Mission -
God's World Matters
God loves the world! As a church, we want to join in his good work of restoring and renewing all things through Jesus. We are following His lead in this by encouraging everyone to consider how our faith impacts every part of our lives - our work, rest, finances, education and relationships with those both similar and different to us. We want to share the good news about Jesus with all those who have ears to hear!
Also, in light of God’s heart for the broken and vulnerable, we are praying about and paying particular attention to how we can serve people in need this year.
Elon & Joyce
Alva
OM Ships
Discipling young people internationally, sharing knowledge, help, & hope.
Elon & Joyce have been in faith-based mission work since 1985, much of it on OM mission ships. Since 2008, they have been ministering out of Newcastle and are a regular part of our Belair Baptist Community.
The OM Ship Ministry that they work with shares knowledge, help and hope in and around the world's port cities using two ships, Logos Hope and Doulos Hope. The mission disciples followers of Jesus to share the life-changing message of the Kingdom of God with all people in every nation. On average a million people visit the ships every year and 200 young people are trained to share their faith and serve faithfully.Elon and Joyce recruit, pastor and take meetings in the Hunter region and beyond.Elon provides technical support for the ships and shore offices around the world. He travels regularly overseas to the ships and for executive meetings.
Phill & Di Marshall
SIM - Australia
Nurturing new generations in ministry and mission.
Phillip and Diane have served with SIM since 1986 initially as cross-cultural workers in Peru. Prior to Covid they were based in Singapore with mission leadership positions. Now based in Newcastle they are a valued part of the Belair Baptist community.
They are committed to seeing a new generation nurtured into mission.
Andy & Emma Joey & Lily Bollom
Mission to QLD - Townsville
Andy and Emma Bollom serve the future generations in Townsville by creating spaces for First Nations children and families to encounter Jesus, and discover their design and voice to release heaven on earth.
Their 2023 in summary:
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A team of 27 travelled to Sydney in April to dance, learn and grow at Oak City Blacktown and Soul Survivour Conference.
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A team of 24 served alongside the church in Yarrabah in June with youth and evening fellowship.
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Two special youth weekend camps with 20-25 at risk youth.
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Celebrating 15 baptisms in our church community during Term 3 and 4
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New opportunities to dance in Sydney, Laura, Heatley Primary, Palm Island, Yarrabah, Global Leaders Summit TSV, and Stable NQ.
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A team of 19 went again to Yarrabah in December.
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The school is being restored and rebuilt spiritually and culturally, alongside student enrolments up from 80 to 180 in four years.
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Our young leaders are rising up culturally and spiritually to lead our church and city.
Sign up to their newsletter below or follow them on socials!
Caiphas & Sekai
SIM - Zimbabwe
SIM Zimbabwe leads a number of different ministries working together to transform communities through the gospel.The overall goals of SIM Zimbabwe are
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Zimbabwe fully evangelised: that no one may live without hearing the gospel and having a chance to respond to it.
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Believers discipled to live out the gospel in word and deed.
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Christ’s compassionate love shared among the poor, marginalised and hurting.
Project - Conservation Farming Zimbabwe
Led by horticulturalist Geoffrey Chimani has brought hope to poor rural communities. He trains subsistence farmers to dig holes in which to plant maize seed. This conserves water and fertilizer and the resulting increase in yield is something communities thank God for. It also enables farmers to sell excess grain to pay school fees for their children. Communities are being transformed.
Project - Talitha Cumi (‘Little girl arise’)
Violet Myambo leads this project supporting vulnerable girls in Mutare. The girls are either orphans or unsafe or unwelcome at home. They learn to pray and trust God, have their school fees paid and receive sanitary pads to enable them to attend school full time. Violet believes that the future of Zimbabwe depends on educated, Godly mothers who will influence their families and communities with the gospel.
Project - LEARN
Led by Nyasha Chimanzi to equip church leaders to become effective communicators of the gospel.
LEARN is a mobile library of biblical materials on a phone or tablet. In the last 3 years 505 pastors from 19 church denominations have received the packs and training in how to use them. Nyasha targets the most isolated and resource poor pastors. The project is stalled at present due to lack of funds but Nyasha is travelling on public transport to regions she has never been, doing ongoing training and encouragement of those who already have the LEARN library.
In 2017 when LEARN started only 5% of pastors in Africa had been formerly trained before going into ministry. About the same percentage had a full Bible with all pages. The majority had incomplete Bibles and no training and these are the church leaders! That’s why LEARN is so important and why Belair church has been involved with this project. You can give to support Nyasha’s work with SIM Zimbabwe
Project - Windows of Hope and Operation Neighbour Care
Windows of Hope and Operation Neighbour Care has been operating since the early days of HIV/AIDS in Africa when there was great stigma. Neighbourhood support groups are still helping many women who have lived with the disease long term to grow in faith and lead hopeful productive lives
Dave & Caz
Baptist Mission Australia - South East Asia
Leadership and Community transformation
Dave and Caz moved to South- East Asia in 2000 and are committed to this region long term. For the last several years Dave and Caz have been engaged in education consultancy, seeking to improve local teaching standards by providing capacity building and professional development to lecturers and teachers. Through this they are seeing staff experiencing life-changing encounters with the One Who Lives.
Dave and Caz have a leadership role with other cross-cultural workers in South- East Asia. Their team is involved with ‘Reading Gardens’ (literacy centres for underprivileged children where children are helped with homework and life skills are taught to the wider community), Creation Care (recycling initiatives in scavenger communities) and everyday living and praying in communities allowing the light of Jesus to shine through them.
Steven & Katrina
Nicholas
OM (Operation Mobilisation)
Discipling teens from mission families
Katrina and Steven work closely with teenagers of families on the mission field. Being a teenager is a tricky season of life and some of these teens live where there are few, if any churches. They may have no youth group, or friends their age to explore faith with or live and grow as believers.
Such teenagers face additional pressures and situations that are unique to third culture teenagers.They ‘meet’ weekly online, providing a space to be mentored and nurtured in faith.
OM’s Mission Teens Only camp
Every summer Katrina and Steven are part of OM’s Mission Teens Only camp which brings teens from many parts of the world to study the Bible, explore issues and have fun together. The camp is a vital experience which helps these young people connect with like-minded teenagers & gives them spiritual guidance for their unique circumstances. Belair has provided sponsorship for some teens to attend the camp where money might otherwise be a barrier.