Just as the diocese of Sydney aims to increase the number of people in Bible-based churches in the next ten years, CMS is also aiming to dramatically increase the number of missionaries being sent out from Australia.
In 2001 CMS Australia asked members to pray for a doubling of missionaries in the next ten years. NSW General Secretary, the Rev John Menear, believes the fact that 12 new candidates from NSW will be training with CMS in 2003 is ‘a recognition of the immense opportunities God is placing before us’.
As Missionaries-in-Training, John and Michelle* will spend five months at St Andrew’s Hall in Melbourne before embarking on deputation, establishing relationships with the link churches that support them prayerfully and financially. They want to go to South Asia, where they hope to work with the largest unreached Muslim people group in the region. They aim to work with Christians from a Muslim background, training them for leadership in the local church.
While excited about the Diocese’s vision for Sydney, they want to encourage Australians to utilise the great resources here for mission into the rest of the world. “We need to take the rich blessings of Sydney out into the world,” said John.
Michelle agreed, saying, “In the country we are going to, less than one per cent of the population are Christians; it would be great to see even one per cent of people there become Christian. I would like to see more people moving into creative ministries in other countries as fruit of the Sydney Vision.”
Mary Jesuthasan and Liz Burns were short-term volunteers in Tanzania. They are also about to join other Missionaries-in-Training at St Andrew’s Hall, planning to return for the long term.
Liz worked in Kagera diocese as administrative assistant to the general secretary. She said, “I am going back to Tanzania because I am driven by how needy people are to hear God’s word, and I want to spend more time with them at the local level.”
University workers Grahame Smith, Rod Morris and Leon (surname deleted for security) led a popular session at this year’s Summer School entitled ‘Milking sacred cows: turning ministry obstacles into gospel opportunities’. They emphasised that while the principles of ministry remain constant, cross-cultural situations require adaptability and flexibility of goals and methods.
The session prompted an audience member to ask what sacred cows might exist in the Sydney evangelical church community. Rod Morris, who has been involved with student work in Spain and Belgium, replied, “Mission is happening but the field of mission is too narrow when seen as Sydney only. We must challenge people to look beyond the comfortable Sydney vision to look to the world.”
* Summer School also welcomed the news that Moore College graduates, Tim and Sally Swan and Michael and Jo Charles, plan to go to Chile with CMS to help train local pastors at the new Bible College, working alongside Cesar Guzman from the Diocese of Chile, who completed his MA at Moore College in 2002.
As a result of CMS’s policy to work in partnership with national churches to help them become self-sufficient, a number of ‘bursars’ are supported to undertake further theological study, either in Australia or in other locations.
In 2002 a new bursar, Pato Oyarzun, commenced study at Moore, and Bishop Tito Zavala from the Diocese of Chile also visited Sydney to spend time at the College, further strengthening links between the two dioceses.
*For security purposes their names have been changed
