There’s nothing like seeing a new suburb arise virtually overnight to realise the need for new churches and church planters to plant them. Well not quite overnight, but very, very fast. I was at at the Metro Conference (training for ministry apprentices and their trainers) earlier in the week at Stanwell Tops Conference centre, south of Sydney. I went for the same morning walk I did at the Conference last year. Same walk. Same route. Except very different scenery. Thousands fewer trees. Hundreds more houses. And not just in one place but several. In one pocket of a huge and sprawling city, in one part of a massive and growing country.
And who will take the gospel to these new suburbs? New churches will be needed. And people to plant them. And people to make up core groups within them. Let’s pray for God to raise up the people needed for the task. For it is the ascended Lord Jesus who showers the people needed for it (Ephesians 4:11-16).
Hey Steve maybe just maybe our church should be encouraging those who have gone to bible college to do this instead of returning back to Lismore and we as a church sponsor them financial,physically and prayerfully.
Its just a idea
Thanks for the comment and thought Trev. It’s a huge issue to wrestle with. The position we’ve adopted at SCPC Leadership Team is that it’s our responsibility by God’s grace as stewards of the gospel to raise up labourers where possible for the needs of the gospel mission here in Lismore AND elsewhere. i.e. rather than expecting other churches to supply our needs we should do that, and much more beyond. Thankfully we have many gospel partners who have gone out from us already in the task of church revitalisation and God-willing we will see this accelerate in the coming years, especially in the area of church-planting – and that’s where the support you mention will be all the more critical. The growth of a devoted team with the Uni ministry is an exciting development and certainly one key focus for recruitment – it should be a large focus of our prayers.
AMEN
thanks steve for the reminder of the bigger picture of tbt’s uni ministry…
this year, in God’s strength, tbt will support and encourage christian students at uni, and we will share the gospel with students who’ve never heard about jesus.
But thinking of the bigger picture, beyond this year… and next year…
please pray that God transforms the lives of students during their 3-4 years at scu, so that they live their whole life in service of God, desiring to see his kingdom grow
thanks for the encouragement of your prayers for tbt