The 2004 annual report for the English Ministry can be found below.

Contents

• English Ministry Committee
• English Ministry Web Site
• Worship Services
• Fellowship Groups
  • EDJ
  • Crossfire
  • Bulb
  • Team χ
  • Workers' Group

English Ministry Committee

The English Ministry Committee (EMC) has been established since March 1999. This was around the time when the weekly Sunday Service began. The EMC is a group of mature, experienced Christian leaders, appointed by Deacon Board, that:

• seeks to understand and relate to the whole of the English Congregation
• relates to the Chinese Congregation and Deacon Board
• makes decisions regarding the strategic planning and the day-to-day administration to serve the English Congregation in humility, to give direction and purpose to the English Ministry
• performs a spiritual role with respect to the English Congregation under the authority of the Pastor and the Deacon Board

Members of the EMC are appointed by the Deacon Board annually. In addition, members of the EMC are expected to:

• be voting members of North Side Chinese Alliance Church
• be leaders of a ministry group within the English Ministry
• have a vision of developing the ministry groups in the English Ministry
• be able to think strategically and over the long term
• personally care for members within the English Ministry
• encourage the English Ministry as a whole to serve the community and the world
• be aware of the continuous changes both in the world and in the English Congregation, in order to strategically plan for the English Ministry

More information can be viewed in http://english.nscac.org.au/docs.

This year EMC consists of Betty Chan, Dorothy Cheng, Erica Yu, Keith Tang, Kelvin Mo, Paul Sun, Win Sun. Tony Tang is the representative from Deacon Board sitting in the EMC meetings. Since EMC is a ministry based committee, all members are responsible to particular ministry groups.

The ministry groups for which each EMC member is responsible, along with the groups’ leaders, are:

• EDJ advisors : Betty Chan, Dave Martin, Erica Yu, Keith Tang, Peter Chan
• Crossfire advisors: Ava Lam, Keith Tang
• Bulb advisors: Erica Yu, Kelvin Mo, Paul Sun
• Team χ coordinator & advisor: Ethan Zuo, Win Sun respectively
• Workers' Group coordinator, Acting EMC chairperson: Paul Sun
• 501 Service administrator: Win Sun
• Worship coordinators: Dorothy Cheng, Eddie Mo, Erica Yu

We have leaders (named included in the above) working together to form teams. Since Rhys had left in the beginning of this year, preachers from different churches speak in 501 Services. Give thanks to God that most of the transition / handover period ran very smoothly. And He prepared Dave joining us as Youth Ministry Assistant and speak regularly in 5: 01 services.

We have quarterly meeting to deal with ministry reports & discussion. We discuss & handle most of the general, and logetic issues through frequent emails and phone calls. We arrange case-meetings to deal with emerging issues & concerns. EMC and deacons meet together quarterly to share and discuss wider church matters.

Personally, I enjoy the time working with these young but mature Christians. They give me insight and encouragement to grow spiritually. We have gone through a lot of issues through arguments, open discussion, reconciliation and encouragement. Attending the EMC weekend retreat has been a highlight. We made strategically plans and tactics to effectively serve our congregation. We shared and discussed "endlessly". We shared about our experiences and future, strength and weakness. We support each other in serving. I am very thankful to our Lord for placing these young mature Christians in my spiritual journey!

English Ministry Web Site

The English Ministry Web Site was launched on 1 August 2004. It is the cumulation of the efforts of many people over the past nine months.

With the web site, you can:

• Find out what are the latest news from the English Congregation
• Find out what to pray for with daily e-mail alerts
• Keep informed with the latest events
• Read sharing by members of the English Congregation
• View photos
• Refer your friends for general information about the English Ministry and groups that meet regularly

The English Ministry Web Site is at english.nscac.org.au.

Please give thanks and pray for the Web Site. Give thanks for the dedication of the entire web site team in developing the web site over 2004, and for the many people who have visited it since. Please pray that the web site can be used to further strengthen the fellowship amongst members of the English Congregation, and that through it they may be encouraged to pray regularly.

Worship Services

This year we have two worship teams serve in 501:

1. Team Sharp: Eddie Mo, William Tsoi, Gloria Kwan, Marianne Chiang, Ka Shu Wong
2. Team Natural: Erica Yu, Dorothy Cheng, Kelvin Ng, Ava Lam, Jane Lam

What’s been happening this year?

1. Training and development
   • We had Musicians’ Training Day on 27/3, around 10 people attended
   • We have two people training on-the-job this year, they are Quincy (bass) and Vincy (piano)
2. Both Worship Teams continued to grow – in terms of their musical skills eg. trying new things (eg. new arrangements), and in their communication with their fellow team members. Our Worship Teams have introduced a number of new songs to the congregation, and both teams have put in a great deal of effort to work together as a team in order to offer the best to God.
3. Social activity – we had our “Tennis and Lunch Day”. It was great to have fun together away from our usual duties, and people got to hit some balls and enjoy hot dogs.
4. Good Friday Service was a memorable day. We had an early rehearsal in the morning, and people from both teams were able to act in the drama which was based on the last seven sentences from Jesus on the cross - great team work!
5. We’ve been using the data projector during 501 since July this year when our church bought this equipment. We are thankful that we can use it for our service and God also provided a freeware called EasiSlide for us to use. We can provide electronic format slides for lyrics, sermon, bible reading and announcements. We are looking forward to use it for other media in the future.
6. We reprinted our songbooks to solve its shortage and all ministry groups were given a set of copies to their group.
7. I am so thankful that throughout the year God gave us people serve Him faithfully in different areas. This year we had Jason Mo who reminded people of their roster duty through email. He also helped us control the data projector. Keith Chan and a number of others served us through managing the audio system during service.
8. Thank God for all worship leaders and attendants, who serve in worship willingly and wholeheartedly.

EDJ

What’s EDJ?

EDJ (Every Day Jesus) is the youth ministry group for junior high students (year 7-9) who are interested in learning about Jesus, discovering who God is, and digging into the Bible.

What do the students do in EDJ?

Weekly programs include games, group discussions, food and fun, and time to read the Bible with questions which allow the students to investigate and discover Christianity for themselves and also to challenge those who have been brought up through Sunday School on their walk with God.

When does EDJ meet?

EDJ meets at 9:15am at Epping West Primary School on Sundays during the school term.

What has EDJ done in 2004?

• Camp: Our camp in April at Crosslands Convention Centre looked at how to follow Jesus as a student with the bible studies focusing on peer pressure, bullying and swearing.
• Programs: Money / Basic Christianity / Creation / Abraham / Jesus / Made in God’s Image/ Why Go To Church? / What Does It Mean To Be A Christian? / Parental Guidance ……and loads more!
• Breakfast@Boronia: An outing at the end of Term 3 to Boronia Park to grab some breakfast cooked by the students and to have fun!

What’s EDJ+?

EDJ+ is an optional component which is run after EDJ for those students who are interested in digging deeper in the Bible and tackling harder questions on the passage and how it applies to their lives.

In 2004 we have covered the entire book of Ephesians, looked at the first 9 chapters of 1 Corinthians, and are currently learning how to read the bible for ourselves (such as understanding the background, audience, keeping passages in context and using resources such as Bible dictionaries and concordances).

What’s been happening in EDJ in 2004?

Much change has occurred to EDJ since the beginning of the year:

• We welcomed Erica and Dave as EDJ advisors.
• We farewell the Year 9 students who moved to Crossfire in Term 4.

Appreciation and Thanksgiving:

• Queenie and Jane who have been the Parents’ Representatives throughout 2004 and their great work in organising the Parents’ Meetings.
• All the workers in EDJ – Peter, Dave and Erica for their time and energy.
• The support of the English Ministry Committee.
• Parents who have supported us by active involvement and prayer.

Personal reflections

This year has been quite a journey for me. Having come into EDJ at the beginning of the year with no real knowledge of what junior high ministry involved, God has taught me much through these young people, their parents and the workers in EDJ.

I feel it is a privilege for me to be able to serve in this ministry as it was during my teenage years I came to know Jesus as my personal Saviour and began to understand what it meant to be a Christian and its implications in my everyday life. And so I come into this ministry feeling the burden of responsibility to share, teach and encourage these young people so that they may know Jesus, as the youth leaders in my younger years had done for me.

It has been an exciting year, to see the EDJ members grow in understanding of the gospel, perceive the differences between Christian and non-Christians, and build their relationship with one another in fellowship. God is working in these young people’s lives in marvelous ways!

So what’s in store for 2005?

• Welcoming new members from Sunday School.
• More involvement in planning and leading the programs from the students themselves.

Crossfire

What is Crossfire (CF)?

This is a youth ministry for year 10-12 which aims to build up young Christians in maturity towards everyday Christian living. We meet mostly on Sundays (2004) and have outings once every month.

We are a fellowship ministry that aims to build relationships with each other and spur each other on towards a growing relationship with God. As an outflow of those relationships, we try to proclaim the gospel with our programs and lives.

Activities and Members:

Our activities mostly consist of programs centred around the Bible and the messages it has for us today in our daily lives. Relevant topics involving media, boy-girl relationships, alcohol & drugs, social relationships, familial relationships are often the focus of the program. Christian doctrine and disciplines such as Bible reading, worship and the Trinity are also part of the activities. Other times, we just enjoy the company of each other and hang out and have fun.

In the 4th school term of 2004, EDJ’s year 9 joined CF as part of a tactical decision to develop leadership and foster growth in EDJ.

Advisors and Leadership:

The advisors for this group (2004) are Keith Tang and Ava Lam who act as “guides” for the member’s spiritual growth and supervisors for the programs. The advisors also help a group of member leaders including Gary Lo, Henry Tsui, Asa Lam, Vivian Chan and Alice Ng in arranging the programs and outings and provide leadership for the group.

2004:

In 2004:

• We have had a successful camp at Crosslands Convention Centre in April where the topic of focus was life as a student and Christian and how they impact on one another.
• This year we also attended and supported RICE which is an outreach meeting of Chinese Australian high school students.
• Continued building strong relationships through social events
• We completed topics on some fundamentals of Christianity
• Media and its influence on youth have been a focus in the programs and awareness has been raised in the group
• Built up a strong leadership core group

Thanksgiving and Prayer points:

Thank God for Jeffrey who has committed his life to the Lord this year and for the continued growth of CF this year. God has richly provided continuing safety and smooth running of the program this year.

We hope for continuity in the proposed change of time for 2005 and the transition of the members into a new school grade. Please also pray for the youth’s relationship with God and that in this pressure-filled world, they will continue to grow in Him.

Bulb

Please see the attachment below.

Team χ

Please see the attachment below.

Workers' Group

Around December 2003, the EMC noted that some members in English Congregation did not have any fellowship catered for them as they:

• have just started working
• have been working for a while
• will leave university soon, or
• cannot attend any fellowship group because of serving in other ministry group or other timing problems

In addition, over the next few years more and more young people from the English Congregation will join the workforce. As a result, the EMC decided to propose to the Deacon Board to organise a new fellowship group, known as Workers’ Group.

On 16 January 2004, eleven people (Amy, Anna, Betty, Bill, Dorothy, Erica, Jennifer, Kelvin, Matt, Paul and Win) met for the first group meeting to work out what were the objectives of this group for the rest of the year, our objectives and the fellowship model that suited us most. Our objectives were:

• to provide a peer support
• to encourage each other with God’s Word

The structure was deliberately flat: no one really leads the fellowship. In other words, everyone owns the fellowship because each one takes turn to run each program. We have decided to have two meetings a month: a formal meeting where we did a set of the Bible Studies on the book of Ezra, and an informal meeting, which is more of a social gathering and sharing based meeting – dinner and prayer, lawn bowling, bush walking, and so forth. We all found that this model is most appropriate because most of the members are quite committed to other ministries already.

Personally, I found the Bible Study really helped me to reflect on my relationship with God. We all looked into each verse to dig out God’s treasure and at the same time we were willing to share our weaknesses and our requests for prayer support. Since I was involved in English Ministry, I haven’t had such a Bible Study for a while already with a group of peers. I treasured their sharing and encouragement the most. And I give thanks to our Sovereign God for such a providence to my spiritual life.

Next year, the structure will be changed as more graduates will leave Team χ to join this group. And my prayer is in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.