The wider Church has been good at talking to young people but arguably not so good at listening to them – an underlying focus for three Converge/Your Story conferences attended by 200 people and 86 organizations in Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane in Australia early last month, November 2024.
What if our deep ability and the world’s deep need meet, but we don’t enjoy doing what we are so good at? When should we say yes to preference, even though more purposeful options are within our reach? A pastor considers the dilemma of duty.
Life can be difficult for some people to bear. The Church should not make it even more difficult for them or those caring for them. Suicide is an extreme response to those difficulties. We need to appreciate better how complex that issue is and respond with greater pastoral sensitivity.
Are you a leader who wants your church to grow? Maybe its time to stop changing programs or people and start the hard work of changing culture. And that begins with you. Here is a tip to help you start thinking differently.
Recent data by Statista Research Department confirms previously published figures showing a decline in Australians identifying with the Christian faith - but churches are still motivated to reach the nation with the gospel.
Jesus began his ministry by discipling ordinary people, Rev. Dale Stephenson emphasizes during a morning plenary at the Fourth Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in Incheon, Korea. The senior pastor at Crossway Baptist Church outside Melbourne, Australia then offered an evangelism approach focused on 'mobilizing' people.
In an open letter, child protection and anti-slavery organizations have urged the Australian Government and technology companies to take stronger action to stop ongoing child sex abuse online – meanwhile Christians have been called upon to support the fight for children’s rights to be safe. The open joint letter was sent to Michelle Rowland MP, Minister of Communications for the Australian Government, earlier this month, (September, 2024). It has been sent in time for the government’s review of
Jude Simion grew up during the civil war in Sri Lanka and migrated to Australia in 2007, where he founded Philoi Global to support refugees, working in 11 countries to date and helping at least 2,000 individuals. “Philoi” means “friend” in Greek and reflects Simion’s vision to walk in friendship with forcibly displaced Christians and minority groups. He is particularly concerned about finding solutions to accommodating forcibly displaced people.
The Bible Society-New Zealand is planning to distribute 5,000 Bibles and New Testaments in 70 languages to chaplaincies in the country to help people in prisons and hospitals. “Together, we bring the Bible to individuals who may have never encountered it before.”
1-in-10 teenagers surveyed had experienced homelessness in Australia in the past year, according to a 2023 youth survey by Mission Australia, a national Christian charity that revealed the stark figures for its ‘The Unfair Divide’ youth homelessness report published on August 1.
The chairwoman of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), Bishop Kirsten Fehrs, and the chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing, expressed their shock at the "inhuman attack" at a Christmas market in Magdeburg. In a joint press release, they said: "Many people throughout Germany and around the world are feeling the horror, grief and sympathy today."
