Dear friends and fellow-laborers in the kingdom,

There is good news to report! We are beginning to see more and more exciting things happen “Down Under!” A growing number of people both in Australia, New Zealand and the USA are being used by God to accomplish His purposes. As you read this report, please remember to give thanks to our Father by whose power and provision makes everything possible. And please never forget that God works through His people…YOU! Your prayers, encouragement and financial support are possible because God has blessed you and through you blesses efforts such as Mission South Pacific.

New Zealand Team Arrives in Auckland! The excitement is palpable! Please look at the video posted by Elijah and Kris Peters recording the arrival of the Cherrys and the Elys at: http://lijandkris.blogspot.com/2008/03/team-arrival.html The team has been visiting the Otumoetai congregation in Tauranga for several weeks to be introduced to the culture and to establish a partnership with that congregation. If you want to get their reports, their addresses are on my blogroll at my Mission South Pacific blogroll (address below).

This is the way mission work should be done. This team formed among students at SIBI (it could be any school) who, in addition to Sunset’s strenuous Bible training, took Mission Track courses followed by six months of Advanced Missions. They received intense mentoring from Sunset’s Charles Speer and Mission Resource Network’s Alan Phillips who also accompanied them on a survey trip to New Zealand in 2006. Each family has a sponsoring/supporting congregation. The team has also received support from Bell Trust and various other churches and individual partners. They secured long-term visas through the invitation of the Otumoetai church in Tauranga. Only with this kind of cooperative effort can His people fulfill His commission.

The Peters family to depart early June. Craig told me today that, in faith that the remainder of their support will be forthcoming, they plan to leave for Sydney on or around June 1^st to resume his essential work as Director of MSOBS. They still need half of their monthly support so they are really stepping out on God’s promises (2 Corinthians 9:8-10). Why? We and they are convinced that’s where God wants them! We believe He will, through His people (maybe you?), supply what they need to prepare Australians to preach and teach the gospel. We are ready to come show you and/or your congregation why sharing the message and training the messengers is the most effective way to accomplish our mission.

Ed & Martha Wharton and John Massey are teaching at MSOBS as part of our partnership. We are super-pleased to have these knowledgeable and highly talented folks in Sydney for a few weeks to teach “Biblical Christian Evidences” and “Scheme of Redemption.” Martha is teaching a course for women about marriage called, “Adventures in Marriage.” This is Ed’s umpteenth (maybe an American word) trip to Australia! I get the impression he may like it.

Team Brisbane forms at Abilene Christian University. Under the leadership of my good friend and brother, Gary Green, former missionary to Venezuela and now Missionary-in-Residence at ACU, a team has formed to work in Ipswitch, Queensland (in the Brisbane metropolitan area) sometime next year. Gary is doing a great job mentoring this team and is allowing me to help along the way. We meet at 7 am each Monday morning for an hour of mentoring. One of the team members is Tish Harris who heard me make a presentation on Australia back in 2002 at the World Mission Workshop hosted that year by ACU. She made a decision that day to work in the region. She even found an Australian husband! Be sure and read her story in my next report.

We are ever conscious of the fact that we are living on the support of those who know us, love us, and believe in our work. We take not one dollar for granted!
We know those dollars come from folks who go to work every day whether they want to or not at jobs they may not like.
We know it comes from folks who worked for many years and then retired on a fixed income.
We know it comes from widows and widowers who, though they may not have much, want to make a difference with what they have.
We know it comes from folks who made smart investments and are now investing in eternal securities.

They all have one thing in common: they all know it is God’s money given into their stewardship.

Thank you, each and every one!

For the gospel of the Kingdom,

Dwight and Brenda Whitsett

UPCOMING:

Back on Track Seminar – Hunter Valley Church of Christ – New South Wales – 7-8 June

Back on Track Seminar – Southeast Church of Christ – Melbourne – 14-15 June

Back on Track Seminar – Bankstown Church of Christ – Sydney – 21-22 June

Discipleship Workshop (Samsill & Swinford) – Adelaide – 4-6 July

Visit AIM Students in NZ with Chris Swinford – 8-15 July

Macquarie Lectures (attend) – Sydney — 16-19 July

Global Missions Conference (attend) – Arlington, TX — 23-26 July

For those interested, the Australian population is booming. In an Australian news article “Population rates soaring across country,” found here, you can check out the latest figures.

Dear fellow-laborers in the kingdom,

I am happy to report that Brenda’s health is showing significant improvement. Each time she begins to feel better we hold our breath and pray that it might continue. Aside from our present “common colds” we are on our feet and going about our business. Please keep her in your prayers. If she continues to improve we hope she can accompany me to Australia in June.

I am teaching “Gospel and Culture” at the Lubbock campus of SIBI this term. I have a small but very engaged class of future missionaries. In addition we’ve been working hard to find support for the Craig Peters family as well as seeking funds for Mission South Pacific.

Four Students are enrolled in Macquarie School of Biblical Studies this session.

From left to right: Graham Wall, Sam White, Satish Samuel and Daniel Bray. We’ll be telling you their stories in upcoming issues of this newsletter. These men are supported by Australian churches and individuals. Within the next few years we hope to see many more men and women take advantage of the excellent training offered by this school. As most of you know, MSOBS is in partnership with SIBI.

Let me tell you why it is an honor to work with Sunset. As you know, Sunset is in the last stages of the capital funding campaign: “Let’s Go…Make Disciples.” We have repeatedly said that it is not about money, it’s about souls. Recently we asked Sunset alumni to help gather the results of our collective work in the last three years. The results are astounding. Let me share them with you:

• 20,700 souls converted to Christ
• 76 new training programs
• 1,193 preachers trained
• 148 AIM students sent to 22 mission fields
• 26 long-term American missionaries
• 280 new congregations established

I am now in my sixth year working with SIBI and I can tell you there are no discernable personal agendas. There is one agenda: making disciples. Politics and infighting are not tolerated. I know it sounds like a dream but it is truly “One for all and all for one.”

It is highly gratifying to be training evangelists for the mission fields of the world. Those six items above make it worth the 5 hours on the road each week when school is in session, the separations from Brenda, the gasoline expense and the rent. Thank you who partner with us…together we are making a difference!

Don’t send missionaries to Australia! That’s the best way to do mission work in Australia. If we depend on sending missionaries to get the job done, it will never be done. The best way to evangelize Australia is to train Australians to be evangelists. That’s what we do at MSOBS. That’s why we need your help for the next few years. Please consider helping this crucial work on a monthly basis. It is the best possible use of your mission dollar.

Of course, at the moment, missionaries are still needed because there are not enough trained Australians to go around. Would you partner with us to change this state of affairs? Please make out your checks to Mission South Pacific, 4025 Fairmont, Abilene, Texas 79605.

For those who already help, we are thankful to God for your partnership. For those of you who cannot share resources but can pray, we are very grateful. Because of you, there is a new future for Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.

May the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints (1 Thessalonians 3:12, 13).

UPCOMING:

Teachers of Missions Workshop (attend) – Dallas — 22-23 February
International Soul Winning Workshop (attend) – Tulsa – 27-29 March
Back on Track Seminar – Hunter Valley Church of Christ – New South Wales – 7-8 June
Back on Track Seminar – Southeast Church of Christ – Melbourne – 14-15 June
Back on Track Seminar – Bankstown Church of Christ – Sydney – 21-22 June
Discipleship Workshop (Samsill & Swinford) – Adelaide – 4-6 July

 Dear friends and fellow-workers,

 Please forgive this communication being sent as an email instead of regular mail. 

We are faced with an urgent situation and we need this to go to as many people as possible as quickly as possible. 

As you probably already know, Sunset International Bible Institute (SIBI) has entered into a partnership with Macquarie School of Biblical Studies (MSOBS) in Sydney.  We have a vision of training and deploying well-prepared men and women as gospel preachers and teachers across Australia.  But we cannot do this without your help. 

Several things are necessary for this mission to succeed.

1. We must recruit additional students from across the continent.  In order for this to happen…
2. We must increase the staff of the school. 

It’s really as simple as that.  We cannot expect success unless we secure additional personnel. 

In this regard we have good news: our Administrative Dean, Craig Peters and family have secured their long-term visa!  This has been an expensive and difficult process but God has blessed our efforts with success.

Now here is the urgent matter, we need a two-year commitment for $4,000 a month additional support for the Peters family. 

Yesterday, I told Chris Swinford, Sunset’s Dean of International Training that if I had the borrowing power I would immediately arrange for a $24,000 loan to take care of at least half of what’s needed.  Why would I say such a thing?  One reason: This is an investment with a guaranteed return!  Why?  Because training men and women in Australia is the best possible way to evangelise this great nation.  Here are some of the reasons:

1.  It is culturally relevant..  Training men and women in their own culture eliminates adjustment problems.
2. It is ten times more cost effective to train men and women in their own country than to bring in missionaries from another country.
3. It increases local evangelism.  Experience shows church planting increases significantly when training schools are mobilized. 
4. It encourages men and women to stay and serve in their own country. 
5. It discourages dependence on foreign support.  No foreign support is offered to graduates.
6. Excellent training.  The teaching pool consists of seasoned educators with a wealth of knowledge and practical experience.

Here is what I would say to you face-to-face and heart-to-heart: If you really want to put the money the Lord has blessed you with to…
          …the best possible use in spreading the gospel through a continent,
                    …the best possible way to make a difference in the future of a nation,
                               …the best possible use in the growth of the kingdom in Australia,

there is no better use than the training of Australians to reach, teach and preach to Australians.

            If you are considering helping the Peters but you want to talk to someone about it first, just give me a call on my cell (mobile) phone 325-370-7448 or my Lubbock office: 806-788-3223 or Abilene: 325-673-9697.

            The Peters’ website is http://www.australiaforhim.com/

They are sponsored by the Park Central Church of Christ, 3901 Jimmy Johnson Blvd., Port Arthur, TX 77642

Our dear friends and fellow-workers in the kingdom, This is our last newsletter concerning the work of 2007. At MSP we don’t dwell much on the past. Beyond pleasant reminiscing and learning the lessons of history, it is a potentially wasteful indulgence.

The present with beak wide open like a hatchling constantly demanding food, distracts us until urgent needs are met. It demands attention but not absorption.

The future - near and far is our major concern. What is needed tomorrow, five, ten, fifteen years from now? The future of God’s work in the South Pacific fills our thoughts and inhabits our dreams.

The future is why we train missionaries at SIBI. The future is why we work with schools such as Macquarie School of Biblical Studies (MSOBS).

The chasm of 2008 yawns before us filled with promises of great advances on several fronts. As MSP begins the new year, we are excited about the possibilities of working with you and our mighty God. Thank you for your partnership!

The Peters Family’s Visa is Approved! If you read the Peter’s report, you will know their two-year visa has been approved. This has been a major hurdle since the Australian government has very strict rules they diligently enforce. Now all we need is to finish out their support needs. We need to get the Peters back to Sydney as soon as possible. If you can help, send your tax-deductible contribution to Craig Peters, c/of Park Central church of Christ, 3901 Jimmy Johnson Boulevard, Port Arthur, TX 77642. (I make it a practice not to ask for money in my newsletters but this is urgent!)

Jeff & Katrina Sims met at Stephen F. Austin College where they earned teaching degrees. They have worked with LST (Let’s Start Talking) in Japan and Mexico. They are determined to do mission work somewhere and have come to SIBI with their two babies to make preparations. They are considering working in Australia or China.

I’ve had a couple of meetings with them to discuss the needs of the work in Australia.

They are in the process of recruiting and training an LST team for the summer.

Of course, we would love to have such a quality family working in Australia but we will rejoice in whatever location they choose. Please pray for them as they seek God’s will.

Wollongong Team - We rejoice in the progress of the team moving to Wollongong in the summer of this year. It was a pleasure to meet them at the World Missions Workshop at Oklahoma Christian. This will be the first team to evangelize a new location in Australia in nearly three decades! The Aussie Mission team consists of the Mullins, Griffith, and Whaley families.

The three families met while training for ministry at the Harding University Graduate School of Religion (HUGSR). The team has been in process since February of 2005 when the Whaley and Griffith families committed to a relationship with the possibility of forming a mission team. In September 2005, the two families formally committed to work together in Australia. The Mullins family began meeting with the team in 2006 and formally committed to the mission in January 2007. The team plans to move to Wollongong, Australia in the summer of 2008. (information from the team website: http://www.aussiemission.com/about)

This team has been mentored by HUGSR and Missions Resource Network with Alan Phillips to prepare for the field. Check out their website for more information. Please give them a place in your prayers.

Upcoming:

Teaching Gospel and Culture to the Missions Track students at SIBI

Coaching preaching students in Preaching Lab, “Preaching from the Epistles.”

Presently scheduling Back on Track seminars in Australian churches

Sunset Workshop is January 23-27

Tulsa Workshop is March 27-29

May God be with each of you in 2008.
The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.” ‘
Numbers 6:24-26

Our dear friends and fellow-workers in the kingdom.

There’s a stirring deep within Australia. Exciting developments are taking place in the Land Down Under! I am noticing an increasing number of conversions and church plantings. More and more disciples and churches in Australia are depending less and less on outside support and personnel and taking the lead in kingdom growth. Several congregations are stepping out on faith. One of the most impressive fellowships is the Gosford church on the Central Coast about an hour from Sydney. This church hosts AIM teams and other short-term workers from the U.S. and has given birth to several very important Australian initiatives, including a trust to support evangelism in the region and a program to introduce young people to ministry. They have been particularly instrumental and helpful in our efforts to revitalize and expand the work of Macquarie School of Biblical Studies. It is a pleasure and inspiration to work with forward-thinking brethren such as these.

It was announced several weeks ago that the Australian Church of Christ Evangelistic Trust (ACOCET) has begun receiving grant requests. While ACOCET was begun by five members of the Gosford congregation, it was never intended to be a “one-congregation operation.” Board members from around Australia are being added as part of the plan to become an “Australia-wide” organization. This is a historic moment in the history of the church in Australia! I encourage you to visit their website: /www.acocet.org.au and, if possible, make a donation to the progress of the gospel in this great nation.

The Gosford church has also begun a program called STAMP (Short Term Australian Missions Program). This promises to be a life-changing experience for Christians between 18 and 25. STAMP combines Bible study, field work with regional congregations and vocational training. If you are a reader in the South Pacific region, you need to check out this exciting program. If you have folks in this age range, make sure they are aware of this opportunity. Their website is very informative: www.mystamp.org.au

Church Growth Forum — I was very disappointed to be unable to attend the recent Church Growth Forum held in Sydney. It is another example of Australians taking responsibility for the growth of the kingdom. I had hoped to attend but the funds were just not there. The following is a quote from the Gosford church of Christ’s bulletin, the Beacon: “Forum Huge Success We give thanks to Benny Tabalujan and to Alan and Debby Rowley, all from Belmore Rd congregation in Victoria who facilitated the Church Growth Forum yesterday and Friday. Brethren were represented from all over Australia and from New Zealand. The highlights of the forum were the sharing of many ideas about church growth in Australia and the renewal of commitment and passion generated to keep introducing people to Jesus in this land.”

It was a pleasure to attend the South Pacific Bible College development dinner October 5^th. This school has trained many men and women from South Pacific nations who are now serving faithfully as church leaders, training school administrators, teachers, evangelists and church planters. It was great to see so many friends and colleagues who are laboring together to bring the gospel to precious souls in the region. Bimlesh Prasad, a graduate of the school from Fiji was the featured speaker. It was especially good to see Herman Alexander who worked in Adelaide South Australia while we were there. He now teaches at SPBC for three quarters each year.

Correction: In our last Newsletter in the paragraph by board member Sharon Sturgess, she wrote, “What a joy to live to see such a fruitful harvest from seed planted forty-one years ago!” The line should have read “…forty years ago…” The mistake was your editor’s who is mathematically challenged.

Fragment of History is a little section I hope to include from time to time with photos from the history of our work in the region. This is a picture of our team in Adelaide, South Australia sometime in the late 60’s or early 70’s. Back row: Dorothy Ashby, Mel Ashby, Bob Chapman, Brenda Whitsett, Dwight Whitsett Front row: Melanie Ashby, Don Ashby, Amy Whitsett and Tim Whitsett.

A lot of our time recently, in addition to teaching in Lubbock, has been devoted to the launch of Mission South Pacific. Our partnership with Woodland Oaks Church of Christ comes to an end next month and then we are well and truly “on our own.” We are grateful to this great group of brothers and sisters for their faithful support and prayers.

As we begin this next phase of our work, we ask a place in your prayers. To coin a phrase by Churchill in 1942, “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

Gordon Hogan: “I’m here to tell you that you can love two countries at the same time.”

Today I received the following announcement from David Payne:

Dear Brethren,

GREAT NEWS! The Trustees of the Australian church of Christ Evangelistic Trust announced on Saturday 27 October, 2007 that the Trust will be receiving grant applications for the first time, with grants to be handed out in 2008.

This is a great milestone for the Trust. For 2008, $15,000 has been allocated for grants. Over the next week we will be mailing out the 2008 Grant application Procedures to all congregations in Australia. As we already have your email address we thought we would send you a preliminary copy. Please feel free to pass this on.

Grant applications must be submitted by 31 January, 2008. So if your congregation wishes to submit an application please get started.

Thank you to all those Christians who have and continue to donate to the Trust. This milestone would not have been reached without you.

God bless,

David Payne

For the Trustees

If any of my Aussie readers would like to make an application, please let me know and I will pass on the application.  Contact me at dwight.whitsett@gmail.com

Our dear friends and fellow-workers in the kingdom,

It is a great pleasure to announce that MISSION SOUTH PACIFIC is now a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. That means that tax-deductible contributions can be sent directly to the ministry. If you wish to contribute use the Abilene address below. Our Board of Directors consists of:

Robert P. Odle – Chairman,

Tracy Wilson,

Randy Becton, and

Sharon Sturgess

If you would like to receive an information packet, just let me know.

Our partnership with Woodland Oaks Church of Christ ends December 31^st. We are very grateful for their help these past five years. They have faithfully provided us a large amount of our funding, health insurance and served as a clearing house for contributions. I am especially grateful to Paul Gidden, chairman of the Missions Leadership Team and Robert (Bob) Odle, former preacher at WOCC. Paul has been a faithful and cooperative liaison. Prior to him, Tracy Wilson served faithfully in that capacity and now both he and Bob serve on our board of directors.

Rob amd Denyce Hindman pictured here with son, Malachi, are students in Advanced Mission and sent me this lovely note, “I really appreciate your involvement and time with our Advanced Missions class. You are one of my favorites to learn from, and I appreciate the lengths you go to, including the commute from Abilene.” Following graduation, the Hindmans will go with a team to Moscow, Russia to plant a church. They are the kind of students we are proud of. They put out a very attractive and professional newsletter. They also have a well-done website you will want to check out at www.robhindman.com.

We try to be helpers not pushers. From the very beginning, Mission South Pacific (formerly The Southern Cross Project) has had in mind helping the work in the South Pacific, not pushing an agenda off on the church in that region or forcing our way in where we may not be wanted. We want to always be sensitive to the people and cultures of Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific Islands.

It is a pleasure to work with brothers and sisters in the region who are working hard to bring the gospel to the lost. We want to assist their work and never be a hindrance. In New Zealand, the South Pacific Bible College in Tauranga has been training men and women for ministry for many years. In Australia Macquarie School of Biblical Studies has striven to do the same for over 30 years. In the last few years the Klesis Institute http://www.klesisinstitute.com/ has come on the scene and promises to be a valuable help to the work in the South Pacific.

A message from Robert Odle, Chairman of the Board: Mission South Pacific has a special place in my heart for numerous reasons. First, it is a ministry that directly answers the Master’s call to go and make disciples of all the nations.

Second, it answers the call not by sending one person or even a team of persons. It answers the call by going into the field and reproducing multiple workers for the harvest through the establishment of training centers right there on the field. This, in my mind, is the modern method of doing missions that is most faithful to what the early church did to reach its world with the gospel.

Finally, Mission South Pacific has captured my heart because of the man God has raised up to lead this effort. The Lord has prepared Dwight Whitsett for just this ministry at just this time. His years of experience in missions and preaching, his passion for the Lord and the lost, and his position at SIBI make him ideally suited to train the next generation of missionaries for Mission South Pacific.

A message from board member Sharon Sturgess: (pictured here with granddaughter, Bailey) What a joy to live to see such a fruitful harvest from seed planted forty-one years ago! I remember in 1967 when Gaylord and I drove to Love Field in Dallas to bid farewell to the Whitsetts as they embarked on their first missionary journey to Australia. With hugs and tears and prayers, we knew that this was a beckoning from the Lord God…that He had placed this burden for Australian souls “deep in the hearts” of these Texans. Now, in 2007, to be able to see God bringing Dwight to a position of equipping others through SIBI missions programs in Lubbock and of facilitating the partnership with Macquarie School of Preaching in Sydney, Australia is beyond our expectations, but was in God’s Master plan all along. What a mighty God we serve! We pray you will prayerfully consider joining us in helping with the financial support of this missionary couple as they continue to heed the Australian call through Mission South Pacific.

Once again, we find ourselves stepping out into the void. We’ve been doing it a long time and it’s becoming familiar territory. When you step off that edge, God either catches you or teaches you how to fly. I think He does that, as with most things, through the people of God, the Body of Christ. Some of you have been flying with us from the beginning and others have joined us along the way—in fair weather and foul. Some of you have caught us, on God’s behalf, in your arms. As we continue this amazing voyage, it is so nice to have your company.

Love,

Dwight and Brenda