November - December 2017 IntraSyd

MAGAZINE MAGAZINE

INTRASYD + NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2017

FFNP

Appeal 2017

*

Special Edition

Looking Back & Forward GROWING IN DISCIPLESHIP

FROM THE PRESIDENT Terry Johnson “Sydneysiders forgot the God

who saved them, who had done

great things in New South Wales,

PRESIDENT Terry Johnson terryjohnson@adventist.org.au

Editor Joyce Taylor joycetaylor@adventist.org.au

miracles in the land of Australia and

awesome deeds by the Pacific Ocean,”

Psalm 106:7, Terry Johnson Translation.

The Bible gives a stark reminder that if we are not careful to give God all the glory, it can be

very easy to forget what He has done and what He continues to do. As we come into the silly

Contact Comms Department 4 Cambridge Street Epping NSW 2121 PH: 02 9686 6522 sydney@adventist.org.au @sydneyadventists

Next issue content due 20 JAN

dedicated to evangelism in sharing the gospel and beliefs of our faith with the 2500+ students who attend. This includes: o MVAC’s new Prep building

o Hills' new senior block, Admin & car park o Macarthur's “Specialist” Block for music, art & ICT

o Plus the 428 students invested in Bible

not forget to give God praise for what He has

Tim Richardson

• The opening of several school facilities

financial stress of the holiday time, let believers

Lynda G. Abreu

Jungyook Park

of this ministry.

o Wahroonga’s new Middle school block

Graphics

Other Contributors

We anticipate baptismal decisions on account

season of the year where people seem to lose their minds over gifts, food, family and the

lyndagomes@adventist.org.au

• Booking out Teen Camp in record time.

done over the last 12 months. For our Conference, we remember and give praise for:

• The first IGNITE “camp-meeting” event with 5000+ Sydneysiders worshipping the Almighty

o Auburn's centennial celebration

studies as a direct result of Weeks of Spiritual Emphasis.

While we have good memories of what has been, we need to look forward to what will come:

together(!)

• The videos GSC has just produced for the

40 days of prayer in March

Stewardship, which will be seen and used

• The 50 churches we had participating in the • The 127 Baptisms and Professions of Faith in our churches as of October 24. We thank God for the dedicated Pastors & Members who do Bible studies, visit the sick, care for the felt

needs of the community and share through action the Love of God’s kingdom.

• New church plants, which include the dedication of the Redfern Facility to meet the needs of our inner-city members and ATSI ministry

and the Southern Asian Language church plant in Blacktown led by Pr Charles Chelliah

• The 4 Muslim families and 27 non-SDA

friends who participated in Women’s Ministries events

• The 608 Adventurers that attended Adventurer camporee and the 450 Pathfinders who participated in the expedition

1st Quarter 2018 Sabbath School lessons on worldwide(!)

• The MISSION2SYDNEY Think Tank 23-24 February, which will be a time of prayer and

strategic thinking for our Conference focusing on local church evangelism

• The Prayer Conference 6-8 April: “Be still and KNOW that I AM God. (Psalm 46:10)”

• The Local Church Board Leadership Meeting 5 May (all local church board members will be coming together to pray and discuss the outcomes of the February Think Tank) • The 3rd annual Digital Discipleship

Conference 20-21 July on using digital media to further the gospel

• The Quadrennial Constituency Meeting 25-26 August

• The new senior school building at Wahroon-

ga Adventist School, which will allow the school to grow to

The Psalmist continues in Psalm 107:48 “Praise be to the

• The new “I AM” small group Bible-study series aimed at

lasting. Let all Sydneysiders say Amen! Praise the Lord.”

800+ students

non-churched young adults will be launched

Terry Johnson

• So much more!

General Secretary

Adrian Raethel FROM THE CHURCH BOARD LTD

• Conference administration are continuing to work with Sydney Adventist Hospital administration on the new location of the Wahroonga ABC in the “hub” area. A capital budget has been approved for the fit out of the new shop.

FROM THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

• South Pacific Division will be the beneficiary of the 13th Sabbath School offering for the third quarter 2019. The Greater Sydney Conference, along with other conferences and missions, has submitted a

project for consideration; • The Ghanaian group, which currently meets in Merrylands, will be formed into a Church company in early 2018; • The Southern Asian Language church plant, which meets in the Blacktown area, has been granted provision group status; • The Hoxton Park and Epping churches have received grants to assist with major renovations.

CONSTITUENCY MEETING

• The 29th Constituency Meeting of the Greater Sydney Conference will be convened at Mountain View Adventist College on 25-26 August 2018. Letters will shortly be sent to all churches requesting the selection of delegates, which are appointed on the basis of two (2) for the church plus one for every 25 members or major part thereof. All delegates must hold membership in the church that appoints them.

CFO

Eva Ing For me, it’s been a year of great highs and lows. 2017 has by far been the most challenging and rewarding year in administration.

2017

Lord, the God of Greater Sydney, from everlasting to ever-

When I distil the events of 2017, these four items stand out:

Ignite. What a wonderful weekend we had in March! To see the whole of Greater Sydney come together in fellowship and worship and to hear the dynamic Pr Dwight Nelson challenge us to “Put our Trust in Him” was a rich blessing.

Buildings, buildings, buildings. We’ve opened school buildings at Macarthur, Mountain View, Hills and Wahroonga! This is the biggest capital development program in our history with around $50m worth of projects. While this all sounds exciting and wonderful, it is tempered by the fact that our borrowings

will peak at $30m next year.

Meanwhile, our schools continue to grow rapidly and our development is barely keeping pace with enrolment growth. We’ve now had a track record of solid financial performance for five years and continue in confidence.

Changing Presidents. We said goodbye to Pr Michael Worker who accepted a new role at the Australian Union Conference. A man of great intelligence, insight, courage and integrity, we will miss him in Greater Sydney but know that he will do amazing things for God in his new role.

I’m also greatly encouraged that Pr Terry Johnson has joined our Conference and I can already see that he will do great things for Greater Sydney.

Tithe. Tithe this year has not been as bountiful. So far, 2017 tithe growth is flat compared to previous years. We have responded by constricting our expenditure through Conference budgets. For 2018 we will have to enforce a staffing freeze and conduct further review of what we’re able to do.

I’m so grateful to God for His wonderful mercies and I’m looking forward with great anticipation to the coming year where I know we will be blessed with His continued leading.

INTRASYD

OCTOBER

2017

FUND FOR THE NEEDY OFFERING 23 DECEMBER 2017 Fund for Needy (FFN) is a tax-deductible charity of the Greater Sydney Conference.

The purpose of FFN is to help desperately poor people recover from a crisis and regain independence. Together with your help, we can make a difference.

bit.ly/FundFNP

+61 2 9868 6522