EDITORIALS General Secretary
Cheonneth Strickland Happy New Year from the Secretariats office. I pray that in 2020 our faith grows stronger in an ever-changing world. I am happy to bring you some news from the Church Board Limited and Executive Committee. FROM THE CHURCH LTD BOARD
• Risk is everywhere you look - your home, workplace and even your local church. To mitigate against risk, a Risk Control Report document has been prepared to help local churches measure risk and see where improvements need to be made. This will be rolled out in 2020. We need to keep our churches and ourselves safe! • Last year we had 4 senior pastors retire, giving us the opportunity to hire more ministers and interns. In 2020, we have
Chief Financial Officer
Eva Ing It is a new decade! As we close the chapter on 2019 and embark on 2020, it’s good to reflect on the year and decade that was. Think of where you were in 2010 and compare that to where you are today. Are you surprised, shocked or amazed as to how God has led you in the past 10 years? For me personally, I could not have imagined God’s plan for me. Back then I was working in a senior role at a secular higher educational institution. I had no idea that God would call me to my current role at the Conference in 3 years. The experiences we’ve had as a conference during the last 10 years has been truly amazing. God has led us through thick and thin.
employed 6 interns, 2 Pastoral Assistants & 1 Ordained pastor. • Five of our ministers will be ordained into pastoral ministry this year. We praise God for His calling on their life.
FROM THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
• A new church plant has started in the north west of Sydney in Riverstone, which is in the north west of Sydney. There are 16 adults and 17 youth and children meeting each Sabbath. They also conduct 4 Bible studies groups during the week. • When you drive on the Northern beaches on a Sabbath morning, there will be an additional church plant starting up in 2020 called ‘Living Water.’ It will be based in the suburb of Dee Why. It is a church plant that is being birthed out of the Freshwater and Pittwater Churches. • Not to be left alone, the west of Sydney also has a group starting. It is called St Mary’s Group with members coming from the Mt Druitt Church to establish this group.
UPCOMING EVENTS
• On 15 February, the Australian Union Conference (AUC) is wanting all churches to do a head count of attendance in Sabbath School and Church Service. Make your presence count! • Think Tank will run February 14-15, 2020 • Ignite Prayer Retreat will be held March 27-29, 2020
Here are some of the things that have happened during the decade: • Completion of school halls at Hills, Auburn, Macarthur and Mountain View schools. • New churches and companies started so that we are now around 100 entities! • New church buildings or significant renovations at the Sydney Tongan Church, Campbelltown Church, Sydney Korean Church, Dundas Croatian Church and Kellyville Church. • Major renovations to Esther Somerville and Aged Care at Wahroonga and new facilities at Kings Langley nearing completion. • Purchase of new properties in Redfern and Lilyfield. • New Mission to the Cities and Global Mission church plants/revitalisation at The Way, Echo Community, Northern Beaches, Camden Valley and Parramatta Central in addition to cultural group (Indian Church plants and Eastwood Chinese). There are times that when we get discouraged and feel that we’re not achieving results, or that we have not been blessed us. It is times like these that it is important to reflect objectively and recognise that this is patently untrue. Our efforts have not been in vain. We serve an almighty God who makes all things possible.
