22 September 2009

Church in Cairns expands

Cairns, Queensland
Melody Tan

The Cairns Seventh-day Adventist church has expanded significantly over the last two years thanks to the church's "strong evangelistic focus."

Established more than five years ago, the Edmonton Adventist church plant in the city's south officially became a church company on June 13, as a result of this dedication to evangelism. David Gilmore has been hired as a Bible worker, thanks to funds from the Adventist Church in the South Pacific's Centre for Church Planting and $A56,000 worth of pledges from Cairns Adventist church members.

The church also has plans to plant a church in the northern beaches area, and relocate Cairns Adventist Primary School to plant a new church there, all the while maintaining the church's current central presence.

According to Mark Wilson, evangelist and Personal Ministries leader of the the Adventist Church's Northern Australia Conference, there has been a pointed change in the Cairns Adventist church after Gary Webster, director of the Institute of Public Evangelism, ran an evangelistic series in the region in 2007 "which got the church excited."

"Both the primary school and church [where Cairns Adventist church currently meets] have outgrown themselves," says Pastor Wilson. "There is a major growth corridor in Cairns where they are expecting up to 60,000 people over the next 10 years, and we want to plant our school and a church there. We want to make it a major evangelistic cultural centre for Cairns."

Church members are currently "praying for small miracle" for their plans to eventuate due to the lack of funds.

In the meantime, Pastor Wilson says they will keep the "cycle of evangelism" going. The Edmonton church plant has just concluded an evangelistic series in September. Next year, Pastor Tony Kemo, president of the Adventist Church's Central Papua Mission (in Papua New Guinea), will be the main speaker at a program catering for Papua New Guineans living in Cairns. The church will also run an Adventist Youth Conference in May 2010 and are expecting some 400 delegates.

Church members celebrating the establishment of the Edmonton church company

"We're facing the last days and we need to get busy with evangelism and that's certainly my passion. I want to keep the church as busy as possible in a cycle of evangelism and soul reaping ," says Pastor Wilson. "There are so many people searching and if we just get out there, knock on their doors, run programs and invite people to hear the message, we're going to have wonderful results."

A team of Bible workers, which includes church members and elders, are currently giving Bible studies while young people from the church are doing religious surveys in the neighbourhood.

"I'm really excited about the number of church members that are getting involved in hand-to-hand ministry and evangelism, and sharing their faith," says Pastor Wilson. "It's a numbers game. You simply have to knock on enough doors. We're looking for people who are looking wistfully toward heaven."

And Pastor Wilson says the church is not even actively looking for those interested in having Bible studies, as "people are just coming."

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