Annual Report 2012 – compressed - York St Church of Christ

2012 Annual Report andOctober/November 2012Helping people meet Jesus, become like Him and be equipped to impact the local and global community

Contents...............4-5What is happening this month.........................................................................................................................6People News....................................................................................................................................................6...................................7........................8-9..........................10Brekky Club Report.......................................................................................................................................11Yorkie Kids Report.........................................................................................................................................12MOPS Report...........................................................................................................................................13-14Kids Hope Report.....................................................................................................................................15-16Kindergarten Report......................................................................................................................................17Music and Creative Ministries Report...........................................................................................................18Building Committee Report...........................................................................................................................19Ministry Support Report...........................................................................................................................20-22Ballarat Churches Eureka Carols Report.......................................................................................................23Overseas Missions Committee Report....................................................................................................24-29Missions Focus for November.................................................................................................................30-33Prime Time Report.........................................................................................................................................33Art and Craft Company Report......................................................................................................................34......34.....35Country Speakers Report..............................................................................................................................35Fearfully and Wonderfully Made Article...................................................................................................36-37Calendar for November.................................................................................................................................37Church Staff and Office Volunteers...............................................................................................................38Attendance and Tithing Summaries..............................................................................................................39Financial Summary........................................................................................................................................40APPENDIX 1Summary of Minutes of AGM 2011..........................................................................................................41-42Church Service Times and Contact Details...................................................................................................433

What is happening on Sundays?October & NovemberCongratulations to Simone and Andrew Berry on thesafe arrival of Tiarnah, born Saturday 13 th October. MayGod bless Simone, Andrew, Tyson and Tiarnah.Sunday 21 st OctoberTHEME: Not Losing What We Worked ForSPEAKER: Blake MooreBIBLE READING: 2 JohnYOUTH TAKE OVER VCE GRAUATION AT 6PMSERVICESunday 28 th OctoberTHEME: Unity in the Body of ChristSPEAKER: Don GallBIBLE READING: Ephesians 4:1-16Sunday 4 th NovemberCELEBRATION SUNDAYAGM at 1pmTHEME: Celebration SundaySPEAKER: Tim ClarkBIBLE READING: John 10:10 & Ephesians 1:15-23Sunday 11 th NovemberTHEME:SPEAKER: Tim ClarkBIBLE READING: Matthew 25:31-46Sunday 18 th NovemberTHEME:SPEAKER: Blake MooreBIBLE READING: Ezekiel 37:1-14Weddings in NovemberCongratulations to Andrew Brauman & Prue Whelanwho will be married on Saturday 17 th November and toRachael Walter & Anthony Clugston who will bemarried on Saturday 24 th November. Please be prayingfor these two couples and for their wedding days.Guys Like UsKeeping It TogetherMid-week breakfast for men in Ballarat2nd event - Wed Nov 7Come yourself or invite a non-church friendAt the BECS Shed, 730 Eureka St2 sessions: 6.15 and 7.15amSunday 25 th NovemberMISSION WEEKENDTHEME: Mission WeekendSPEAKER: Peter BartlettPEOPLE NEWSCongratulations to Dean Oliver who graduates fromThe Victoria Police Academy on 23 rd November.Our Aims To address issues relevant for men inBallarat today To provide an easy access to afriendly environment at a time thatsuits lots of men To take the opportunities to witness tomen as they arise, in a gentle wayRSVP Paul Harper 0430 16 22 94The Team: Christoff Muller; DaveHarmer; Trevor Clough; Dave Jollife;Geoff Barlow; Jon Withers6

Over the past 12 months we have seen some pretty exciting milestones reached. Of course, it is always excitingto see some of the tangibles such as attendance, building projects and various activities. What I think the eldersare really excited about however, (and I know I am) is the level of focus shown to discipleship and evangelism.There are always those moments when we feel like thewind has dropped and our sails hang seemingly withoutpurpose. We think of those in our congregation who havepassed away. We think of those who have movedinterstate and so forth. Yet, what continues to amaze usare the stories of individual lives touched by a living God atwork in our community.Tim Clark has continued to speak biblical truths into ourto become Christ-like in every walk of life and purpose, inmature and biblically relevant way.Blake has had atremendous focuson ensuringChristiandiscipleship is at thefront of our minds.My personal take onof this but I do know there are many troubled minds as weall go through this sometimes strange world together. Yet, Itruly believe Jesus wants us to claim spiritual victory in himright minds as we claim his forgiveness and victory overbrokenness.Areas in which we are also excited are Pastoral Care andMissions. The elders have spent many weeks discussingand organizing programs and policies to make sure we areable to sustain our congregation in a caring and organizedPastoral care is very good. We take note that Heather isquite at home to visit and call on those in need, as well asphone elders who have not attended church for sometimedue to being awayI’m constantly reminded that York Street Church is not just here tobe ‘good’ and to enjoy fellowship. We are called to bear witness to thetruth of the gospel and to speak this truth into both our own lives andthrough God’s grace, the lives of all we rub shoulders with.on extended leave!This is very excitingbecause we needboth an organizedapproach and acaring &understandingenjoy fellowship. We are called to bear witness to thetruth of the gospel and to speak this truth into both ourshoulders with. We are called to bear fruit to stand formercy, justice and a relationship with a risen Lord.We are not a holy club and while I believe York Street is aholy sanctuary where we can find refuge from darkness,our primary focus is on those we know, those we find andAs an eldership we are excited by the number ofspontaneous baptisms we saw earlier this year. We areexcited by the responses we have seen to prayer andworship evenings. We are excited by the number of folkthat come to share their lives after services and requestprayer and support for the struggles they are goingthrough. We are excited by the healing service we heldwhere we believe God truly touched individuals and healedthem.One story of Jesus that captures my heart is the story ofthe man, possessed by demons, which Jesus healed. AtRecently we have put together a Missions Policy that webelieve tailors a biblical approach to us at York Street andone which will take us well into the future, even if (Godwilling) we double in size.A final note and this is one of evaluation. We all endeavor toget an accurate evaluation of how healthy we are as aChurch. To do this is very subjective we know however,there are means to approach this as well as anyorganization. One means is to spend time with otherChurch leaders which some of us did earlier this year. TimClark, of course spent some time with these leaders in theUSA. Three elders spent some time in Sydney reviewingwhat was seen and how we best adopt these ideas locally.In addition, the elders have discussed and agreed on aprocess of evaluation for our Senior Minister. We believethis approach is essential for the health of our church butultimately I return to my earlier comment we must beabout discipleship and evangelism. Regardless of theprograms and vision we must remain in Him and look tomeaning.Tim VealChair of Elders7

INTRODUCTIONWhat a wonderful local church God has blessed us withhere at York St Church of Christ. Now at the completionof my 8 th year I am reminded of the privilege it is toserve in such a great church. 2012 has been a year ofmany highlights and also challenges. Some of thegreatest challenges this year has been in saying farewellto many key leaders and people as they have moved onto new opportunities and seasons. It seemed early on inthe year that we were farewelling people everyweekend! I must admit, it was exciting seeing peopletransition into new seasons of their lives, yet sad to seethem go nonetheless.SWITCH YOUTHWhat a fantastic bunch of young people we have hereat York St. We are blessed with youth who desire togrow in their relationship with Jesus and serve Hischurch. If there was one thing holding the youth ministryback it would be the need for more leaders who arealways on the lookout for quality people who desire toBlake or Ben if you think you could contribute to thisvital ministry.For six months of 2011-2012 in addition to my otherresponsibilities, whilst Angela Oliver was on MaternityLeave, I coordinated the Worship/Music Ministry whichincluded overseeing Order of Services, Rosters, liaisingwith Worship Leaders/Musicians. Unfortunately thismeant that less time was able to be directed into LifeGroups Ministry.2012 Highlights have been:Light It Up Youth CampWorking closely with Ben Dainton as StudentPastor Youth Baptisms of Sean Blight, Aaron Blight,Amy Leach, Matthew Donaldson, RhysShelmerdine, Jemma Goodwin, MaxineGoodwin and Lydia McKee SYG 2012 Chicks Nite In and the Lads Arvo groups Regional Youth Alive Ballarat Event 40 Hour Famine Weekend with over $4000raised 40 hour Famine flash mob in Bridge Mall Teen Sex Youth Focus during Term 3Youth Takeover Services and in particular theVCE graduation in OctoberImplementation of Vetamorphous under theleadership of Ben DaintonCRAVE Young AdultsElders MeetingsLife Group Sermon Based StudiesWorship LeadingPreaching8One of the great encouragements for me in 2012 hasbeen seeing the growth and leadership development ofBen Dainton in his role as Student Pastor. Ben hasdone a tremendous job this year in leading in manyaspects of the youth ministry. He is a faithful andswitched on young man of God and I believe is ready totake on a greater leadership role within youth ministryhere at York St.Thanks to our volunteer leaders who without we couldnot survive; Dean Oliver, Meg Bond, Alison Moore,Ash Barlow, Kerry Harper, Rhys Shelmerdine,Bigthanks tofor his faithful and committedleadership of the Youth Band and Rachael Walter forher assistance toJarrod. Thank youto all the parenthelpers who havecooked meals,providedtransport, orassisted at SYG.Thanks inparticular to ourSYG 2012 parentteam consisting of Paul and Kerry Harper, Jarrod, Carol Goodwin, Jonathan Withers and TrudiCuttler.

CRAVEYOUNG ADULTSOne of the sad losses this year was seeing Tim andEmily Drough move to Newcastle so Tim could take upa part-time role as Youth Pastor at Mayfield Church ofChrist. Tim and Emily over the past 18 months have ledthis ministry to young adults and did a great job overthis time. Some of the events have included Worshipand teaching nights and social events. We were thrilledto see five young adults get baptised this year includingAimee Heyhorn, Sarah Clarence, Laura Ryan,Matthew Johnson, Chantelle Ten Hoopen and AdamElliott CRAVE will have two more events for 2012 beinga worship/teaching gathering in October with PattiDainton as guest speaker and a Christmas party inDecember. We are praying for the right person orcouple to help coordinate and lead this importantministry to young adults into the future. Please speak tome if you feel God leading you.YORKIE LIFE GROUPSThe life groups here at York St will require morefocussed work and what I hope to be able to focusmore on in 2013. We have over 20 groups meeting inthe life of the church and most groups meet on aLifekeys facilitator training through October-December2012 and will be searching for people who would like tobe trained as facilitators as we prepare to launch twocourses in 2013 called Search For Life and ParentsWith Courage.these courses will be not only for hurting people in ourown church community but also people in the widercommunity who do not yet know Christ. These are indeedexciting times! Please speak to me if you believe Godmay be calling you into this significant ministry and to betrained as a facilitator.CLOSINGMinistry is always so much more enjoyable when done inteam ministry and I want to thank my dear ministrycolleagues over the past twelve months of Tim, Trace,Ben, Rob P, Angela, Chris and Collette. Thanks foryour support and putting up with me! Thanks also toKristin, Michelle, Maree, Val and Rob L for yoursupport and contributing to a really great workingenvironment. Much love to my awesome family Alison,studying books, traditional studies, to our Sermonbased studies which are available from the InformationDesk. Some of the new initiatives for 2013 are:Leadership Development & TrainingMore Leaders will mean more groups available andmore optionsService ProjectsOur life groups need to be seen as the major placewhere pastoral care, spiritual growth and Christiancommunity takes place and are seen as safe placeswhere people can grow and develop in their relationshipwith Christ. There may be differing opinions about whatlife groups or small groups are for, but for the record letme say that Yorkie Life Groups are all about buildingConnection, Care and Commitment. Connectingpeople to other Christians, seeing pastoral careadministered to each group member and seeing howthe Bible can intersect and relate to everyday life.Jonas, Ruby, Amos and Ezekiel whose support of mycrazy work hours and demands often goes beyond thecall! Thank you Jesus for allowing somebody like me theprivilege to serve your Kingdom and advance yourpurposes. The journey continues...Blessings,Blake Moore.CAREFORCE LIFEKEYS 2012/2013On October 9 we ran a vision and information eveningoutlining the benefits and ministry that can come aboutthrough Careforce Lifekey recovery courses. Walk downany street and knock on any door and you will findpeople who are hurting and are in pain through divorce,relationships or simply in need of significance andhealing. As this report goes to print we are running9

My role as Student Pastor is one that is involved mainly in looking after and beinginvolved heavily in Youth Ministry but as a student also learning about other areas inministry such as the opportunity to get up and preach in a service, what the processis when people are getting married, to having the honour being able to baptise peoplewho are wanting to take the next step in their faith.The role this year has continued to help challenge meand develop both my gifting but also my relationshipwith God, having been tested through having to makedecisions that would ultimately cost me something tomake sure God was number one and placed above all.For me this year it has been full of highlights. Thebaptisms of Rhys Shelmerdine and Matt Donaldsonwere some of those highlights, seeing these two youngmen make that decision to publicly announce their faithin Christ and to see the way that they have grown andmatured in their faith. Christ is something that makes allthis worthwhile.Secondly the opportunity to run and lead a coursecalled Vetamorphus which is a certificate 3 in ChristianMinistry and Theology for year 11 and 12 students hasbeen fantastic. This year we had a group of 3 kids with2 from York St and one from Ballarat ChristianFellowship. It has been a fantastic opportunity to investin the lives of some young people who are reallyinterested in digging deeper in their faith, as well as beingable to see them develop in their faith and be able tominister to each other.It has been a fantastic year, in seeing kids develop, growcloser to God and begin to take more active steps inliving out their faith, which includes sharing about Jesuswith their friends to helping the less fortunate! Such afantastic bunch of youth and I pray that we continue tosee this growth.This is what we must all be striving to help our youth toachieve and I hope that each and every one of you willteam up with myself, Blake and our youth leaders inbringing this goal about.God BlessBen DaintonWILDSIDEFriday 9th NovemberSports NightCost $37pm-9pm @ YorkieGIRLS (Year 7 & 8)Fridays 2nd & 16th November7pm-8.30pm @ YorkieFriday 23rd NovemberAmazing RaceCost $37pm-9pm @ YorkieDETOURFriday 9th NovemberGuys and GalsCost $37pm-9pm @ YorkieFriday 23rd NovemberEureka BBQ NightCost $37pm-9pm @ Eureka StockadeWEDNESDAY NIGHT GALS(Years 9 & 10)Wednesdays 14th & 28th November7pm-8.30pm & Yorkie(Grade 6 Year 10 Lads)Sundays 4th & 18th NovemberCost $3 (includes tea)4pm @ Yorkie10

BREKKY CLUB REPORTAt the end of this month (November) another year ofbrekky club will have been completed.Delight, for his generous gift of 10 loaves of bread aweek over the past few years.This year, 50 to60 Ballarat EastSecondaryCollege campusstudents haveregularly enjoyedtheir Monday andWednesday breakfasts of toasted sandwiches,pancakes and drinks, which provided them withsome nourishment at the start of the day.Sadly this will be the last year that the current teamwill be operating this program, so if anyone sees thisas a possible future role of community service,please contact Blake before the end of the year.A special thanks to Dru, from Bakery Hill BakersI would like tothank the loyalteam memberswho have providedthis service sowillingly over theyears and wishwhoever chooses to undertake this role next year allthe very best.Sadly this will be the last year that the current team will beoperating this program, so if anyone sees this as a possiblefuture role of community service, please contact Blake before theend of the year.Yours in Him,Lennyce Westaway11

YORKIE KIDS REPORTGod has a plan for our kids.And… He wants them to know it!!!What a privilege we have here at York St to be able to participate together with families in providing an environmentwhere kids can grow and develop in their own faith, as valued members of our community. As a community we have aresponsibility to teach our kids, by our words and actions, about the love and wonders of God!We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord,about his power and his mighty wonders. For he issued his laws to Jacob; he gave his instructions to Israel. He commandedour ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them - even the children notyet born and they in turn will teach their own children. So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgettinghis glorious miracles and obeying his commands.Psalm 78: 4-7 (NLT)I am sure youare all awareministry hasundergone afair bit ofchange thisyear with theloss of TraceValentine, moving to Queensland with her family, earlierthis year. In the interim Yorkie Kids was very ably led byEileen Bennett. Many thanks to her for her hard workand commitment to maintaining continuity in providing aquality Sunday morning kids program and in helping mesettle in to the new role. Special mention must also bemade to all the Yorkie Kids leaders and helpers whohave faithfully volunteered their time to serve ourchildren and families in this way. I have only been in thisrole for a few weeks but already I am impressed by thededication of all these wonderful, servant heartedpeople; Eunice, Aaron, Maurice, Dan, Brenda, Alice,Toby, Zac, Maddy, Michelle, Emily, Jemma, Aimee,Rachelle, Lydia, Ryan, Simone, Sam, Maxine, Chris,anyone!Yorkie Kids begins with the congregation at the10.30am service. We then move either to the youth hallor, for the Grade 5/6 girls and boys groups, straight totheir small group. In the youth hall we have a time ofworship, where the story or theme is introduced. Thekids then move to their small groups for further learningand building on what took place in the large group.Finally, all primary school groups meet back in the hallto finish off with worship and prayer.This year wehavecontinued touse thecurriculumfrom 252Basics,written by thedifferent virtue each month which helps encourage thekids to put into their lives the lessons we learn. In term 3we focused on the virtues of trust and of individuality.The Bubbles Group (pre-schoolers) have a separateprogram, in the kindergarten, faithfully led by Meg Bondwith help from Caleb Milburn and a great group of youthhelpers... of whom I am still learning their names!Apologies!!!! Michelle McCausland has continued to planthis role in term 4. Many thanks to Michelle for herdedication to this ministry each week and please pray fora replacement for her.Desley Hopkins has continued to lead and coordinate thegroup of parent leaders and youth helpers in the Creche.Thank you to her, to the parents and to all the awesomeyouth helpers!Thanks also to Sarah Bolton and all the MOPS team, andBrenda Peralta, Alisa Walter and the Mainly Music team,for allowing me to step in and work alongside you all. Inmany different and creative ways these wonderful peoplecontribute to serving the wider community with the loveof Jesus. Continue to pray for these ministries,term 4, and for all the opportunities we have of reachingFinally, a big thank you also to Tim, Blake and all thestaff, as well as all of you who have made my family and Ifeel so welcome here at York St. Like you, I look forwardto seeing the completion of the playground and all theopportunities it presents. I am really excited as we lookforward, and work together, to continue the work that hasgone before for the sake of the gospel of our wonderfulLord and Saviour JesusChrist!Colette Harrison12

Parent Alert!!!Read on to find out what is in store for the first half of term four...Yorkie Kids are thinking about how...(1) God is omnipotent. He can do anything.(2) God still chooses to work through us, and use us according to His purposes. Hechooses to cooperate with us(3) If we cooperate with God, and if we cooperate with others as God has designed us to do, we will see Hispower at work in our lives to do more than we could ever imagine.memory verse helps kids understand:(Ecclesiastes 4:9, NIrV).how to work with God and others that, in His strength, we can do incredible things!!!21 OctoberBible Story: Moves Like Moses (Joshua wins the battle over the Amalekites) Exodus 17:8-13Bottom Line: With God, we can work together to help someone else succeed.28 th OctoberBible Story: Another Brick in the Wall (Nehemiah and the wall) Nehemiah 1:1-6; 2 4; 6:1-16Bottom Line: With God, we can work together to do what seems impossible.4 NovemberBible Story: Luke 5:17-26Bottom Line:MOPS REPORTMOPS is fortnightly gathering for Mothers of Pre-Schoolers where the children are cared for and so arethe mums.The purpose of MOPS is to encourage, equip anddevelop every mother of preschoolers to realise herpotential as a woman, mother and leader in the name ofJesus Christ. We try to address the physical, cognitiveand spiritual needs of our Mums and their families.We endeavour to do this is in many ways; by providingthem with food, coffee and conversation, by selecting abroad range of topics to present to our mums, withactivities for them to participate in and extracurricularactivities and events.We visited topics such as All Things Fruit and Veg,Physiotherapy and the core muscles, Tough Q & A, apampering morning, Paediatric dietary needs, MOPSOlympics, Breast Care/cancer awareness, just to namea few.MOPS is prepared and planned by a steering committeeof York St COC attending mums. They are an amazingbunch of women who do an incredible job. This yearthere have been many changes to the committee lineup,with more changes to come in 2013.This is my first year in the role of Coordinator , Mel13Fulcher joined the team in the area of hospitality, AlishaKynoch moved over to the MOPPETs coordinator, HayleyMah in the publicity position and Jenny Fulcher took onthe creative activities. Danielle Valentine, Jenny Fraserand Desley Hopkins have continued on in their existingand supportive roles. Heather Luttrell is also on the teamand has been for several years. She has given so much ofher time, energy, wisdom, ideas and knowledge to YorkSt MOPS. It will be very sad to say goodbye to her at theend of the year due to her graduating as her youngestchild will commence primary school.More recently Rachel Bryant has joined the team with acouple moremums tojoin soonalso.The runningof MOPS isa teameffort witheveryonedoing theirbit to createa fantasticmorningevery

fortnight. As coordinator I cannot thank them enough foreverything they do.This year we were able tohonour our two Mentors,Euncie Clay and Muriel Grills,with the prestigious Hands OfMOPS awards, given fromMOPS Australia andpresented by MargaretSanders, director of MOPSAustralia. These two faithfuland committed women do anincredible amount of workeach MOPS and have doneso for many many years. They are a true inspiration andsupport to us all.tremendous carers, who volunteer their time to comeand look after the children with such love andtenderness. They often have to put up with a lot of tearsand trantrums, but they do it in such a caring way,need more carers, young or old, so that we cancontinue to offer this vital ministry to local mums. If youcan volunteer your time only once a fortnight during theschool term, please make contact with us. Uni studentsand parents of school aged kids, please considerhelping with this great mission.Again, to all these volunteers we say a massive thankyou!We must also say a big thank you to Wilsons Fruit fortheir generous contribution to MOPS every fortnight.They have been a big supporter of York St MOPS forseveral years now and it is very very much appreciated.This year we have seen a drop in numbers, averagingaverage numbers during the winter months with somany families suffering from illness. Although we havehad lower numbers, we have seen some exciting thingstake place to advance the kingdom. Early in the year westarted a group for mums interested in learning moreabout who Jesus is and what He requires of us. I am stillmeeting weekly with these 4 women who are so eager todiscover who this Jesus character is. It is very exciting.This year we held a MOPS dinner at York St, which was afun and delicious night out for mums. It was a greatsuccess and something we hope to make an annualevent.Term 3 / 4 we will commence using the new buildings forour meetings and hope to be able to use the newplayground by the end of the year.We look forward to hosting our 3 rd family fun day midNovember, which we hope to hold at York St and utilisethe new playground facilities.York St MOPS is a well oiled machine, running smoothlywithout much great effort. This allows us to focus moreon being intentional with our relationships, steering themtowards Jesus and discovering effective ways to do this(all while keeping up with the MOPS machinemaintenance, ensuring it will continue on for many moremums).MOPS gives us, as a church, a window of opportunity tominister to mums in our community over a period ofseveral years. We may see a mum only once or we maysee them for regularly for 4 years. Either way, we aim forevery encounter to be an uplifting experience from whichthey leave being encouraged, empowered and motivatedto be the best mum they can be. Sowing seeds of theGospel at every given opportunity.It is a privilege to be a part of the MOPS team and servethe Lord and mums in what can be such a stretching timeto MOPS.Sarah BoltonMOPS CoordinatorHere we are in term 4 already! The MOPS year has flown by due to all the fun we'vehad and these last few months will be no exception.We ended off term 3 by hosting a child focused first aid course run by Child ReviveFirst Aid. Amanda, our presenter, is an experienced paramedic plus a mum of 2young children so her knowledge was very practical and helpful. It was a fantasticcourse and because it was so good we are currently taking names of anyone who isinterested in participating in another first aid course in early November. This coursewill be full industry accredited level 2 first aid, it will run for 7 hours and cost $110. If you are interested please let meknow ASAP so we can go ahead and book the course.We have many great speakers and topics planned for MOPS this term, one being a Tea and Testimony morning. Wewill hear from a Christian mum or two of the testimony of God's guidance on for their mothering journey and then enjoya delicious high tea. It would be so wonderful if you could remember this special MOPS morning in your prayers andask that the hearts of our non-believing mums will be softened and opened, and that anyone who especially needs tohear these stories will be able to make it along. Our Tea and Testimony morning will be on Wednesday 14 November.Also, on Saturday November 17 we will be holding our annual MOPS Family Fun day which is always a highlight of theyear and a great chance for all our MOPS families to enjoy a fun day out together. Please pray for good weather andgreat opportunities to share the light of Christ with the other family members.Our final MOPS gathering for the year will be on December 12.Sadly, this will also be my final York St MOPS meeting as my family and I will be moving back to Geelong. My husbandhas received a permanent teaching position which will commence in 2013. I have made so many wonderful friendsthrough York St and MOPS that I know I will keep for life and it will be a sad day saying farewell. It has been an honourand privilege to be involved with such a fantastic ministry and team at York St. I'm confident the next wave of MOPSleaders will continue to have a strong and fruitful influence on mums Ballarat wide.Sarah14

KIDS HOPE REPORTAt Easter we had a Celebration afternoon. I was able to share a message with those whoattended.Six new mentors have trained.And we had a Youth Night at the school with 7 students that came. Some of them are keen tocontinue to be involved in youth.This year I decided to let some of the mentors share a bit about their mentoring experiences :Michelle McCauslandTell us a bit about you time as a mentor.I have been mentoring for about a year and a half. Mystudent loves to cook and do craft. She is in year 4.Have there been hard times?No it is always a pleasure and an honor.Tell us what you have enjoyed the most about being aKids Hope mentor?I enjoy the things we do together and I enjoy the impactthat she has on my life. I enjoy the opportunity to shareher life and that she is finally starting to trust me.Would you recommend this to other Christian friends?What would you say to them?I would absolutely recommend mentoring to my friends.love with children who would probably never even hearabout God.Any other comments?We do best and worst at the dinner table and everyTuesday my best is going to mentoring!!!Val TonkinTell us a bit about you time as a mentor.I have been mentoring since the beginning of 2012. Mylittle girl is in grade 1/2. She has lots of energy and sheis always very excited to see me. We have packed in awide variety of activities eg. Reading, puzzles,crosswords, cooking, lots of different crafts and art/painting.Have there been hard times?Not really! I think I have been very blessed with my littlegirl.Tell us what you have enjoyed the most about being aKids Hope mentor?Developing a relationship with another person andsharing my knowledge and skills. My vision for her isthat she grows into a beautiful and talented youngwoman who has been given the opportunity to exploreher creativity and develop a healthy self-esteem ( nice tothink that I can make a small contribution to this ). Ihave also met her siblings and both parents. HerWould you recommend this to other Christian friends ?What would you say to them?stretches you and it is a real opportunity to make aAny other comments?Chris Barlow has been a great role model and support. Ihave also enjoyed the catch up meetings.Lerise FrewTell us a bit about you time as a mentor.I have been mentoring for 4 years . I mentor a girl whois now in grade 5 , some things we do togetherare :cooking , crafts, board games or trivia games ,times tables ,reading and talkingHave there been hard times ?No , only that I wish I could help her situation moreTell us what you have enjoyed the most about being aKids Hope mentor?Having a laugh , Every week I say something or doto leave.Would you recommend this to other Christian friends ?What would you say to them ?One hour a week you get to make a difference in aChildShe is nice andkind and she isoutgoing. I enjoyedmaking a dog withher and the cooking.I like doing all thethings we do.Love From Maddyand like to talk with me too. I also enjoy the schoolgenerally it is a fantastic nurturing environment to bepart of.15

Ben DaintonTell us a bit about your time as a mentor.I have been involved in kids hope just for thisplay sport together because he loves thatwhich is fantastic and he is from Grade 6.Have there been hard times ?Times have been hardest with changing uni schedulesand trying to fit everything as well as his health hasbeen bad the last few weeks which has been sad.Ultimately though he has been great to mentor andhelp.Would you recommend this to other Christian friends ?What would you say to them ?Yeah I would recommend it. It gives a greatopportunity to invest in the upcoming youth of ourknow Christ is a great opportunity to have that sort ofreally profound life changing impact on them as well asshow them the love and care He has for them all.Tell us what you have enjoyed the most about being aKids Hope mentor?Probably the fact that I can hang out with this kid andreally help him with his education, have conversationswith him and even been able to have him come to youthhas been fantastic really seeing him grow and come outof his shell.Canadian Lead Staff Encouragement Morning TeaRecently, with the helpof many of you, awonderful morning teawas provided for thestaff at Canadian LeadPrimary School. Thiswas an opportunity toencourage them in theirrole as teachers andeverything else they doas they supportstudents and familiesand this community. Itwas to also say that asthe local church we arehere to support them,and inspire them thatwhat they do does makea difference. I was able(Thank you to Robyn and Dave - Cold Rock Icecreamery.They loved this extra special cake of the staff)to give them a ribbonI Am Makes Ayou to everyone whohelped with thecatering it was a realblessing for them theywere so taken abackand very appreciative ,Thank you to thosewho are involved withthe school weekly , REand Kids Hope andthose dedicated toprayer weekly. You aremaking such ameaningful differencetoo.Thank you to these wonderful dedicated mentors who give hope to their students :Blake MooreLerise FrewBen DaintonStephanie KoshMichelle Mc CauslandAnn CahillKay LawsonDan HerpergerSuzanne HuckerWendy CampbellVal TonkinEvan MilneIf you would like to know more ways of helping at this school, please contact Chris Barlow at the church office.16

KINDERGARTEN REPORTThank you to the York Street Church of Christ community for my warm welcome in my newposition as Director of the Kindergarten.We started our year with two groups of very excitedand have become friends to the children. The childrentransition to either 3 year old or 4 year old kindergarten.We had parent/teacher interviews to share informationand ensure that communication between the familiesand educators got off to a good start.The staff have supported each other and despite busyschedules we have managed to share someprofessional development opportunities together. Val,Chris, Tanja, Vicky and Briony have all made valuablecontributions and I thank them very much for their hardwork and efforts.challengingly role as all kindergartens prepare forincreased hours, accreditation and more challenges.Rob Munro and TimClark have supported,nurtured and assistedme in all ways and Ithank them verymuch. I was fortunateto have a great handoverfrom Marjorie who has also filled in for me as arelief teacher thank you very much Marjorie. ValBassett is my co-educator and is a wonderful earlychildhood practitioner and I rely on her excellence andknowledge to support me in many ways.Thanks to the small group of parents who organizeFundraising activities. We have purchased some lovelynew resources and new chairs for the kindergarten andhope to re-furbish the tables and add to the beautifuloutdoor environment. The Administration Committeehas been a great support to me and thank you to thosemembers. Thanks also to the wonderful Churchmembers who have assisted with working bees andmaintenance at the kindergarten.The children have enjoyed many experiences thus far in2012 and we have a busy 4 th term still to come withmore school visits, a visit to the Ballarat Art Gallery, amusic/mime performer coming to the centre and ofcourse preparations for Christmas. They have becomepassionate Francophiles as they learn some French17and the Kindergarten is apparent and we enjoy watchingthe new building and comings and goings. The childrenfinish off their day with a quiet reflection and thanksgivingprayer. They are constantly encouraged and reminded tobe thoughtful and caring of each other and think aboutthe consequences of their words and actions and thishas resulted in 4-5 year olds implementing Christianvalues that we all need to remember in our interactionswith each other.The children are learning many life skills to equip themwith confidence, resilience and coping skills as well asthe educational skills necessary to begin formal learning.During the year the children experience much Literacyand Numeracy in incidental and intentional learning.Relationships andinteractions between thechildren and educatorsand the children andtheir peers teachcollaboration, cooperation,conflict management, negotiation andempathy for others. All of these experiences arepresented in a play based programme which reflect theEarly Childhood Frameworks and National QualityStandards that underpin our curriculum.The children are learning many life skills to equip them withconfidence, resilience and coping skills as well as theeducational skills necessary to begin formal learning.Thank you to the children and families for making my firstyear at York Street such a happy and inspiring one. Ourenrolments for 2013 are very healthy and I hope this isthe start of a very vibrant and exciting period for thekindergartencommunity. As welook toward the endof the year and newadventures for ourchildren I realise, yetagain, that I am solucky to have thebest job in the world.Peace, Joy andBlessingsCath ZalaDirector

MUSIC & CREATIVE MINISTRIES REPORTyour bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to GodAs we are a church ALL ABOUT LIFEhope our TRUE AND PROPER worship is holy andpleasing to God - and that we as a team are offering ourbodies as living sacrifices before Him. Each week, wehave a team of 76 people (and counting) that continuallygive of their time and talents to one or more of the 3services offered every Sunday.It has been a somewhat bumpy ride over the past year,as the leadership position of the music ministry haschanged hands 3 times. In July of last year, I had tostep out of my role to be on bed rest, pregnant withtwins. Tara Cameron happily stepped up to thechallenge, and only a few months later, fell pregnantwith twins herself. Thankfully Blake Moore was able tooversee the role for the remainder of my maternityleave. I was able to return to my role in Aug 2012. Thechurch has continued to grow while I was away, andmany new people have joined our church which I hopemeans our music teams will continue to grow as well.Since my return, we have worked hard on setting someconcrete systems in place and redeveloping our musicteam into working bands. It is my hope to developconfident bands that create a place where we can allcome together and meet with Jesus. Currently our 8:45service is a more traditional style service, the 10:30service is family focused, and the 6:00pm service isyouth and young adult focused. Our music tends toreflect that.In July last year we were privileged to have GeoffBullock come and play a concert at our church as well asspeak at all 3 of our services. Since then we have alsohad Sons of Korah and Anchor and Kings play at ourevening services. Just recently we saw around 300people attend our church on a Saturday afternoon for achildren's concert with entertainer Colin Buchanan.Paul Mah has helped to oversee and add some ambienceto our Monday night prayer nights, by adding an elementof worship that has been well received by thoseattending. I hope to use our music more in the future forministry purposes like these ones.I have also been in conversation with the Mt Clear Churchof Christ Worship leaders as well as One 2 One Worshipleader, in the hopes that we can work together to moreeffectively reach and bless our city.forserving and giving so much of your time and talent. TheWorship Leaders, deserve a big shout out for theircontinued faithful service and love. Thank you to ValTonkin for her hard work in organising and filing all themusic every week. It is a true blessing having youvolunteer your time here very week! I also want to thankthe rest of the ministry team and the office staff for yourcontinued awesome support and encouragement. Youmake my job so much easier so thank you!BlessingsAnge18

BUILDING COMMITTEE REPORTIn this report last year, I outlined the progress on thethat it had been decided by the Project Control GroupProject Manager to basically use his industry contactsand capabilities to handle all of the physical andorganisational aspects of the project.It was also pointed out that, in adopting this process, itwas more than likely that the project construction timewould exceed what would be desirable, but as anoffset, we would more than likely make some financialeconomies overall.In having just recently obtained the Certificate of FinalInspection (dated 14 August 2012), both of theaforementioned anticipated outcomes have happened.Certainly the actual construction took considerablylonger than we all would have liked, and has left usattempting to complete some external works right in themiddle of possibly the wettest and coldest winter wehave had for a number of years. However, internallyapart from a few minor items, the building is complete,whilst there remains some external works to befinalised, not the least of which is some site works, andpainting.However, on the positive side, it appears we haveachieved our aim of making economies financially. Theprevious report indicated an anticipated overall cost ofthe order of $450,000.00 to $500,000.00; whereas itnow appears that the construction costs will more thanlikely be considerably less than the $450,000.00considered originally as the lower limit cost.Savings made along the line, have in the main, beendue to the quite considerable voluntary labour inputfrom members of the congregation, coupled withgenerous assistance from a number of sub contractorsand suppliers including the relocation of the containerwhich was used to transport the playground to the site.I do not intend to list names and details of those whohave assisted in any way, as I would probably offend byunintentionally leaving somebody out, but to allconcerned please accept personal and collective thanksfrom the writer and the Project Control Group.manufacturers to actually visit the site, do an audit ofwhat parts are available and provide us with a detailedquotation for a number of options for final design anderection possible using some volunteer labour to keepthe overall price as low as possible. By the time you readthis report hopefully all of that will be past history andthe unit will be erected and being enjoyed by the childrenattending our programs..Additionally, once all building works accounts are to handand costs finalised, we will provide a detailed statementon the overall financial situation, remembering that it hason the actual playground purchase and installationseparate from the building component, and againseparate from some works done to the existing buildingsin particular the installation of the carpet to the mainChurch Foyer. I might add that, in making the savingsalong the line, the PCG decided to carry out someadditional works to those originally planned, for example,extension of the concrete driveway along the westernside of the new building, additional drainage works to themain rear car park, landscaping to the Courtyard and rearentry areas, upgrading of the hot water supply to theBaptistry and Kindergarten areas to mention just a fewitems.In conclusion, I wish to reaffirm sincere thanks to all whohave assisted in anyway in this project. It is the hope ofthe PCG that the overall result will be to the satisfactionof the congregation at large, and that the complex will beused to fulfil the goals, aims and policies of the Church toprovide the anticipated needs of those coming into theembrace of the activities of the Church in general.Graeme Hewitt,For the Project Control Group.August 2012.The matter of the erection of the actual playground is inlimbo as this report is being written. It was intended,based on advice received from the previous owners,that we would be able to erect the unit ourselves, but onunpacking the container and layout out all of the parts,it has become very obvious that it is not as easy as wasindicated to us, or we are not as clever as wasassumed!. Consequently we have been waiting formany weeks for a representative of the unit19

MINISTRY SUPPORT REPORTROLEWell my brothers /sisters and friendshere at York StreetChurch of Christ, myrole as the MinistrySupport staff worker isone that is of greatchallenge and rewardto me personally. We are members of a church that isgrowing and very dynamic and we seem to be alwaysunder resourced when it comes to congregationmembers that have a servant heart and are able toserve in kingdom business. I guess that this is normal inthe western church and this is a constant challenge forme in my areas of responsibility here at York St.Current Ministry Support activities performed on behalfof the Senior Pastor are as follows: Coordination of Pastoral Care for congregationmembers and those associated with York StreetChurch of Christ, Emergency Service Ministry activities with theVictorian Council of Churches EmergenciesMinistry (VCC EM) and the Country Fire Authority(CFA).Each of the aforementioned ministry activities is eitheressential to our well being or necessary to fulfill ourbecome like Him; and be equipped to impact the localis on a Mission!Although my position here at York Street Church ofChrist is a Volunteer Staff role, nevertheless, it is aposition that requires competence, capacity, spiritualgifting and the ability to be a team player. It is myprivilege and honor to serve in the Kingdom through thelocal church, which I believe is part of the actualcoalface of Christendom.The following is a summary of my activity since the lastAGM in November 2011.PASTORAL CAREThe MinistryThe Pastoral Care Ministry hastwo elements of service, theyare; Visitation and Welcomers.Both of these areas of serviceand ministry are vital to ourcontinued growth and sustainment as a large regional. It cannot be stressedenough that without consistent believing and passionateservice, these ministry activities could not be sustained.Praise God for the servants of Christ who not onlymaintain this ministry but grow this ministry within YorkStreet Church of Christ.The TeamsWe are blessed to have teams of believers who serveweekly and who often go unnoticed by our large churchfamily. Neither pastoral care ministry activities, Visitationand Welcomers, could happen without these teams ofbelievers being lead by passionate servant leaders. Forthose of us who have responsibility in the pastoral area ofYork Street Church of Christ, not only appreciate theseservants of the King, we support them in every way wecan.Visitationsuch a large church family, pastoral care cannot beperformed successfully by two pastors and a couple ofElders. Our church family can be approximately 400 to500 attendees on any Sunday and extended toapproximately 700 people for those connected to YorkStreet Church of Christ. What a ministry challenge forYork Street. We Praise God! For He is supplying thegifted servants to meet the need.development of the Pastoral Care Visitation Team lead bythe Visitation Coordinator Heather Gordon. Throughleadership the Pastoral Care Visitation team has not onlygrown in servant numbers but has seen growth inpastoral care contacts and follow up activity. Anotherpart of this success story is the commencement ofmonthly church services at Kirralee Retirement Homeand regular communion services at the Messer Hostel,both conducted by the Visitation Team. A snap shot ofthis ministry activity can be appreciated when you reviewHours and days worked at York St = 815 hours, or days at 7.5 hours per day = 108.6 days (normalweek is three working days).Eureka Men – ‘Wild at Heart’ monthly sessions = eight (total session hours = approx 28 hours).Emergency Service Ministry = 96 hours to date (includes regular role and call out).20

the following statistics: March 2012 = 13 contacts andJuly 2012 = 199 contacts. Each contact is a person ofworth that we at York Street Church of Christ value andserve as part of our Kingdom activity. Visitation PastoralCare is happening here at York Street Church of Christ.Praise God!WelcomersOf recent times we have seen the appointment of twoWelcomer Team Leaders; Pam Oxlade for the 8.45 amSunday service and Pam Hillas for the 10.30 am Sundayservice. These two ladies supervise and lead theWelcomer teams at each of the am Sunday services.This ministry activity is all about being intentional in theway we welcome guests and congregation members toour services, do guest follow up and provide pastoralsupport to our church family. These are key roles in ourefforts to provide pastoral care at the doorway, in thecafé/foyer and in the auditorium on any Sunday.Pastoral Care here at York Street church of Christ istruly(Jill McGilvary).EUREKA MENThe MinistryEureka Men was berthed duringStreet Church of Christ. It becameapparent during the later part of2011, that what was needed was anabsolutely intentionalat York Street Church of Christ. We needed a way totake men on a journey to understand what God requiresof us as men and how we can serve together in Hiskingdom. We commenced this journey in 2012 byat Heart, John Eldredge). This ministry approach isabout providing an opportunity for men to buildrelationships, share and grow together as well as havingadventurous fun activities as a group of men.The ProgramAt Eureka Men we meet the 3 rd Saturday morning ofevery month between 7am and 9am, have breakfasttogether, watch a short DVD and then break into smalldiscussion groups to share together. From time to timeafter the breakfast session, we gather to enjoy someadventurous activity such as abseiling, Lazer Skirmishetc, all good fun men stuff. Our mission and purpose isto: grow the masculine heart; grow Godly men fit forkingdom service and to give men the opportunity toknow the Savior, Jesus Christ. This is a sub set of ourHim and be equipped to impact the local and globalThe TeamThe 2012 team for Eureka Men is made up of six men(Peter Deutscher, Dave Jolliffe, Colin Dorn, TrevorGray, Geordie McCausland and myself) of varying ageswho act as facilitators forthe Wild at Heart sessions.These men give of theirtime, experience andpassion to have input intowalk with the Lord and be a blessing to God, theirfamilies and the kingdom. Men journeying together into aEureka Men is all about. We continue the journey in 2013,Ephesians 2:10 (TMSG)Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the goodwork he has gotten ready for us to do, work we hadEMERGENCY SERVICEMINISTRIESCommunity Pastoral CareVCC Emergencies MinistriesA number of York Street Church ofChrist congregation members havenow been trained as PersonalSupport and Chaplains and have nowbecome a part of the VCCEmergencies Ministry activity insupport of our local and otherVictorian communities that find themselves in a disaster,emergency or crisis situations. Since May this year, threeof the VCC EM Ballarat team members have beendeployed on Recovery work (flood recovery) in the MoiraShire and five members have attended Department ofHuman Services (DHS) additional professional trainingcourses.As part of my role as the Ballarat Local Area Coordinatorfor the VCC Emergencies Ministry, I am now therepresentative for this ministry with the Ballarat CityCouncil Emergency Management organization and meetas part of the Ballarat City Council EmergencyManagement Sub-Committee at least twice a year. I amalso called upon to attend special training sessions andmeetings with Local Government outside of Ballarat. Wecurrently have a team of 35 trained local personnel, themajority of who are from York St Church of Christ. Thesevolunteers can be called upon to support ourcommunities in an emergency, crisis or disaster.21

CFA ChaplaincyI am currently the part timeChaplain for the CFA FiskvilleTraining College (near Ballan). Myresponsibilities are to providepastoral care and support to: theFiskville staff and firefighterfamilies as required. I attend CFAFiskville regularly every week and I respond to call outs(crisis etc) as required. I am also occasionally calledupon to act as a relief Chaplain for CFA District 15Ballarat and District 14 Ararat. This CFA Chaplaincy roleallows me the privilege of speaking with staff from alllevels in the organization, a unique position of privilegemy Lord has allowed me to serve and minister in for Hiskingdom.Blessings and Shalom,Rob PettyMINISTRY SUPPORTEUREKA MENSaturday 17 NovemberCome and join us!A unique morning for men of all ages.We will have food, fellowship, challenge and fun.WHERE: York St Church of Christ TIME: 7am to 9amBreakfast cost is $5 per personWild At Heart DVD Session 822

BALLARAT CHURCHES EUREKA CAROLSChristmas is a fantastic time of the year and it is a privilege for us as a church tocoordinate the main Carols of Ballarat. The Ballarat Churches Eureka Carols was voted asthe best Community Event of the Year. This is something that we need to celebrateChristmas Celebrations.The carols last year was the first time we used the nameCarols. This is a deliberate move to promote unity in thecity and for the city of Ballarat to know that thechurches worktogether. It alsomeans thatchurches that areunable to hold aCarols event areable to be part ofthe Eureka Carols.Unfortunately thecarols were held again indoors at the Badminton Centredue to the poor weather. Although this is not the sameas being outside we still saw around 3000 people gathertogether to celebrating Christmas.The carols are an important connection that we havewith the community and a reminder that Christmas is atime to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus. The carolsare filled with tremendous reminders of the truemeaning of Christmas with words that are so familiar topeople that they are often sung without really graspingBallarat, an opportunity to portray the positive messageThe carols are an important connection that wehave with the community and a reminder thatway that is familiarto all who attend thecarols.We would like tothank everyone whowas involved in thecarols from set up &pack up teams,performers, organisers, helpers, technical crews andsupporters. Many thanks to Carols Team of Glenn &Trace Valentine, James and Pam McKee, MareeChapman and the Ministry Team.Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of ourLord Jesus.23

OVERSEAS MISSIONS COMMITTEE REPORT 2011-2012Role of the OMC:The Overseas Missions Committee (OMC) meets once amonth on the 3 rd Monday. At the monthly meetings,OMC members: Discuss and manage general business. Examine and discuss the financial report andapprove funds to be distributed. Pray for York St congregation, leadership, andsupported missionaries and missions.OMC Activity for 2011- 2012:1. The Committee:Henry Deutscher joined the OMC and isproving an active and valuable member.Eunice Clay has been a steadfast andhighly valued contributor to Mission at YorkSt for many, many years. In 2011 EuniceClay retired from Coordinator of the OMC,but maintains her role as Treasurer.Renata Dempsey was nominated andappointed to Coordinator.Andy Francis has taken leave from theOMC to serve God in Northern India withhis family long-term.2. Overseas Mission Support:The OMC- Commenced support of one additional long-term missionary family: A and R Francis(North India). Provided support for one medium- termMission engagement: Bec Howlett (Africa) Provided support for six York St memberswho engaged in a short term mission trip toNorthern India in September/October 2011,where they observed first hand, andMissionary work.3. Overseas Mission Initiatives:The OMC met with Leadership in April todiscuss the evolving mission framework andassist in developing a more vertically integrated,dynamic and collaborative approach to Missionat York St.The OMC initiative of Pray Encourage Give Go(PEGG) was commenced November 2010 toengagement in effective ways to connect withMissionaries.In 2011-2012 the PEGG initiative has been usedas a framework to increase the availability andaccessibility of Missionary information through: The incorporation of the Overseas MissionsMagazine in the Vine as an informativeresource for York St congregation on thework of the missionaries and missions theysupport. The introduction of Mission Focus updatespresented by Pastors Tim and Blake. Thesewere formerly untaken by members of theOMC; however the new arrangement hasprovided further promotion of verticalintegration in Mission at York St.and Missions to facilitate ongoingaugmentation in: Partnership, a strong reciprocalcongregation/ Mission relationship. Congregational engagement inMission at all levels- Local, Nationaland Global. The newly established York Street OverseasMission webpage has been set up as part ofthe PEGG initiative to enable York Stcongregation greater individual access toMissionary: Newsletters Prayer/Praise requests Email contact to encouragecorrespondence Giving avenues.24

Individual Missions giving through theenvelope system was reviewed and approvedto continue as a complimentary giving avenueto the newly available Mission website.The OMC utilises Mission Sunday as a day tofurther inform and inspire York St. The OMCcoordinated a successful Missions Sunday inNovember 2011, reiterating missioninvolvement through the PEGG initiative andengaging a dynamic speaker to inspire theMission Heart of York St.ANDY & RACHEL: INDIAAfter one month here in India we have settled in well toour new home.Proposed Initiatives for 2012-2013The OMC is looking to initiate an annual missionstraining program for interested York St membersWhilst our Missionaries can currently accessmonthly news updates on York St happeningsonline via the Vine, the OMC is looking toestablish a reciprocal prayer letter for our currentOverseas Missionaries to enable them to engagein praying and encouraging York St. Thisinitiative, based in the PEGG initiative framework,seeks to nurture an ongoing sense of belongingand home for Missionaries and will further enrichthe partnership between York St and ourMissionaries.In Closing:The OMC advocate a Mission Heart at York St, andview this as the Heart of Mission. We encourage all ofYork St to be intentional and active participants inall nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father andof the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them toobey everything He commanded (Mat 28:19-20). Bypartnering with our Overseas Missions andMissionaries, York St can fulfil the great commission inoverseas nations, helping people meet Jesus becomelike Him and be equipped to impact their local andglobal community.Missionary Partnership Reports:We thank you and appreciate each one of you foryour financial support, encouragement, and prayerfor us and our families in the work He has called usto. We wish to express our sincere appreciation foryour support of this important and successful work.Please be inspired and celebrate with us all ourmighty God is doing through us. Thank you forstanding with us to see His Kingdom come here onearth.Food Sunday will be held SundayNovember 18th. Donations of non-perishable food items aregratefully received. Just dropthem in the shopping trolley in thefoyer.25What Rachel is doing:Leading in Christian kids club (30 studentsattending weekly). The program involves teachingthe Bible, prayer, singing and games. Liaising between Woodstock students andChristian disability program and visiting villageswith the students once a fortnight.Ran a training day for students and volunteers ondisability- great success with students challengedin their perspective on disability and God'smandate to love all people.Has begun monthly visits to a village school,helping run ESL activities.Teaching a boy with autism twice a week- buildingrelationship with him and his family.Hosting boarding students in our home to buildrelationships and show Christ's love.Helping her boys settle into their new environment.What Andy is doing:Full time teaching grade 5 class (including 8 Hindustudents, 2 Sikhs and 3 Buddhists).Teaching RE 4 times per week- with full freedomto share Christ with his students.Being salt and light in his classroom and the juniorschool as a whole.Leading junior school devotions regularly.

J & K BAYNE: BENIN, AFRICAP & R BARTLETT: MALAWI, AFRICAWhat we have been doing: Working for Orama Christian Trust as volunteers inassisting with maintenance and general groundskeep of a Christian retreat and camp centre. Home assignment: visiting people, churches andorganizations that help with work in Benin Republic. Returning back to Benin Republic and continuingwith the following: Discipleship course and mentoring forengineering students English for engineering students to broadenskills to help local and national Christians tobe more influential in their profession.Fulani camps, Ditamari communities anddiscipleship for those who have turned tofollow Christ. Supporting local churches in film projection,seminars, retreat and counselling Practical project to help support LiweitariCentre in reducing costs for those who wouldwant to come for seminars and training andto subsidise their living expenses To show the love of Christ in assisting needyindividuals and local communities financially(the average daily wage is $4 Aud) To educate community members in the areasof financial management, pharmaceuticalplants, health and general knowledge. To pray for the sick where no medicine canhelp and to see those in bondage to Satanset free through deliverance (animism andvoodoo are common in Benin).Our vision is to establish a Christ-centredprofessional and comprehensive audiologyservice and training program in LilongweMalawi for the purpose of increasing accessibility ofaudiology services, through an expanding network.Life-changing services, professional training and needmeetingoutreach are the three essential components of ourwork.Some laugh, some cry, some sit stunned, but all notice thedifference when their hearing aids are first switched on. Forthose with significant hearing loss and no previous hope ofhearing again, having sound flood in comes as quite ashock. The privilege we and accompanying friends or familymembers have when witnessing this event, also seems toogood to be true. Although the number of people we see inthe ABC Hearing Clinic is just the tip of the iceberg, forthese ones, it means everything. We spend a lot of time witheach patient, and endeavour to pray with them before theyleave, most being very grateful that we take the time tohonour our wonderful God who makes it all possible.Throughout the year we have also continued to visit schoolsfor the deaf and hospitals to provide services and training.From north to south, locations include Karonga, Bandawe,Embangweni, Lilongwe, Mua and Blantyre. A significantoutreach in June with international audiologists andaudiology students covered most of these locations andallowed 127 hearing aids to be fitted in a three weekoutreach.In March, we initiated training for eighteen African BibleCollege students. This group was reduced to twelve for theJune practical outreach program. In August we accepted sixof these students in to formal audiology study as part oftheir ABC undergraduate program.In June this year we broke ground on the construction ofMalawi's first specialised Hearing Clinic and TrainingCentre, a ministry of EARS Incorporated. The funds for thisfacility have come from AusAID, Hear The World, YorkStreet Church of Christ and other donors. It is expected thebuilding will be completed by early 2013.Additionally we host church Bible study at our house on aTuesday night, participate in small group outreach activitiesin the community and mentor the leader of the group - anABC college student. We are able to identify and respond tothe needs of people we encounter who are unable to affordschool fees, food and clothing; and use money given to usfor these purposes.26

D & M LYDEAMOREtheir own community development initiatives and manywould be from the Christian relief and developmentorganisations like TEAR, World Vision, Compassion,Baptist World Aid etc. Our girls started teaching Sunday school and alsoinvolved in the music team)NATHAN & CLAIRE: INDIA2011-2012 Activities: Sept/ Oct 2011, organised a training2011, involved in the process of purchasing and thenpreparing a new GA8 aircraft for service in PNG In addition to the MAF aircraft maintained at theMareeba facility, we recently established anagreement to provide the ongoing maintenanceresources and support to remote stations andcommunities. (http://www.flyingbibleman.com/index.php/about-joomla). Mareeba continues toprovide the maintenance support for the local Unitinghttp://www.mckaypatrol.ucaqld.com.au/aboutMJZ.aspx Involved in the induction training of several groups ofnew staff (pilots and engineers) going through theirfinal preparation before starting with MAF Involved in MAF stand/ display at the recent air showat Mareeba. Able to share the way that God is usingMAF/ MAF staff to support isolated communities. In the last quarter alone (Apr-Jun 2012), MAF in theAsia Pacific Region transported 1,293 passengersdirectly involved in church work and evangelism for429 different organisations, including Pacific IslandsMinistries, Samaritans Purse, Pioneer BibleTranslators and Pioneers as well as small indigenousorganisations and local churches including localindigenous churches.FAMILY:Jacobexceptional as his sister.Abby:seem to have been answered and she has started to eatthrough the mouth. This is very encouraging!Ps 103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, sothe LORD has compassion on those who fear him.Nathan: I am blessed to be able to continue the work, orat least hold ground, via the following links. I speak tosomeone from these programs each week and emailthem multiple times. Being in Australia is strategic as itallows me to share about the work of the Christianprograms and help them apply for funding from AusAID,it has nearly doubled in the last couple of years.The biggest growth area has been in our disabilityand health training programs. A further 1,859 passengers were flown in support ofrural health programs, including many working forchurch-run rural medical services, in addition to manyhundreds of kilograms of medical supplies to healthclinics, aid-posts and rural hospitals. 1,806 passengers were flown in support of educationand training in remote areas. Many rural schools in thedeveloping world are provided through the efforts ofchurches and missions. 12,703 passengers were flown for relief anddevelopment services. Some of these would begovernment workers, some local people involved in271. Disability:We are helping the Cluster programs to undertakedisability work and make sure that each of their programsincludes people with disability. Showing disabled peopleis transformative. Responding to disability requires anintegrated approach in India as usually kids with disabilityare outcasts, a shame on the family and are often left todie. Bringing value to such vulnerable lives involveschallenging the religious beliefs as well as providing basicservices and therapy through our health workers andeyes.

God is faithful. I can see how this work in disability andstudy of theology of disability prepared me for having achild with disability. My work in disability and my studyhas prepared me to love and appreciate Abby fully. Ihad written articles on a disability and theology andhaving seen how disabled people can be used by God, Ihave no doubt that Abby will bring God glory.I feel like I have been writing my own script in manyways. Ironically, soon after I named our disabilityprogram Samvedna (Hindi for empathy) it became clearme deep empathy for those in the village who do nothave the Physiotherapy, Occupational therapy, Speechtherapy etc that have been important for Abby. We aretraining community health workers to provide suchservices.Disability allows us to witnessto the love of Christ (in wordand deed) to those in our area.2. Community Lay Leaders Health TrainingCertificateNathan Coordinates the CHGN Uttarakhand Cluster.This is a network of 40 community health programs thatwork together to bring about health in the state ofUttarakhand. One objective is to provide healthtraining to volunteers & missionaries so they can betterrespond to the needs and expand the witness inUttarakhand.To this end, I initiated a health worker training certificateto train outreach workers and Church planters(missionaries) to provide basic health care. This oneyear distance education health training course isaccredited by CMC Vellore and delivered by theUttarakhand Cluster partnering with two Christianhospitals. 13 have already graduated and 50 areenrolled for 2011/12!SAMPAN: INDIA[Sam-pan]-complete spiritual andSAMPAN is a community development program seekingto improve the physical and spiritual health of theGarhwali people in India. This mainly Hindu area has highinfant mortality and malnutrition, and a low understandingof how to promote health and prevent disease.Promoting Physical WellbeingI wanted to make this update 2 pages which means that Itrained 208 holistic health workers in areas ranging fromhealth promotion to medical topics, immunisation andvocational training. In addition Sampan has undertakenmonthly clinics in each village and assisted numerouspatients to attend for treatment at the local Christianhospital. On the development side they also run twonursery school groups, literacy classes and morerecently, computer training. I think you will be greatlyencouraged by reading our most recent quarterly report.This report represents 7 of our 10 centres.Promoting Spiritual WellbeingWe are meeting with >60 family groups in the programarea to disciple new believers. They also assist variousseekers to explore Christianity. These small steps areexciting in this fiercely anti-Christian area, where beforeSampan started there were no local believers, despiteothers having faithfully planted many seeds. In addition tothe family groups, they have started two more formalchurches in villages and the light of the gospel is evidentto many in this area. One Sampan village health workersaid after training:with all the ladies in the village. This helps meremember what I learnt about Jesus andhealth. My husband told me to stop believing,Learning from this course:This course can make a difference! The volunteers havebeen able to use the skills in their villages andprograms.Those with a bias towards evangelism have learnt fromthe course the importance of showing the love of Christand not just preach to them like I have for so manyA number from nominal backgrounds were challengedby the experienced pastors doing the course. Twothe contact program.Thank God for the unintended consequence of peoplecoming to faith through the fellowship amongstcandidates.GROWTH AREAS:In 2011 we undertook a mid-term review, as planned inour original proposal. It was clear that Sampan hadgrown beyond what we imagined in the 5 years sinceYork St COC first supported Sampan. We hope to reach243 health workers this year! Our overall budget hasincreased significantly which means the percentage thatYork St has been contributing has decreased. We thankGod for a healthy exchange rate and some one-offdonors. The growth included the scaling up of theJagdarh Sub Centre. This is staffed by David and Ushaand has seen some excellent results since initiating threeyears ago. We identified David and Usha as experiencedand capable workers and we have not beendisappointed! The health training has beensupplemented by other development activities including acomputer training centre. More importantly, andunexpectedly, there has been an explosion of interest in28

Bible training. This was unexpected because this was adark area in the mountains of North India. It has beenthe relationships between David and the locals thathave led to this interest. 15 people did a month longBible course and now five have enrolled in long termtraining. David and Usha are planning to build acommunity drop-in and education centre and relocateto live in this village fulltime.The Uttarkashi Centre: The review determined that weshould go ahead and expand the work in 2012.Following an extensive search the new area becameclear when a major road was built through a mountainpass. Sampan saw the opportunity and has placed twonew staff, fresh from Bible College and completing theCHGN Cluster health training certificate. They will beresponsible for a number of villages and for traininghealth workers. They will be living in a remote area thathas little access to health services and no activewitness. The establishment of the centre was coveredby a one off grant from a church in the UK.Computer training rooms have been established at 3of the Sampan centres in response to requests from thecommunity for computer training. E-literacy is soimportant even in developing countries. This serves asvocational training to assist poor people to enter theworkforce, and preparing people for the workforce is anopportunity for income generation. We hope to increasethe number of computer centres and we have employedthree part time staff to assist with the training. We havealso developed a simple Hindi computer curriculum.Funding and FutureWe are seeing great fruit and we believe this year will bea harvest year. Our theme verse is John 4:35-38In this spirit we have gone ahead and expanded. Wewould love it if York St was to continue to journey with usin this amazing program. We are in stage of transitiongiven that our UK donor is unable to continue. Also, lastyear we restructured Sampan in order to grow the work,but that involved severing a link with an AmericanMissionary who previously provided some financialsupport.We planned to train 180 Health workers but by the end of 2012 we will have 243 and 2 new centresAPENDIX 2: TREASURERS REPORTSTATEMENT OF MONIES DISBURSED BY THE OVERSEAS MISSIONS COMMITTEE DURING THE PERIOD 1STJULY 2011 TO 30 TH JUNE 2012CHURCH CONTRIBUTIONSINDIVIDUAL GIFTSGMP 8,269.45 4,062.25EARS BARTLETTS 9,209.45 7,507.40A. & R. FRANCIS 3,600.00 1,000.00MAF-LYDEAMORES 5,761.20 414.55N. & C. GRILLS 8,209.45 970.00SAMPAN 2,280.40 2,364.17J. & K. BAYNE 3,770.40 1,000.20DR. CHAE 450.00 150.00PRC NEPAL 450.00 155.00COM 500.00CELEBRATE MESSIAH 800.00 418.60BIBLE SOCIETY 60.00 40.00OPEN DOORS 500.00BEC HOWLETT 1,300.00---------------------------------------------The fundsdistributed werereceived fromthe Church andfrom individualgivers.44,660.35 18,581.97 Submitted by Renata DempseyOverseas Missions Committee Coordinator29

MISSIONSThen Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and makedisciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teachingthem to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew28:18-20Welcome to World Missions! God has a part for you to play in His mission to spread the hope of the Gospel and helpbuild His Church world-wide. When you share the hope of the Gospel, when you pray, provide financial support, encouragethrough correspondence or provision, or work to plant churches, you are playing your part in world missionand the great commission.Global Mission PartnersLinking People,Churches andResourcesAcross NationsGlobal Mission Partners (GMP) is a Christianinternational mission, aid and development organisationcommitted to facilitating life-changing partnerships.GMP works in partnership with local people, churchesand overseas agencies, connecting them with partnersin Australia.GMP seeks to establish life-changing partnershipsthrough:Church Health: Supporting church development anddeveloping leaders.Aid & Development: Committing to creative andsustainable overseas aid and development projects inthe areas of literacy, water and sanitation, child-centreddevelopment, income generation, gender equality,community development, agriculture and education.Advocacy & Lifestyle: Enabling Australians to takejustice seriously through education, lifestyle change andadvocacy for, and with, those in situations of injusticeglobally.Go overseas: Facilitating opportunities for people andteams to serve in mission overseas.Partnership: Developing partnerships with people andchurches in Australia and with those overseas.Prayer: Encouraging prayer as a central response as theGMP PartnershipsBangladeshIndiaPapua New GuineaVanuatuZimbabweFijiIndonesiaSouth SudanVietnamSome are called to go and some are called to send.Who will go and who will send?Those called to go cannot go unless they are sentand those called to send cannot send if no one willgo.30

Evangelists and Motorcycles: ZimbabweThe Churches ofChrist havemany churchesand pastors inan area ofMatabeleland.Despite themany hardshipsthe churchesthere arethriving.Doctors,lawyers,engineers andmany otherhighly qualifiedprofessionals, who would seldom attend church, nowjoin in regularly for worship.Most pastors serve up to 8 churches due to increasedchurch growth and the inability to pay a full-time pastor.They have to walk long distances from one preachingpoint to the next, particularly in rural areas. Recently 6motorbikes were purchased by Australian churches tohelp pastors visit each of their congregations more often.As yet, many rural churches do not have buildings and soto train young people in building, carpentry and weldingby involving them in the building of churches.For further information on how to get involved go tohttp://w.inpartnership.org.au/We are currently in the middle of the Rainy seasonwhich lasts from May to mid-October. For us this is aquiet time as most people are at work in their fields. Itinvolves more maintenance and grounds-keeping workfor Jo, as conferences and teaching are during the dryseason.Please prayfor thepreparation ofthe New Yearwhich startsin thebeginning ofOctober. Wewill have newstudents toget to know,some ofwhom arenonbelievers.Johann will be involved with the discipleshipcourse, English and team building/unity projects for theapprentices at the Liwietari Vocational Centre (CFL),have visits from missionaries and pastors who come fora retreat and for prayer. Actually a non-stop part of lifehere is receiving daily visits from anyone and everyonewho comes to greet the family, usually in severaldifferent languages.Blind and Mute meets JesusWe continue to seek and pray for God's love and powerto be at work in and through us, and we are lookingforward to what God will be doing.Germain is a pastor who works with us. Two weeks agohe was able to pray with a man in Natitingou called Bio,who had been to a fetisher (a worker of voodoo) and whohad returned blind and mute. For that week Bio wasexperiencing the feeling of bonds around his neck andbody. His tongue was attached to the roof of his mouth,and his eyes were glued closed. He was breathing onlywith difficulty and was unable to eat or get up. The familywere preparing for his funeral when they asked for prayer.Germain spoke with Bio and he indicated with a nod thathe wanted to become a Christian. After praying for halfgood meal. Bio now has a new church meeting in hishouse.We are all going well, despite finding 14 scorpions in ourhouse! None of has have been stung we appreciateyour prayers! Again, thank you for your prayers andthoughts, especially in this Malaria-prone season. Hopeside too.Kristie, Johann, Enoch, Zion and Stefan Bayne31

He who has ears to hear,let him hearInaugural audiology course has commencedThe last week of May we were very busy wrapping upan introductory course we have been running with 18African Bible College (ABC) students. We then reducedthe numbers to 12 second year students. When theystart the 3rd year of their 4 year degree in August, fouror five of these students will attend an audiologycourse.In the middle of May we ran practicalsessions every afternoon for them topractice hearing testing, otoscopy andmiddle ear testing on other students.We ran this in our house, fun butexhausting! The students are doing very well. They havebeen exploring and presenting their ideas on how to linkthe message of hearing loss prevention with a messageof the gospel and they all came up with lots of differentideas.The Malawi students have also produced educationalbrochures in the local Malawi language Chichewa onear health and hearing loss prevention. The Malawiteam ran a medical ear camp at Chinsapo secondarycollege in the outer villages of Lilongwe with the teamfrom the USA, a rather overwhelming experience.Welcome visitorsIn early July a team of seven audiologists and audiologystudents visited Malawi: five from USA, one fromEcuador and one from the UK. The team traveled withPete to different areas of Malawi to run hearing clinics atschools for the deaf and in hospitals. The ABC Malawistudents traveled with them so were able to observeand be supervised by the international team. We havereceived funding for this purpose.New clinic well on its wayWe are very excited that construction has begun on apurpose-built hearing clinic funded by an Australian-African community grant scheme. It is expected to becompleted by September/October this year. This willhouse the VRA unit and ASSR/ABR equipment which isthe World Foundation.We’re coming home onfurlough!We plan to return to Australia from mid November tomid January for much needed recuperation. We lookforward to seeing you all again and updating you on ourlatest news in person.See you very soon!Peter & Rebecca Bartlett.We are so grateful for the support youhave given us and the role you haveplayed in supporting EARS.RETURNING IN NOVEMBERThe Bartlett Family is returning onfurlough from Malawi for a fewweeks for a much needed rest andcatch up with family and friends.Peter and Rebecca will be speakingon Mission Sunday 25 th Novemberat York St, for all three services.Jessica, Brianna and Elouise will be sharing theirexperiences with Yorkie Kids at 10:30am.Bec Howlett left in May for her six monthWe are looking forward to Bec sharing herMission experience in the coming weeks.Global Hearing Health ConferencePeter and I attended a conference on Global HearingHealth in Pretoria South Africa late May 2012. Petepresented a session on our work in Malawi and thevarious challenges of setting up services in a developingcountry. The conference was for people who areinterested in hearing health in developing countries. Wewere very excited to meet several people who havesupported the clinic. A few days after the conference,Pete also completed the Comrades run of 89km inDurban South Africa. He even got to see a few peoplefrom his Ballarat running group!Assessments of at-risk infants now possibleWe recently received funding from Hear the WorldPhonak for objective testing to test children from 1 dayold who are at risk of hearing loss, like children whosemother had malaria in pregnancy or had meningitis orneeded quinine treatment for malaria. This will reallychange the way we do things and has significantimplications for early hearing aid fitting within thenormal speech acquisition stages of childhood.32MISSION SUNDAY 25 th NOVEMBERPlease join us Mission Sunday as we celebrate York StJesus.SPEAKING: Peter BartlettPeter holds a Bachelor of Science, Graduate Diploma ofAudiology and a Masters in Business Administration.A Christian since first at University, Peter has served asan Elder at York St Church of Christ prior to August2010 when he and his family moved to Lilongwe inMalawi, Africa. The move was for a two year Ears Inc.project placement with African Bible CollegesCommunity Clinic, to establish permanent hearingservices and an audiology training program. Peter is aCo-founder and Vice-President of Ears Inc.Peter has worked both in Australia and abroad in anumber of developing countries in the Asia-Pacificregion as an audiologist on mission trips associatedwith Ears Inc.

Ears Inc. is an Australian, not-for-profit, nondenominationalChristian association of audiologists,audiometrists and allied health care professionalsdedicated to the training and equipping of healthworkers in developing countries, so that they can assistin the rehabilitation of the hearing impaired who wouldotherwise not have the capacity or opportunity toovercome their disability. Ears Inc. provides ongoingtraining and support to local workers of health clinics,hospitals, deaf schools and mission groups indeveloping countries. Through this training, thesevolunteers are equipped with the necessary skills andresources to rehabilitate people with hearing loss andhelp them become self-sufficient and independent.on the York St Overseas Missions Committee prior toworking in Malawi. Every year, either Peter or Rebeccahave been overseas doing voluntary audiology work,with the exception of 2000 when their first child Jessicawas born, 2002 when Brianna was born and in 2006when their youngest Elouise was born. Their longestoverseas placement was in Papua New Guinea for oversix months in 2004/05.Jessica, Brianna, and Elouise, actively participate insharing the hope of Jesus in Malawi and will be sharingtheir experiences in Kids Church on November 25 th .We ended 2011 with a Christmas Dinner at the church,Waitresses for the evening, followed by Entertainmentall who attended.2012 started in January with a large number enjoyingLunch at the Ballarat Leagues Club.February was to be a BBQ out at Kirks Reservoir but dueto the inclement weather we ended up at the Church!!!March we had lunch at the Church with a speaker fromSovereign HillApril was our bus trip to Melbourne for a Yarra RiverCruise to Williamstown a great day was had by all.May meeting was held at the Specialist School where wehad lunch and visited their farm in Norman Street (oldNorth Secondary School)while June, July & August meetings were into recess.Counter Lunches were arranged each month, which werewell attendedSeptember meeting, lunch at the church then everyoneOctober was lunch at the church, with entertainment!!!Our thanks also go to Noel & Judy Jenkins, & Jack & AnnWhite & Bob & Jan McCallum who helped us to organizeand run our get-togethers!!Thank you to everyone who supported us throughout2012, and look forward to another great year in 2013.Ian & Annette LoaderPRIME TIMEPrime Time exists to provide life enrichment to the 50+age group. Meeting on the Fourth Tuesday of themonth.33Prime Time Christmas Dinner will be held at thechurch at 6pm on Tuesday Evening 20th Novembercost $22 we need numbers with money by 11thNovember, we look forward to seeing you all for agreat night to finish our yearIan & Annette Loader

CRAFT GROUPWe have had abusy andenjoyable yearwith up to 20membersmeeting on aFriday forfriendship,craft and achat. On 14 thSeptember wecelebrated our27 th birthday.Some of ourmembers arestill busy withknitting andcrochet,making rugs,scarves andcaps whichare regularlysent to theLeprosyMission.We continue to support anIndian orphan throughChristian OutreachMinistries (COM) and wealso send money to beused by pastors in theirwork among the villagepeople and to providemattresses and bunks forthe children in theorphanages and a bike tobe used in villages.Through Churches ofChrist Overseas Aid (COCOA) we help to make animprovement in the lives of people in Zimbabwe throughself-help projects.We also make an annual donation to the ongoing workof thechurch hereat YorkStreet.Jan HowlettWe have had another very successful and busy year withgood numbers attending the Quilting Days held on thefirst and third Saturday of each month.Our first major activity was making Breast Cancer Bagsfor Breast Cancer Patients in support of a project run bythe ZONTA Club. We worked on the project for one dayand managed to complete over 80 cushion covers thatwere handed over to Zonta to be filled.Then in April we had a 12 hour day where many of theladies worked on a mystery quilt and shared a take-awayshared luncheon. In May we had a quilt painting day andJune saw Bev organise a project day where many lovelyquilting bags were produced. Sue had given aChristmas Cup Bag as a Kirs Kringle give in Decemberand many of us were envious of the recipient, Sue waskind enough to help us make one for ourselves. InAugust we held our annual Getaway where 20 ladiesspent a fun weekend at Bacchus March quilting andworking on their projects.Saturdays are shared with everyone working hard on theirquilting projects and sharing what has been happening intheir lives many funny stories are shared along with thesad and everyone continues to support the members ofour group. The year has seen a lot a quilts completed byour members, some they keep for themselves and othersare given to family and friends.We would like to thank Val for being there every weekand supporting and encouraging us with our projects.ART AND CRAFT COMPANYArt and Craft Company are a group of craft-lovingpeople who meet for a day of fun, fellowship andCRAFT each Friday at the church from 10am until2pm.Please see Jan or Harold Howlett for moreinformation.SEW & SEWSThe Sew & Sews quilting and patchwork group meettogether for fun and fellowship whilst sharing theirinterest in patchwork.The meeting place is at the church on the first andthird Saturdays of the month from 10am-3pm. Costis $5 per session. Morning and afternoon teasupplied.Beginners are most welcome!34

BECSBallarat East Communityoperating at 730 Eureka Stfor over 6 years. We arepart of the fastest growingwith over 800 shedsAustralia wide. The modelhas been implementedoverseas and in Irelandwhere year ago theProtestants and Catholicswere killing each other theyare now meeting togetherclaim to be a Christiangroup but a number of men from York St are membersand are helping to run BECS. We are continuallyreminded of the biblicalcommand to be in theworld but not of theworld. When you sitdown and talk to the menand to hear stories oftheir background and lifeexperience they havecome a long way just to beat the shed. It is still ourdesire that these men wouldcome to a Christianexperience but lots ofprayer and support isrequired and this is wherethe church family can beinvolved. Some of theissues that our men arefacing are social isolation,separation, depression,anger management,bereavement , familydysfunction and numerousother debilitating situations.It is encouraging to see the change in some of the menwhen given some encouragement and support.Doug JenkinsCOUNTRY SPEAKERSYork St Church of Christ, as a large regional church, has been providing visiting speakers for some smallcountry churches for many years now. It is a wonderful opportunity for us to partner with our Brothers andSisters in Christ in places like St. Arnaud and Wedderburn. It also provides a great chance for people to stepout in faith and stretch themselves as they prepare a message and present a sermon to othercongregations.This year we have looked to expand the number of speakers to include some members from one2one church as well.This ties in with our core value of unity and widens the pool which will hopefully enable us to offer assistance to othersmall congregations in western Victoria.Thanks to Ben Dainton, Neil Davies, Tim Drough, Bruce Harmer, David Harmer, Julian Hopkins, Aaron Maskell, CharlesMilne, Blake Moore, Rob Petty, Neil Steinman, Tim Veal for making yourselves available to share in this ministry.Blessings,David J WestawayPlease pray for Julian Hopkins andAaron Maskell who are supporting our sisterchurches through preaching this month.35

FEARFULLY & WONDERFULLY MADESalt and Pepper ArticleTHE HEAD OF THE BODYPart Two of TwoCharles Plum was a jet fighter pilot in Vietnam. After his75 th combat mission his plane was hit by a surface-toairmissile forcing him to eject and to parachute intoenemy hands. He survived six years in a Communistprison, before his release when he became amotivational speaker, lecturing about his experiences.One day he was sitting with his wife in restaurant whena man from the opposite table got up and walked overfighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk.That night Plum could not sleep as he wondered abouthow that man would have looked in his Navy uniform: aDixie-cup hat, a bib in the back and bell bottommight have seen him on the Kitty Hawk, and passed himby without even speaking with him, because, you see, Iimagined the man spending many hours in the bowelsof the ship carefully weaving shrouds and folding thesilks of each chute, especially the chute which saved hisEvery part of the Body is important. This true storyillustrates what Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians about thebody being a unit made up of many parts such as limbs,organs and cells. He makes it clear that the sum of themany parts makes up one body and that it makes nodifference whether the part is visible or clothed, higherto hear. We know that our olfactory senses are capableof discriminating 10,000 different odours and detectingone garlic molecule from the smell of 50,000 othermolecules. Messages, whether from the ear, nose,tongue or fingertips are changed into much higher levelsof meaning, thanks to the amazing capacity of oursecluded brain. Every sensation that we experience,every piece of data that we receive from our senseorgans, terminates in that ivory fortress. Nothing hasmeaning until our brain, which is made of edible meat,takes hold of it, and translates it into a sense either ofsmell, taste or vision.describes another amazing function of the brain. Hein from the various organs of the body and sendingmessages out to the extremities. In the entire brain, onlyone in one thousand cells will report in from theextremities: all visual images, sounds, all touch and painsensations, all smells, the monitors of blood pressure andchemical changes, the sensation of hunger, thirst,muscular tension, occupy only 0.001 % or one-tenth ofone percent of the brains cells! Our very selective brainsadmit just a few hundred messages out of one hundredmillion. Another two-tenths of one percent of cells controlall motor activities: the motions of playing a pianoconcerto, speaking a language, dancing a ballet, typing atogether in an intercommunication system that allowsanother process to happen we know it as thought andwill!Sometimes the body will need healing. As the physicalbody can sometimes get sick, so the Body of Christ canbecome ill, causing disconnection and dissensionmight consider itself to be more important than another.members of the church can suffer from disconnection toone another. He describes people who become legalistic,am not elegant like you, embellished with rings, I guess Iof the body is fearfully and wonderfully made. Forexample, when a friend talks to us, molecules vibrateand move our eardrum one ten thousandth of acentimetre before that mechanical energy is convertedto electrical current and fired along thousands of wiresor neurons- to the auditory part of our brain, enabling us36has seen in others, and his unspiritual mind puffs him upwith idle notions. He has lost connection with the-a theological word for such poisons in the Body: sin. Sinsteals into the intimate channel between Head andmember, interrupting communication and separating thecell from the higher authority that directs and coordinatesits actions. If a prophetic cell refuses to warn the rest of

November 2012Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday123Mainly MusicArt & Craft GroupSew & SewsGroup45 6 78910CELEBRATIONSUNDAYAGM @ 1pmWorship PracticeMainly MusicArt & Craft GroupSwitch YouthCWiBArvo Group111213 14151617Miss anOpportunityService at KirraleeMOPSYear 9 & 10 GirlsGroupWorship PracticeMainly MusicArt & Craft GroupGroupSteve GraceConcertSew & SewsEureka Men1819 2021222324FOOD SUNDAYPrime TimeChristmas DinnerWorship PracticeMainly MusicArt & Craft GroupSwitch YouthWeddingArvo Group252627 282930Theme: MissionSundayPrayer & WorshipMOPSYear 9 & 10 GirlsGroupMainly MusicArt & Craft GroupWorship Practicethe body, we may stumble off course. If one part of ourbody becomes insensitive to pain in a finger or limb,that part will gradually deteriorate. The member cellsfrom all parts of the body continually send in a flood ofdata about the health of the Body, informing the Headabout the condition of cells themselves and the sentientworld outside. If the way in is accurate and complete,and the cells receiving the messages along the way outare obedient and responsive, only then will the bodyIn our analogy, the brain is truly the holy of holies. It isthe place where one hundred trillion nerve cells of thebody are managed. As an analogy of the Body of Christas used by Paul, it is Christ who is the Head and thesource of all Godly wisdom and unity of the wholeBody. When Christ ascended to heaven he left His Bodyhere on earth consisting of millions of individual cells ormembers of his Church. As the Head, he nowestablishes his presence in the world through peoplelike us. Some will be the eyes, some the ears, some thevoice and some will be the heart of his Church. In a waytoo mysterious to understand, he has chosen us as hisonly way of communicating to the rest of the world. Inorder to be healthy members of his Body we must relyon the messages coming from the head to each of usbecause only the head can determine the needs of thewhole body.Paul speaking to the philosophers in Athens told themmaintaining spiritual mental and physical health. As theBody of Christ, the Church has to deal with the tensionsand pressures of modern life and become a presence inan increasingly secular society. But God has provided uswith a way of doing this. God who created us in hisimage is ever waiting and willing to re-create us. Thesecret is simple: we are to maintain contact with him,and to allow him to restore our strength and power andvitality to every part of our body, mind and soul.Ray Veal.37

CHURCH STAFF AND OFFICE VOLUNTEERSYORK STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST PAID STAFFPosition Name Days/Week2011Days/Week2012Senior Pastor Tim Clark 5 5Associate Pastor Blake Moore 5 5Colette Harrison 1.5 3Music and Creative Ministries Angela Oliver 3 2Kids Hope Coordinator Chris Barlow 1 1Student Minister Ben Dainton 1 1Operations Manager Robert Ling 2 2Office Administrator 3.5 3.5Administration Trainee * Michelle McCausland - 1.5 *CleanerSimone Berry/ RaquelMarbella2 2* This is a fixed term position for 2012/13YORK STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST OFFICE VOLUNTEERSPosition Name Days/Week2011Days/Week2012Ministry Support Rob Petty 3 3Treasurer Kay Wilson 1 1Administration Support/ Office Assistant Maree Dorn 0.6 0.6Finance Support Ron Greenwood 0.5 0.5Music Support Val Tonkin 0.25 0.25IT/ Data SupportPastoral CarePaul Duthie/ JamesMcKee/ Josh McKeeHeather Gordon &Team1 1- 2-438

ATTENDANCE AND TITHING SUMMARIES39

FINANCIAL SUMMARYYORK STREET CHURCH OF CHRISTFINANCIAL SUMMARYFOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE, 2012INCOME $474,937.02EXPENDITURE $426,509.74SURPLUS $ 48,427.28Average Weekly Offering is $ 8,647.64EXTRAORDINARY INCOME $ 26,709.10EXTRAORDINARY EXPENDITURE $ 18,658.08BUILDING FUND INCOME $114,769.67Audit has been completed by Barry BrownAs at 15/10/12 $384,396.22 has been expended on the Building extensions and Playground.Approximately $110,000 will be required to complete the project. Loan repayments on thisamount would be $1,300 per month or $300 p.w for a 10 year loan.A budget has been prepared. Offerings would need to increase to $9,150 pw to cover costsexcluding any loan repayments.Kaylene WilsonTreasurerN.B. A more detailed report about church finances for 2011/12 is available from the church office,on request.40

APPENDIX 1SUMMARY OF MINUTES OF 2011 AGMThe Annual General Meeting (AGM) of York Street Church of Christ was held on Sunday 13th November, 2011.Meeting opened at 1pmTim Clark opened the meeting by thanking the staff and all those involved in the life of the church, then opened inprayer.Tim Veal also stated that the AGM was being recorded and requested anyone speaking uses a microphone and statestheir name.1. Attendance and ApologiesTim Veal asked that all attendees fill in the attendance sheet.2. Acceptance of the 2010 AGM MinutesRichard Lyons stated that the nomination and election of Kay Wilson was not minuted, but with that amendment,Richard agreed to move the motion. It was seconded by Max Duthie.3. Business arising from the 2010 AGM MinutesNothing arising.Motion carried4. Adoption of 2011 Annual Reports (taken as read)Moved by David J Westaway and seconded by David G Westaway.5. Business Arising from 2011 ReportsMotion carriedTim Clark thanked Kristin and Lynden and others who put the reports together and asked for a round of applause fortheir assistance.- Kay WilsonKay thanked Tim and staff for their support.Offerings: a lot of people have taken advantage of direct credit. We have raised $70,000 for the building fund duringthe year which has resulted in a small drop in general offerings.Budget: Operating surplus of $32,000.Barry Brown - questioned the increase in administration fees. This relates to the change in method that Churches ofChrist use to calculate membership fees. i.e. percentage of our income, and we are likely to get a rebate.Need to find extra for increase in photocopier expenses each year ($12,000).Barry Brown queried capital expenses. Kaylene responded by saying that most expenses are due to playground &building design fees. Computer equip, gardening equip and sound and lighting equip.Missions - Church contribution is not 10% of the offering - queried by Barry Brown. Kaye will investigate but thinks it isdue to a classification error.Geoff Barlow - questioned assets register. We have not had land and buildings formally valued hence they are notrecorded as current market value -Kaye discussed the loan arrangements through the Property Fund and annual servicing costs. Interest rate wasquestioned and Richard advised of the key decision to use Property Corp as compared to other major lendinginstitutions, principally to ensure our property is not sold from under us in the event of the worst case scenario of us notbeing able to service the loan.7. Election of Kay Wilson as Treasurer for 2012Tim Veal moved that Kaye be voted Treasurer for next year and it was seconded by Rob Petty.41Motion carried

8. Notice of Motion for Special MeetingsMotion read by Tim Veal (Chair of Elders)Moved by Elders, seconded by EldersNigel Maloney --Bob Feary - raised concerns about the shortening of the term of notice.Heather Maloney - suggested that the caveat be it will only be 2 weeks if absolutely necessary, otherwise it will be 8weeks.Glenn Valentine clarified that the church would be given as much notice as possible to make major decisions, and thisapplied only for urgent decisions where absolutely necessary.Max Duthie - raised concerns about people being away on holidays during the short notice period and suggested thatthe term be changed to extra-ordinary meetings instead of special meetings.Tim Clark - some things cannot wait 8 weeks for a decision to be made. Some people who go away go away forlonger than 8 weeks in any case. With all the contact options available most people will be notified.Barry Brown - asked the question if borrowing $250,000 would be classed as a major decision?Tim Clark - responded it would be. Question is what is a major decision?David G Westaway - stated it was a case of trust in the Eldership to make the right decisions.Ron Greenwood -Henry Deutscher -It was seconded by Sue Leaney.Richard Lyons - explained in the event of people not understanding the detail of a special meeting, they can vote inthe negative and this is a checking mechanism that can be relied on.Motion carried9. General BusinessNone raised.10. AGM for 201211. Closing PrayerTim Veal closed the meeting in prayer.Please note:The official record of the 2011 AGM is an audio file. Please contact the church office to request a copy, if desired.There is in excess of one hour of discussion. This is a summary of what occurred.42

Regular Service TimesTraditional Service 8.45amFamily Service 10.30am(including Yorkie Kids)Worship6pmSenior PastorTim Clark Clark.Tim@yorkst.com.auAssociate PastorBlake Moore Moore.Blake@yorkst.com.auColette Harrison Harrison.Colette@yorkst.com.auMusic and Creative MinistriesAngela Oliver Oliver.Angela@yorkst.com.auKids Hope CoordinatorChris Barlow Barlow.Christine@yorkst.com.auStudent MinisterBen Dainton Dainton.Ben@yorkst.com.auMinistry SupportRob Petty Petty.Rob@yorkst.com.auOperations ManagerRobert Ling Ling.Robert@yorkst.com.auOffice AdministratorAdministration TraineeMichelle McCausland mccausland.michelle@yorkst.com.auPHONE: 03 5331 1079EMAIL: office@yorkst.com.auWEBSITE: www.yorkst.com.auADDRESS: 410 York Street Ballarat 3350OFFICE HOURS: 9am-3pm Monday-FridayKindergarten DirectorCath ZalaPHONE: (03) 5333 4116EMAIL: kinda@yorkst.com.au43