Displaying items by tag: Australia

The Australian Gold Coast recently hosted the Commonwealth Games. What many may not know is that local churches, with the help of Christians from other parts of the nation, undergirded the Games with prayer and evangelism. 43 churches engaged in the 24/7 prayer canopy for the games. The Gideons gave away 10,180 scriptures. Chaplains reported never having seen such hunger or such engagement during any previous Games. There were reports of a friendly, peaceful atmosphere in the village itself. The YWAM team reported 7,000 Gospels of Luke and 6,500 flyers handed out, 10,000 estimated meaningful conversations, and one baptism. Be encouraged and give God the glory! Read the full report on the ‘More’ link.

There will be ten international chaplains at the Commonwealth Games. Their first role is to make themselves available on a pastoral level to anyone who wants it. Christian athletes will want to have Bible studies and corporate worship, and the chaplains will provide that for them. Pray for them to be excellent servants to all the athletes, coaches and games officials. Pray for the special relationships they will develop with athletes - both those who are committed Christians and those who wish to explore Christian faith. May those friendships grow deeper over the course of the Games. Pray for boldness at such a large event, where they will be outside their comfort zones.

On 15 February anti-Semitic flyers were distributed around Melbourne’s inner west suburbs. The Anti-Defamation Commission said they promoted dangerous stereotypes, conspiracy theories and fear, and was concerned that anti-Semites are ‘redoubling their efforts as never before’. The flyers blamed Jews for everything from mass immigration and overpopulation to ‘making life harder for parents, thus pushing children into childcare centres’. They stated, ‘The Jews are the whole world’s enemy and are pure evil.’ On 4 March, 300 Holocaust denial leaflets were found at the University of Melbourne, claiming Holocaust studies were ‘replete with nonsense, if not sheer fraud’. Jewish and Hebrew studies courses that include language, literature, history, art and politics have been taught at that university since 1946. See also

Monday: at a missions course in Papua New Guinea, participants came face-to-face with previously unknown realities. Pray for hearts challenged to missions. Tuesday: ‘Bloom where you are planted.’ Pray for Christians to reflect the love of God to all with whom they come in contact, wherever God places them. Wednesday: more than just language learning. ‘God uses my language learning experience to help me understand my walk with Him better.’ Pray for missionaries’ spiritual walk with God. Thursday: the first Amdu Literacy Class graduation. ‘Praise the Lord! A milestone happening here in Amdu! Pray for the team to move forward with exact translation, leading to the future clear sharing of God’s truth.’ Friday: death brings new life. At a funeral people who had never heard the gospel realised they were missing something and expressed an interest in Biblical truths. Pray for these new inquirers.

The assistant bishop of Melbourne, Philip Huggins, has worked with film-maker Richard Keddie on a video advocating for South Sudanese school students in Melbourne. It says that many of these children are frightened, and asks people to ‘give them a wave and a smile to make them feel welcome’. In the state of Victoria, there have been recent high-profile political and media comments about ‘gangs’ of young Africans, which have resulted in discrimination towards and fear of the community. Hundreds of families have survived a dreadful war and seen millions killed. But they’re frightened again, because of messages spreading hate and fear against innocent children.

Month of Prayer & Fasting to Protect Marriage

Australia is in the middle of a government mandated postal survey to decide the future of marriage between a man and a woman. The polls are predicting a defeat for those who believe in the biblical definition of marriage. Australian Christians are asking for prayer from all over the world for a “miracle for marriage” in Australia.  The ballots must be posted back by the end of October. The Catholic Church has called for a month of ‘Prayer and Fasting for Marriage and Families’ through the month of October 2017. See the Catholic Promo Video Here. The broad Australian church is also supporting this historic call for prayer and fasting.

James Condon, a Commissioner with the Salvation Army, and the head of Strategic Church Relations for the National Day of Prayer & Fasting said, “Support for this historic initiative by the Catholic Church is gathering momentum. Key Aboriginal Christian leaders are also supporting this call for prayer and fasting to protect marriage from redefinition. In fact, three Indigenous leaders will feature in the digital devotions that will be released daily, during the month of October. Marriage between a man and a woman is sacred in Indigenous culture.” For more information regarding the Indigenous perspective on the sacredness of marriage go to: www.ulurubarkpetition.com

Ps Peter Walker, an Indigenous leader from the Uluru Bark Petition said, “I congratulate the Catholic Church, together with all these leaders, for showing leadership and taking the initiative to launch a call for a Month of Prayer and Fasting for Marriage and Families. In our indigenous culture, which has continued for thousands of years, marriage and family are paramount. Marriage is between one man and one woman.”

Warwick Marsh, spokesman for the Canberra Declaration and a coordinator of the National Day of Prayer & Fasting said, “For this period of prayer and fasting we ask that you only fast as you are able. See our Promo Video Here. To inspire you in your prayers the team at the Canberra Declaration, in collaboration with Christian leaders from all over Australia, will provide a daily email devotion. The National Day of Prayer & Fasting is also going to help get the word out. To get the free daily devotional delivered to your inbox throughout the month of October click here.”

Marsh continued, “We also invite those in other countries to join with us, if they are able, on our National Zoom Prayer Conference Call three times a day. The hourly sessions will occur at 7AM, 1PM and 8PM Eastern Australian Daylight time. (NSW Time) These video prayer calls will go daily for the full 31 days of October.

To register and get log in details for the Zoom conference call go to www.prayercall.com.au

David Rowsome, prayer coordinator and co-writer for the Canberra Declaration said, “We as believers must approach these issues with great humility as marriage has been greatly damaged under our watch. Collectively, we as nation must ask God for forgiveness for our failure and truly repent.  At the same time, we need to pray for God’s grace to be shown to marriages and families in distress. The good news is that we all gain great hope from the scriptural promise found in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 

Canberra Declaration: http://www.canberradeclaration.org.au

National Day of Prayer & Fasting:  http://www.nationaldayofprayer.com.au

There is an expectation in Australia that once the result of the same-sex marriage postal vote is announced on 15 November the matter will be resolved once and for all. According to opinion polls a Yes vote looks likely, clearing the way for amendments to the Marriage Act. But there’s a twist in this long-running, angry issue (on 21 September a man head-butted former prime minister Tony Abbott as he campaigned for a No vote). Opposition leader Bill Shorten seeks to define marriage as ‘a union between two people’ meaning that all are eligible: heterosexuals, homosexuals and people of any other gender or sexuality. This could be immensely complicated.

Patrick Mitchell began transgendering to become a girl when he was twelve, then changed his mind two years later and will now be undergoing surgery to remove breast tissue that grew as a result of taking oestrogen. He gave a TV interview to explain how being called a girl actually made him realise he was comfortable as a boy. Walt Heyer, founder of SexChangeRegret.com, said ‘Patrick’s story is more proof that the trans-activist doctors go forward recklessly with transgender treatments, but have no way of verifying who is transgender and who is not. What we do know is that through persistent affirmation by parents, doctors and schools, we can cause children to think they are transgender.’ Transgenders undergo hormone injections and irreversible surgeries to feel better, yet surveys reveal that they attempt and commit suicide at an alarming rate, even after treatment. One UK survey showed almost half of transgender children have attempted to kill themselves. See

Each year a week of prayer is held for the ministry of Prison Fellowship Australia; this year it is from 10 to 17 September. The week gives an opportunity for Prison Fellowship to communicate and connect with churches and the community, focussing on its ministry among prisoners, ex-prisoners, the families of prisoners, and victims of crime. In keeping with the vision of Prison Fellowship, the week of prayer reflects the threefold mission of its ministry - transformation, reconciliation, and restoration. The themes for each day will be: Reconciliation Sunday, Victim Care, Restorative Justice, Ex-Prisoner Welcome, Correctional Services, Family Support, Prisoner Visitation, and Transformation Sunday.

In a few weeks Victorian MPs will vote on a Government bill to legalise assisted suicide and euthanasia in Victoria. The vote will put society's most vulnerable at risk and distort the relationship between doctors and patients. If the bill passes, Victoria would need to re-train doctors from being healers to life-takers. The Andrews Government said during the election campaign that they wouldn’t introduce this legislation. However, MPs will be given a conscience vote when this matter next comes up in parliament. The numbers are looking very close, but there are a handful of key government MPs who are likely to vote ‘no’ if they can see that enough people, in their electorates, do not support this radical change in law. The Australian Christian Lobby has prepared an email for people to use to voice their objection to assisted suicide and euthanasia.