We are still giving thanks to God for the amazing response to the Double Our Numbers Survey. We initially thought that 500 completed surveys would be an excellent result. So we were astounded when 1439 of you completed the survey - with 531 responses on the last day! Thank you so much!
In this Good News Update, we are very pleased to announce the prize winners and share with you some of the latest developments.
In regard to helping new believers grow in their faith, the apostle Paul wrote, "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow" (1 Corinthians 3:6,7). Our prayer is that God will grow a strong and vibrant community of on-line activists who will pray and give and take action in response to the many challenges we face as Christians in Australia today.
If we compare our community with a new forest of trees, we can plant and water and protect it from bushfires but it is God who makes it grow!
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| Australian Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus Regnans) |
Please pray that God will grow the Canberra Declaration community for His glory and that by standing together we can be of greater influence than alone.
The Australian Heart Ministries Board, which has oversight of the Canberra Declaration, have been evaluating the suggestions you gave for doubling our number of signees. Out of 460 suggestions here are five that have been suggested by many -
- Every signee get at least one more person to sign - 70 (15%)
- Promote through Facebook and other social media - 58 (12%)
- Contact all church denominations and local churches - 57 (12%)
- Prepare a promotional video and literature such as flyers, leaflets, posters - 38 (8%)
- Promote through Christian Radio, TV and Other Publications - 24 (5%)
Here are three of many other exciting ideas suggested.
- Promote the Canberra Declaration in Christian Colleges and ask if flyers can be added to Orientation packages. This is a key place to find the next generation of leaders.
- Contact Ethnic Christians and Churches - Almost 1 in 4 Australians were born overseas and 750,000 new ethnic Christians have migrated to Australia in recent years. Many new Australians value very highly the freedoms we have.
- Canberra Declaration Road Show - There's nothing like face-to-face contact. Since Australia is a big place, creative alternatives to a physical road show, such as a virtual one, could be explored.
Using the criteria of originality, practicality, relevancy and inspiration, the five Board members have awarded the three first prizes and an additional two as highly commendable. Congratulations to these winners -
Cheryl Mountford Fayez Gindi Leigh Austin Doug Dowling Michael Kohler
An additional 25 second and 60 third prize winners are listed below in alphabetical order. All will receive of a selection of Bibles, books and DVDs donated by Col Stringer Ministries, Five Loaves Entertainment, Heritage Films and Koorong.
In September, we also contacted the 577 who volunteered to help the Canberra Declaration in some way. The first group of these was the Canberra Declaration prayer team. We are pleased to announce that this Prayer Team which has prayed for the ministry of the Canberra Declaration over the last four years, is now 10 times larger with 225 members! This we feel was a great place to start because we asked them to pray for the rest of the volunteers. The second group we contacted were the 159 who volunteered to be involved in Facebook and social media. Finally we wrote to the 139 who have volunteered in other areas:
- writers - 54
- helping with mailouts - 34
- entering data - 29
- helping with administration - 20
- phoning - 14
- doing artwork or design - 9
- promoting at a conference - 10
- organising a meeting - 9
- helping with website work - 9
- helping with fundraising - 5
We are so encouraged by this expression of support! This month we will be doing our best to mobilise this great community of helpers by assigning particular jobs to different ones. (Others can still join these volunteers!)
The Double Our Numbers Survey gave us our first glimpse into the demographics of the Canberra Declaration signees. One of the most striking findings was that 65.9 % of those who completed the survey were 55 or older! Pastor Matt Prater, Chairman of the National Day of Prayer & Fasting, speaking at a recent Family Voice Australia annual review in Queensland, honoured senior Australians as the forerunners and prayer warriors and the backbone of many organisations. But then he went on to ask, "Where is the next generation?"
Please pray that God will grow the Canberra Declaration community not just numerically but with an increase of members of every generation and every ethnic Christian community in Australia.
