Welcome to the October Edition of Together Magazine!
We are excited to share stories from our movement in this issue and, in particular, the story of our recent September Assembly. This day was a fantastic time of celebration and inspiration at the newly opened Morling Residential College (MRC) facility.
The Assembly saw over 200 people from over 70 churches join together at the MRC and via live streaming. We celebrated in worship and prayer together as people from across our family of churches. We celebrated the 100 year Anniversary of Morling College, reflecting on all that God has done over that time through our college, and being inspired for what the future holds.
We celebrated with the friends and family as Mitchell Forbes, Robert French, Anthony Gentle, Matthew Glowacki, Kevin Jin, Michael Jones, Shannon King, John Lustre, Nigel Lyons, James Oosterveen, Samantha Quimby, Mark Riethmuller, Kaye Ryan, Kiran Skariah and John Wilson were accredited. It was so encouraging to see the commitment of each of these people as they follow God’s calling on their lives to lead amongst the churches of our movement
We also unanimously affirmed together “The Big Six” – our Association’s Strategic Priorities for 2017-19. These put legs on our Vision which we discerned together 3 years ago, and build on our previous Strategic Priorities.
The first half of the Big Six – our three “Foundational Priorities” – are based on Jesus’ commands to love God and love people (Mark 12:30-31), and make disciples (Matt 28:19-20):
- Encourage the develop in our movement of a culture of prayer that underpins all our activities.
- Facilitate the development of closer mutual relationships, deeper trust and partnerships between churches, the Baptist Ministry Centre and the affiliated groups.
- Encourage and support the development of a disciple-making culture across all generations throughout our Association.
The second three build on these foundations:
- Gen1K Vision – Foster a culture of leader development and health across our movement.
- Gen1K Vision – Support the revitalisation of existing churches, assist churches to pioneer new ministry expressions and enable the planting of our next 40 churches.
- Continue to grow our public presence and engagement to positively influence our local communities and wider society.
We look forward to living out these priorities together in the years ahead! You can read more about the Big Six and what may be involved in implementing them here [webaddress].
The Constitution Taskforce also presented the review of our new Association constitution, outlining proposed changes to enable the document to further empower our Vision. The summary of these changes can also be read online at Click Here.
The day was a strong reminder of the power of partnership and of the significance of our heritage. It also directed our gaze forward as together we continue to embrace the Vision God has set before us! Videos of the day can be found on our website, so why not jump online at http://nswactbaptists.org.au/ordinary-assembly-2016/ and experience Assembly for yourself – either again, or for the first time!
Steve Bartlett – Director of Ministries
