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312

Walking Jesus’ way is a daily challenge

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by Reid Matthias

‘After this, the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness’ (Mark 1:12).

This verse strikes my funny bone. Reading it in a 21st century context (and out of biblical context), it sounds like the Spirit and Jesus pile into the ute for a drive into the bush where the Spirit kicks the door open and says, ‘Alright, have a good time camping!’

No, Jesus is not driven by car into the dusty outback of Israel, but he is motivated by the Spirit to walk into the wild where he will encounter temptations, struggle and critters. As I read about Jesus’ time in the wilderness, I wonder if there aren’t some similarities between God’s invitation to his Son to ‘Walk My Way’ and what I encountered in 2021.

As we drove through what could easily be considered something of a dusty wilderness, vast stretches of summer dryness now in different shades of yellow, ochre and brown, I was amazed at the landscape through which we’d walk. I tried to imagine the early pioneers who had to walk down the hill to the eastern parts of Adelaide from Hahndorf and back up again or the refugees who fled for their lives on foot in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

If I’m truly honest with myself, I don’t know if I could have survived very long doing any of those walks.

Imagine, though, if you could have been on the trail with the pioneers or the refugees. Imagine the stories you would hear if you only begged the questions: ‘Tell me your story. Tell me about your life. Help me to make the connection.’

These musings were what Jesus was very, very good at. As he wandered the dusty trails of Palestine, people followed him – throngs of people, multitudes. Pressing up to him, many wanted to touch him, to hear him, to see him. As they walked his way, they all desired a sign or wonder, yet time and time again, Jesus does not give them a miracle, but a question.

For it is in the questions that we find the miracle of walking together. This is where we find that Jesus has an interest in us.

In Luke 10, after Jesus sends 72 people to go walkabout two-by-two, he encounters a teacher of the law who wants to know how to put the cherry on top of life: ‘What must I do to inherit eternal life?’

Certainly, as their paths had intersected, Jesus could have simply told the man, ‘I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life’, brushed his hands and said, ‘Alright, have a good time’. But what does Jesus do? He comes alongside the lawyer and asks two questions. ‘What is written in the law? How do you read it?’

What do these questions do? Two things.

  1. Jesus establishes that he values the expert in the law enough to ask questions. ‘How do you read it?’ is a perfect way of asking, ‘So, tell me a little bit about your experience. Tell me about your own learning journey.’
  2. All of life is a dialogue. If we are open enough to ask the question, why not dig deeper?

What captures me most about this short incident is that Jesus paused in his own walk to interact with someone who could easily have irked him. But he doesn’t keep to himself, checking his pedometer, making sure he’s getting his steps in and his calories counted. No, he invites people onto the road with him. Even people who are different from him.

To me, this is the difference between walking with and coming alongside someone else.

Walking with someone else means that you are travelling in the same general direction, but might not have the same goal. Walking with someone means that you might smile politely, nod and put your headphones back in your ears. Walking with someone might mean that you walk a little faster so that you can finish before they do. Walking with someone doesn’t necessarily imply connection, only sharing space.

But walking alongside? Well, that’s a Jesus-kind-of-walk-my-way. It’s a choice. You opt to speed up or slow down so that you can match the other walker’s pace and go in the same direction. Walking alongside necessitates a kindred goal and spirit. Walking alongside is about greeting and creating relationships, asking questions of history and future.

Walking alongside is about the journey, whereas walking with is about the destination.

As the hordes of walkers gathered together for Walk My Way in the Barossa Valley, I was interested in how people separated themselves. Talking with people before, during and afterwards, I noticed those from congregations or friendships tended to walk with each other. Theirs was friendly banter, maybe an occasional jog. It’s natural. The day was designed for the relational journey and connecting with people who have the same goal.

But then on the way back, being driven through the wilderness by bus, back to the very beginning, I met a couple who were come-alongsiders. After having spent years living abroad, they told me the story of different cultures, different struggles, of being a stranger in strange lands, and they asked the same questions of me. For the journey, we found similarities and differences, common bonds of Christian understanding.

Which brought me back to opining about pioneers, refugees and Jesus himself: how are we called to come alongside people? In what ways do we slow our pace to match step with others along the road?

After Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan to this expert in the law, he asked, ‘Which one of these three do you think was a neighbour?’

The expert replied, ‘The one who had mercy’.

Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise’.

Maybe what I learned most about the Walk My Way experience of 2021 was that it didn’t finish on 1 May. Walking Jesus’ way is a daily walk alongside him and other people so that they can experience his grace and love on their own journey.

Go and do likewise.

Pastor Reid Matthias serves the flock at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Para Vista in suburban Adelaide. He completed Walk My Way Barossa Valley with his wife Christine, daughters Josephine and Greta and family friend Madison Watts.

313

LCANZ Bishop announces retirement

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LCANZ Bishop John Henderson has announced that he will not be standing for re-election at this year’s Convention of General Synod.

Bishop Henderson, the first LCA leader to be known by that title, has held the position for three synodical terms, having been elected in April 2013. He has also indicated that he intends to retire from the active pastoral ministry.

General Synod delegates will therefore need to elect a new churchwide bishop.

Pastor delegates at General Pastors Conference in July will hold a nominating ballot to select pastor nominees for the position of LCA bishop. Those nominees will be presented to General Synod. Each nominee must receive a minimum of 25 per cent of Pastors Conference votes in order to be placed on the electoral ballot at Convention of General Synod. Typically, this process results in the Pastors Conference nominating two or maybe three candidates.

There is also a special provision, although rarely used, for delegates at General Synod to nominate further candidates from the floor.

314

‘Privileged and proud’ to walk

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Lutheran Disability Services (LDS) Support Worker Julie Green hadn’t heard of Walk My Way before the lead-up to last month’s event in South Australia’s Barossa Valley.

But now she says the LDS team of clients and staff – the Wheelie Great Walkers – ‘can’t wait to do it again’.

Like her fellow LDS walkers and wheelers Julie, of Hamley Bridge, north of Adelaide, was encouraged to take part in Walk My Way by fellow support worker Tamara Martin, wife of Barossa North Parish Pastor Damien Martin.

LDS clients David, Chelsea, Jeanette and David were among 650 participants who walked or wheeled along the 26-kilometre trail from Nuriootpa to Lyndoch to support refugee children to go to school. The quartet was joined by five LDS staff, six of their children and two dogs.

‘It was extremely special for LDS family to feel the unity and inclusiveness of their community for this worthy event, as they talked, laughed, sung, and walked through the Barossa Valley’, Julie says.

‘They have expressed how proud they are to support Walk My Way and to help so many strong and resilient refugee children in East Africa to go to school. They can’t wait to do it again!’

With two members in wheelchairs and the rest on foot (or paw), the team also sang along to music played from a speaker Julie provided. Each client walked or was wheeled along for at least five kilometres; two did 13 kilometres and four staff, including Julie, and some of the children, completed the full trail.

‘When any of the clients had had enough, we had someone pick them up’, Julie says. ‘They’ve said since how wonderful it was. Personally, I felt so privileged to be a part of such a movement.’

315

Leaders release statement on ordination actions

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At their third special meeting on the division within the church over the ordination of women and men, the LCANZ’s General Church Board (GCB) and College of Bishops (CoB) agreed on three initial actions. Last year, GCB and CoB released a report with three potential scenarios over the division in the church around the ordination of both women and men. There were 48 formal responses from individuals and congregations to the scenarios. In March 2021, GCB and CoB held a third special meeting to analyse these responses.

Secretary of the Church Dr Nigel Long said the leaders agreed on three initial actions in preparation for the 2021 General Pastors Conference (GPC) and General Convention of Synod. A statement summarising the responses and actions has been released. In brief, the actions are:

  1. GCB is asking the GPC to provide advice in advance of General Convention on the relevance of Theses of Agreement (TA) 1 Principles governing church fellowship to the ongoing discussion about ordination.
  2. The Commission on Theology and Inter-Church Relations will work (with CoB) on framing questions and providing background for the GPC on the applicability/inapplicability of TA 1.
  3. GCB and CoB will work together to frame any questions and/or proposals on the ordination matter that might be useful for the 2021 General Convention and for the wellbeing of the church.

You can download the statement from the link at www.lca.org.au/lcanz-leaders-release-statement-on-ordination-actions/

316

Church@Home June 2021

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CHURCH@HOME www.lca.org.au/churchhome

Daily faith practice brings blessings

 

Regular devotions are a powerful part of an active home-worship life. They can help nurture our faith and even that of our families, as they strengthen our relationship with Jesus, increase our trust in God and our openness to the call of his Spirit. We pray that you will receive blessings from the devotional materials here and in the Church@Home resources collection collated and shared on the special webpage at www.lca.org.au/churchhome. There are also other faith-building and practical resources available through this webpage. If you have internet access and a printer, why not print some and mail or deliver them to those who may otherwise miss out?

–Lisa

Psalm 61:2 

From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

DEVOTIONS FOR HOME WORSHIP

These reflections are from a fresh set of devotions written for our LCANZ family and friends to help us to keep our eyes on Jesus. They can be used by families and individuals as part of the Church@Home resources. You can find these and more on the LCA website at www.lca.org.au/daily-devotion

The One by Rachael Stelzer

‘Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures’ (Luke 24:45).

Read Luke 24:36b–48.

The disciples huddled in a closed room, confused and afraid. They had heard strange stories, first from the women and then from an out-of-breath Cleopas, of appearances by their teacher, whom they had seen taken down from the cross and placed in the tomb. And, suddenly, he was there in their midst. The One. The teacher. The master. And in their shock, panic and emotion, they cried out in fear. ‘It’s a ghost!’

What happened next could have come from a TV sitcom, complete with canned laughter. Jesus did everything he could to convince these overwhelmed people that he was alive, real and with them. He told them to look at his hands and side, to recognise the scars they had watched him receive. Then when that didn’t work for some, he asked them to bring him some food, to prove through normal human digestion that he wasn’t a ghost with food falling through him. What a hysterical picture he must have seemed! The disciples knew Jesus as one who loved to share food with them. Then he taught them, as he always had, of the importance of his role on earth, now with the benefit of hindsight and perspective. And they recognised his voice and teaching, and it all began to make sense.

Jesus went to such lengths to change his disciples’ fear and confusion to joy and confidence. And Jesus still transforms his followers today.

What fears, panic and confusion do we go through? What stories have we heard? And do we recognise the One, the Teacher, the Master, for who he really is when he stands among us?

Jesus still lovingly shows us who he is. Through his word, people and church, Jesus teaches us, laughs with us, calms us and speaks to us, despite the many other voices that clamour for our attention. May we continue to learn from him, to recognise his voice and ways, and know the confidence and joy of the risen King.

Risen Lord Jesus, open my eyes to see you. Open my ears to hear you. And open my mind to learn from you. I know you will help me in the challenges of the day ahead. Thank you. Amen.  

In Jesus’ name by Ruth Olsen

‘If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it’ (John 14:14).

Read John 14:1–14.

Wow, what a promise Jesus gives us! And what an invitation, opportunity and responsibility! Jesus invites us to work with him! He invites us to pray the kind of prayers that change us and reach beyond ourselves, the ones that touch the Father’s heart for others, reflecting to the Father the heart of Jesus for those being prayed for. He desires to bring glory to the Father – through us!

Jesus is the way to the Father. Jesus is our home base, our safe place and our security. The more we grow in trusting and knowing him, the more we will be enabled to see through his eyes, as it were. He reveals the Father to us as someone who is for us because that’s how Jesus is – for us! He said anyone who has seen him has seen the Father. We look to Jesus, and we are awakened to God as the Father who is for us. And we come to the Father through Jesus’ relationship with the Father. Wow, isn’t that worth taking time to ponder, to chew over? As we grow in knowing Jesus, we will also know the Father as well. And we recognise what the Father is like by how Jesus is. He earnestly desires for us to know the Father.

Tucked into that relationship of love, acceptance and belonging, is an overflowing heart of prayer. In trusting Jesus to meet our needs (including through others), we are increasingly set free to focus away from self and recognise how he wants to bless others, also in answer to our prayers, words and actions. Amazingly, Jesus says anyone who believes in him will also do what he has been doing and even greater things. And in the verses following our reading from John 14–16, he introduces us to the promised Holy Spirit, his Spirit of truth, who is our enabler, helper, teacher and trainer.

Holy Spirit of Jesus, only you can enable us to do and pray what Jesus desires so that Jesus can give glory to the Father through us also. Open this up further to us. Give us insight and draw us into a closer relationship and communication with you. Amen.

PRAYER 

Be at peace
by Saint Francis De Sales

Do not look forward in fear to the changes in life;
rather, look to them with full hope that as they arise,
God, whose very own you are,
will lead you safely through all things;
and when you cannot stand it,
God will carry you in his arms.

Do not fear what may happen tomorrow;
the same understanding Father who cares for
you today will take care of you then and every day.
He will either shield you from suffering
or will give you unfailing strength to bear it.
Be at peace, and put aside all anxious thoughts
and imaginations.

Isaiah 35:4

Say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you’.

Recognising God’s voice by Nick Schwarz and Pastor Brian Schwarz

‘My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no-one will snatch them out of my hand’ (John 10:27,28).

Read John 10:22–30.

A visitor to Israel, observing a shepherd leading a flock of sheep, once conducted an experiment. He put on the shepherd’s cloak, took hold of the shepherd’s crook and called the sheep to follow him. But the sheep just ignored him. Why? Because what they heard was a strange voice.

Even though the man now looked somewhat like their shepherd, they recognised that he was a fake, an impostor. He was not to be trusted like their real shepherd – the one who knew them intimately, who cared for them daily and was prepared to sacrifice his life to keep them safe.

Sadly, there are pastors, teachers and leaders who masquerade as shepherds of God’s flock but whose voices sound different to that of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

Rather than stressing what God has done for us through Jesus, they emphasise what you must do to win God’s favour. Rather than giving glory to Jesus, they tend to seek glory for themselves. Rather than acting as humble servants, they act like proud bosses.

False shepherds can do great damage to God’s flock. Beware of them.

Become so familiar with the voice of Jesus that you can quickly detect the difference between those who are genuine shepherds and those who are not.

Dear God, we thank you for shepherds whose voices are in tune with the voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. Bless them. Help us to become so familiar with Jesus’ voice that we can quickly recognise true shepherds from imposters. Amen.

Simple, yet difficult by Pastor Peter Bean

‘Love one another’ (John 15:17).

Read John 15:9–17.

Simple, eh? How many philosophers, songwriters, poets and authors have echoed the Bible’s words: love one another, with the implication that all will be well. Perhaps the cartoonist Leunig captures it best in his cartoon where he states, ‘Love one another and you will be happy; it’s as simple and as difficult as that. There is no other way’.

So, yes, it is simple as that, but it is also very difficult. We all know and have experienced that in our everyday living with our family and friends, not to even mention the loving enemies part. Simple as, yet difficult as.

It would be great if I, and if you, could love one another and all life’s problems disappeared. But it doesn’t work like that, and Jesus knows it better than anyone. Perhaps that’s why before he tells us to love one another, he spells out that the Father loves him, and he remains in the Father’s love.

Just the same Jesus loves us, and we can remain in his love. Then we can love another. It’s not through our own strength or ability; it’s because we, you, I, are first loved unconditionally.

Living in that love allows us to love ourselves and love others. This enables us to look beyond those things that distract from loving. Sharing in the joy that Jesus offers and promises (verse 11) allows us to continue to love when it seems humanly impossible. For me (and that person), replacing negative thoughts about someone with the love of Jesus has changed the way I think, act and speak. It’s this love won for us and given to us by Jesus that allows us to love one another. It’s as simple and as difficult as that!

Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me as your Father loves you. Help me to live in this love. And through your presence and with your help, help me to love all those I encounter. Amen.

317

Walking with our overseas partners

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LCA International Mission walks together with our partner churches overseas through support for such projects as the Lutheran Study Centre (LSC) at Sabah Theological Seminary (STS) in Malaysia. LSC Director Dr Wilfred J Samuel explains the critical role of the centre for the region’s Lutheran churches.

The Lutheran Study Centre (LSC) at Sabah Theological Seminary (STS) in Malaysia was established to meet the need of enhancing Lutheran confessional identity among the member churches of the Federation of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Malaysia and Singapore (FELCMS).

After initial talks with the LCANZ’s Dr Vic Pfitzner, the need was raised with LCA International Mission and other mission partners. The centre was opened in March 2010, thanks to advisory and financial support from the LCA and Australian Lutheran College, and technical assistance from the Lutheran World Federation, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

What are the objectives of the centre?

The centre’s key objectives are to serve the Lutheran churches in South-East Asia in providing Lutheran distinctive training for pastors, lay members and theological students; to serve as a centre for theological research; to develop resources and publications to enhance Lutheran identity; and to network with regional and international Lutheran study centres.

The LSC has been able to reach out to the four main language groups in Malaysia and Singapore – Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin, Tamil and English. This has included organising seminars, making publications such as the Book of Concord and selected doctrinal tracts available in the different languages and giving theological lectures on Lutheran themes.

FELCMS member churches have a policy that all pastoral candidates must go through Lutheran distinctive training by LSC before ordination.

These efforts have helped the LSC to achieve its goal of enhancing Lutheran confessional identity in Malaysia and Singapore. But we acknowledge that the journey has just begun and more needs to be done.

Moving beyond Malaysia and Singapore

The ministry of the LSC was also extended to Indonesia and the Mekong region. In Indonesia, Lutheran churches were encouraged to send students to STS for training in Lutheran distinctive, while LSC also invited Indonesian Lutheran theologians to serve by giving lectures and conducting seminars.

The LCA and the Mekong Mission Forum also played a crucial role in connecting the LSC with the Mekong region. The ministry in this region was conducted on three levels. Firstly, post-graduate students were invited to study at STS and major in Lutheran studies. Secondly, training programs were organised for the Lutheran churches in the Mekong region; and thirdly the region’s churches were invited to participate in online courses and training modules.

We continue to pray, that God will use the LSC to be able to do greater things for his glory. At the same time, we at LSC ask for the continued support and prayers of our International mission partners. Thank you for your partnership in this ministry.

318

Mission training to equip congregations

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Renew Mission Life is a four-step training pathway for congregations developed by the LCANZ’s New and Renewing Churches Local Mission department.

An overall goal of taking the Renew Mission Life journey is to multiply the people becoming Christians in your congregation and the small groups and ministries that support spiritual growth.

The supporting resources – videos, sermon outlines, Bible studies, and leadership tools – are now available on the New and Renewing Churches website:
www.newandrenewingchurches.org.au

Why not have a chat with your pastor or church council members about taking your congregation through Renew Mission Life.

Step 1 – Renew Mission Life LEADERSHIP – You will gain tools to equip your congregation to be effective in local mission.

Step 2 – Renew Mission Life STUDIES – Sermons and Bible studies will guide your congregation further into God’s mission.

Step 3 – Renew Mission Life MISSIONAL COMMUNITIES – You will learn how to form and equip teams which will go and reap the harvest.

Step 4 – Renew Mission Life SENT: SEEKING THE ORPHANS OF GOD – You will learn how to reap the harvest.

319

Welcomed by the gospel

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by Lisa McIntosh 

The cultural and ethnic make-up of communities in which many Lutheran churches are based has changed dramatically. How can we best serve alongside people of all nations so that we truly welcome ‘the stranger’ with the gospel? Two LCANZ congregational leaders share their insights.

Pastor Mark Schultz from LifeWay Lutheran Church in New South Wales is in no doubt – multi-ethnicity is God’s vision for his church. ‘We are to be a community united in Christ, made up of every tribe, nation, people, and language’, he says.

A multi-site church family, LifeWay has recently welcomed Illawarra worship centres at Wollongong and Oak Flats, and has launched a Western Sydney church plant in Glenmore Park to join locations at Epping and Newcastle.

‘Becoming a multi-ethnic church is not just about reaching out to the community’, Pastor Mark says. ‘It starts with an attitude and practice of accepting people of all nations as equal, fully participating members in church fellowship, and then living that out by all nations using their gifts and abilities and being actively involved in the mission and the vision of the church. The critical component is living Jesus’ love, which accepts, embraces and values.’

More than 20 nationalities are represented among LifeWay worshippers and 46 per cent of people in Epping’s local community were born overseas and speak a language other than English at home. The major ethnic groups in that area are Chinese, Indian and Korean.

LifeWay has celebrated more than 15 multi-ethnic baptisms of children, young people and adults in the past two years, while eight out of 10 young people who completed the congregation’s ‘Step up to communion’ course recently, were from multi-ethnic families.

Its mainly music ministry is a bridge into the local community with more than 80 per cent of those who attend representing the community’s ethnicities. Mums who attend this group but are not church members have brought friends to worship, which culminated in the Easter baptism of three members of one family.

Other multi-ethnic ministries at LifeWay include a ‘praise dance’ group; a weekly singing group with devotions from Asian Ministry Chaplain Wilkinson Hu; a fortnightly Bible study; and Chinese-speaking small groups. LifeWay also includes Chinese language, with English, on screens during worship for the creed and The Lord’s Prayer.

And in a region that in 10 years will accommodate 10 per cent of Australia’s population, with more than 160 nationalities, the fledgling LifeWay Westside church plant is intentionally a multi-ethnic ministry from its genesis.

‘A multi-ethnic mindset begins with my heart – redeemed, restored and reset for God’s purposes’, Pastor Mark says. ‘Without Christ sacrificing his all for me, I would remain lost and condemned. But he has made me his forever. He loves me, accepts me, values me. He delights in me.

‘Through that truth, you begin to look at others not as people who need to be converted, but as people whom Jesus also loves and are made in God’s image.’

Cross Cultural Mentor Barbara Mattiske from Glynde Lutheran Church in Adelaide says the local community there has also been changing. The suburb has long been home to an Italian community. However, in more recent times, an increasing number of people from China, India and Malaysia, and other nations such as Japan and Korea, have made the area their home.

‘We looked at the community around us and how we could integrate more into the community’, Barbara says. ‘And one of the main things we learnt is that friendship is one of the most important things we can offer.

‘We can offer friendship through activities for children, through listening, education and learning. So now we run mainly music classes for mums and dads with their children, we run English and cooking classes, we do learning mornings about education, we learn about being a parent, about marriage and about God.’

Rika, who is originally from Japan, has been coming to Glynde for several years, particularly for its family ministries. ‘Glynde is a very special place for me because I can see new people and also, I feel very important and [that I] belong and I feel this is a family to me’, she says.

After the first lockdown in Adelaide due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rika’s family decided that her three young children would be baptised at Glynde. Her Christian background only involved adult baptism but, after input from Barbara and Pastor Wayne Boehm, Rika spoke with her family about baptism.

‘I wanted them to come to see God through Christ’, she says. ‘I talked to my husband; he is not a Christian, but he understood the importance of this baptism. But the most important thing was if my children wanted to have it. So, I sat down with them and I asked them, “Christ died for you, God loves you, would you like to be baptised?” And the three of them – they are little, but they understood to their level – they said: “Yes, we would like to have it”. And looking at their eyes, so serious but excited, I thought, “Yes, this is the thing God has prepared for them, not me to decide but for them to decide”.’

Barbara says the Glynde family was very excited about the baptism and that on the day in church were other young migrant mums who engage with Glynde ministries: ‘And as we all came back to our seats … the other two women turned around and looked at me and they said, “I need to have what they have”. God is amazing!

‘And that is so much what Glynde is about. We want everyone to have what Rika’s children received – to be part of God’s family – and so that is our prayer for everyone who comes here.’

BARBARA MATTISKE’S TIPS FOR WELCOMING THE STRANGER

Listen – not only with your ears

Smile – not only with your mouth

Remember names – it makes people feel special

Act – upon what you are told

Honour culture – don’t judge

Show hospitality – share a coffee or meal

Be careful with language – many don’t understand church talk

Pray – for those you meet

Enjoy – you will be blessed

320

Conferences support mission

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The LCANZ’s New Horizons local mission conference program is heading to Sydney next month. This follows a successful 2021 launch at which more than 50 people attended a two-day workshop in Adelaide.

Co-hosted by the New and Renewing Churches and Cross-Cultural Ministry departments, the conferences are being staged across Australia and New Zealand, as the teams work together to engage with new arrivals and support congregations wanting to be more embracing of newcomers. The conferences aim to:

  • build capacity for meaningful cross-cultural engagement at the local (congregational) level, and
  • shape and support congregations and leaderships for multi-ethnic/cross-cultural mission and ministry.

The next event will be held on Saturday 29 May at St Paul’s Lutheran Church, Darlinghurst, under this year’s New Horizons theme of ‘Bridging cultures with the gospel’.

Craig Heidenreich, the LCANZ cross-cultural ministry facilitator, said the conferences were for anyone who ‘longs to see Jesus honoured in our society’.

‘Australia and New Zealand have always been nations of immigrants, but lately, those arriving are people from non-European backgrounds who have had less exposure to the gospel’, he said. ‘Forty years ago, around one in 20 members of the Australian population was of non-European heritage – now it is one in four. In a city like Sydney this would be an even higher percentage.

‘There is an increasing desire within the LCANZ church family to better engage with our changing society.

‘We believe this changing demographic is a good mission opportunity, as these newcomers are less “inoculated” against the gospel and are probably more receptive.’Craig and Pastor Nathan Hedt, the LCANZ’s New and Renewing Churches department manager, will speak at the Sydney conference. ‘We find there is tremendous joy as we move out into the Lord’s harvest field and we would love you to join us at the conference’, Pastor Nathan said. ‘Come with your enthusiasm, your experiences and questions.’

A New Horizons conference is also planned for Melbourne on 24 and 25 July 2021, with Brisbane, New Zealand and Perth events slated for 2022.

Registrations for the Sydney workshop on 29 May are open. For more information or to register for the Sydney conference, go to www.lca.org.au/new-horizons