state conference 2014 october 6-9 new south wales australian christian churches report book 2014 1 Presidents Greeting3 Department Reports Australian Christian Women 4 Chaplaincy Australia8 Church Life10 • Church Health • Church Planting Indigenous Initiative12 Community Engagement14 Pastors Emeritus16 Kids R Us18 Youth Alive20 Rangers NSW22 Region Reports Blue Mountains26 Capital Country26 Central Coast27 Hunter & New England 27 MidNorth Coast28 North Coast29 Riverina30 South Coast31 Sydney Central33 Sydney NorEast34 Sydney NorWest35 Sydney South35 Sydney SouthEast36 Western Region36 Ethnic37 Ps John & Carol McMartin INSPIRE CHURCH Liverpool NSW Greetings, We trust that 2014 is an ongoing season of God’s favour and blessings for you, your family, ministry and church. I have heard many favourable reports this year from around the state; healthy churches, souls being saved, people added, new buildings been built or renovated, churches planted, youth & kids ministries continue to flourish – the state is progressing well, but not without its challenges. Also we are full of anticipation for our up and coming state conference this year in Port Macquarie. We have a great line up of speakers – Sam Chand, Brian Houston, John McMartin and the State team. If you haven’t already registered for conference, please register online – http://.nswacc.org.au/ state-conference.php. I encourage you to make it a family and church team event. We have a great children’s and youth program for 1 year olds right up to year 12 at school. There is plenty of free time to enjoy the company of your family, friends and teams. Looking forward to seeing you in October! John & Carol McMartin State Election Nominees John McMartin7 Andrew Harper9 Paul Bartlett11 John Iuliano13 Chris Smith15 Matt Tickner17 Sam DiMauro19 Darren Bonnell21 Financial Report38 2 3 Australian Christian Women ACW NSW State Leader: Bobbie Houston NSW Leadership Update At our last State Conference in 2013, Julie Vine worked on my behalf to “Gather”, “Equip” and “Mobilise” into leadership 5 girls to fill ACW leadership gaps in the various regions, and has continued to help foster healthy connections within our leadership in this year. The following girls have been newly appointed (or reactivated) within their regions: • Annette Bartlett - reactivated for the South Coast Region • Bev Spence - reactivated for the North Coast Region • Libby Staines - for the Western Region • Sue Brown - for the Mid-North Coast Region • Kate Klemke - for the Riverina Region Ps Bobbie Houston NSW ACC Australian Christian Women Region UPDATES Sydney South East (Julie Vine) We continue to focus on building healthy relationships and networks within our Region. We do this by: • Having small coaching sessions with Senior • Pastors and their wives. I focus on building a strong relational connection especially with our ethnic Pastors wives. • We have well attended Regional meetings where we make time to catch up with leaders in our Region. The women leaders of our Region are very supportive in the attendance of our Regional meetings. 4 • We are proactive in encouraging the wives of senior leaders. • We join in with events that happen within the churches of our Region. We have a combined women’s camp that is attended by 4 other churches of our region. • We are having a High Tea and a round table discussion for the women leaders of our Region. This is an annual event that draws out great wisdom from the leaders that attend. • We encourage the women of our Region to attend Colour and our Regional Leaders to attend Hillsong. The State Conference is also well attended by the Pastors of our Region. Mid North Coast (Sue Brown) I have been in this role since beginning 2014. I seek to network as much as possible with women in leadership within each church in the Mid North Coast Region. Hunter & New England (Meagan Atherton) I am enjoying getting to know the senior pastors wives and leaders within my region. Some I am meeting for the first time and others I already have strong relationships with. Key Events • Hoping to gather senior leaders and key women they are raising up later in the year for a Master class with Vicki Simpson. Vicki has recently begun running a Master Class called ‘She’s the Voice’, empowering preacher chicks and women with a message. This date is still to be confirmed. • Many of the churches in our region are running great women’s events and conferences for their women and showing a real heart for unity by extending invitation to each others churches. • Good Reports / Highlights • Close to 200 women from many of our smaller regional churches joined the ‘Hunter Group’ and sat together in unity within the reserved seating at Colour Conference this year. Many seeds were sown and it is exciting to watch church leaders within our region taking the Colour message and mandate back to the women in our region. • In early May Roz Zaia opened her home to host a group of our senior leaders for morning tea and opportunity to connect, pray and encourage one another. We shared our lives, celebrating our victories and current challenges. Our focus is to continue to provide opportunities to gather in each others homes to further strengthen our relationships and unity within our region. Next gathering being a winter meal together. • A number of Hunter churches recently combined for training for the Shine program and in support of ShineWALK180. $19K was raised from the 180km walk and will be used to run the Shine program within Hunter schools. Leadership Changes • Margot McCrindle stepped down from leading the region back in 2012. I was privileged to be on her team during the time that she was leading the region. Margot focused on faithfully gathering the female senior pastors each term for morning tea and much valued regular connection. These gatherings were such an opportunity to glean from senior leaders both within our movement and from several senior leaders in other great movements who Margot embraced and included. • I (Meagan Atherton) have recently taken on the leadership and look forward to continuing the gathering of our senior leaders to bring encouragement and further strengthen our relationships. Western (Libby Staines) Key Events • 28 January 2013 - “Intimates Night” @ Peak Hill. Began as dessert night, sharing heart and vision with our local church girls and ended up having 3 other churches represented. Around 60 women • March 2013 - About 15 girls from our church campuses attended Colour Conference 1 & 2 • 22 March 2013 - Visited and spoke at Nyngan for their Women’s Outreach Night. They had a lovely evening with dinner and lots of crafts etc planned. There were • • • • • several ladies from other churches in the town as well as several unsaved. Probably around 50 women...from Nyngan...I was amazed! 26-27 April 2013 - Lioness Arising training mini-series. Began as a local church event, but word got out and we had ladies from not only our 3 campuses at the time but also another 2 churches in our region. We squeezed the DVD’s and discussion time into a Fri night/Saturday and had 97 girls register. November 2013 - I visited Cobar women’s event. Gingerbread House making evening, I brought a short gospel word, along with one of my girls bringing her testimony. The event was amazing, they had only 4 women from the church and about 25 unsaved ladies there! I was so honoured to see how God is moving in their local community. 27 February 2014 - “Intimates Night” @ Peak Hill. Again dessert and sharing heart and vision for the year, we attracted around 50 girls with 3 other churches represented as well as our 4 campuses. March 2014 - About 25 girls from our campuses attended Colour Conference 1. 17 May 2014 - Regional Women’s Event with guest speaker Elka Whalan. We had 117 people attend and had 2 salvations and 1 re-dedication. Along with our 4 campuses, we had at least another 4 churches represented. As well as boys in suits to greet, nice desserts and coffee, an item with a dance and great worship, we also launched a new ministry for women in our region called “Rahab”. This ministry provides assistance and love to girls caught in the sex industry in our region. We raised around $1200 to launch the ministry. Rahab will come under the covering of our church, but we have already got some volunteers from other churches wanting to be involved. Good Reports / Highlights • I was definitely blessed and impacted by the amount of outreach and great work the girls in Nyngan and Cobar are doing. • It was so good to see growth in each of the events, particularly when women in cont... 5 Sydney South West (Michelle Hobbs) Key Events • Pastors region events held quarterly • Colour conference. • On the ground there are some good things happening within the region of the Sydney South (South West), Good Reports / Highlights • Continued connections with the women leaders in region. • The credentialing of women in region both older and young, single and married. • Senior church female church pastors registering their churches, church planters • Attending of Colour by key leaders and wives in region seems to be growing and broadening, I am not sure of the specifics however I am more aware of those who started attending and continue to attend. 6 ee South Coast (Annette Bartlett) Annette was recently reinstated into ACW leadership, and will be providing a report for our next update On a personal note, I have not been able to put lots of time into the region as I would like, I am coming to the end of my Masters in Leadership, as well as pastoring and leading two congregations alongside my husband Grant. So life is full and living in the stretch! I look forward to giving some more energy to the women, they are close to my heart and I continue to encourage them in life and ministry as well encouraging them to attend Colour. ent N o mi n Leadership Changes • I was asked to take on the region leadership in October 2013 as there was no ACW leadership in the region immediately prior to me taking on the position. • I have been in contact by both phone and email, with each of the women’s leaders in ACC churches in our region, introducing myself and starting to build rapport. I have invited them to our regional event and have spoken to them about doing a group seating allocation from the Western Region for Colour 2015. • Locally as a church after attending Colour, I took the Paint can concept and took it to the streets. We were coming into easter, so got together some invites to easter services and put together chocolate bags to give out to the neighbours (church is in a residential area), and took them to the train station as the locals came home from work, they were received favourably. It was great to see the team run with it, I gave a some vision to it and they ran with it. I am looking forward to some more initiatives like this. God is good and I see His girls stepping up and forward into their purpose and destiny, this is encouraging. Pres id the smaller towns are so hungry that they just want to be a part of something greater than what they can see. North Coast (Bev Spence) • Bev was recently reinstated into ACW leadership, and will be providing a report for our next update Mid-North Coast (Sue Brown) • Sue has only recently stepped into this ACW leadership role, and will be providing a report for our next update Riverina (Kate Klemke) • Kate has only recently stepped into this ACW leadership role, and will be providing a report for our next update Stat e Australian Christian Women cont... John McMartin resides in Sydney, Australia, and is the Senior Pastor of Inspire Church. Inspire Church ministers to many people at their weekly services across Sydney Metro, New South Wales and also through their weekly television broadcast. Inspire Community Church reaches 1000’s of disadvantaged people each year. John McMartin Ps John McMartin INSPIRE CHURCH Hoxton Park NSW John has been the Senior Pastor of Inspire Church since 1982. He has taken the Church from small beginnings in 1982 to what it is today. He has a great love to see people attain the Promises that God has placed in their hearts. As well as the State President of NSW ACC, John serves ACC on the National Executive. John is married to Carol and they have three children and six grandchildren. All their children love God and are serving in local churches. 7 Chaplaincy Australia Chaplaincy Australia (CA) is celebrating its 15th year of operation this year and our expanding network continues to provide chaplaincy services across NSW and the ACT! Ken Fischer Chaplaincy Australia 8 Ps Paul Bartlett LIGHTHOUSE CHURCH Wollongong NSW ee In August 2013, CA NSW/ACT hosted its inaugural Chaplaincy Australia is in a strong position as we move forward into the future. The network is increasing in number and effectiveness as we work with many churches and organisations and our greatest asset continues to be the amazing chaplains who give sacrificially of their time and resources to be part of our network. o mi n b er N M em Ken Fischer was appointed as the State Director in May 2013 and is supported by a dedicated leadership team including Anne Iuliano (Secretary/Founder), Susan Marcuccio (AC Director of VET programs Chaplaincy), Graham Blok (NSW/ACT Chaplain - Toll Group), Richard Feeney (NSW/ACT State Executive Director Prison Fellowship Australia) and Jen Wendtman (AC Chaplaincy Trainer, School Chaplain). Network Statistics CA currently has 219 accredited chaplains and chaplaincy team members. The CA chaplains are employed in full time, part time or voluntary capacities, offering services to the Australian Defence Force, correctional facilities, aged care facilities, health sector, emergency services, the arts, industry and sports and more. 45% of chaplains in the network are credentialed ACC pastors and 14% are from other denominations. e utiv CA People and Events Within this past reporting period, Terry Cahill resigned as the CA NSW/ACT Chairman of the Board of Directors. Kevin Brett, who served on the Board for many years, also resigned during this period. John Iuliano was installed as acting Chairman until June 2014, when the CA National Board was formed. We are incredibly grateful to Terry, Kevin and John for their leadership and sacrificial service to Chaplaincy Australia NSW/ACT. Ralph Estherby has now been appointed the CA National Director and is doing an incredible job. CA partners with AC In October 2012, CA entered into a training agreement with Alphacrucis College (AC) for specialized chaplaincy training. Since that time, AC has offered 17 courses, with 298 students in attendance. This is a 40% increase on the last reporting period and AC is offering 6 additional courses by the end of 2014. AC now offers courses including Chaplaincy Essentials, Cert IV in Pastoral Care and the Diploma of Ministry (Chaplaincy). 77% of the CA chaplains have completed specialized chaplaincy training. Exec The aim of CA NSW/ACT is to care for people at their point of need, enabling them to better cope with periods of instability. In order to achieve this, CA is committed to discovering potential chaplains, to developing and training future chaplains and to deploying chaplains into areas of opportunity and need. In September 2013, CA NSW/ACT withdrew from the National School Chaplaincy & Student Welfare Program (NSCSWP). The five school chaplains were transferred to Your Dream Inc., which now has 21 registered school chaplains. In October 2013, in partnership with the Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy Network (DRCN), CA deployed specially trained chaplains to assist in the Springwood, Richmond and Raymond Terrace Evacuation Centres. We now have more than 25 chaplains trained with DRCN, who are ready for deployment, when needed. e Stat We are currently experiencing a season of great favour and have many opportunities to minister to our community. Whether in a disaster, a correctional centre, the armed forces, a sporting team or industry, people from all walks of life and various faith backgrounds are being supported by our skilled chaplains. national conference. More than 130 chaplains from all states and territories attended the conference in Stanwell Tops, providing an unprecedented opportunity for unity and connection across the country. Paul Bartlett is the senior pastor of Lighthouse, a thriving church in Wollongong about an hour south of Sydney Australia. Lighthouse is an innovative church of around 1500 members who meet in four locations along the south coast of NSW. The church is known around the nation for its strong focus on community involvement, from training the unemployed to housing homeless youth and feeding the hungry. Paul Bartlett Paul is also the Chaplain for Wollongong Hawks NBL basketball team and was recently appointed the National leader for Community Engagement for the Australian Christian Churches. He is an impressive public speaker with a genuine passion to see whole communities transformed but also enjoys working with individuals as a personal development coach. Paul is married to Annette and loves fishing and basketball, and has 3 children. 9 Church Health 1 covers the 10 essential systems in a healthy church while Church Health 2 drills down into the systems the regional leader feels is important for their region. We have also had good reports of growth from Adrian Thornton at Shellharbour, Nathan Battishal at Forbes, Steve Lott at Moree, David Nathan at Wahroonga, Sydney, and Aaron Wallace at Mt Druitt, and most recently a plant at Dungog from Real Life Church Maitland. WELL DONE! “ Citylife Shellharbour has been meeting for a year and a half now and is progressing well. Our focus is reaching and discipling people one person at a time. So far we have seen two mums and their children connected into the life of the church. It is a slow process but we are okay with that. Our Sunday services are strong and we are focusing on a lounge room feel for the service as it fits our size. We also have a small group of people attend our service who are from our home church in Wollongong. Their presence and help is much appreciated and helps add life to the service. For me the highlights are the connections our church has had with people in Shellharbour through a group that meets at the Shellharbour Club and through a mothers group. Adrian Thornton 10 emb iv e M e c ut “ John Iuliano Church Health We have been able to give a number of small grants to successful applicants and have also sponsored some church planters to State Conference and the National Church Planting Course (Ignite). e Ex Our desire is see our state filled with healthy churches. This is one of the NSW state executive initiatives to see this desire come to pass. Please contact the state office if you want a church health seminar to come to your region. The highlights for me have been visiting many of the regional Pastors events and sharing the Church Planting vision and meeting some of the fantastic Senior Pastors around our state who are open to God speaking to them about Church Planting. Particular thanks go to Ron Thomas and Steve Spence for their work over the past year. One exciting change has been the decision to work more through the Regional Leaders as the Core Team for Church Planting. Mark Zaia Church Planting St a t We are adding to the seminar a coaching connection designed to help churches navigate through the transitions required in implementing the healthy church systems. Pastor Paul Bartlett is overseeing the coaching component. omi Church Planting NSW New South Wales Church Planting has seen an acceleration of plants in the last two years with 24 churches planted in 2013 and, to date, 12 new plants and 8 potential new plants for 2014. This is a significant increase on previous years. Well done particularly to Ben Staines for sending out a number of plants over the last few years. er N Church Health The Church Health seminars have been very well received around our state with very encouraging testimonials coming from all attendees. 7 seminars have already been rolled out this year with a combined attendance of over 380 pastors and leaders. Another 2 seminars are booked in before the end of the year. nee Church Life Andrew has been in ministry since 1990. He began with pioneering a community based youth service with two other people. In 1994 he became a full time pastor serving with Ps Brian and Bobbie Houston and in 2000 Andrew accepted an invitation to become the associate pastor with Ps John and Carol McMartin. In late 2004 Andrew along with his wife Mary Ann and 3 children planted Bay City Church which is an innovative strong church in the heart of the Rockdale Shire. Andrew Harper Ps Andrew Harper BAY CITY CHURCH Arncliffe NSW Andrew’s passion to see a local church influence its community has seen Bay City Church now partner with 10 churches across NSW to establish a practical food program called Community Food Care. This program now supports thousands of people each week while opening the door for churches to build a relevant connection to the people in their local community. 11 Indigenous Initiative 2013 stats, we were 6- so an increase of 3. 12 • National Indigenous Initiative Network Luncheon. This year at state conference we have scheduled in another meeting to bring people back together & also attract other ministers/leaders who are working with Indigenous communities. This is a great opportunity to not only connect but to build support and provide resources & strategies on how to break into the Indigenous communities. William Dumas NSW ACC National Indigenous Initiative Ps John & Anne Iuliano NORTH SHORE CHRISTIAN CENTRE Chatswood NSW ee • To date we have 9 Indigenous credentialed ministers in our state. This is the very first National ACC Indigenous Conference. We are breaking new ground and are believing for impacting results in our churches across our great Nation. o mi n b er N M em Proceedings with the first National Indigenous Conference were also received with great expectation all committee members added to the value of the conference & see it as an annual event that will assist in networking and highlighting Indigenous Ministries in our movement. Events • NATIONAL INDIGENOUS ACC CONFERENCE - FOCUS ON THE FUTURE 12-14 September 2014. e utiv • My first official Meeting with State Representatives of the National Indigenous Initiative was held on the 3 April, all attended were enthusiastic and welcoming of me and Sandra at the helm as the new chairperson of the National committee. Ps Michael Dumas from Port Macquarie has transferred from an independent movement back to the ACC just recently. Michael brings with him an established church in Telegraph Point and an outreach work in Taree, he is a well recognised Indigenous Leader in his region. Exec • To kick off the New Year we scheduled in a meeting with Ps John McMartin on the 18 March, we discussed my role, and ways to strengthen the Initiative in our state. I have caught up with the majority of Indigenous Pastors in our State who are doing well. e Stat Good Reports • State Conference 2013 was the first Indigenous Initiative Network Luncheon, we saw an attendance of 30 plus people who were interested in Indigenous Ministries or who worked with or in an Indigenous Community. Participation & networking was great with pastors sharing experiences & keys strategies on how to support each other back in the field. Ps Mark Zaia from Church Planting attended & shared on his personal journey of breaking barriers in his church community & the activities they have strategically initiated to achieve this. John has been in ministry since 1981. He has been involved in planting and pastoring six churches, overseeing church planting movements both in Australia and overseas, and releasing scores of church planters and missionaries. Since 1996 John has been the Senior Minister of North Shore Christian Centre, a thriving multicultural and multi-generational church in Sydney. John Iuliano John has a passion for missions, church planting, education, and training of ministers. He is the director of Church Health for the Australian Christian Churches NSW and served as the President of Alphacrucis College for 10 years (between 2003 and 2012). John is married to Anne and they have three adult children. 13 Regional Roadshows NSW ACC Community Engagement held forums to explore principles of community development and to facilitate discussion on fresh and creative ways of stimulating community and economic renewal. Local assets are the primary building blocks of sustainable community development. Building on the skills of local residents, the power of local associations, and the supportive functions of local institutions, asset based community development draws upon existing community strengths to build stronger, more sustainable communities for the future. Aim: 1.Bring awareness to NSW Churches of the importance of engaging their Community 2.Training on how to begin Community Care Programs 3.Connect Pastors and Leaders to their local community leaders and potential partnerships 14 ee ea s u rer N o mi n 2013 • Speakers – Peter Kenyon, Janette Malcolm, Gary Hourigan, Andre Van Eymeren, Russell Deal and Donna Crouch • Delegates – Fifty three organisations were represented at this year’s Insight conference, including 33 faith based and 20 non-faith based organisations. 2014 Speakers at the upcoming Lighthouse Community Conference (www.lighthouseconference.org) in 2014: • Tim Costello – Baptist Minister and CEO of World Vision, Tim Costello is one of Australia’s most sought after voices on social justice issues, leadership and ethics, having spearheaded public debates on gambling, urban poverty, homelessness, reconciliation and substance abuse. • Hugh Mackay - a social researcher and the author of fourteen books – nine in the field of social psychology and ethics, and five novels. His latest book, The Good Life, came out in May 2013, and his sixth novel, Infidelity, will also be published in 2013, “The pursuit of happiness”. Paul Bartlett NSW ACC Community Engagement y / Tr Moving forward, I would love to see ACC churches linking arms with community organisations (Christian or otherwise) in a greater way, loving and engaging with people of all walks of life, even if they never step a foot inside our churches. As part of the new focus, we’ve changed the name from Community Care to Community Engagement. This is not about shifting away from social justice issues but about better reflecting the wide range of community activities already undertaken by ACC churches and leaders. Community Engagment Conference Insight Community Conference is conference for the community about the community. Its purpose is to empower community leaders to create transforming community solutions, through inspiring stories, relevant key note presentations, practical workshops & take away resources and an opportunity to network with other likeminded community leaders. etar In recent years Donna Crouch has done a fantastic job lifting the profile of Community, encouraging our movement to embrace the area like never before. Donna Crouch is now shifting to an oversight role for all national departments and I will be taking on the role of ACC national leader for Community Engagement. During these forums over 250 pastors, community and civic leaders have been able to hear Peter Kenyon speak on Asset Based Community Development. Over 50 organisations have been represented and strategic connections have been made with community leaders. Se c r Name Change and National Appointment I have been appointed as the new ACC national leader for Community Engagement, taking over from Donna Crouch who shifts to an oversight role for all national departments. This is in addition to still leading in this role in NSW. NSW Regions visited between 2013 and 2014: • New England Region • North Coast Region • Hunter Region • Central Coast Region Stat e Community Engagement Chris is married to Sharlene and has 3 young, active sons. Together Chris and Sharlene pastor Citywest Church which is in Seven Hills, in the Western Suburbs of Sydney. They are strongly linked with the local community through a ministry hub in the middle of Lalor Park, which has a high percentage of low socio economic and hurting people burdened by addictions and long term unemployment. Chris Smith Ps Chris & Sharlene Smith CITIWEST CHURCH Seven Hills NSW Chris has been on the Sydney Norwest Regional Executive since 1997 fulfilling the roles of Treasurer, Secretary and Assistant Leader. His mix of pastoral and administration gifting has helped strengthen and facilitate the region with nearly 50 churches of different sizes, many being ethnic in make-up. Chris was elected in 2012 in this role and has loved serving the state and equipping our churches and Pastors. He is excited to be nominated for another term. 15 Pastors Emeritus History ‘Pastors Emeritus’ has been operational throughout AAC around 4-5 years, but officially launched in the 2013 National ACC Conference. Once a year we produce a News Update newsletter that goes out to all in NSW ACC Pastors Emeritus. Ivan Herald NSW ACC Pastors Emeritus Director Ps Matt Tickner HILLSONG CHURCH Campbelltown NSW o mi n ent N ee • Keeping regular contact. It takes me around 9 months to phone (sometimes SMS) everyone on the list (all 200 pastors). • Pastorally caring for our senior ministers. • Responding to prayer needs. We broadcast email urgent prayer requests & encouragement just to our NSW ACC Pastors Emeritus. id Pres Activities Here is a list of the various activities we conduct in NSW ACC Pastors Emeritus. Events At State Conference we get together for a luncheon. You are most welcome to join in on that day as we honour together our Pastors Emeritus. Contact Ivan for luncheon location, date, timing and cost. V ic e What It Is Not. NSW ACC Pastors Emeritus is not our ‘old pastors.’ May we never encourage that thought. It is honouring those who have so capably served and continue to serve our fellowship. We salute their tireless contribution over the years. e Stat Scope Of Pastors Emeritus The primary function of NSW ACC Pastors Emeritus is to honour and pastorally care for our senior ministers. We owe so much to them. In NSW we include all ministers over 65 years of age in NSW ACC Pastors Emeritus. Currently, that is just under 200 ministers. Only 15% are retired. The rest are very capably and energetically ministering in various roles throughout the State. • Ivan, on behalf of the State Executive, attends to floral tributes at the funeral of any Pastors Emeritus pastor, attending where possible. • Occasionally get groups of Pastors Emeritus together and have Morning or Afternoon Tea to catch up & express State Executive appreciation. • Produces a yearly Newsletter for NSW ACC Pastors Emeritus. • Conveying current information/data change with State office. • Recognising major events (when informed) eg: Golden wedding anniversary etc. of Pastors Emeritus pastors. • Sending Birthday cards on 65, 70, 75, 80 etc occasions. Matt Tickner is a Pastor at Hillsong Church, and along with his wife Tam Tickner, oversee the South West Campus in Sydney. Matt has been a part of Hillsong Church since its early days, served in various capacities, and been in full time ministry for seventeen years. He is 16 Matt Tickner passionate about life & leadership, and helping people live the adventure God has for them. He currently also serves as part of the Australian Christian Churches NSW Executive. Matt & Tam have been married for sixteen years, and have two beautiful boys, William and Obadiah. 17 We have also been working with many churches across the State, assisting them in putting together policies and procedures in these areas. NEW Working with Children Check – NSW is being introduced in NSW over the next few years. Kids R Us has been working with the State to assist churches with accurate information to ensure we are meeting the guidelines. nee omi er N Kids R Us NSW partenered with a children’s ministry team visiting from Cambodia. Providing opportunities for training for them and the opportunity to visit churches in our Nation and attend our National Kidshaper Conference. emb Safe Places Unit To date for 2012-2014 455 people have completed the NSW ACC Towards Safe Places workshop which covers Duty of Care, Child Protection, Safe Ministry Leaders and Safe Environments and Programs. Missions Kids R Us team travelled to Sri Lanka in 2013 and ministered to 1000’s of children and trained local children’s workers. Alice McInnes NSW Kids R Us State Director iv e M As a movement we are also in the process of developing and implementing SRE training modules across the State for Scripture schools in accordance with guidelines to ensure scripture teachers are meeting standards for accreditation. State Conference The children’s programs at the NSWACC Pastors and Leaders State Conference have been a great highlight in the last two years with children experiencing God and being ministered to. e c ut Scripture In Schools - SRE To date for 2013-2014 we have 245 authorised teachers to teach Scripture In Schools in State primary schools. Training for Leaders Training events for leaders have happened right across our state – in individual churches as well as in regions. e Ex Kids R Us St a t Conferences for Children There have been many great conferences and events happening across our State for children. These include Xplosion, Young and Ready Conferences and Camps. At these events we have seen children empowered, reached with the Gospel. Sam Di Mauro is the Hills Campus Pastor of Hillsong Church. He has been part of the Hillsong team for seven years, in which time he has served as a Service Pastor, Connect Group Oversight as well as Lecturing in the Bible College. Sam is also an Executive Member for the Norwest Region. Prior to joining the Hillsong Team, Sam served Ian & Joan Woods at Hawkesbury Church for 12 years. 18 Sam Di Mauro Ps Sam Di Mauro HILLSONG CHURCH Bella Vista NSW Sam has been married to Kylie for eighteen years and they have four beautiful children; Matisse, Avalon, Marlon & Santina. Sam & Kylie are passionate in their love for God, seeing souls won for Christ, and seeing unity, strength & growth amongst our ACC churches. 19 Youth Alive Ps Darren Bonnell NORTHWEST CHURCH Tamworth NSW ee YOUTH ALIVE 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Youth Leaders 188 212 236 203 194 Groundswell 6028 6658 8911 7573 7353 777 860 1059 945 830 10225 8675 7500 6505 4649 No EXO this year 840 257 1200 678 398 No EXO this year Impact Leaders Day 523 880 853 1028 975 Combined with Young Leaders Retreat Impact Leaders Ministries Represented 56 93 247 133 133 Groundswell Salvations Big Exo Day *2012 as 2013 isn’t until Oct. Big Exo Day Salvations *2012 as 2013 isn’t until Oct. o mi n b er N M em Scott Samways Youth Alive NSW e utiv Y.L.R. ran over two days on the central coast with multiple key speakers. For the first time we opened Y.L.R up to any leader in the church by having specific break out sessions for the area of ministry they are in. This year the break out streams we offered were Kids Ministry, Youth, Leadership and Creative. We have had very positive feedback and are looking into ways of offering more options for next year’s retreat. Youth Alive NSW Staf f / Key Team We have had a couple of changes to the key team in Youth Alive NSW. As a result of Sanga being based in Newcastle, Darren McMahon (who has been with us for over 5 years), has become the office manager, making sure everything is happening for the year and overseeing the day to day running of the office and staff. Exec Young Leaders Retreat - February 2014 Our biggest win this year for Youth Alive NSW was in combining Youth Leaders Retreat and Young Guns to form what is now known as Young Leaders Retreat. e Stat Youth Alive NSW events 2013 - 2014 Impact Tour - October 2013 Impact Tour is about empowering the local churches and allowing Youth Alive to sow into leaders. We keep the ticket prices to a minimum so as to cover the cost of the tour so that it is not a financial burden on people who attend but at the same time is beneficial to those individuals and their ministries. This year we are excited to have Cam Bennett on tour with us. We are working with the regional leaders to get the word out in their respective networks that this will be a day they won’t want to miss! Groundswells May/June 2014 We have held 14 Groundswell events throughout NSW with a further 3 more still to come later in the year. These events have been the best so far, when it comes to working with the regional leaders and youth ministries, as far as organization and budget are concerned. This year we looked after the advertising, printing and wristbands cost but gave each regional leader a budget to work from. In doing this we have doubled the profit from last year’s events which has put Youth Alive NSW in a better position financially than before. We anticipate that working closer with the teams even more next year will enable us to see how we can support them more and grow the attendance for both the Groundswell event and also in their local churches. 2014 276 *combined with Young Guns 6088 (3 more events to go) 629 (3 more events to go) Darren Bonnell is the Senior Pastor of Northwest Church Tamworth. Active in ministry for 22 years and Senior Pastor of a local church for 9, Darren has a passion for people and the local church, especially country churches. His love is his wife the gorgeous Bron and his three children blessed with their mother’s good looks and sharp mind. Darren is known for his authenticity and obsession with sport. Darren’s heart is for people lives and local churches to rise and flourish. YOUNG GUNS 20 Darren Bonnell 21 Rangers NSW Over the past 2 years Rangers NSW has held many training events for our Leaders, training them in various aspects of our ministry and has held many exciting State and Region camps for our Rangers. What is new?: We now open up all our camps to those young people who do not usually attend a Group of a local church. Rangers are now encouraged to bring along a friend!! Training Highlights: • In 2012, February, we trained leaders in all aspects of the Rangers Ministry – ‘Fundamentals’ Course. • In 2013, our leaders were trained in the ‘Towards Safe Places Workshop’. • Another course we conducted in 2013 was a new ‘Camping Skills’ Course, which included teachings on camp layout, camp kitchen, how to build a grease trap, tents, how to keep warm when tenting, types of fires and fuel, axes, camp cooking/ methods and also risk assessments. • In 2014, training was in Risk Assessments (to identify hazards, assess risks, control risks, review control measures.) • Another training course held in 2014 was ‘Archery’ – Training leaders to safely lead an archery session. Camp Highlights: Our camps continue to be well attended, with many families joining with their children to attend these camps with them. • In 2012 in September, we held our Spring Youth Camp at Castle Mountain, Wiseman’s Ferry. Our theme was ‘Dreams’. Guest speaker was Ps Darren McMahon. This camp was aimed towards the youth • • • • • 22 age. He spoke on… Am I living my dream? Am I making the right choices to reach my dream in life? Activities included camp cooking/camp ‘oven’ cooking, canoeing, abseiling, mud world, bush walking, navigation, archery, electronics, visual arts, pottery, our evening camp fire, and our Pinewood Derby race. In 2013 in March, we held our ‘Family’ camp at Morisset with the theme ‘Puzzles’. Our guest speaker was Natalie Miller, Ventriloquist and Evangelist. This camp was run for the ‘whole’ family. Activities included unravelling puzzles and challenges, our evening camp fire, canoeing, archery, mud world, tree-top challenge, the giant swing and high ropes. This was one of our largest camps with 190 in attendance. In 2013, September, we held our Spring Youth Camp again at Castle Mountain, and the theme was “Everybody is a Genius”. Our Guest Speaker was Ps Tepa Faletose, Senior Pastor of Cross Central Church, Batemans Bay. Again this camp was aimed towards the youth. Activities were centred around our theme on ‘talents’. It included spending time together to get to know each other in the group, was about finding everyone’s strengths and talents and working together as a team, learning camp skills, and meeting new people. Other activities were Rogaining, raft building, archery, canoeing, bush walking, camp cooking, the evening camp fire and the Pinewood Derby Race. In 2013, the Sydney Region organised a hike from Killcare Beach to Bouddi National Park. In 2013, the Nepean Region held a camp at Grose Wold. The theme was “Free”. Activities included abseiling, hiking, archery, camp skills, firecraft, bush activities and our evening camp fire. Speakers were organised for all age groups. In 2014, we held an ‘Adventure Day’ at Olympic Park, Homebush, for the whole family. Young people followed clues to unravel hidden messages, used a compass to crack a code, solved puzzles and then swam in the Aquatic Centre. • In 2014, we have held 2 Regional camps at Grose Wold, both with the theme “Solid”. Activities included abseiling, canoeing, archery, cooking a baked dinner in a fire pit, evening camp fire, and many camp skills. Speakers were organised for all age groups. • We have not held a March Family camp in 2014 as we are getting ready to hold our National Camporama in January 2015 and we wanted to give families an opportunity to save up for this camp. This event only happens once every 4 years. The 2015 Camporama will be held at Stanwell Park at “The Tops” Conference Centre. Any young person is able to attend. We will also be celebrating our 50th Anniversary of Rangers in Australia. Our mission has been to see children and youth know Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and to be discipled and mentored along their journey in Rangers. As a State body we facilitate this through the running of our camps and outdoor adventure activities and the training of leaders. The local church Group is responsible for their weekly discipleship/mentoring program. At our camps, we have also included mentoring topics for example … alert, clean, honest, courageous, loyal, courteous, obedient and spiritual. NSW ACC STATE CONFERENCE 2014 6th - 9th OCTOBER Over the past 2 years, our State team have been very committed to our mission. These people are capable and skilled and have been a real blessing to the Rangers ministry. Many young people and families have been impacted with the Gospel through Rangers. We have celebrated many first-time decisions and rededications at our State and Regional events. Book now: nswacc.org.au/state-conference.php Liz Robinson NSW Rangers NSW Director nsw acc state conference 6-9 october port macquarie 2014 23 180TC We are now only 9 wks away from our largest annual fundraiser known as the Sydney to the Hunter Cycling Classic. This can only mean one thing and that is, “I need to train and it’s so cold at the moment”. Fortunately for all of the riders, our great friends at the Castle Hill RSL have helped us to secure sponsored “ indoor spin classes” at the amazing C2K fitness and aquatic centre. The classes will help all of the riders build up strength and endurance as we get put through an intense 45mins of conditioning building. Partnerships such as this one with the Castle Hill RSL really assist ONE80TC to bring more awareness into the local community about the life saving work we are involved in and at the same time the community gets to know where to source the kind of help and resource we offer. New Initiative These are exciting days at ONE80TC after years of desiring a garden and a program to help introduce gardening skills to our young men we have partnered with Food Ladder and TAFE NSW Western Sydney Institute from Richmond Outreach. Recently 13 students completed the “Introduction to Horticulture” – Course in Vocational & Community Engagement and received certificates for this milestone. The students of ONE80TC have continued learning from Paul O’Reilly from the TAFE NSW Western Sydney Institute about seed propagation, building garden beds, soil requirements, bush tucker and much more. 24 We have relocated the Green House to another area on the property that now includes steel and hay garden beds. We are waiting to have a fence put around the new garden area to keep out possums and kangaroos. Students started the next horticulture certificate in July! Key Event Friday 17 October 2014, 6:30pm Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Arts Black Tie - $250 p/p or tables of 10 $2500 Guests attending the formal rooftop affair will be lavished with first class entertainment whilst being fine dined and wined by prestigious award winning caterer “Fresh Catering”, on a sumptuous three course menu overlooking Sydney’s magical Harbour and cityscape. All funds raised on the evening will support the ongoing work of ONE80TC, a not-for-profit organisation established in 1977 to provide longterm residential treatment and rehabilitation services for young men (18-35) wanting to overcome life controlling issues. Tickets to this event are limited. To secure your seat please click on the link below or contact Raelene on 02 8884 0505. Mark Hill Chief Executive Officer nsw acc state conference 6-9 october port macquarie 2014 GUEST SPEAKER SAM CHAND Dr Sam Chand is a well known speaker, and author of the Ladder Series; Developing a Leadership Culture, Futuring, What keeps pastors up at night, plus many more! Dr Chand will bring many truths that will liberate and empower us forward in Gods purpose. His passion is mentoring and developing leaders to break all limits in ministry and in the market place. PRICES Group of 10+ Adults ACC Retired Pastors Youth Kids Pre-School Creche EARLY BIRD DURING CONFERENCE 140 ea 150 120 80 60 50 40 DISCOUNT UP TO JUNE 30, 2014 160 ea 170 120 100 80 70 60 Register at: www.nswacc.org.au FULL AFTER JULY 1, 2014 170 ea 200 120 120 100 80 70 25 Blue Mountains Leadership Changes Due to Pastor Eric Roggeveen taking a sabbatical for an extended time. Pastor Kevin Brett was appointed by the State executive to assume the role of leader. An executive meeting was held in Bathurst where Pastor Kevin informed the executive of the changes at this time. Events At the end of 2013 we had a Christmas dinner which was well attended by all the churches in the region. It was a time of great fun and fellowship. The year started with the Wollongong 24 hour retreat for Senior Pastors where we had a day session with Pastor Paul Bartlett The time was very valuable, discussing issues concerning Pastors and our personal well-being, some lateral thinking in relation to the church and community, Paul sharing how the church can be the leader of the community rather than being irrelevant. May 29th we held our annual General meeting and elected a new executive who are, Pastors Steve Blackwell, Graeme Summerson, Frank Zuvela Ian Bartley and Jack Hanes. We also had two sessions with Pastor Ray Andrews addressing issues around burnout and self care from an emotional and theological perspective. There was a lunch together, enjoyed by all . Again it was well attended by most of our churches. Churches Reports from the churches are positive there is a greater involvement of the Samoan churches in regional events. A new church was planted in our region by Hawkebury Christian Church in Springwood - Faulcon Bridge in the Blue Mountains Called Mountains Church which has been running since the beginning of 2014. Pastor Frank Zuvela from Lithgow Christian Life Centre celebrated 20 years of Pastoral ministry in Lithgow. Credentials There were Two OMCs and Three PMCs received in late 2013, early 2014. This has been a bit quiet however there has been some enquiries for OMCs in the past two months. We were able to welcome 26 and pray for all the credential recipient at our event on May 29th. Coming Events The next big event will be our end of year dinner . An event was planned for August but has had to be cancelled. An executive meeting is planned for August 14th to plan out the next twelve months. Ps Kevin & Marilyn Brett Capital Country We have seen strong, steady growth in our churches over the last two years, keeping in line with our national 7% per year target for the ACC. Churches have reported many new commitments and rededications, particularly among the youth. Life UC under the leadership of Ps. Sean and Lynda Stanton report great favour with their community through the new Health Centre and Early Learning Centres located on their property. Capital Edge Church has also seen rapid growth and have recently taken on a central campus at Forrest Primary School near the parliamentary triangle. Two churches have gained registered status – Goulburn and Gilmore in Canberra and Life City Church has planted a church at Queanbeyan. Jindabyne now has new pastors, Pete and Jacey Richards who have taken over from Marc and Heather Hunter who have moved to Japan. The number of credentials processed in our region in the last two years is as follows: • SMC – 5 • PMC – 9 • OMC – 6 We have been blessed at our regional pastors and leader’s events by the ministry of Mark Edwards, Nick Resce, Tony Rainbow, Ian and Yvonne Zerna, Danny Guglielmucci and Mike Murphy. Our Region Retreat which we hold in March each year has gone from strength to strength with some 50-60 attendees. Our annual Regional Ladies conference – Wise Up - has grown to over 250 ladies in attendance. The ladies have enjoyed the ministry of Jane Evans, Janine Kubala and Donna Crouch. In May, 2014, we farewelled Ps. Gloria and Bob Neale. Gloria and Bob have pastored at Nation Light Church for 10 years and she and Bob have recently relocated to Queenscliff, NSW. Gloria has assisted as the Region secretary for the last 8 years and we will miss her input. We wish her and Bob every blessing. We are thankful to the Lord for building His church in Capital Country Region and are believing for increased momentum and expansion, favour in our communities and a harvest of salvations in the years to come. Ps Jon & Edith Cathie Central Coast We are excited to welcome Brad and Amy Hagan who have been appointed at Shelley Beach, who are now the Senior Pastors of ‘Thrive’ Church. And happy to say that two women in our region have received their OMC’s. We would like to thank Mark and Jacqueline Bohr for their service in this region and wish them all the best in their future endeavors. Once again our prime regional Youth Alive Event Groundswell have had great success, with all of our youth and young adult ministries represented and with hundreds of unchurched attending. We are seeing right across the coast more and more engagement with the community as the different churches are coming up with creative ideas on how to interrelate with unchurched people. There has also been great advancement with Chaplaincy in the local schools. Many of our churches are laying fresh foundations in preparation for the next season they are sensing God leading them into. And, as their mandate becomes clearer, they are becoming more specialised. Maintaining a strong culture has also been a big focus, but with now a greater lean towards evangelism and expansion through their own unique expression. Many of our Senior Pastors are wanting to transition their leadership to another level, developing into more of a Senior ‘Father’ figure in order to make room for the next generation. Ps Murray & Suzanne Newman Hunter & New England It has been a real honour and privilege to begin to serve as the regional leader of the Hunter & New England regions in this past 18 months. There are a few people I would like to thank: Firstly, I would like to thank Ps Phil Camden who passed on the leadership baton to me in February 2013. I continue to be amazed and inspired as I watch and pray for Phil & Lenore as they walk through this health challenge. Secondly, I want to thank Ps Wayne Williamson who after many years of faithfully serving on our region executive, stood down from his role in June 2013. Finally, I’d like to thank the current Hunter & New England team who are a great leaders and friends. The current team is: Michael Lott (Region Leader) Macquarie Life Church. Grant Atherton Real Life Church. Greg McKewin Bay Life Church. Shannon Riley Hillsong Newcastle. Gary Barnier New Hope Community Church. Darren Bonnell Northwest Church Tamworth. 27 Roseanne Vujic (Region Secretary) Macquarie Life Church. Some information and highlights from across our region: • We currently have 26 Churches in the Hunter Region and 7 in the New England Region. • Ps Trent & Leisa Haddow are the new Senior Pastors of Terrace Christian Church in Raymond Terrace and Ps Luke & Rachel Main are the new Senior Pastors of Hope Valley Church in Cessnock. Congratulations to these great young leaders. • Well done to Ps Greg & Stacey Allen who planted Lift Church in May 2013 and continue to be a great addition to our region. • In the past 2 years we have presented 7 new OMC credentials, 22 PMC credentials and 3 SMC credentials. • The regional events have been very healthy and well attended. In the past 2 years we have had John Iuliano, John Morgan, Tony Campolo, Ben Houston, Kevin Brett, & Matt Tickner speak at our regional nights. It’s been great to have such quality input into our region. • At one of our regional nights a year we have had a focus on ‘emerging leaders’. These nights have been inspiring for all emerging leaders within our region as well as challenging for pastors and leaders to be intentionally raising up and developing leaders. • Youth Alive has had some great Groundswell events across our region and continues to do a great job in reaching and impacting a generation . • And for all those who were wondering, we currently have $5,730.16 In the bank account Looking forward to a strong finish to 2014 across our region. Ps Michael & Lauren Lott 28 Mid North Coast Thanks for reading this summary of various activities of the Mid North Coast Region over this conference period. This two year flyer is hard to comprehend and with it has come a number of changes – all are significant, here are a few from during this period. • Our church in South West Rocks has come back under the oversight of Ps David Betts as Ps Allan and Jan Jones have retired due to Jan’s ill health. We are thankful for their service to the SWR congregation and believe the best for them in the days ahead. • Ps John and Judy Harwin have continued to bring OneLife Taree to a place of health. There is a real buy-in from the congregation toward their ministry with great support toward regional events and applications for credentials. • Kevin and Dawn Matters leading Destiny Church are in a place of health with steady growth and new opportunities during this coming conference period to move their congregation into a premises in Taree. • Ps David Betts and Ros are now in their 30th year of ministry at Frederickton and continue to lead a steady church with a focus toward Kairos Goal Ministry and ecumenical support for local churches. David continues to serve also on the MNC executive. • Ps Phil and Sue Brown have partnered with Charles Sturt University which has meant a major renovation to their facility. Ps Phil continues to serve on the MNC Executive and I am very thankful for his ongoing support. • At Honour we are finally having our road sealed (the only dirt road left in Port Macquarie). After 25 years our new road will mark a new chapter in the life of our church. • Forster CLC remains steady with one of their biggest initiatives being an outreach to men in the MNC southern region that has attracted as many as 120 men for their monthly gatherings. • Ps Russell and Lorraine Saunders continue in Purfleet their outreach to the indigenous community. • 3 new works will join our MNC Region this conference period with Ps Mike Dumas transferring his Telegraph Point and Taree church back to the ACC. And Lifehouse Coffs Harbour sent Phil and Natalie Jupp to plant in South Kempsey. So joining the dots gives a small snapshot of our regions health, hotspots and hopeful opportunities this conference. It’s our privilege to serve God and lift the name of Jesus in this amazing region. Ps Mark & Cher Van Der Veer North Coast The North Coast region has continued to experience encouraging progress with strong health and forward vision over the past two years. The region now consists of 32 churches, with a sense of stability and longevity of pastor tenure. Over the past 2 years there has been a total of 25 new credentials, consisting of 3 SMC, 12 PMC and 8 OMC credentials. The three accredited teaching colleges we now have operating across our region at Ganggalah Tweed Heads, Life Church Ballina, and LifeHouse Coffs Harbour, are producing a string of great new leaders equipped to move into more of what God has for them. Regarding new churches, in November 2012 LifeHouse Moree began its Sunday meetings and in May of this year they opened their new Bargain Centre. This has been a very positive and encouraging growth in meeting the needs of Moree. Another highlight has been the church plant at the University of New England by Armidale Community Church. The new church named University Community Church began meeting in February of this year and is in a healthy position. Other positive news was that Vibe Church in Tweed Heads has now acquired their own building, positioning Senior Pastors David and Louise Nahi well for a long and stable future. In Lismore Joy and Allan Stiles have been operating a very effective ministry throughout the local public schools with a program designed for teenage girls; they are seeing great results and impacting their local community with this ministry. Other positive news is that there is a strong overseas missions focus throughout many churches on the North Coast. In particular Pottsville Church, Ballina Life Church, Eastgate Church and LifeHouse Church have all seen excellent results coming about through their international missions efforts. Worthy of note is also the launch and development of care ministries throughout the North Coast Region particularly in the area of food pantries, bargain centres and care houses. Both Ballina Life Church and LifeHouse Moree have recently opened facilities, and already Ballina is seeing an impact in over 250 households each week. LifeHouse Care Community Services in Coffs Harbour now operates four bargain centres all with food pantries and their Care House is currently positively impacting over 8000 people per year. They now have government and non government agencies referring people to them for assistance, and are engaging in more and more proactive solutions to help people in genuine need in the local community. A number of great Regional Recharge days have been held throughout the region at various locations, guest speakers were, Paul Bartlett, David McDonald, Ray Andrews, Murray Avril and John Iuliano as well as local speakers. Our Regional Recharge meetings encourage, inspire and build relationships with our pastors and teams. We’ve also had Senior Pastor Retreats, and Pastors monthly breakfasts. Each of our 5 regional exec members has the responsibility to run these monthly breakfasts in their sub regions and this helps towards maintaining church health and strong relationships. A Pastors Intensive was held in the region in Sept 2013 and saw 34 people attend. This was a great opportunity for Pastors to develop their skills and not have the added expenses of travelling to other locations further away. In the area of Chaplaincy there are approximately 25 chaplains currently training. Chaplaincy has 29 continued to build bridges of chaplaincy service and support across the North Coast region into many of our schools, aged care facilities, sporting clubs, fire & rescue organisations, Coffs Harbour Marine and Yacht Club. Some Chaplains accredited with Chaplaincy Australia on the North Coast are also accredited with DRCN (Disaster Response Chaplaincy Network) under Dr Stephen Robinson of the Uniting Church. This is a great sign of how CA Chaplains are growing in connection across the nation to serve communities in times of major disasters including bushfires, floods or other potential natural disasters. In Youth Alive news the Youth Leaders Impact Day held at Grafton, Groundswell at both Coffs Harbour, and Ballina were all very successful events. The impact day had Ps Stephen Lott from LifeHouse Moree speak with 70 key leaders from across the region. There was an incredible “family” feel with a number of new youth ministries attending. Ballina had a record amount of youth ministries attending at its second Groundswell, with over 22 youth ministries from across denominations attending. Youth Alive National Director, Cam Bennett, spoke at both Ballina and Coffs Harbour events. Coffs Harbour Groundswell had a great night with a large number of decisions for Christ. The team are looking at ways to continue the momentum and building youth leaders across the region towards the end half of the year, especially building up a larger group of senior high students and young leaders who will continue to take the region forward. A team of over 60 volunteers across our region made our events run successfully. Over the next two years we are believing for further growth and an ever increasing desire to reach the lost. Thank you to all who are a part of our unique and fruitful region and we look forward to experiencing more of the power, grace and favour of God as we serve the Lord with you in the greatest cause on earth. Ps Steve & Bev Spence Riverina Following successful and well-received ‘Holy Spirit Encounter’ nights in Wagga in mid-2013 and then Temora, we held two further regional nights. The first, held at the Great Aussie Resort (near Albury) in March 2014 was attended by people from Leeton, Deniliquin, Henty, Culcairn, Tumut, Walla Walla and Tumbarumba. Many took the opportunity to stay overnight at their own expense and fellowship together the next day over an informal bacon and eggs breakfast thanks to the Leeton Community Church. The second event was held in Deniliquin in May, with participants from Cobram, Barham, Deniliquin, Echuca, Yarrawonga and Albury. As part of this weekend, North Gate Church from Lavington also sent delegates to minister in Deniliquin, Barham and Echuca for Sunday Church gatherings with great success. Feedback from all events has been overwhelmingly positive, with testimonies of healings (many were healed and testified to significant healings without anyone laying hands on them as healing power was released from within God’s presence), breakthroughs, baptisms in the Holy Spirit and release from emotional issues, as well as people being generally encouraged in their walk with the Lord. Many also appreciated the opportunity to fellowship and network with others, a vital growth tool for our often small and isolated Churches. Senior ministers Ps Pat and Dave Morris along with the Kings Christian Church in West Wylong officially opened the doors to their new facility on November 3, 2013, a testimony to their faithful work and a great witness to the community. An end-of-year Christmas luncheon and meeting was held in Wagga Wagga on Friday December 6. It was attended by 17 Riverina pastors and leaders. It was a great day and an opportunity for the Riverina Pastors to bless and farewell Senior Pastors Aaron and Megan Jackson from Kings Christian Church Wagga as they venture to Sydney. A Christian Health Seminar (following on from 2 previous Church Health Seminars in 2012 and 2013) 30 was held on Saturday February 15 at North Gate Church Lavington with Ps John Iuliano. Riverlife in Henty hosted Lindy Chamberlain Creighton to their area, and had a great response from the community. A lot of people were touched. For Riverlife, a great out-reach has been the Rangers program. For Mother’s Day they invited the Ranger parents for dinner at the church, which was very successful. Leeton Community Church has been tracking along well, they are busy changing and improving a lot of their structures as they deal with greater than expected growth. They are currently in a period of prayer and fasting, seeking God for direction about the possible lease or purchase of a building. Additionally four of their men are heading to the Philippines in early July for what they hope is a long term partnership of practical and spiritual missions work in the Cebu region. Tumbarumba Community Church has enjoyed a productive start to 2014, with a dozen leaders attending the Church Health Seminar presented by Ps John Iuliano, as well as the regional Holy Spirit Encounter at Hume Weir Resort hosted by Ps Jason Mannering. The 5 TCC Home Groups have gathered at one location for 15 weeks, to walk out ‘The Discipleship Journey’ presented by Ps John Iuliano from the big screen, followed by group activities. They celebrated the conclusion of The Journey with our ‘Kingdom People Dinner’! (Dress Theme: “Like a Sir”!). TCC celebrated 10 years of Blossom ministry - placing value on motherhood - in May with an Annual Black & White Gala Dinner, and hosted a Blossom Team Decade Celebration Dinner with all past and present team members invited to join as an expression of thanks for their grace-filled servant hood over ten years! TCC also participated in ‘National Day of Thanksgiving’ through gifts, certificates and acts of service. They are particularly proud of their ZION Youth washing the Community Cars and Buses as an expression of gratitude to this amazing service in the community. The Riverina NSW Youth Alive ‘GROUNDSWELL’ events are always a great for impacting and shaping the generations with many responding to the invitation given. There is clearly a great hunger in our region for the ‘greater things’ that Jesus said we would do through the Holy Spirit’s work knowing that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever! A huge part of the focus for such events is to equip the Saints for acts of service, convincing them that each ones calling and anointing lines up with Luke 4:18-19. The healings, breakthroughs and testimonies that came from this first event were crazy, all glory to God! New Church Applications and Credentials Emmanuel for Life Ministry Inc is planting a Church in Coolamon. An African Church which has been operating in Wagga for approximately 18months is looking to bring their church into the Australian Christian Churches. We had a number of PMC and one OMC applications completed, and 3 more PMC’s and 2 more OMC’s are in progress. Finally, I’d like to take this opportunity to announce also that I have tendered my resignation as the Riverina Regional Leader, as has my Regional Secretary Kate Cann. I’ve been the Regional Leader since 2007, which has been an absolute honour and privilege and I want to sincerely thank the executive for this opportunity. I simply feel that this season has now come to an end as other doors are opening and that it’s the right time for a successor with whom I look forward to supporting and encouraging. Ps Jason & Treena Mannering. South Coast Regional Events The last two years has seen many regional events take place. Each year is split between our Regional Retreat and additional regional meetings held throughout the year. Regional Retreats February 2013, February 2014 • Held in Ulladulla, the region’s retreat is attended by 40-50 leaders from churches 31 around the region. In the past two years, we have had the privilege of hearing from Kevin Brett, Mark Zaia, Bruce Robertson and our own local leaders with a focus on succession planning and developing and releasing leaders. Regional Brunches Nov 2012 / May, Aug, Nov 2013 / May 2014 • These meetings are held over brunch and allow pastors and leaders in the region to get together for encouragement and prayer support in a casual setting. Since October 2012, we have had the opportunity to hear from NSW State President John McMartin, Stephen & Sandra Fogarty (Alphacrucis College), as well as input from Regional Leader, Ron Thomas. State Conference Lunches October 2012, October 2013 • In addition to the regional brunches, every year the pastors in the region catch up over lunch at the State Conference in Port Macquarie. Upcoming Events • The regional executive is endeavouring to ensure that regional events consistently address issues that are currently affecting pastors and churches in the region. Future regional events will also have a stronger training focus with more substantial input. Our next training day is scheduled for August 30 with guests Michael & Valerie Murphy sharing on church health and development. To combat the vast geographical distance of our region, subregion meetings will be held to help build relational connections in different areas of the region. Good Reports • Adrian & Liz Thornton planted Citylife Shellharbour in February 2013 and have been going strong for the past 16 months. They are continuing to meet weekly with a life group and a Sunday service with a vision of helping to win Shellharbour one person at a time. • Lighthouse Wollongong has commenced 32 an exciting Community Based Church Planting process earlier this year in the Northern part of Wollongong under the leadership of Grant & Jess Lowe. • Citylife Church is seeking an appropriate property for their Wollongong Church to enlarge their presence within the community and release further ministries and outreach opportunities. • The Dapto Church has benefited from effective oversight from Inspire Church Liverpool and is currently being rebranded as Inspire Wollongong looking to God for a new season of increase. • Cross Central at Bateman’s Bay has commenced multiple services on Sunday mornings and is building contacts in other local communities leading to future Church plants. Regional Executive Ross Stewart was released at the end of 2013 from his role on the executive to pursue a ministry opportunity in Sydney. We thank Ross for his tireless service of the region and wish him all the best for the future. Lionel Rattenbury from Helensburgh joined the executive in February 2014 and has taken on the responsibility of overseeing the churches within the Northern part of our region. Lionel’s insight and keenness to help develop the region further has been positive and is a welcome member of the executive. The Regional Executive as of June 2014 is: • Ron Thomas (Regional Leader) • Andrew Thomas (Youth) • Lionel Rattenbury (Region North) • Tepa Faletoese (Region South) Credentials In 2013, four leaders were issued with ministerial credentials. • • • • Adrian Thornton – PMC Deb Kuhna – PMC Linda Pesavento – PMC Grant Lowe – OMC There are currently six other leaders within the region who have initiated the application process. Looking Ahead We are excited about the plans that are in effect for a church plant in Narooma and the work being done towards rejuvenation of the Ulladulla Church. Our constant challenge is to recruit and raise up effective Church leaders, particularly in the coastal communities of the region. Ps Ron & Heather Thomas Sydney Central Good Reports Regional Events: • Our regional events have been going from strength to strength seeing our largest attendances to date. • The atmosphere of these have been reflecting the growing sense of community as we’ve been encouraging and fostering relationships between pastors. There’s a greater sense of belonging with pastors connecting beyond the events. • Seeing churches get connected and lean in is always encouraging which has happened with a few more on the fringe. One church, where the flame was nearly out, we saw a new pastor come in and it’s now going strong and a part of the family. • One of our events was a senior pastors dinner hosted in our home which was a huge success in connecting and where our pastors were encouraged by a word from Ps John McMartin New Initiatives • Groundswell came to our region in 2013 for the first time kicking off strong with 640 youth gathering and 30 decisions for Christ. • We’ve been working with and encouraging many of our smaller churches to step out and build various ministries that are enabling them to expand and grow like youth, children’s or care ministries. • It’s also been fantastic to see a couple of churches get established in rented buildings. This has resulted in one of our churches seeing considerable growth. • It’s been so good to see various churches appoint youth leaders and start building a youth ministry as we’ve been working with them and encouraging them through this venture Credentials • It’s a healthy sign to see teams growing and people fulfilling their call and becoming ordained. During this period we’ve issued 39 credentials. (27 PMC, 12 OMC) And we have quite a few in the pipeline. Number of Churches & Church Plants • The number of churches in our region is currently 43. And we have another 6 churches that connect with us for our events. • After a quieter period where prior to this several churches had planted out from in our region, we have had one recent plant and a few recent applications being presented. 2013 Financials • Overall, we’re in a healthy strong position. • There are a few churches with unpaid dues leaving us under budget by $1,600 • Our expenses were all to budget. Dates Regional Events: 2012 22nd November Looking For a Strike End of Year event 2013 18th April Let’s Talk Church Evening Event 29th April-2nd May ACC National Conference May Groundswell Central 23rd May Central Pastors Connect (Morning event) 1st-5th July Hillsong Conference 33 15th August Senior Pastors Dinner 12th September Let’s Talk Church Evening event 7th-11th October NSW State Conference 21st November End of Year Party (Evening Event) 2014 9th April Central Pastors Connect 16th May Groundswell 12th June Pastors & Leaders Dinner Regional Exec Team Leader: Stephen Farr Administrator: Sri Srikanthan Team: Steve McGhie, Evan Peet, Nathan Bridgewater, Barry Saar New addition: Ken Fisher was added in 2013 to assist with overseeing Credentialing Ps Stephen & Rebecca Farr Sydney Noreast We absolutely love the Sydney Noreast Region, the beaches, bush land, cafes, culture, churches and people. We are delighted to have recently been appointed as the Regional Leaders for Sydney Noreast and look forward to an amazing season ahead. We would like to thank and honour Ps Nathanael and Bec Wood for the leadership and friendship they have given our region over the past seven years. We pray God’s richest blessings on them in their future journey with Hillsong Church. Our new executive team consists of old and new faces. Ps Ralph Estherby (Breakthrough Church) and Ps Terry Appel (Mona Vale CLC) bringing a wealth of wisdom; and Ps Stewart Ross (North Shore Christian Centre), Ps David Nathan (The Hive 34 Church) and Ps Jerry Groenestyn (Hillsong Northern Beaches) bringing new passion. The Noreast region, which consists of approximately 25 Churches, 12 of which are Ethnic, has held some fabulous events recently which have included: • A Senior Pastors and Credentialed ministers special event with beautiful worship and round table workshops for our Senior Pastors, Associate/Assistant Pastors, Worship/Creative Pastors and our Generational Pastors proving a great way to develop relationships and an opportunity to glean from one another. • Groundswell, a sensational Youth Alive event, which Ps Richie Marrett hosted with over 400 youth from our region attending and 35 young people committing their lives to Jesus! For the remainder of the year we have a number of events planned, including a Regional Night for all leaders and volunteers hosted at Breakthrough Church, a Women’s Event and an End of Year party for everyone! We look forward to the opportunity to help unite, equip and inspire those in our region. We hope to strengthen existing churches, plant new ones and look to see a greater number of men and women in our region receive credentials. As a region we look forward to all God has in store for us and will be praying for His hand of favour and blessing on all Australian Christian Churches. We look to experience God’s will being done ‘on Earth as it is in Heaven’. Ps Glenn & Clare Wysman Sydney Norwest Our region continues to thrive!! Our Regional events are always well attended… our end of year Christmas Dinner for 2013 was a fantastic night with delicious food and great fellowship, we also had the honour of Ps John McMartin as our guest speaker. Since last year’s report we have seen seven OMC’s, thirteen PMC’s and one SMC presented within our Sydney Norwest Region and we look forward to witnessing the expansion of our region through their faithful work. The last twelve months has also seen changes to our Region Executive…one of which was Pastor Chris Smith who now serves as the secretary for the State Executive…we know the State will be richly blessed by the excellent training he received while serving with Sydney Norwest!! We also had two new team members join us…with Ps Sam DiMauro and Ps Chris Bonsu being a welcome & wise addition to our Region Executive. We as a Region are looking forward to the days ahead...as we continue to see lives impacted by His grace & love. Ps John & Cat Cannone Sydney South The ACC South Sydney Region covers a large area of the state of NSW and has had positive growth in the last year. Currently we have 49 churches and 104 pastors; of this number of pastors, 56 hold an OMC credential, 52 with PMC’s and 3 SMC’s. It is also encouraging that we are seeing more women and young people receiving their credentials. We have also had one certificate of fellowship and two pioneer churches. Executive The Regional Executive has had a change in personnel under the leadership of: • Ps Grant Hobbs (senior pastor of Liberty Hill Christian Centre and Revival Life Centre). • Ps Matt Spokes (Inspire Church, Liverpool) Assistant Leader • Ps Andrew Periasamy (Influence Church, Campbelltown) appointed in March as Treasurer • Ps Matthew Waqanivalu (Revival Life Centre, Penshurst) appointed in March as Secretary • Ps Matt Tickner (Hillsong Macathur) • Ps Lex Rayment (Open House Church, Narellan) • Ps John Guerra (Fairfield Community Church) Regional Nights Within the two year period we have had at our regional events some outstanding guest speakers to minister into the lives of our pastors and leaders including: • Ps Wayne Alcorn (ACC National President) • Ps Alun Davies (ACC National Vice President & National Missions Director) • Ps John McMartin (ACC NSW State President) • Ps Ken Harrison (Former NZ AOG National Superintendent) Also our own executive team have been involved in ministry. The regional night begins at 7.00pm with a supper for connection and fellowship, followed by a half an hour Q&A session with guest speaker, senior pastors and their key leaders. This is followed by a service where we give out credentials, pray for pastors and be blessed by a message from the guest speaker. Ps Grant & Michelle Hobbs Sydney South East Leaders Martin & Julie Vine Executive • Andrew Harper • Mark Bridgewater • Raymond Kim What’s been happening? We are continuing to assist and coach local Pastors throughout the year. We also are intentional about meeting with small groups of pastors over lunch to discuss any needs and how we may be of assistance to them. There are now 18 churches relating to us in our Region. 35 Working Together We worked together in mission over the past 12 months with the Fijian Pastors. We were able to take a team of 12 into Fiji to work with several churches there. Sharing at their National Conference about the need for Pastors to experience an encounter weekend was received with a very positive response. The Superintendent for the Western Region strongly recommended that all newly ordained Pastors and their wives attend a two-day encounter. Our team was stretched but it went really well. This was an amazing time of blessing with over 60 pastors in attendance with amazing testimonies at the end of the course. Regional Events We like to begin the year with the prophetic ministry so our first Regional event for 2014 was in February. Fergus McIntyre ministered in the prophetic to our Pastors and leaders and everyone was greatly encouraged. Our second Regional event was in May and we encouraged Pastors who had participated in the NCLS to bring their results. We spent the night strategizing ways to lift areas that needed attention and Pastors and their teams who attended went away with fresh ideas to move forward. Western Ethnic We have seen a good growth in both church health and new people throughout the region. Over the past conference period, I have enjoyed the challenge and the privilege to work alongside a number of our ethnic churches and pastors. On behalf of Pastor John McMartin and the State ACC, I have tried to make myself available to our nonEnglish speaking churches so as to assist them in their unique needs and challenges. Generocitychurch planted a new work in Forbes with February being the official launching date. Nathan and Mel Battishall spent 2013 gathering a core group of people meeting as a connect group to start with. They stand with a regular 50-60 people in February and is steadily growing. In Parkes both the AOG Parkes and Generocity church are seeing growth and due to their different styles attract different people to them which shows the town of 8 to 10,000 plus people can easily have more than one church of the same movement. Overall the region is in good health. We have three Regional days to encourage the pastors and leaders. Julie Vine has been doing an excellent work among the Pastor’s wives in our region with another well attended and much enjoyed High Tea where they were totally spoiled. • In February we met with Ps John McMartin and in June we had our third Church Health Seminar on Vision and Values which was excellent and well received. Our next Regional Meeting will be in August and Mark Zaire will be sharing on this evening. We have had a good variety of ministry in our Region and the majority of our Region events have been well attended and well received. • In September we have Ps Wayne Alcorn as our guest speaker. Personal news: Julie and I are still happily married and we now have 7 Grandchildren under three! Loving life!! Ps Martin & Julie Vine 36 We have received 7 PMC and 3 OMC applications this year. Ps & Bev Mark Pearce Coming up with strategies to assist our ethnic churches need to be very flexible and fluid, as what may work for one particular culture may not work for another. Also, my role on behalf of the State ACC is not in competition with the work of our Regions, who continue to do their best in connecting with all their churches. At present, one third of our State ACC movement is non-English speaking churches. This in itself provides a huge challenge, as this portion of our movement can easily become isolated and disconnected from the main body of churches. Compliance Issues A real challenge with the recent changes to the Working With Children Checks and Toward Safe Places has meant that a high number of our ethnic churches are at risk at being ‘non-compliant’ with State Government guidelines. Dealing with this has taken much time and effort, however we are working hard to address this as we know it ultimately reflects on our ACC movement in the eyes of the Australian Government. Church Dues We continue to work in assisting churches that have defaulted on paying their required dues. We have had relative success, which has seen us ‘save’ a number of churches that were in danger of being closed due to their continued non-compliance in this area. New Churches and Credentials Assisting pastors and leaders with their credentials continue to be a source of joy as it is a privilege to meet them and hear what God is doing in their churches. We should be very proud of some of the wonderful ethnic churches we have in our movement. Also, our ethnic churches continue to church-plant throughout our State at a rate that at times exceeds our English-speaking churches. Well done! Regional Initiatives Under Pastor John McMartin’s direction, each Region must now have a designated ‘Ethnic Church’ executive member whose primary responsibility is to connect with each and every ethnic church in their respective regions. This is harder than it sounds due to the difficulty of the language barrier. But due to the increased ‘compliance’ issues, we cannot afford any longer to have any disconnected churches within our ranks. A final thought:I think the State and Regions are doing everything within their power to breach the cultural and language divide that can exist within our church numbers and they should be acknowledged for their efforts. If I could have one wish … it would be if our churches would actually keep their contact details up-todate. It is very frustrating when contact cannot be made. Unfortunately, I am a simple pastor and not a ‘Sherlock Holmes’-style private eye skilled in tracking down elusive people. “We cannot help you if we cannot contact you”. Finally, I would like to specially thank Betty Goulimis and Heidi Thomson for their tireless efforts and assistance to me. Barry Saar 37 Financial Report 2013 ASSEMBLIES OF GOD NEW SOUTH WALES INC. INCOME AND EXPENDITURE STATEMENT YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2013 20132012 INCOME Dues 591,051 603,282 Interest 15,757 16,755 State Conference 201,209 206,610 Sundry Income 31,042 37,224 TOTAL INCOME 839,059 863,871 EXPENSES Audit fees 4,570 4,218 Advertising - 3,414 Bank Charges 2,947 2,667 Computer Expenses 6,434 8,952 Consultancy fees 3,000 4,000 Depreciation 2,511 3,203 Executive Expenses 68,885 80,280 General Expenses 143 1,814 Gifts and Flowers 14,725 17,246 Insurance Premiums 5,272 5,963 Legal Fees 3,000 1,734 Office Rent 23,781 25,488 Printing, Postage & Stationery 13,263 9,425 Salaries & benefits 112,776 124,397 State Conference 207,418 225,553 State Department 198,818 214,746 Telephone & fax 9,002 8,737 TOTAL EXPENSES 676,545 741,837 SURPLUS (DEFICIT) FOR THE YEAR 162,514 122,034 Accumulated funds at the beginning of the year 122,034 ACCUMULATED FUNDS END OF YEAR $284,548 $122,034 ASSEMBLIES OF GOD NEW SOUTH WALES INC. BALANCE SHEET - 31 DECEMBER , 2013 20132012 ACCUMULATED FUNDS Funds at the beginning of the year 281,443 159,409 Surplus ( Deficit ) for the year 162,514 122,034 Funds at the end of the year $443,957 $281,443 REPRESENTED BY NON-CURRENT ASSETS Fixtures & Furniture - at cost 32,520 32,520 Less Accumulated Depreciation (22,523) (20,012) 9,997 12,508 CURRENT ASSETS Cash at Bank 510,396 356,501 Petty Cash - 200 Receivables 39,959 19,605 Prepayments 14,735 5,384 565,090 381,690 TOTAL ASSETS 575,087 394,198 CURRENT LIABILITIES Payables 26,073 23,793 Future Income 90,838 82,780 Leave accruals 14,219 6,182 TOTAL LIABILITIES 131,130 112,755 NET ASSETS $443,957 $281,443 Financial Report Summary The two year period of 2012/2013 finds our accounts in a very healthy place. We tracked on budget, with a nice surplus at the end of the period. Cristy Olmos, who administrates our accounts, has done a wonderful job, and is to be thanked and applauded for the way she has managed our finances with me. We are truly blessed to have her! One of the many positives is that our church planting account (funded from a percentage of your dues) is continuing to grow, meaning that we are in a position to generously support the start off of new church plants. So...dream big and present to your region a well thought through and prayed through business plan. I look forward to seeing your submissions and seeing towns and suburbs impacted-better in church plants than our bank account!! As a movement we continue to move forward in strength in numbers, churches and our finances. I count it a privilege to be a part of this fantastic movement. Ps. Chris Smith 38 39 Unit 408 / 12 Century Circuit, Norwest PO BOX 6747, Baulkham Hills, NSW, 2153 www.nswacc.org.au [email protected] 40 P 02 9894 1555 F 02 9894 1552
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