On Saturday 9th November, we gathered from 7 venues across NSW and ACT for our 2024 Gathering Incorporating the Ordinary Assembly. Thanks to everyone who was part of this time together!

Keynote sessions were shared from special guests Rev Andrew Duncan, State Director for Baptist Mission Australia and Rev Melissa Lipsett, CEO of Baptist World Aid Australia. It was great to hear them both share about how we are advancing God’s mission as we partner together at a local and global level. They insped us to reflect on our collective impact and reaffirmed the importance of shared vision and action around the world.

Both sessions are now available to be watched online as well as resources that were shared on the day up on the Gathering website linked below.

The gathering website

We had the privilege of hearing a part of the story of Harbourside where they recounted their journey as a church and the work they are doing within their community. Following this the Assembly responded with enthusiasm and overwhelming support, approving Harbourside’s affiliation and welcoming them into our family of churches.
If you want to dig deeper into Habourside’s story visit OurStory to find out more.

harbourside church story

Mark your calendars for The Gathering including the 2025 Annual Assembly, set to take place on Friday May 2 and Saturday May 3, 2025. Our theme for this gathering will be Hear and Go: Discipleship in a Distracted World.

At our November Gathering we announced our 2 keynote speakers for May 2025 – Tania Harris, Director of God Conversations and Tim Piesse from Building a Discipling Culture (BDC). They are sure to provide valuable insights into discipleship in our ever-changing world.

In addition to these keynote sessions, we will have the opportunity to be further equipped, inspired and to share stories with each other.

Save the date and make sure to join us and be encouraged in May next year!

The team at the Baptist Ministry Centre wishes you a joyful and blessed Christmas! We pray that this season brings you and your church plenty of meaningful opportunities to share the love of Jesus through your words, actions, and kindness.

The Ministry Centre will be closed for a short break from Tuesday, 24th December 2024 to Monday, 6th January 2025.

During this time, our phone lines won’t be monitored. Feel free to leave a voicemail or send us an email at hello@nswactbaptists.org.au, and we’ll get back to you when the office reopens.

The 23rd Baptist World Congress is being held in Brisbane in 2025 on 7-12 July.

Experience this one-of-a-kind opportunity to gather with Baptist sisters and brothers from around the world and learn how God is at work in and through our global family. It will be a powerful time of worship, prayer, fellowship, teaching, and service.

The Congress is for anyone who would like to be encouraged and blessed by connecting with our global Baptist family and the opportunity to worship and learn together. It provides a unique opportunity for engagement, learning and inspiration, especially for pastors and leaders. The program is for the whole family, so it is scheduled for the school holidays and includes both youth and kids’ programs.

The Early Bird deadline for the Congress has been extended to December 15! Don’t miss this final opportunity to secure your spot at the best price and be part of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Congress Website

Mission 25 is a unique moment where we will unite to share Jesus with one voice and one heart across Australia. Would you join us as we pray for the evangelisation of our nation, are empowered to share Jesus by running Alpha Term 2 of 2025, and celebrate as many come to faith and are baptised as God moves through our nation?

mission 25 home paGE

As you consider Discipleship and Leadership development for yourself and in the life of your church, here is a list of our training options for 2025. Contact Craig Corkill for more information ccorkill@nswactbaptists.org.au.

Leadership & Discipleship Opportunities 2025

2024 has been a year of formation for our IMPACT gap year participants, filled with enriching activities and deep discussions. As our time with IMPACT’s second cohort draws to a close, the last few weeks have been spent celebrating how God has worked in the lives of our students over the course of the year. Our end of year dinner was held Wednesday, November 13, and saw friends, family, pastors, lecturers and staff come together to recognise our students for their commitment and hard work. One highlight of the evening was hearing our students speak on how God has grown their faith and is making his plans for the coming years clearer to them. We shared stories and laughed about some memorable moments from the year, including fond memories of our trip to Cambodia and the hundreds of donuts made for hungry State Youth Camp attendees!

As we look to 2025, we are excited at the prospect of God raising up a new cohort to join the Impact family. Impact is designed for any young adults aged 18-23 looking to grow in their relationship with God and build lifelong friends and spiritual muscle. For young people in your church considering the call to theological study, our academic offerings offer a great starting point for further study. Similarly, for school leavers or uni students wanting to discern Gods will for their lives, Impact offers an amazing opportunity to spend a year intentionally growing in their faith and developing skills to listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit. One of the ways we empower students in this area is through regular one-on-one coaching for each student. We also support students as they serve within their local church context, helping them to process what they’re learning and experiencing.

Our team is keen to partner with your church to support the growth of youth and young adults. Our IMPACT staff team is available to speak at your youth group, church service or other events.

If you know any young individuals who are eager to grow spiritually and make a positive impact, encourage them to join us at our Open Day! Here’s what you need to know:

When: December 4, 2024, 1-3pm

Where: 5 Saunders Close, Macquarie Park, NSW 2250 Australia

Register here

Have any questions? Get in touch with us if you would like to learn more!

We are so thankful for the Youth Groups who were part of SYC24, Hold Tight!!!

It was a joy and a pleasure to watch the way that leaders, and in turn their young people, engaged with each of our sessions, it blew us away! We hope and pray that they were a blessing to these groups and that they continue to help our young people unpack what it means to Hold Tight to Transformation, Community and Calling each and every day of their lives.

We hope they’ve had a chance to reflect on all that God did at SYC24 and look forward to what’s next for our young people!

Safe Church Team Network Evening Video

The fourth Safe Church Team Network Evening was held on Tuesday, May 24, 2024, at the Ministry and Learning Centre in Macquarie Park. This event was an insightful and yet sobering opportunity to consider the impact of Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) in the lives of people in our churches and to consider ways that we as churches can show the love of Jesus in support of people who experience this in their daily life. The evening featured keynote sessions by Carolyn Cousins (who has worked extensively in, and has significant experience in this area) and Acting Inspector Adam Wood (NSW Police). They shared on what DFV is, the prevalence of it in our community and also very practical ways we can support people for whom DFV is their lived experience. We encourage you to watch the video of the evening here.

Creating Safe Spaces Training 2025

For years now our Creating Safe Spaces training has been used by our NSW & ACT Baptist churches and a growing number of other ministries and groups. Each year, thousands of people complete this training. This training enables and equips staff members and volunteers in leadership and child related work to lead in providing a safe church culture within your church. We are now taking bookings for in-person church workshops for 2025. We encourage each church to plan to host a workshop, and requests to host a workshop can be completed here. You can also find out more information about CSS here. You can register to complete the online module here. You can review and book a Zoom CSS workshop for you as an individual here.

The NSW Government has committed $15 million to support the safety and security of places of worship and other places where faith communities gather regularly.

The Safe Places for Faith Communities Grants provide funding for places of worship and other eligible places where faith communities gather regularly.

The program aims to enable faith communities to:

• Come together safely to profess, practice and maintain their faith and religious heritage
• Reduce the risk of harm to people or damage to property
• Build community resilience, wellbeing and cohesion.

The grant amount available for application is $5,000 to a maximum of $250,000, exclusive of GST.

Grant funding is provided as a one-off payment. The funding is non-recurrent. The project must be completed, and funds expended, by 30 June 2026.

The total grant program funding is $15 million. $5 million is available for application in this funding round of the program. The next round of grant program will open in the 2025-26 financial year.

This round of applications is open from Thursday 7 November 2024 and close at 3pm on Thursday, 19 December 2024.

To learn more visit the NSW Government’s website here: https://multicultural.nsw.gov.au/safe-places-for-faith-communities-program/

NSW Government Grant Page

We currently have two new job openings on the Association team. If you or someone you know is seeking an opportunity to apply your skills in a supportive, faith-oriented environment, we’d love to hear from you.

The roles we’re looking to fill are:

• Human Resources Advisor – responsible for recruitment, training, and development across the Association’s staff.
• Governance Manager – focused on coordinating the governance processes of the Association.

If either of these roles sounds like a fit for you or someone you know, please follow the links below to learn more and apply.

Human Resources Advisor

Governance Manager

‘Our Story’ is where we share stories of our wider Baptist movement; stories from our journey towards our goal of becoming a movement of 1,000 healthy churches in a generation, stories of how Baptist Churches in NSW & ACT are navigating key issues, and stories from our affiliated groups.

Sharing stories is vital so that we can learn from each other, be encouraged to persevere in our ministries, and witness how God is working amongst his Church. We hope that OurStory will be an inspiration for you and your church.

Sarah is a recently accredited minister and a Senior Chaplain for NSW Ambulance and has plans to return to the ADF as a Chaplain in 2025. During her studies, Sarah worked as Senior Chaplain for Queensland Immigration and Detention where she served a unique congregation with a message designed in a way that only they could hear. To find out more of Sarah’s story and ministry visit OurStory using the link below.

What makes a church?

If you have a story about how your ministry, church, or region is stepping into the Gen1K vision visit our stories home page to send us more details

Embracing the Fall
Resource to face faith challenges with hope

Called out of local church ministry to focus on supporting churches around the world with bigger societal issues, Andrew Cameron, one of our own pastors, has published his first video series for young adults, Embracing the Fall.

Embracing the Fall looks at the four big issues facing Christians in the church today – leadership failures, faith deconstruction, cultural disconnection, and divisions in the church.

Each episode follows a similar format, starting with an explanation of the issue and the losses involved in it. This leads into looking for the beauty of God working in it, followed by an exploration of opportunities to respond positive to it.

The Embracing the Fall video series and study guide are available publicly and for free at https://inspiringfaith.au.

Embracing the Fall – Video Series

BaptistCare celebrates 80-year legacy of love

This October, BaptistCare hit the impressive milestone of 80 years of care.

The BaptistCare story began with hope. It was the 1940s, in post-war Australia and a group of Baptists began responding to social change under the Baptist Homes Trust. Early visionaries from local churches across NSW and the ACT recognised the value inherent in every person and set about building homes where God’s people could flourish.

”All those years ago, a group of Baptists saw a need… they jumped in, they filled that gap, with faith, drive and purpose,” said Charles Moore, BaptistCare CEO.

This significant anniversary provides an opportunity to thank and honour the people who helped shape the organisation into what it is today.

Despite significant growth and change, BaptistCare remains true to the heart of its founders, continuing to support the vulnerable, marginalised and voiceless in our community so they can flourish.

Today, 80 years on, BaptistCare walks alongside more than 19,000 people, supporting them to live well across more than 100 locations in NSW, ACT and WA. Their care and support is only possible due to the prayer, care and support offered by hundreds of churches across the country. BaptistCare thanks you for your ongoing support. Thank you to the visionary men, women and churches who responded to God’s call to care for those in need.

“ ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty and give you food and something to drink? When did we see you with no place to stay and invite you in? When did we see you poorly clothed and cover you? When did we see you sick and tenderly care for you, or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Don’t you know? When you cared for one of the least of these, my little ones, my true brothers and sisters, you demonstrated love for me.’” Matt 25:37-50 TPT

Baptist Churches across Australia are coming together in support of Baptist World Aid Australia’s 2024 Christmas Appeal. Free resources are available to support your congregation in its efforts to bring hope to communities in need. Churches are encouraged to explore creative ways to use these materials to help individuals like Thavorn (whose story can be found above) make a positive impact in their communities.

YOU MIGHT:

• Hold a special service to consider the needs of those living in poverty;
• Use the video and donation cards to take up an offering for the work of Baptist World Aid
• Encourage individuals or groups to work through the devotional in the lead up to Christmas
• Let the little ones take the stage with a Christmas Day performance
• Incorporate these elements within your existing Christmas services and activities

To access BWA’s Christmas resources visit Baptist World Aid’s website here: https://bwaa.co/CHR24-Resources

Baptist World Aid Christmas Appeal Resources