On the Homefront (April - June 2013)

A TALE OF TWO CITIESJERUSALEM

The City David, Mount Zion or the city of our God, it is also known in the New Testament as the birthplace of the Church. This is where we as Pentecostal believers trace our roots as a church back to. Where Christ was crucified, resurrected and ascended to heaven from, and where on that Pentecostal morning, the Holy Ghost was poured out, with the message of salvation being preached in Jerusalem.

Certainly, the events in this city warrants our attention and subsequently stirs our imagination when we consider them. The church in Jerusalem was promised POWER in Acts 1:8. The Holy Ghost

was given primarily to empower an expansive evangelism effort that would impact their city and region (Judea) and then quickly expand to include a cross-cultural witness (Samaria) and – ultimately – a global presence. However, the narrative contained between Acts 1:8 and Acts 6:7 covers a period of about ten years. During this time, the Jerusalem church was blessed with divine visitation, miracles of healing and holy boldness – and they grew in spite of persecution, opposition, and even internal disputes. Their growth rate is impressive by any standard – 3000 people in Acts 2:41, 5000 men in Acts 4:4, multitudes of men and }

April – June 2013 From our home missionaries .

Page 3 – Gympie Report Br & Sis Allan

Page 4 – Ballarat Report Br & Sis Butcher

Page 6 – Northern Light - Darwin Br & Sis Namakadre

Page 7 – Red Dust Home Missions Central Australia

Br & Sis Meijer

Page 10 – Gold Coast Report Br & Sis Caltabiano

Page 11 – Bundaberg Report Br Tuchyna

On The Homefront | 2 | April - June 2013

Australian Home Missions Committee Director. Rev. Stanley Harvey (Campsie)

Treasurer. Rev.Cameron Butcher (Ballarat)

Resources. Rev.Bill Morris (Shellharbour)

Member. Rev. Peta Marks (Adelaide)

TS Member. Rev. Jeffrey Ses (Murray Island)

There is no record in the early part of the book of Acts where the Church fulfilled the commands of Christ to “go ye into all the world and preach the gospel unto every creature.” Mark 16:15 and “Ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”Acts 1:8 The Church remained in Jerusalem, that is, until we get to the martyrdom of Stephen in Acts 7. His death signaled the intense persecution that came upon the Church and it had the immediate reaction of dispersing the Believers beyond the borders of the ancient city. In fact as things grew worse in Jerusalem, great things were beginning to happen in Judaea and Samaria. Effectively, in one swift act of persecution, God had forced obedience on his Church and mobilized them for world evangelism. Stephen’s death probably resulted in more obedience to the Great Commission than any other single event in the history of the early church, and was even a major factor in the conversion of Paul.

The message in these events are daunting and fearful; for God is not primarily committed to successful ministries or great churches. He is committed to the Great Commission. Therefore if we will not GO, God has only two alternatives to move us from our “Jerusalem Comfort zone”: Persecution or Substitution

He will either drive us out through pain or He will select someone else who is willing to go.

It was not that the Jerusalem Church did not love the great Commission but their scope and vision was limited to their city and to the Jews only. God’s vision was global.

ANTIOCH

So, God used persecution first (with some results) and then substitution when they continued to resist. Here is the firsthand account:

Acts 11:19-21 Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.

Antioch was a predominantly Gentile city, and it is inconceivable that the Christians who ended up preaching there should ignore all but a miniscule minority of Jews, assuming that they were the only ones God wanted to save. But that is exactly what they did, because their vision was limited only to the religious culture they already identified with. Thank God there was a second group (from Cyprus and Cyrene, not Jerusalem) that followed the will of God and targeted their efforts to reach the Greek majority of Antioch’s population – and the hand of the Lord was with them!

This was a moment of destiny, when the church at Antioch was born. It was not just a few transplants from the Jerusalem Jewish subculture, but some sinfully irreverent, biblically illiterate Gentiles who came to know God. This moment is why the Apostolics would soon be known as those who “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6) in the first century; this moment is why there is a church at all in the twenty-first century.

Jerusalem was still heavily restricted by their misconceptions and certain levels of traditionalism. This is why they never got to send out our history’s greatest missionary; the Apostle Paul because they were fearful of his reputation as a head persecutor of Christians. Instead that honour fell to the Antioch church because they had a missionary spirit.

The Jerusalem church was richly blessed and doctrinally sound, but God still turned His attention to Antioch because Jerusalem would not embrace His command to witness to the world. Jerusalem held on to their resources and blessings, but Antioch accepted that God had the right to demand of them anything or anyone He wanted to use. They also accepted that the Great Commission was at the very TOP of the Lord’s priority list.

Today, Great Commission churches continue to defy the status quo. No matter what they achieve they never feel like they have arrived, because there is always one more soul just beyond their borders that needs to hear about Jesus Christ.

There are really only two New Testament church models, the Jerusalem Church and the Antioch Church. We have to be one or the other – and the choice is ours. The Antioch church was full of risk-takers, change-agents, and radical revivalists. They reached for everyone and anyone. In these final hours, we must emulate this spirit.

women in Acts 5:14, and even a great company of Jewish priests in Acts 6:7.

But notice what it says in that verse of scripture; “And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.”

While it may seem incidental, yet what is revealed in the text is profound in that it highlights the fact that all these great events in the church all took place within the confines of the city of Jerusalem. It is wonderful that so many miracles occurred and souls saved through the Jerusalem Church but it begs the enormous question of: “What about the 99.9% of people in the world of their day who did not live in that city?” What about the other cultures that God told them specifically to reach?


would be a waste of time witnessing to Jehovah Witnesses, but these two ladies are God’s creation and they need to know the truth as “the truth will make them free”.

We held a special meeting over Easter and had a family BBQ with a few people attending in our house which was a great time. We have a few plans for more outreach and are currently preparing to start this soon.

Every opportunity we get we share God’s Word and keep sowing the seed of God hoping that someone will accept his truths and commit to his ways as there is no other way but in Jesus.

We would like to thank Brother Stan and Home Missions for the support we receive each month to pay for the hall hire. This assistance continues to help the church to grow and to be a light house for the people of Gympie.

Thanks Again,

May the Lord Bless You,

Brother Mark & Sister Laura

GYMPIE REPORTSince we have returned from the Conference this year Gympie has been impacted by two floods. Many people had been affected by these floods, however we have been spared any damage we were just isolated for a couple of days but thanks be to God.

We’ve held our normal services weekly and continue to enjoyed the blessing of the Lords Presence during each service. This year we decided to change our

advertising and created a logo for the church hoping to give more exposure for the church in the community. With this we have a new church sign which I have included in the report. As well we have handed out some flyers hoping to create some interests.

Sister Laura has had 2 young Jehovah Witness girls come around every Friday for over a month now and with her witnessing and discussion in the word of God it has created in these girls to look further in their belief. Some may say this


BALLARAT REPORTPraise the Lord everyone! What a joy to be a part of His family, His kingdom.

Psa 95:3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

Thank you for praying for Home Missions and supporting the work of the Lord all across this wonderful country in these latter days.

We had a fantastic start to 2013. A sister who Sis Lynn Jones baptised in Jesus’ name two years ago was gloriously filled with the HG at conference in Queanbeyan. Since returning home she has been faithful every week, engaged, hands on and actively witnessing to family and friends. It is beautiful to see her loving living for Jesus and growing daily in His ways.

January also saw us blessed with the arrival of the Havran family who transferred to Ballarat from Caroline Springs. They have been a tremendous blessing to the church and to us personally.

We are constantly blessed with new faces almost every week at Sunday School and Youth thanks to Sis Lynn’s outreaching efforts and we are doing all we can to show them there is a new and living way, freely available to all. Truly it is written “… lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.”

God is doing great things and we cannot wait for what He has in store next.

Allow us to give you a brief overview of what has been happening in Ballarat since returning from Conference in January.

FEBRUARY

l We had the opportunity to minister in Werribee for Sis Jenkins & the saints;

l Attended the Caroline Springs church dedication; and

l Attended a wonderful Ministers and Leaders seminar with our Presbyter Br Simon Butcher ministering.

In February we enjoyed our peak mid-week meeting attendance with 4

families (16 souls) present and, while this may sound insignificant, at the end of the evening I overheard one of the children say “Bye everyone!”

As a home missionary, hearing that one little valediction to a group of people, my soul rejoiced!

MARCH

l The youth held their inaugural Ballarat UPC Youth Fishing Competition. It was a great day but the fish swam on to grow bigger until next time!

l We extended our regular Missions Sunday to last for the entire month to send all offerings to assist Br & Sis Tuchyna and the beautiful church in Bundaberg following the floods; and


l We were blessed with visiting ministry from one of the UPCA’s newest licenced ministers as Sis Lalitha Hogben preached for us. She and her husband Br Daniel blessed us with their fellowship and priceless ministry.

God is moving and we never take it for granted but let me share one beautiful experience with you. As we worshipped Jesus in one of our morning services in March I was tremendously inspired.

One of our sisters is restricted to a wheel chair but as the praise and worship ascended, the Holy Ghost moved powerfully in our midst. Our precious sister called for some assistance, put the brakes on her chair and stood to her feet, lifting up holy hands and worshipping Jesus as His

spirit gloriously washed over her soul.

Psa 145:3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

APRIL

In April we hope to bring you a glowing report of what God has done for our young people at the National Youth Camp in NSW, how God moved as we were privileged to minister in Shellharbour with Br & Sis Morris & the saints over the Easter weekend and how Home Missions has blessed us with new heating in the Ballarat sanctuary just in time for Winter.

Heating is something of a foreign concept for people like me who have spent most of their lives north of the

Tweed River. We love the weather here, (Ballarat has only three months of the year where the average minimum temperature makes it into double figures) but it will be great to look back and remember when a shivering congregation is a memory.

Thank you all for your generous prayerful and financial support.

We are so grateful to be a small part of His great kingdom.

Your servants,

The Butcher Family

JOHN 14:18 “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”

TEN TARGET CITIESThere are ten cities that we are focusing on to plant churches;

Gladstone QLD Mooloolaba QLD Toowoomba QLD Armidale NSW Newcastle NSW Dubbo NSW Wagga Wagga VIC Mildura VIC Bunbury WA Launceston TAS

We are looking to Churches to appeal to the workers and leaders in their assemblies to take up the challenge of going into these new areas and we are praying for individuals to take the step of faith in doing the same.


NORTHERN LIGHT PENTECOSTAL CHURCH OF DARWINJAN / FEB / MARCH - REPORT

“GLORY!!!!! GLORY!!!! GLORY We give glory Lord, glory glory glory YOU are the mighty GOD....HE heals the sick, he raises the dead....”

We agree with the writer of that chorus for the beginning of the year up here in Darwin. There are some things in life that are just out of our control when GOD is involved.

After a great move of God at the conference and the way God speaks into our lives by elevating our faith into another level, we can only wish that it stays that way. But as we all know when the reality of faith hits in which is FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD, the wake up call creeps in that its not wishful thinking but it’s work...hard work which will activate our faith to gets things done and makes it a lot easier for GOD to adjust things around the church and in our individual lives.

Well January has come and gone and the above statement explains what that month has done in the church and our individual lives. This brings us to the month of February.

On February the 3rd marked the 5th year of the day we started the church up here with Sis Bellette. It’s amazing how far God has brought us through and through....to GOD be the Glory. We have a theme called TURN UP THE HEAT to mark our fifth anniversary. Due to a few adjustments we will be celebrating our anniversary later in April.

MARCH is of course a marching year for the womens ministry. We are definitely marching on to VICTORY. We have commenced our all night prayer meeting every 2nd Friday, eventhough we can’t go on all night due to restricted hours from the council, but by faith i love to call it all night as an act of faith, even if there’s only 2 or 3 left. Just like the bible says Matt 18vs20..For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am i in the midst of them. My goal is to help the women to love to pray and know the power in prayer and that nothing can be accomplished without prayer.

Already we have seen results of what we have been praying about and we are looking forward to see more because we know that we are praying and talking and communing to a GOD that answers prayers.

Last but not the least our baby pot plant that we got from the Home Mission Promotion couldn’t stand the heat up here in Darwin, so any suggestions??

What a blessing to know that we are not alone and we have a big huge family of GOD that looks after its own.

We appreciate everyone that donate to the work of the Lord and everyone that take their time to pray and intercede for the lost in our beautiful land of AUSTRALIA.

Labourers together with Christ,

Bill & Arieta Namakadre


RED DUST HOME MISSIONSMARCH 2013

THURSDAY 14TH MARCH JESUS PROVIDED THE ANGEL!

We arrived in Alice Springs only to find the battery in the truck too flat to start the engine. Within ten minutes the Lord had sent an angel named Paul, with wife and children, who stopped, helped, and we were on our way!

We enjoyed service together with the Alice Springs saints.

FRIDAY 15TH JESUS DRAWS THE HUNGRY HEART!

Collected our equipment from the caravan, then went over the truck, checking belts, water, oil etc. and especially the battery.

We visited an atheist lady we had met in the bush. During our time together we shared Jesus, finishing with prayer for her, and a planned meal on our return.

Another opportunity. God is great!

SATURDAY 16TH JESUS IS STILL RESTORING BROKEN LIVES!

Leaving Alice behind we drove towards Nyirrpi, stopping to help a family. They had a flat with no spare 150km out of Alice!

In Yuendumu, we caught up with several of the saints and bro Langdon. He had been preaching in Willowra where there had been a move of God with people requesting baptism.

On the way to Nyirrpi, we had a flat tire, and the rear wheel needed replacing. Back on the road, an oncoming 4WD stopped us. It was sis Valerie, bro Mosquito, and grandson Herman driving. They were on their way to Yuendumu for a special meeting.Two more cars pulled up with pastors Micah and Patrick. Pastor Patrick wanted to follow the Spirit and share the move of God with the Yuendumu mob but pastor Jimmy thought that the service was to be in Nyirrpi, obviously the picture had changed.

Brother Micah asked us to join them, but we had no booked accommodation for Yuendumu. They then went east and we went west.

SUNDAY 17TH

The day was very hot and quite debilitating so Sunday School did not happen. In the evening, bro Lance and bro Simon, Micah’s brother, emerged and led service, and sister Meijer and I ministered the Word!

The Spirit of the Lord moved, and several came out for prayer and were touched!

MONDAY 18TH THE FIRST COMMUNION FOR A LONG TIME

Pastor Micah returned. In the service that night, we had communion. It was wonderful, a lovely strong Presence of the Lord and many folk entreating Him.

There were 30 adults and many children.

TUESDAY 19TH MIRACULOUS ACCOMMODATION IN YUENDUMU!

The day began with teaching a sister on the sign of the infilling of the Holy Ghost. Sis Carla caught up with some of the sisters and pastor Micah. One sister had recently returned to God. She had been baptized by bro Henwood as a 14 year old.

Sis Meijer taught on the ‘Three little Pigs’, Repentance, Baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost, these elements all together making a strong house!

We travelled to Yuendumu, where a Territory Housing friend suggested we go to Government accommodation. We had tried to book from NSW but there had been officially ‘No room at the inn’. The Lord intervened; there was a cancellation but only for one night!

There we met an AOG ‘island girl’ from Bamaga. She works for the Shire }


and had only come to Yuendumu the previous Sunday. She welcomed us to stay at her a house until the next Sunday as we had planned!

The next night Pastor Patrick (Yuelamu) told us that he was going to the Weipa Rally on the Monday. So we reorganized to remain in Yuendumu.

Our hostess invited us to stay at her house whenever we are in Yuendumu! Praise God! Accommodation in Yuendumu is extremely difficult to obtain.

WEDNESDAY 20TH WARRING CAMPS BEGIN TO RECONCILE AND APOLOGISE

The next day was catching up with pastor Jimmy Langdon. He is now able to hold service in south camp without death threats. Reconciliation had recently taken place when many south campers came to apologise to him.

But not this night! After he had set up, he had to move again to outside his house and set up again since he had no key for electricity at south camp.

We finally had service around 8:30 pm, with about five saints in attendance.

THURSDAY 21ST

We had arranged to hold service in Yuelamu that night, so we travelled there with our landlady and the Lord ministered on Brokenness!

There was a strong presence of the Lord with many seeking God at the altar.

FRIDAY 22ND THE LORD RESTORES WILLING WORKERS!

I caught up with bro Otto Simms, one of the 5 who had originally been chosen by bro Henwood to minister. We discussed his return to the Lord. He lives in Yuendumu. He is happy to do anything to help bro Jimmy and the work.

We spoke of many things including tithes, and then taught rudimentary account keeping lessons!

Later that evening, we had service which went until 11:00 p.m.

SATURDAY 23RD

Bro Patrick and sis Glorine visited family in Yuendumu so we met under sis Nola’s tree for about three hours before their return to Yuelamu.

That afternoon /evening we made copies of study DVDs for Brother Otto.

Sis Rosina surrounded by a proud family as she receives a worker’s certificate.

SIS SHONELLE, MOTHER, FATHER AND DAUGHTER

AT A GLANCEl ONENESS STUDY

SUCCESSFULLY RECORDED

l DESERT SHIRE DONATES MONEY TO YUELAMU CHURCH AND IS CONNECTING WATER TO THE CHURCH!

l YUENDUMU HAS APPROVAL AND LAND TO BUILD CHURCH BUILDING!

l AND IS WAITING ON A COMMUNITY GRANT FOR MOST OF THE ACTUAL BUILDING!


SUNDAY 24TH VISITOR WHO WAS HEALED THROUGH PRAYER TURNS UP AT SERVICE

Very early Sunday morning we travelled to Yuelamu and set up for Sunday School. In spite of ‘mobs’ of flies and strong heat, children appreciated their ‘burials’ and ‘resurrections’.

That afternoon we had the exclusive use of the GBM, air-conditioned and all, and helped bro Patrick and sis Glorine with finances and record keeping.

Sis Meijer ministered that evening, with hungry hearts coming out for prayer. We handed out Christian worker’s certificates to the two ladies going to Youth camp.

Sister Shonelle’s father, a grader driver had had a heart attack whilst changing a wheel on the grader. The wheel had fallen on top of him and he finished up in hospital. This man had been very anti oneness Pentecost, but in hospital none of his church members visited him only two oneness Pentecostals who came to pray for him! He was touched by the demonstration of the love of God, and has changed his attitude!

Other visitors came out for prayer, having received the word. We then drove home to Yuendumu.

MONDAY 25TH TRANSLATION OF THE ONENESS STUDY BROUGHT TO COMPLETION…WELL, ALMOST

I had been hounding Bro Jimmy to complete the translation for the Oneness study built on John 14. Due to a lot of problems, it has taken five months.

He had finally sat down with one of the sisters and translated what he thought was the last three pages!

TUESDAY 26TH JESUS PROVIDES A PLACE TO RECORD THE ONENESS STUDY

Scheduled to start recording the John 14 Oneness Bible study, Warlpiri Media kindly allowed us to use their facility until 11:00 a.m. but strangely we overran until 1:15 p.m. There are still four pages to be translated.

There is much opposition as we try to set up a communion service for the

Yuendumu church. However, Warlpiri Media now PAW, has requested copies of our bilingual studies for use for personal viewing, as well as for transmission on the local Warlpiri TV network!

We are praising the Lord. Again the door is open to record there in the morning, free of charge!

This evening a tired sis Ormay and bro Otto have translated the final four pages of the study. Our God is great. As bro Otto got involved, he became very excited.

He was enjoying the lesson on how God was manifested in the flesh so much, that he now wants to go to Papanya, to share these lessons with family!

WEDNESDAY 27TH JESUS TOUCHES THE SHIRE MANAGER’S HEART!

I called in on the Shire office to finally address a debt. The Home Missions department had hired a frontend loader for the Yuelamu church floor. Although I had tried many times to contact the manager, we had continually ‘missed’ each other.

Two years before she was responsible for equipment, now she was the Shire manager! She told me that the debt had not been written off, but was

converted to a contribution to the church in Yuelamu! So praise the Lord, $720.00 dollars saved for other things!

We arrived safely in Alice Springs, at about 7:45 p.m. after an approximate1100 km round trip.

FRIDAY 29TH

This is Youth Camp weekend. The Australian youth have fundraised to send two indigenous young people to camp. This is the first time that Central Desert youth are involved in Youth camp.

We had arranged to pick up sis Rosina at 9:30 a.m. at Sammy’s Pizza but no sister. Waited forty minutes, I had to pick up sis Meijer. She insisted we have another look, still no sis Rosina. We drove to the airport, and there were our two sisters waiting for us…..they had changed their plans.

In Sydney, bro Ben Finn kindly transported the girls to the camp.

We have heard since that they had a wonderful time and that sis Shonelle had a strong refilling of the Holy Ghost!

Thank you for your ongoing prayers and care.

The harvest is surely white and your support is greatly needed.

Brother Frank Meijer

Two excited sisters leaving for camp


GOLD COAST REPORTIt’s been over a year since my wife and I have relocated to Pastor the Gold Coast church. God has been faithful throughout it all! I’d like to highlight some events that have taken place over the last several months.

In September of 2012 we officially changed our church name from THECITY to Gracepoint Pentecostal Church. Our mission is to see God’s grace active in the lives of His people and in the local community. “…but where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.” (Romans 5:20). Since then we also have a website (www.gracepointchurch.org.au) and Facebook page up and running, which keeps people informed of upcoming events.

On February 9 2013, Gracepoint Church held their first FREE Community Day Event! It was a mammoth event to organise and was an expense to the church, but through prayer, fasting and the grace of God, it was a huge success! We advertised in the local community newsletter, on the radio, did letterbox drops in the local areas, put up posters on Community noticeboards, schools and shops, advertised on our website and on Facebook. Every area of advertising paid off. God used the local community businesses to donate and sponsor us. Bottles of water, sausages, bread, prizes, giveaways and vouchers were all donated in support of the event. On the day, all of the church members wore the Gracepoint T-Shirts and caps. We had 2 jumping castles, a horizontal bungee, face painting, pony rides, piñatas, a sausage sizzle, snow cones, bottles of water, prizes and giveaways all for free. Although it was raining heavily for weeks before and after the event and even on the morning of the event, we enjoyed perfect weather throughout the whole day! Over 200 people attended the Community Day over the course of the day and from this event two new families have been added to the church, Glory to God! The Community Day brought unity, joy and purpose amongst the church members and has given the local community an awareness of Gracepoint Church.

On the 9-10th March, Sis Jena Grech from Sydney ministered to the Gracepoint Ladies and to the Church on Sunday. God moved in a mighty way, lives were changed and people moved deeper in the things of God.

At the end of March, 9 Gracepoint Youth travelled down to Kurrajong for the National Youth Camp. It was the first Youth Camp for 4 of our members and one was filled with the Holy Ghost at the Camp, Praise God!

Just recently, on the 13th and 14th of April, Pastor Mounir from Sydney ministered at Gracepoint Church. It was a powerful, anointed word and one soul was filled with the Holy Ghost! It’s exciting to see God move amongst His people!

We are thankful for all the support and prayers we receive from the UPC across the nation. Please continue to pray for Gracepoint Church for revival, wisdom and for God to draw souls to Him on the Gold Coast.


that one hall held by some church group will be available for sell.

We approached the owner and after several meetings and negotiation for a price we could afford, the Contract was signed. At that time we had just several dedicated and committed saints.

How the finances were obtained and the Contract extended a few times to secure finances is a miracle on its own.

We received the building as a gift and a blessing of the Lord, located in the city centre and across the road from a modern and large Hinkler shopping centre on the one of the most busy roads with excellent exposure.

The Christmas time and months following are known as the wet season in Queensland. There was a forecast for the formation of a few cyclones due to

BUNDABERG REPORTUNDER THE WINGS OF THE ALMIGHTY.

My wife and I responded to the call of God and a need presented by the Home Missions Department in the year 2000 to open up a new work in Bundaberg. For a long time, there was no a United Pentecostal Church between Townsville and Brisbane.

Mackay, Rockhampton and Bundaberg become target cities. The Lord Jesus led us to Bundaberg.

Our meetings were conducted in Industrial Estate with several AYM teams visiting us and blessing us by their ministry in the following years. The rent was high, over $ 700.00 per month and the support at the time very limited.

We relocated to a one of the public school’s library. Later on the Queensland State Government introduced Policy that no church services will be held in the public schools. Due to the shortage of suitable venues available on regular basis for Sundays the Bundaberg saints were facing a challenge.

To the end of the year 2004, a prophecy came forth that the Lord will provide for us a permanent place of worship.

Just before Christmas 2004 we hears

the high temperature and humidity.

We experienced very heavy rainfall with excess of 400 mm in January 2013 in all catchment area containing 33,000 km2 feeding into Burnett river, which flow through Bundaberg.

The combination of extremely widespread heavy rain and king tide at the same time, caused the water level rise and backflow through the causeways and channels into the lower parts of the city and suburbs.

Over three thousand buildings and houses were damaged and many houses closed to the riverbank were swept away into the ocean never to be seen again. The river was flowing up to 80 km per hour.

Our church building was filled with water and entire interior with walls linings needed to be stripped down.

Our Insurance company covered only 10% of the entire value of the building, which came to

$32,500 reimbursement. The quote to repair the damage was over $ 125,000.

In the year 2010/2011 there was “one in 100 years event” and some low parts of Bundaberg were flooded. Many Insurance companies refused to cover for the water flood. Some were asking annual premium over $10,000. }

On The Homefront | 12 | April - June 2013 Graphic Design by Marcelo Canizares © 2013.

Australian Home Missions United Pentecostal Church of AustraliaDirector. Rev. Stanley HarveyPO Box 12 Belmore NSW 2192Phone. (02) 9718 8086 Fax. (02) 9718 2679 [email protected]

Australian Home Missions Purpose Statement.

VISION: Every Church in Australia involved in planting new Churches.

MISSION STATEMENT: Is to inspire and equip every UPC church in Australia to win and disciple the unsaved through planting new works in unreached areas and significant population centres.

GOAL: Every existing Church to start one new Daughter Work by 2018.

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT AND PRAYERS FOR OUR HOME MISSIONS WORKS AND FOR AUSTRALIA.

Donate to the Australian Home Missions.

ACC Name: Australian Home Missions UPC ACC No: 1008 7203 BSB No: 06 4170 PO Box 739 Ballarat, VIC 3353

Please ensure that any donations are submitted through your local assembly.

/australianhomemissions

my home, my mission...

We know that the Lord never makes a mistake. Before we purchased the property, the Lord knew what was ahead of us.

Amazingly, nobody who owns the house except of one family, sustained damage to our personal property. The Lord allowed His own house to be damaged and is taking note who will come and offer the hand and provision to rebuild it.

We experienced a pain to see some souls who were not yet well established leaving us when we were not able to have services in our own and every hand was needed to help.

There are moments in our personal lives and the life of the assembly when the real motive of our attendance is tested.

We are grateful to the dedicated and committed saints who extended themselves and spent countless hours cleaning, washing and removing debris and items from the building and preparing it for the renovation.

We are tremendously grateful for rapid response from the National Men’s Ministries department led by Brother David Kent, who sent seven men who helped us to strip the interior walls. It was absolutely invaluable help we could not manage on our own.

We are working on the interior walls, which are almost done and we hope that by the end of June, we would be able to go back into the building.

There are large items like the air conditioning system (building does not have windows, carpet, chairs, toilet blocks and so on still in the need of fixing.

Yet, in spite of the past experience we have a tremendous joy and we know that the Lord is preparing us for the greatest revival Bundaberg ever experienced.

We know that the Lord will perform miracle in a situation, which is beyond our human abilities as He already does.

God never makes a mistake and He declared that He will build the church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church of living God.

We are blessed that the Lord invited us to be His co labourers in the field with many lost souls yet to be reached with the Gospel message. Therefore we do not allow even this physical experience to derail us from the real focus and the purpose of our lives and ministry.

We heard that many churches and individuals are making sacrificial offerings of love to help us in rebuilding the house of the Lord.

We are humbled by your love and interest in us. May the Lord Jesus continue pour out His blessings upon your lives and ministry.

Peter Tuchyna

PLEASE HELP US REBUILD THE CHURCH IN BUNDABERG THROUGH YOUR GENEROUS DONATIONS BY SENDING IT TO HOME MISSIONS USING THE ACCOUNT DETAILS TO THE RIGHT OR BY MAIL.

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On the Homefront (April - June 2013)