or a lawnmower, with the majority of the fee going toward a charity through the platform.

“My vision is to create a platform that enables everyone in the community to share their unused assets, and help make a difference in the world one share at a time.”

Nathaniel, was initially looking at raising $5000 to start his project. However, in the spur of the moment while presenting, he requested $15,000, eventually landing him with $16,400 for his initiative.

“I first saw an advertisement for Shark Tank on STORM Co. But it was only really considered after I was doing a concept of my project that I decided to get a bit more information, and one thing led to another, which led me to applying for the grant.”

“Charities are struggling,” Nathanial added. “Along with that, houses are getting smaller, with less storage space, and people buy things they may only use once or twice a year.”

Nathaniel’s hope is that we can be better stewards of what we have and that we would be willing to share more with those who are in our community, while helping the less fortunate.

— Colin Chuang The North New South Wales Conference has committed to following up with each Shark Tank project throughout the year to ensure that every one is successfully achieved. The funding each group received was provided by several church organisations who are all committed to encouraging young people to engage in community service outreach.

Projects submitted were thoroughly investigated and tested to ensure that they had the greatest opportunity for success. Applications were only accepted from groups that met the Shark Tank criteria, which included youth participation, and each project had to be approved by the groups’ church boards. This provided accountability through the local church and ensured that the boards were committed to the success of each project. — NNSW Conference N O RT H P O I N T // 4

Adventist Senior Living: New rules for home care

Home Care within the Aged Care sector changed forever at the end of February, when deregulation of the industry came into effect.

From 27 February, government-funded care by way of Home Care packages sees the consumer, for the first time ever, take direct control over who they choose to have provide the care in their homes. And while packages will still be administered by a Home Care provider, the consumer now has the power to easily swap providers, or even share care between providers if unhappy with the service being received.

Adventist Senior Living Home Care Manger Kate Gilmour sees deregulation as a very powerful force and a huge win for the consumer. “With greater choice and control in the hands of the consumer comes greater competition, better quality and better delivery of service by all providers,” says Kate. “If you are happy with your current service, you will not have to change anything if you don’t want to,” she advises, but cautions that it just may pay to shop around to ensure you are actually receiving the best price and service on offer.

Eligibility for Home Care will still be determined by an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT), and one of four types of care packages will be allocated based on needs, with packages ranging from Level 1 for low-care needs, to a Level 4 package for those individuals with high-care needs.

“Many providers may also ask for payment of a Basic Daily Fee,” says Kate. While this fee is not compulsory, consumers may be asked by their providers to pay up to $70 a week to add to the government subsidy and pool of funds available for their Home Care service and delivery. Kate says Adventist Senior Living only uses the allocated government funding for a client’s care and does not charge a fee on top.

That said, however, it may be worth bearing in mind that, depending on your income, you may be asked to pay an Income Tested Fee that is determined by the Department of Human Services and is not set by, nor negotiable, with your Home Care Provider. If your annual income is above $25,000 as a single, or $40,000 as a couple, you may be asked to contribute to your in home care.

“Giving the consumer the power to choose their own care is a terrific change,” says Kate. As an approved Home Care Provider already making a name for itself as a service to be trusted, Adventist Senior Living has met very stringent standards to become an approved provider, and continues to experience growth in demand for its person-centred care, support and services.

“All our staff are either registered nurses or hold a Cert IV in Home & Community Care,” says Kate. “We work constantly to carefully select, train and oversee the right carers for our clients. Not only does deregulation give power to the consumer, but it enables them to stay independent and connected to family and community by remaining in the home with trusted support and help,” says Kate. “And there is such a lovely dignity in that.”

— Felicity Pittaway

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OUR Churches Busy year for Camden Have Church as they Lend A Hand

Lifesaver Day at UoNE

2016 was a busy year for the Lend A Hand (LAH) team in the Camden Haven area. Once a month, a task was undertaken and, over the year, seven families asked for help and assistance with cleaning up their properties. A number of these we have been back a second time to finish off the project and to check on their well-being.

Lawnmowing, gardening, washing windows, gerni washing pathways, washing cars, vacuuming floors, washing dishes, washing and folding clothes, and shopping. A Christmas gift was gladly accepted from LAH to the families before Christmas. LAH plans to keep in contact with the families to ensure they are doing well and to find out if they need anything else that the group could assist in.

Some comments from the families were: “I am so grateful for LAH helping me. I live on my own and have health issues, meaning I am unable to do the tasks I once used to do” “LAH are such a good team! They stick together no matter what. My small request was to change my engine oil in the car and the whole team came to support each other. It’s like one big happy family!”

“LAH helped us by mowing the lawns and gardening before I was to move house. I was in need and they were willing to give their time to help me!”

“LAH brought me food and cooked, even when I didn’t ask for it, but I truly needed it at the time.”

LAH is a free, no-strings-attached community service to the people in the Camden Haven area. They provide assistance to anyone who needs it, from single parents to families to the elderly. They love helping people and want to be there for them when it counts the most.

Find LAH on Facebook — <https://www.facebook.com/LendAHandcamdenhaven> — and “like” the page to keep up-to-date with what’s going on and to see previous updates projects the team has successfully completed.

The CORE Outreach team from left to right: Rory Pitt (ARISE Australia), Michael Stuart, Daniel Cocking (ARISE Australia), Keti Ulia, Daniel Still (ARISE Australia), Caleb Lawman, Rome Ulia, Sina Ulia, and Katie Dorman. Not pictured: Rick Lee, Pastor John Lang, Jack Ryder, Ethan Chapman and Tamara Milojkovic.

Tuesday, 14 February was the day CORE Outreach launched their group at the University of New England. With a humble little stall set up, it couldn’t have been a more apt day to launch the first Adventist initiative on campus.

Lifesaver Day is an event held every year during O-week that introduces new students to groups and associations of the university. Headed by Armidale Church pastor Rome Ulia, with support from ARISE Australia graduates, the group handed out free gift bags with water, a muesli bar, and fliers advertising the group’s mission and focus.

There were also free fresh donuts being served up and a rowing competition to win a delicious food hamper. Despite being the new kids on the block, and set apart from the other stalls, the day was a success.

Please pray for this new group as they show and share the love of Jesus, the real lifesaver.

— Tamara Milojkovic

Health assessments for the Tumbulgum community

— Ben Hinze

An invitation from The Village of Tumbulgum for the Tumbulgum Adventist Church to participate in their 150 Years Celebration on 12 November, 2016, by sitting up a booth resulted in the Tumbulgum Church setting up a space in the Living Waters Church in the village to do health assessments.

With a very steady stream of visitors, approximately 40 people undertook health assessments and follow-up surveys were done.

— Karen Schofield N O RT H P O I N T // 5

Our Churches Lakeside’s sunset baptisms As the sun was setting over Lake Macquarie at Shingle Splitters on Friday evening, 24 February, three Lakeside Church teens committed their lives to Christ in baptism.

Pastor Peter Watts, who had studied with all three, led out in the service.

Ace Medhurst, Eleora Tawake and Isaac Ashton indicated their desire to commit their lives to the Lord. A large number of folk from Lakeside Church were present, as well as many friends and relatives of the three young people. Those who had mentored the young people also went into the lake with them for the baptism, one of them being Brian Lauratet who had also studied with Isaac. On the Sabbath following, the three were welcomed into church fellowship. We wish them much of God’s blessing as they begin their walk with the Lord.

— Pam Hill

Special baptism at Shingle Splitters Sabbath afternoon on 7 January was a special day for Michelle King as that was the day she committed her life to the Lord in baptism. Her baptism was held in Lake Macquarie at Shingles Splitters.

Michelle thanked God for her mother, who had brought her up in a Christian environment. She said her life had been filled with many distractions, but now she has a hunger for God’s Word. Her journey towards conversion continued over five years, culminating in baptism.

Michelle said, “I am thankful and grateful to Alan Oliva, Jonathan Gallindo and Pastor Peter for all the support, Bible studies, kindness and encouragement which added to my personal decision for baptism. Our Creator, our Father God, I am your child. I love you, I surrender my life to you.”

— Pam Hill

11 baptised at Lismore

Lismore Church celebrated 11 baptisms in two weeks at the end of 2016. Rhonda Harvey, Shenelle Nash and Charise Nash were all baptised in church on 26 November. Rhonda became interested through a mutual friend and after having received “The Great Hope” in her mail box. Shenelle and Charise have been attending Lismore Church for several years, and also attend Blue Hills College.

The following Sabbath, seven Blue Hills College students were baptised in a local river. Three brothers BJ, Ben and Jack Cormack were baptised, along with their mother Cherie Cormack.

The other fours boys were Tomas Hawkins, Samuel Fayers, Seong Greenwell-Smith and Breadan Lemke.

— Sherree Merritt

N O RT H P O I N T // 6

From atheist to theologian By decree, God ceased to exist in Russia in 1917 when Christianity was driven underground and appeared to die. The State systematically strove to erase any memory of a God. It was not until the advent of Glasnost (Openness) in the later years of the 20th Century that Christianity resurfaced in Russia.

One would wonder how, in the 1980s, a little nine-year-old girl could find God in Russia.

Such was the early life of Elena Ladygina, who, at the age of nine, started a search for God. Possessed of a naturally curious nature and, by her own admission, a degree of stubborn tenacity driven by a yearning conviction that “God wanted me to search for Him,” she was about to discover that God does not ignore a searcher.

A turning point in Elena’s search for God was the discovery of a Bible on a shelf in her grandmother’s home. The Bible had served no greater purpose than to be regarded as a talisman or holy object, but when Elena started to read it at the age of 14, she became convinced about the existence of God. It is hard for us who live in our western freedom to imagine the difficulties that a girl of 14 would face in accepting Christianity. With absolutely no idea of how to pray, Elena turned to the Psalms and joyfully discovered that the psalmist himself had begged God to reveal Himself to him. The Psalms of David taught Elena the basics of prayer.

It was a mission in Elena’s home city of Nizhni Novgorod being run by Pastor John Carter that opened the eyes and heart of Elena. She was stunned to discover that John’s nightly messages came directly from the Bible and contrasted starkly with the orthodoxy of Russian religion. She was baptised at 15 and became involved in church activities. Under pressure to study medicine, Elena had been told that there were no prospects for a female theologian in a male-dominated society. Thus, Elena commenced her medical course at the remarkably young age of 16. Graduating first as a doctor and then achieving qualifications in paediatrics, Elena felt convicted that God wanted her to become an evangelist. However, it was as a doctor that she met a stubbornly dynamic young minister who had been admitted to hospital with a bronchial infection. Ignoring her advice to stay at home rather than preaching on very cold nights, Pastor Vadim Butov indeed “took a turn for the nurse.”

Vadim encouraged his new wife to become an evangelist and discovered that, although her preaching was appreciated, there was a widespread conviction that a successful evangelist has to be a male. By now a Conference President, Vadim gave Elena $500 to establish a church. Thus armed with God at her side, Elena Butova established her first church and saw 16 baptisms within months. She then established another church and baptised 35, followed by a third church plant and baptised 78, thus achieving 129 baptisms in one year. The union relented and appointed Elena as the Union Evangelist and another 600 souls were won to the Lord.

The Butov family now live in Australia as pastors at the Avondale Memorial Church in Cooranbong. Vadim was John Carter’s principal translator for much of his work in Russia. His language skills are legendary, and he is known to be fluent in six languages and conversant in another seven. Elena took the opportunity to commence a PhD program in Theology at Avondale College and became a doctor for the second time in her life in 2016. Her thesis, “The Four Prohibitions of Acts 15 and their common background on the basis of the Genesis 1 – 3 Account” is now attracting scholarly attention for the thoughtful anchoring of the distinctions between clean and unclean foods within a biblical context.

Elena arrived in Australia eight years ago, barely able to speak a word in English. Amazingly, she has now written a PhD in English. The Butov family are now Australian citizens who have adapted to living far from their native Russia. Their pastoral work at the Avondale Memorial Church has proved to be a great blessing.

— Dr John Hammond

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Features

Position Vacant Position Vacant | Adventist Education NNSW Assistant Accountant | Wallsend

Review: Mission Shift Church.

Why bother?

I mean, I’m a good person. Why would I need church to make me better? And what purpose does it serve anyway? Why do congregations even exist? What difference do they make to the communities around them? What difference is religion or a belief in God making in the day-to-day lives of people who are part of one?

“We are living in one of the fastest periods of change in human history and the local Adventist church is in danger of becoming irrelevant, even outdated...” states the blurb on the back of Dr Kayle De Waal’s new book Mission Shift: Multiplying Disciples in Your Community. And you know what? It’s true. Australians are generally cynical about religion or don’t see a reason for it in their lives.

A full-time assistant accountant position has become available as part of the Seventh-day Adventist Schools (North New South Wales) Ltd Education Head Office Finance ministry team. The position is currently based at the North New South Wales Conference Office, located at 112 Lake Road, Wallsend, NSW. The Head Office Finance ministry team provides support to the finance teams based at the 10 schools and two Early Learning Centres that make up our Education System.

The successful candidate will report to the Senior Accountant, and will work closely with the finance team members to meet the company’s statutory reporting obligations and to provide relevant financial reports, information and support to the company’s CEO, school Principals and Business Managers or Bursars.

The successful candidate should be an active member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, hold a Business or Accounting qualification at undergraduate level and will have commenced or will be able to commence studying towards their Professional Accounting qualifications (CA/CPA). The successful candidate should also preferably have had some experience in a similar position either on a full-time or part-time basis. The successful candidate must be legally able to work in Australia at the time of application. It is very important that the successful candidate also possesses good communication and relational skills, which are essential for this position. The working environment is vibrant and fast-paced, and the successful candidate is expected to be able to grasp concepts quickly, and must be able to work quickly efficiently and accurately.

A more detailed written position description is available on request — phone (02) 4951 8088. Written applications for this position, including a cover letter addressing the application criteria and detailed resume with references forwarded to: HR Manager, SDA Schools (NNSW) Ltd, PO Box 7, WALLSEND NSW 2287 or <nnswpayroll@adventist.org.au>.

Applications close Wednesday, 26 April at 5.00pm.

How can we remedy this? Do we give up? Or do we do something about it in a Christfocused, biblical way? This is what Dr De Waal digs down into in Mission Shift, attempting to provide a much-needed map for the church at a crossroads. His focus is on a biblical reinvention of relevancy, with a thorough investigation of scriptural examples and some modern-day applications.

Contrasting the situation modern churches find themselves in and providing some examples of types of churches, Dr De Waal then explores the church in the Old Testament and its relationship with Jesus in the first three chapters of Mission Shift. The historical elements are particularly solid and are an excellent reminder of how we can shift our mission. The emphasis on Jesus is particularly beautiful in all of the chapters.

Without wanting to give too much away, the main point of Mission Shift is that the local church is the future of Adventism. In fact, the book opens with that very statement. And there’s a great deal of hope to be found in the idea that local churches can not only survive a changing world, but thrive in it. And by thrive, I mean really grow — Kingdom growth, fully engaging with members and community, growing as a disciple-making entity.

The final few chapters of Mission Shift really get in to exploring how to make changes (although there are suggestions, thoughts and ideas throughout the chapters preceding). I felt that there could have been more here — either in the number of chapters written, or that there could have been more sections added. But there should be plenty of material and inspiration to challenge readers, and to encourage them to think of their own ways in which to make a mission shift.

With our conference emphasising service to others and consciously engaging with people in meaningful, life-changing ways, Mission Shift is a great accompaniment to our aims. It’s a book that isn’t only for church pastors or leaders — it’s entirely accessible to everyone.

Because if we’re not willing to make a change personally, how can we change corporately?

— Adele Nash Mission Shift: Multiplying Disciples in Your Community Dr Kayel B De Waal 135 pages 2017 Signs Publishing Company N O RT H P O I N T // 7

N O RT H P O I N T // 8