As I’m sure you are aware, schools have gone through some drastic changes! They are open, but families have asked if they are able to keep their children at home. Therefore learning has moved online.
As a school chaplain, Stuart Brownscombe’s role seemed impossible. That is until the school principal asked him to continue his role in a special way.
by Suan Lee Campbell
It’s embarrassing for me to share this story but my colleagues think I should write it up because it shows the generosity of giving, which reflects Christ’s free gift on the cross. It also shows how difficult it can be to be a recipient of another’s generosity due to self-sufficiency and pride. This incident has taught me the timeliness of God when He interrupts my daily life to teach me a good lesson.
~ by Jenny Finnan
Bridie Fallon rose to her feet, joining the enthusiastic applause as 182 Power to Change missionaries gave a standing ovation for colleagues receiving awards for long term service in mission. Just two years into her own service, Bridie revelled in honouring missionaries for 40 and 45 years of helping fulfil the Great Commission. Her voice lifts as she remembers, “It was so amazing to stand up with everyone and celebrate those missionaries who have been in ministry for such a long time, and who have impacted so many people for Jesus”.
This celebration was the climax of ConneXion, Power to Change’s missionary conference. ConneXion gathers the organisation’s gospel workers and their families from around Australia every second January for a week of Bible teaching, leadership development, worship, and refreshment in Jesus.
- by Liz Folland, Missionary, Sydney
One of my favorite hymns is Away in a Manger...
“Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
the little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head.
The stars in the sky look down where He lay, the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.”
Those words paint such a picture for me of that first Christmas. In a bed borrowed from cattle and sheep, lit by the borrowed light of a starry night, with a family resting in a cave borrowed from an innkeeper or shepherds; the Saviour of the world was born.
What a humble, simple beginning for anyone, but especially for a king.
A new study of student wellbeing at Sydney University carried out by McCrindle Research highlights the positive impacts that faith groups are having in the lives of students on campus.
Dominic Steele speaks with Rowan Kemp from the Sydney University Evangelical Union and Geoffrey Folland from Power to Change USYD about the impact of the gospel on campus life. McCrindle research has recently found that students who belong to faith groups will rate their experiences in those groups much more highly than their experiences at university generally.
You see, I’m not really much of an evangelist but I am convinced that Jesus wants us to share His truth with those who don’t know Him. Of course we believe that deep down everyone has a deep hunger for God, and the spiritual, and sometimes we see this expressed in a multitude of ways. The problem is that if I walked up to my work colleague or neighbour and asked if I could share the message of Jesus with them, I’m afraid the door would slam shut so quickly that I’d have to jump out of the way and just be left with a bruised ego. There goes that relationship now that the cat’s out of the bag as we will now live in a state of perpetual awkward hello's and quiet gossip to others to watch out for the Christian weirdo. We’re a nation of battlers but seriously I sometimes feel like quitting.
There was a collective murmur as one of the international graduates, Jenna, got up in front of a large crowd at the Power to Change Queensland 40th anniversary celebration. Melody, a Chinese graduate, had just shared how she became a Christian soon after she arrived in Australia and then had the privilege of leading Fiona to Christ. Fiona then shared, via a video from China, how she had led Jenna to Christ.
John Altman is a lawyer, an ordained Anglican minister and a donor of Power to Change. In God’s eyes, any job or giving is good when He takes you on a journey of generous giving.
While he was studying arts and law at Melbourne University, two major life-changes happened. He met Kathy, the love of his life and then Jesus, the Lord of his life. Both John and Kathy gave their lives to Christ at university.
As a law graduate, he found work in a large commercial law firm. John shared, “It was in the mid-80s, an era in the corporate culture where ‘greed is good.' I left after two years and worked for the State government in the Equal Opportunity Tribunal.” That was a better fit, but the Lord was stirring in his heart.
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