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As a congregation we realised that we had to get more involved in spreading the Gospel and in April 2006 a Mission Support Fund was started. A decision was made to mainly support existing projects and organisations, as we could ensure more efficient use of the funds in various locations across the globe.
We have an annual Mission Sunday where we give feedback on the projects we supported during the past year as well as focus on different missions topics. On this day the congregation is invited to pledge a contribution (once-off or monthly) to the next years fund.
The projects and organisations that we support are:
India
Through personal contacts we have developed a close relationship with an Indian missionary working in central India. For security reasons we can not give more details, but suffice it to say that we support local Indian men who have received basic training, and who go out into the villages helping local communities in practical ways, and sharing the gospel. Through their work over 25 house churches have commenced in the villages, and over 400 men and women have come to faith.
Solomon Islands
The Solomon Islands lie to the north east of Australia. This group of islands has a population of around 410,000 mainly Melanesian people.
Although the Solomon Islands are generally regarded as Christian, most village churches are led by people who have had no formal training at a Bible College. The result is that many of the church leaders struggle to make Gods word known to their people. The CRCA began full time mission work there in 1998, focusing on providing Christian and theological education, training and ministry to church leaders, pastors, youth and childrens workers. Rev Kevin Rietveld and his wife Machi took this work on in faith, looking to our CRCA congregations in Australia to provide enough support for them. Grace CRC has committed to making a significant contribution to their financial support each year.
The work now also includes assisting villages with small infrastructure projects in the areas of health and education. Our churches in Australia regularly arrange short term mission teams to work on special projects in the villages.
Open Doors The ministry of Open Doors began in 1955 through the call of God to one man, Brother Andrew, a native of Holland, to "Awake and strengthen that which remains and is at the point of death." Fifty years on, the call to awaken continues to find its echo throughout the world. Bible delivery and leadership training have been core to the whole ministry. The purpose of Open Doors is: To strengthen and equip the Body of Christ living under or facing restriction and persecution because of their faith in Jesus Christ, and to encourage their involvement in world evangelism by:
We do so because we believe when one member suffers, all members suffer with it (1 Corinthians 12:26), all doors are open and God enables His Body to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. For more information, please visit www.opendoors.org .
Veritas College
The calling of Veritas College is to assist churches to train leaders, especially in places where the church is very poor or suffering from persecution (or both). The focus of our training is to equip people interpret the Bible for themselves and to sharpen their ministry skills. Veritas is currently working in about 30 countries (many of them with very limited opportunities for Christian leadership development) and the training material has been translated into more than 20 languages. More than 10 000 people have benefited from this training since the founding of Veritas College in 1992.
For more information, please visit www.veritascollege.org
Russia summer camps
In the days of communist rule in Russia, all children were required to attend a Pioneer camp over the summer holidays. These camps were used to indoctrinate the children with Communist beliefs.
With the fall of communism, these camps have continued and the leaders look for interesting things to do with the children. Each year teams go from Australia under the auspices of Kids Outreach Int. One of our members, Jenny Abetz, has been leading teams for 6 years. The teams have the opportunity to show the children Gods love in Christ, to teach them things about Australia and to explain the gospel to them in various ways.
It is hard for us in Australia to understand, but many of these children have parents and grandparents who know nothing about God, because in the Communist days Bibles were banned, and meeting with other Christians was prohibited. So the children soak up the Bible stories like a sponge for many it is the first time they have ever heard a story from the Bible!
Through the
support of other churches, we are able to make Bibles available to the children
and their families. Grace CRC continues
to provide financial support to Jenny and others from our church that go to
these camps. - Feedback Trip Russia 2009 ; Trip Russia 2010
Warburton
Each year our church arranges a team of people young and not so young to go to Warburton in the Great Victorian Desert and run a holiday program for the children. Although the local shire now employs youth workers, the community invites us back each year, because in January most of the youth workers are on leave.
In the mornings we run a program for the 5 to 14 year olds, with songs, Bible stories and a lesson focused on a theme, do some crafts to reinforce the lesson, and play lots of games. After lunch we play with all age groups in the local swimming pool, and after dark we play sports under the lights on the oval.
We have been going for 8 years now, and each time we have returned, the relationship of trust has grown with the Ngaanyatjarra community. When we arrive the children come running up to us in excitement! Those who participate not only enjoy their interaction with the children and the community as a whole, but also come to a better understanding of Aboriginal culture.
E-kerk / E-church
The past year the giving for missions exceeded our budget. It was therefore decided to make a donation to E-kerk / E-church in South Africa. The money was used to supply stationary for orphans for the new school year. For more information on E-kerk / E-church, please visit www.ekerk.co.za or www.echurch.co.za
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Mission Support
Mission Support
