Reaching Australia!
Last week, our ministry staff team spent four encouraging and productive days together at Reach Australia’s National Conference. It was a wonderful opportunity to be reminded of our shared calling: to make and mature disciples so that more people across Australia might hear, believe, and be saved through the good news of Christ.
Reach Australia longs to see our nation won for Jesus through healthy, evangelistic, and multiplying churches. It was incredibly encouraging to gather with 1,450 church leaders from across Australia, as well as the UK, the US, South Africa, and New Zealand. Together we sang with joy, opened God’s Word, and learnt from one another.
Throughout the conference, we were taught from the book of Revelation and reminded of the victory of our enthroned King Jesus — the slain Lamb now crowned in glory. His cross is his throne, his crown is thorns, and his triumph secures our future. With this hope before us, we were challenged to think carefully about how we can best use the resources God has given us to make and mature disciples within a healthy, caring, and loving church community centred on God’s Word.
The team also spent time reflecting on how to lead ourselves and others well, learning helpful tools and strategies for taking responsibility, developing leaders, and serving together more effectively. Across the week, each of us attended workshops focused on areas of ministry close to our hearts — including building gospel-shaped community, growing a culture of mission, strengthening small groups ministry, discipling children and youth, and equipping teams and leaders for service in God’s kingdom.
We’re so thankful to God for this refreshing and enriching time together as a team. It was a joy to share together what we had been learning and to think about how we might apply these things at our church. We also had the special privilege of celebrating and thanking God for Leigh and his faithful service at St Luke’s Village over the past five years with a wonderful dinner together.
Grace and peace,
Mark