Missions - Past, Present and Future

Missions has always been a strong value for our church community. From reaching out to local youth while occupying the CWA Hall on Little St, campaigns across Coffs Harbour in our very first bus and travelling to and assisting other Christian Outreach Centres across Australia to the birth of our long daycare in partnership with the church and annual trips to support fellow churches in Papua New Guinea, India, Singapore, Holland, Germany and the UK, the mission to reach and serve Australia and the world has always been significant, harkening to Christian Outreach Centre / International Network of Churches’ mission statement:

Australia for Christ

Throughout our changes as a network and the more recent challenges of local natural disasters and global pandemics, our heart for missions has not faltered; we still have a strong value for Australia for Christ, supporting and strengthening local churches around Australia through methods of training, education, consultation and oversight, with many of our pastors, leaders, and invested community members providing these means of support and care. We frequently partner with Global Care, INC’s outreach arm, to provide support to those who are experiencing hardship due to the effect of natural disasters and weather events, most recently in relation to the floods that plagued much of the east coast of Australia - all with the fundamental ideology being Mates Helping Mates. We also work alongside Red Frogs, an organisation born from INC that is dedicated to Safeguarding A Generation as they enter potentially hazardous environments - this includes providing support at local events, such as music festivals and sporting events, as well as running educational seminars in high schools and colleges to promote healthy and safe methods of engaging with the world around. We are excited to continue to partner with both Global Care and Red Frogs well into the future!

Of course, our heart for overseas missions hasn’t dwindled, either - we are in constant partnership with our extended Faith Family in Indonesia, the Bali Protestant Church. Pastor Rio, one of the amazing people who coordinate the efforts of the Bali Protestant Church, has been critical in helping the local congregation reach out and aid those in the community who have been hit hardest by the past few years with food, clothing, and other resources as needed.

Thanks to your faithfulness and generosity as a church, Faith Family has been able to provide more support to Bali by way of these three strategies, previously outlined in a past Issue of Legacy Magazine:

• Benevolent Fund - Money set aside for times of need for the community. As mentioned, the first project will be a retaining wall behind the Children’s Home in Bangli.

• Microloans for Businesses - An investment of $500 AUD into the entrepreneurs within the church community that, once returned, will go out again to fulfil the same purpose for another entrepreneurial business.

• Food Outreach - Food packages for local churches to outreach into their communities.

Some of our pastors, Phil Campbell, Matt Rees, and Rick Brewer have spent the past week in Bali, helping to prepare and initiate these strategies. Having recently returned home with an eagerness and excitement for what is to come in Indonesia, we wait prayerfully and optimistically to see what God will do through His people in Bali!

Missions will continue to be a strong and primary value of all that we do as a Faith Family, locally, throughout Australia and throughout the world. We are looking forward to our upcoming Missions Trip to Bali, currently scheduled for the later part of 2022 - if you would like to express your interest in joining us on this Missions Trip or would like to enquire about ways to support those who will be going, feel free to email legacy@faithfamily.com.au with any questions or comments!

(PS: Check out the Global Care and Red Frogs websites for more information about our partners in missions!)