Newsletter November 2007 – No. 14

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.”