Focus: Australia MAY 2014 Campus Crusade for Christ Australia Our Story Our mission organisation began on Anzac Day in 1967, when Rev. Geoff Fletcher started the Lay Institute for Evangelism in Australia. Throughout the 1970 s, thousands of Australians were trained in personal evangelism and how to live in the power of the Holy Spirit. Student Life, the university arm of CCCA, began in 1974. In 1980, Explo 80 in Brisbane trained 10,000 delegates in Great Commission ministry. Explo grew in momentum over the next few years. The organisation changed its name to LIFE Ministries in the same year. Earl Roberts, National Director at the time, worked with more than 1,500 churches to distribute approximately 1.3 million specially printed New Testaments to homes. The JESUS: Gift to the Nation video project was launched in 1997 and continued through 1999. Churches distributed 273,243 videos to homes, which was 4.6% of the national total. In 1999 under the National Directorship of Bill Hodgson, the organisation changed its name to Campus Crusade for Christ Australia (CCCA) aligning us globally with CCCI. In preceding years our mission centre moved several times due to rental Continued on Page 2
leases ending. In 2004, our mission centre burnt down when an office above us caught on fire. Yet God faithfully provided, and in 2005 we purchased our first Student Life premises in Toowoomba, Queensland and later in 2008, our first Mission Centre in Mulgrave, Victoria. Since then we have had a secure home base to reach out nationally and globally. This year we are 47 years old and have almost 150 full-time missionaries plus another 100 associates and volunteers. Cultural and Spiritual Landscape of Australia Australians speak more than 200 languages, including many by indigenous Australians. The most commonly spoken languages after English are Italian, Greek, Cantonese, Arabic, Vietnamese and Mandarin. Currently, it has been estimated that over 60% of Australians do not know another Christian. In university settings, only 10% of student contacts are interested in exploring spiritual topics with us. But with our music ministry to schools, this figure is 30%. Our society is tolerant of all religions. Although 64% of Australians identify themselves as Christian, only 8.8% attend church. Post-modern Australia is cynical and hardened against Christianity. CCCA is all the more determined to be on the cutting edge of effectiveness in Glossary CCCA Campus Crusade for Christ Australia GCM Global Church Movements NLT National Leadership Team SLM Student-led Movements demonstrating that God loves Australians and the many cultures in Australia. We want to present the gospel and see movements develop in many spheres of our culture. Our Vision To see spiritual movements everywhere, so that everyone knows someone who truly follows Jesus. Our Mission Launching spiritual movements by winning, building and sending Christ-centred multiplying disciples. Contact CCCA: Unit 1 8 Anzed Court, Mulgrave, VIC 3170 Australia Phone: +61 03 9014 7584 www.ccca.org.au Thursday, 1 May Pray for a week (12th-16th) of fellowship, training and encouragement for all first and second year staff; may God inspire, equip and grow community. Friday, 2 May Pray that Australian families would be reached for the gospel and that Aussie couples would find a true love that lasts in Jesus Christ. Saturday, 3 May Pray for protection over our workers and chaplains as they represent Christ in state schools; may they be brave to share but gentle in this environment. Sunday, 4 May Pray for students from campuses throughout Australia to attend our Mid-Year Conferences. Ask the Lord to raise up full-time missionaries while there. 2
National Leadership Team The National Leadership Team in CCCA is in transition. We are grateful to Bill and Faye Hodgson who have led the organisation for fourteen years. They handed the National Directorship to Allan Gibson in October 2013. Since then, several up-and-coming field ministry leaders have joined the team, which now totals eight. Our main ministry foci are: Schools University Global Church Movements Families Life saving chaplaincy in surf clubs Global Aid International Network (GAiN) This poem describes the geographical and, in many ways, the spirit and spiritual landscape of Australia. My Country (excerpt of a poem by Dorothea Mackellar) I love a sunburnt country, A land of sweeping plains, Of ragged mountain ranges, Of droughts and flooding rains. I love her far horizons, I love her jewel-sea, Her beauty and her terror The wide brown land for me! Core of my heart, my country! Land of the rainbow gold, For flood and fire and famine She pays us back threefold. Over the thirsty paddocks, Watch, after many days, The filmy veil of greenness That thickens as we gaze Monday, 5 May Creative Arts Ministries (CRAM) is active in schools where we have the opportunity to regularly share the gospel story. Please pray for more staff. Tuesday, 6 May Pray for God s favour with Surf Lifesaving Clubs to accept chaplains in their clubs, and churches to support potential chaplains from their congregations. Wednesday, 7 May Ask God to multiply student-led movements from 7 campuses to 35 in New South Wales and grow to reach all 300,000 university students in our state. Thursday, 8 May Pray for God s provision and His enabling of workers teaching Scripture and providing chaplaincy in government schools as opposition rises. 3
Spiritual Pier Davina, a fourth-year Arts and Law student at Monash University, shares how prayer can overcome spiritual battle over geographical locations. Her story illustrates the power of prayer at one such place, a pier on the bay at Rye, Victoria. In November, a Student Life team of university students from Melbourne went on a Campus Crusade for Christ summer project at the popular holiday destination of Rye, for the purpose of outreach to schoolies. The youth culture of Schoolies Week is one where year 12 graduates go on holidays with friends for an end-of-school summer break. Rye has been one of the hot spots for schoolies to gather. The Schoolies celebration, however often includes alcohol and drug abuse, sometimes leading to violence and death. What usually begins as an exciting idea of freedom and partying for the youths can easily go wrong from the effects of alcohol, drugs, sickness or even loneliness. During this period, making decisions in life transitions, self-evaluation and reflection all become parts of the process. These colliding effects created an opportunity for Davina s summer project team to connect with schoolies for spiritual conversations. The team prayed for encounters to share the love of God with them. Davina said, There are high levels of anxiety among the schoolies about the future and we want(ed) them to know that Jesus is their source of hope and life. She said that on the very first afternoon at Rye, they had amazing spiritual conversations at the pier. She shared the gospel with a schoolie and prayed a prayer of salvation with her. As the project continued, the team observed that everyone who went to the Rye Pier at any time of day or night came back reporting successful spiritual encounters with people, from youths to old fishermen. The pier was then nicknamed the Spiritual Pier by the team! What they did not know was that several days before their arrival, Davina s mother Ramona, and her friend, had gone to Rye to pray specifically for the summer project. The women had asked God to lead them to specific places in Rye, claiming each location for Christ and praying it would be the site of many salvation decisions. Rye Pier was one such location. They felt particularly led to walk the whole length and pray Scripture over it. Ramona prayed for any powers of darkness, addictions and distractions to be bound in Jesus name and for the love of God to be loosed there. She asked that His angels would minister in that area. When the team found out that the two women had prayed on their behalf, they realised that God had answered the women s prayers in remarkable ways! The project team had a clear picture of His love and power made manifest through the prayers of His followers. 4
In Australia we are beginning to utilise an exciting and innovative form of outreach to the next generation of leaders in university. In the past, our main form has been walk-up evangelism, using a survey as the catalyst to a spiritual conversation. However, in our early research using short films, we have been excited to find up to four times as many students requesting follow up, to learn more about Christianity. This is a major increase over using surveys and has encouraged us to continue pursuing film as a means of evangelism. We are particularly interested in developing our capacity to make these films in Australia, so that we can ensure they are as culturally relevant and effective as possible. Our next short film project is underway, and we need your prayers and support. The Parting Gift is a fiveminute short film that illustrates God s relentless pursuit of humankind with His love. The Parting Gift is a five-minute short film that illustrates God s relentless pursuit of humankind with His love. Please pray that we are able to raise our total budget and that we successfully complete the film by the end of August this year! Also pray with us: For staying energy for Chris Bailey, who is the Head of Film Production and creator of The Parting Gift. For Campus Crusade for Christ Australia s ability and capacity to produce such films, because it represents an effective new direction in evangelistic outreach in Australia for our organisation. For funding and resources to accomplish this project. That 300 students would accept Christ by the end of 2015, because of the film and the work of our missionaries on university campuses! For more information about the film go to: www.wondergatefilms.com/films/the-parting-gift Friday, 9 May Pray for youth workers to have daily boldness to share the gospel among the student community in the state schools that they work in. Saturday, 10 May Pray that the Lord God Almighty would enable us to launch four new catalytic movements among students and faculty around Australia in 2014. Sunday, 11 May Pray for upcoming GAiN Medical Missions CAMBODIA: 24 May - 8 June; INDIA: 15-28 September; and MYANMAR: 3-15 November 2014. Monday, 12 May Pray for true SLM - student ownership, leadership and multiplication on university campuses. Pray for our staff as we coach students toward movements. 5
Tuesday, 13 May Pray for God s provision of qualified youth workers, especially for the window of 4-14 as the need grows; may there be ready responses! Wednesday, 14 May May the Lord sustain the financial support of all Victorian missionaries - that we would work hard in this area and that God would provide abundantly. Thursday, 15 May GAiN Australia urgently needs three full-time missionaries for the community development and support projects that are ready to be started now. Friday, 16 May Pray God to work mightily with many in new leadership roles in Australia, including a new National Director and six of eight Field Ministry Leaders. Saturday, 17 May Many of our teams are going through Building Powerful Ministry Teams training this year. Pray about implementing, growing together and seeing God work. Sunday, 18 May Pray for more workers in Queensland, sending a team to Townsville and by 2020 four Brisbane teams reaching mainstream and native language speakers. Monday, 19 May Pray for new staff, volunteers and financial resources to establish GCM as a new ministry partnering with Christian leaders to reach our non-church majority. Tuesday, 20 May May God richly grant His favour as we are able to experiment with digital strategies to help us to launch movements on more campuses. Wednesday, 21 May We desire God to draw many Aussies to Himself! Pray for determination, new strategies but also our many new workers to learn tried and true methods. Thursday, 22 May Pray as FamilyLife Australia makes changes in strategy and direction to more effectively reach families and develop resources to reach unchurched couples. 6
Friday, 23 May Australians are sports mad and love the beach; pray for many missional believers to become effective chaplains in the 330 Surf Clubs across Australia. Saturday, 24 May Pray for the HQ Team as we continue to refine processes and develop our teams and leadership, as we serve CCCA and seek to see movements built. Sunday, 25 May Pray wisdom for the CCCA Board Chair as the board differentiates its role from the NLTs. We are growing in understanding of our full responsibilities. Monday, 26 May Praise the Lord that Student Life has been able to launch catalytic movements in Canberra for the first time, in partnership with Mosaic Baptist Church. Tuesday, 27 May Praise God for our team of two missionaries and two students, who went to Perth for three weeks over Orientation Week - that the trip went so well. Wednesday, 28 May Praise God that our CCCA Headquarters Building continues to bless us as we train and equip current Field Ministry Leaders and new missionaries. Thursday, 29 May Medical Mission in the Philippines: Over 1,333 people accepted Christ as Saviour. Pray for fruitful follow-up by CCC Philippines and local churches. 7
Friday, 30 May Praise God that the university ministry is actively operating in four states and one territory, along with three international partnerships. Saturday, 31 May Pray for the development and funding of our film project, as it will be used to open spiritual conversations on universities across Australia. Called to a movement. Called to pray. Personal needs... Requests to share... Team needs... Answers to share... God works through the prayers of His people to ignite spiritual movements. As Spiritfilled disciples pray without ceasing, the Lord increases faith, causes growth and brings about fruitfulness to glorify Himself (John 15:1-17). Stories are the building blocks of all movements. The early church multiplied as the stories about Jesus spread everywhere. It continues to grow alongside stories of what He is doing now. The Global Prayer team invites you to: Share stories of God answering prayer. Please email a brief summary of the story to global.prayer@ccci.org and we will contact you before passing along your story. Keep current on a selection of Campus Crusade prayer needs. One part of the worldwide movement is highlighted in each issue of this prayer journal. To receive notifications every month, send your name and preferred email address to: global.prayer@ccci.org, subject line: Subscribe. Global Prayer Campus Crusade for Christ 100 Lake Hart Drive 2100 Orlando, FL 32832, USA On the web: GlobalPrayerMovement.org Email: global.prayer@ccci.org Phone: (407) 826-2006 Fax: (407) 826-2007 Editor: Dave Stedman, Global Prayer Design: Rick Tucker, PCG Media 8 Movements Prayer Journal 2014 Campus Crusade for Christ