Some encouragements from the Emerge Program

Jude Simion, Director of the Emerge program, writes about his experience of visiting a small church recently.

“I had the privilege of attending Sunday morning worship in a small congregation in the southwestern suburb of Sydney, and it happened to be their Annual General Meeting.

The Pastor gave his report: ‘A few years ago, out of 279 parishes in the denomination, we were considered to be poorest.’

I thought this little church was going mad; today, 70% of congregants come from a migrant background, many are refugees, and some come from other religious backgrounds. They also received two Pakistani refugee families to support and integrate them into their local parish area.

 The most impressive thing in their Annual Report was their commitment to supporting the ministries outside the church, including Emerge Program ENC.

A member of the congregation recommended that the ‘Church should now consider giving for missions overseas and support ministries reaching out to other communities and religious groups.’