Fall 2001
In This Issue...
A Rule of Life for Small Groups
New Resources for Small-Group Ministries
On July 31-August 14, Jerry and Betty Holliday, coordinators in Kansas, led an international team of 68 people to do missions in Australia. Three team members from New Zealand, seven from the United Kingdom, and ten from Australia joined 48 people from the USA to lead nine missions and to relaunch the ministry of Lay Witness Missions in that country. One mission was in northern Queensland, four in Queensland in the Gold Coast area, and four in South Australia near Adelaide.
The second weekend, one church took seriously the Great Commission to reach out to all people, and, with a bit of adaptation in the schedule, contacted a number of unchurched people in the area around the church. They felt strongly that all people should hear the stories of the difference Jesus Christ made in the lives of people.
A common thread running through the hopes and dreams of one church is that they will continue to meet in small groups to hear the faith journeys in order to encourage one another and to share the struggles and decisions. They want to continue the kind of Christian community that formed over the weekend and see this as a way to reach out in ministry to others.
On Friday night people in the small groups were asked why they had come. "Out of curiosity" was a common response! They wanted to meet these "strange" people from other places as well as to find out what a Lay Witness Weekend was all about. However, the curiosity was quickly replaced with a sense that we were truly part of a family of God. By the end of the time together, many made first-time commitments to Jesus Christ; and in some of the churches, the altar rail was filled on Sunday morning with people kneeling in prayer. Relationships were healed, and many members made commitments to help the church be in ministry in new ways.
Another result of the missions is that team members from Australia will be working with Uniting Church leaders to redevelop the Lay Witness Ministry for their own people. In sharing hospitality and our faith journeys, we were strangers no more!
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