SUPA REGIONAL EVENTS, 2012

Hi Everyone,
I trust you are having a brilliant day and 2012 is already proving to be a year of great favour on you and your church!

Our first ever Super Regional Event is coming up on Saturday 10th March in Bendigo and Saturday 17th March in Berwick. We don’t want anyone to miss out on what will be great time of ministry and an opportunity to just get “TOGETHER”! Our host churches are getting ready, the State team is excited, the Planetshakers worship band will be with us – all we need is you and your team! There will be something for everyone.

We are believing for hundreds of pastors and leaders to attend each event and know God will move in a powerful way!

To register online, simply click on location you’d like to attend:
BENDIGO, Saturday 10th March
BERWICK, Saturday 17th March

Pastor Shane and the State team are looking forward to seeing you all there.
“TOGETHER!”

Pastor David Doery
State Vice President // ACC Victoria
P.(03)  9240 6070

• Wayne Alcorn – ACC National President
• Alun Davies – ACC International Missions

State Feeds

• ACC Victoria
• Shane Baxter – State President
• David Doery – State Vice President
• Russell Evans – State Executive Member
• Ian Kruithoff – State Church Growth Director

Pastor Shane Baxter hosted a state end-of-year Christmas lunch for our over 65 pastors and spouses at Enjoy East in December. Over 50% of the 80 plus people in this group attended and all the reports were positive.

Pastor Ralph and the team put on a great lunch enjoyed by all. The room was alive with animated discussion, laughter and a many stories being told.

It was tremendous to see two of our past superintendents; pastors Fred Buse and Phil Hills as well as our current state president; pastor Shane Baxter, together in the room. (Pastor Alun Davies has a few more years to go before he will be invited).

As a state we appreciate the pioneers of our Movement and the ongoing faithful involvement of those still engaged in ministry. We also appreciate the work of Pastor Ian and Noelle Fenn who head up our Over 65 Network.

Yarra Plenty Church has cast an historic 100% vote to become a part of Planet Shakers. The Church has been going through some difficulties for the past eighteen months and this move has now provided a platform for a future by which the hopes, dreams and vision to see a large Church involved in the local community and missions abroad can be fulfilled.

Pastor Russell Evans, senior minister Planet Shakers, is delighted by the outcome and the possibilities but also understands the responsibilities and the challenges ahead. Pastor Warren McMartin is the new Campus pastor and reports that attendance, salvations, spirit and offerings are all up.

Well done to the YPC leadership, State Executive members and Pastors Andrew Evans and Warren McMartin who were involved through the difficult times successfully negotiated.

News about new Churches planted and new Church opportunities as well as Churches saved from closure are found here.

Much has been made in the news about Schoolies week. Most of the time authorities and parents hold their breath in the hope that nothing goes very wrong. Schoolies week in the past has had major problems associated with a time of unsupervised tension relieving past-times involving drink, peer pressure and hormones.

Enjoy Church hosted a supervised Schoolies trip for their young people to have fun and adventure overseas. The Enjoy schoolies travelled to Tacloban Philippines with Pastor Georgie Baxter and a team of adult leaders.

The idea was a great success. There was fun and laughter and they also fed the poor and visited a women’s prison, churches and children’s work. They were also involved in running a Tacloban Youth Leadership Conference.

This is a great idea with all kinds of positive spinoffs that more churches or groups of churches could also do in their own unique ways.

Pastors Gary and Doris Soh report a fun and productive strategy they used at their local community festival. They booked a stall where they advertised Psalm Readings and when people came in with their palms out they quickly told them to pick a number between one and one hundred and fifty.

The Psalm was read and explained and explored in relation to the person receiving the reading. Pastor Gary reports that several people made decisions for faith in Jesus and were being followed up. Creative daring that worked.

In 2011 22 ministers’ ordinations were recognised by the ACC. We now have 595 ordained ministers in Victoria along with @@@ other credential holders. We applaud the years of study and ministry that these people have undertaken to become ordained.

Thank God for good people who have committed themselves to lifestyles of service, sacrifice, credibility, perseverance and faith.

Well done to:

• David Joseph
• Simone  Turner
• Ashley Battle
• Brian Beardsmore
• Ernesto Cartas
• John Doubikin
• Franca Heins
• Bruce Lawton
• Maria Moscatelli
• Silvano Moscatelli
• Scott Tolley
• Rogelio (Jnr) Bucao
• Brendon Marshall
• Wendy Marshall
• Lukas Edwards
• Elisabeth Griffin
• Todd Hall
• James  Musgrove
• Justin Trevan
• Ripeka Walters
• David  Humberstone
• Shaun  Hunter

While writing about ordinations it is of note that ACC International now has the same ability as a state to process credentials for their missionaries, relief workers and staff. These people will still be valued extended ministers of their respective states but because ACCI can better evaluate and supervise their ministry, this is a good move.

Post-mortems on the Churches that have closed in the past five years have been completed and they show clear causes of death. If these things could be addressed early perhaps it could reduce the annual Church death toll.

The following common factors for Church deaths are couched in familial terms:

1. They were born prematurely and failed to thrive.
2. They were born into a high risk environment lacking support.
3. They had parents not equipped or suitable for the role.
4. They had parents who never associated with competent parents.
5. They had parents who refused to grow themselves.
6. They were a high risk dysfunctional immature household.
7. They had parents who fought amongst themselves for control.
8. They had too many people leave home and live elsewhere.
9. They refused to share and became inbred, weakening the gene pool.
10. They lost their parents and were being looked after by non-parents.
11. Parents simply decided to disband the family unit.

Each of these points has sad stories attached and most of them can be teased out further through some contemplation. Most could have been avoided by dealing with each cause early in the pre-life of a Church. Some can be addressed along the way although the longer these factors are working in a Church, the harder they are to deal with.

Churches need to be a good healthy size before they start. Ie a critical mass of people, ministries and finances before launch.

Churches need to minimise the risks by having strong support structures and networks in all areas of operations. Ie in government and governance.

Churches should only be lead by people called and equipped to be overseers and leader of leaders. Church planters and growers need to have strong gathering and equipping gifts and skills.

Churches need parents who will go to parenting classes, read manuals and listen to proven parents whose children gave grown up healthy not hang out with patents who commiserate together.

Churches need parents who are prepared to change for the good of the house and not expect the family to make all the adjustments.

Churches need to have a strong culture that is absolutely committed to long term health rather than short term peace. Parents need to be disciplined in discipling people. They also need to hold to what is acceptable with consistent, just and explained standards.

Churches need parents who have good people and conflict resolution skills with the ability to garner respect for their role as well as dealing with their own insecurities so that situations are dealt with without conflicts developing.

Churches need to learn how to shut the back door as much as possible. This is an area that has as many facets as initial new comer integration has but they must be learned.

Churches need to, at all cost, find ways to sow seeds and constantly find new contacts in their community who have a realistic possibility of joining the Church. Call it evangelism, marketing or community discipleship or all three, but it needs to happen.

Churches should not, if it can be helped, go through a time without a parent in place. Good transition plans which see another parent in place before the other has left should absolutely be in place.

Churches, including satellites and campuses, should not be simply shut down but rather be strengthened and supported. If there was a reason for it’s birth there’s a reason for it’s life. Closures bring pain to the people and a bad reputation to the church in a town.