Archive for the ‘Monthly Updates’ Category

06.10.10

Questions about furlough

“ I just jumped on the train after leaving Circular Quay, the home of the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We completed the City Bible Forum today where close to 100 people came to hear from Ian Powell on ‘Jesus – Mad or Majestic? I am the Bread of Life.’ We have a swim carnival this afternoon and we were preparing for an evangelistic weekend away with the City Bible Forum group.” – Russ

This was just in one day, how do we begin to communicate all the Lord has brought into our lives in four years? It is a challenge, but a challenge we look forward to sharing with you. We are coming to a church near you. As it gets closer, we have been getting more questions. Here are areas where you can pray or assist us with in the process of furlough.

Will you be doing school? – Cathy and the kids have been asked if they look forward to having a holiday from school for the months we are in the US. We will have a few weeks of travel where the family will not be able to do school work, but once we are in Iowa, school begins again. The kids will work on school through a distance education programme at Australian Christian College.

Do you have a full schedule? – We have been fortunate to coordinate a time to spend with all of our current supporting churches. Also, all of our individual supporters and church families are welcome to come to our Matthews Family BBQ on 27 October @ Saylorville Baptist Church. During our church visits and at the BBQ we will be presenting our ministries and the opportunities of sharing about our Saviour, Jesus Christ, in Australia. We will be in a different church every weekend and our schedule is very full now. I appreciate all who have responded to or have requested assist with different ministry opportunities in the US. We do love sharing about what the Lord is doing in Sydney and in our lives. Our schedule is filling quite quickly.  I would encourage anyone who would like for us to come to any events or groups while we are in the US to email us prior to 15 July.

How are you doing for funds? Based on the projected budget, this furlough will cost approximately $25000. The costs: plane tickets, petrol, a van for travel, prayer cards, rent for housing in the US and maintaining our home in Australia, phone, etc. The airplane tickets and accomodations in Maryland and Iowa are taken care of in the US for furlough, but we could use some assistance with the travel funds. Anyone that is willing to assist us in this area, please contact us at matthewsdownunder@bigpond.com. We can direct you to where to send the funds. Thank you for this assistance.

How are you getting around? We are blessed to have a van for the time we are on the East Coast, but we are still looking for support for a van for our travel from the East Coast to Iowa and for the time we are in Iowa. Does anyone have any contacts or access to a van we could utilise during this time? Please send any information to the email address above.

Thanks for the questions. We look forward to seeing you soon.

The adventure continues…

Russ, Cathy, Becca, Hope, Joshua, & Caroline

05.21.10

A Sydney perspective

John 21:16a

16He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.”

We are so grateful to God for all He is doing in our lives.

I know throughout John 21, we find different applications of the word love in the Greek. Yet, in studying this word, love,  many times we lose sight of who we love. The object of our affection is lost in the action that He calls us to do. In the passage, Jesus asks Peter to feed and tend His sheep. But we can only do that through our love of Jesus. It is easy in Christian ministry to begin to focus on the work or the people. This is good in a human sense, but if this is our focus, because the sheep and the work can be quite frustrating to care for, many times bitterness and frustration begin to enter into our thoughts. It was made apparent to me that our focus and our love has to be first to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus. Surprisingly, something I preach daily, but still have to be reminded to do. No wonder Jesus had to ask Peter three times if he loved his Lord.  Only from this position of love for Jesus can we begin to love Christian work or love His people. I am thankful to be reminded to always remember my first love, Jesus.

Thanks for the prayers for the events going on this month and what is coming up soon.

Winning the City Dinner – This is an annual fundraising event for the ministry in the city. The three weeks prior to the event we had seven people registered and on the night we had 98 people attend. A great night to communicate the opportunities and the needs of the ministry in the city. We had many new people come along and we did get some new supporters. There are always room for more, please pray for more supporters of this unique and groundbreaking ministry, City Bible Forum. (Link provided on this website)

Fellowship plant- We had a great time in Coogee with an evangelistic event in the Eastern Suburbs. We met at a friends house, had a BBQ and a good talk from Al Stewart. There were 8-9 couples there and 50% of the room were not Christian. (with children there were 30+ people there the first night) Exciting night and has the potential for a fellowship. Please pray for the next event on 6 June. Could this be a new church in the future?

Pamper Day – Glorious Hope Baptist’s women’s group puts on an evangelistic event to reach the community around the church each year. Many of the women in the neighbourhood do not get to get their hair and nails done. So, the ladies of the church put on a Pamper Day with volunteer hairdressers and other nail & make up professionals. They have 60+ women come through and then have a lunch which includes an evangelistic talk. Cathy and the girls love assisting in this event. This year the first four women that Cathy served were Muslim and Cathy had the opportunity to pray with most of them. An exciting event for God’s glory.

Dating, Rating and Mating …a biblical perspective – Let me share a perspective on ministry in Sydney. I was asked to do a two part series for a young adults group in Bankstown. Worked all day on preparing for the Sydney Prayer Breakfast in the city. Took the train home and then I ate dinner with a good Lebanese friend at Habib’s Charcoal Chicken shop (Yummy), then go to the church and speak on Dating (finishing with a gospel presentation on the ultimate relationship with Jesus) to a group of 40-50 young people and then counseled a young Iraqi Christian on his relationship with his Maori (native New Zealand) girlfriend. How they can live godly in their relationship and whether they should get married. No one can train you for this experience, the Lord has done some amazing things in our lives (There is a video link for this series on this website and on Russ Matthews Facebook account.)

Furlough – We could use your prayers on this area. We are excited to see our family, friends and church families, but it will be hard to be away from home (Yes, Sydney is home) and all that the Lord has opened up to us here in Sydney. Here are some key prayer points:

  • All of the paperwork will be completed prior to leaving
  • We will be able to organise all things for the ministries while we are away
  • We will be able to be part of a swearing in ceremony for citizenship prior to July
  • We need a van for our time from Maryland to Iowa and while we are in Iowa
  • Extra finances for the trip: Higher plane costs, fluctuating exchanges rates and additional costs in the US have put a pinch on the budget
  • Churches in the US will see the need for the work in Australia and the opportunities that the Lord has allowed us to be included and God would be glorified in this whirlwind tour of the US

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. Exciting & exhausting days, but we are grateful to be part of all the Lord is doing in Australia.

The adventure continues…

Russ, Cathy, Becca, Hope, Joshua & Caroline

02.11.10

A great season in ministry

For those in the frozen Tundra (The Northern US), to give you a warmer perspective on things. We are currently in the middle of the hot season here in Australia. It has been unseasonably humid, but February is generally hot every year. (30+ Celsius everyday) Also, this is the time of year when things start to ramp up in ministry opportunities. We would appreciate your prayers on many items that are on our plate at this time. It is exciting to be part of all that is going on in Sydney.

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10.08.09

Just the other day…

(A good friend asked for a recent story from our ministry, I thought I would share it with all of you.)

Inspiring people: We have been working with a new concept of outreach in the Sydney area. It is a panel discussion with key leaders in various fields in Sydney, who are Christian. The events were held at various locations throughout the city. The panel would draw a certain crowd due to their notoriety in specific fields of work.They would address life issues and how Jesus is key to their lives. How do they tackle life’s challenges and achieve results—from the boardroom to the sports field. This is an opportunity for people to hear a panel of some of Australia’s most inspiring people discuss their successes and failures, celebrations and difficulties, faith and doubts. It is called Inspiring People. The crowds have ranged from 40 to 160 people for the for the twelve events we have had in Sydney and we have three events left. Please pray for the upcoming events.

The amazing thing has been we have close to 150 people interested in an evangelistic course called ‘Life of Jesus’, a six week course to be run in the city. Great to be part of what the Lord is doing through this initiative. Pray for the coordination of all of these courses.

But that is not the full story…

It has been inspiring, but quite exhausting for our team. The other morning I started out in Parramatta at 6am with one event, then had a pastors meeting with the Glorious Hope Baptist team (which ran late–surprise) and after the meeting, I had to rush into the city (45 minute train ride) to lead a Bible Reading Group (A new evangelistic tool we are using in the city–I can send you the details). I was tired, late, hot, had to make all of the copies for the group, I wanted to postpone the class, and needless to say, I was not in the best mind set to lead anything, much less a Bible Reading Group.

It was a bit too late to cancel, so sweating and tired I came up to the building for the meeting. The group was small that day, but the faithful few came wandering into the room. Linda, who is a regular attendee and is very evangelistic minded, had brought a friend that day. Linda turns to me and says, “My friend Olivia is enquiring about Christianity. She is here to ask some key questions about Jesus and the Bible.” With that statement, all of my frustrations, concerns and weariness seemed to fall to the side.

For the next hour we studied through 1 John 2. Olivia started in with all of her questions, ” If I am to love God first, how about my family?” “Do we ever achieve perfection in this life?” “If I love God, can I still have my material possessions?” “What does it mean to love the world?” And the questions kept coming for the next hour.

What was encouraging about the morning, was not just to get to answer the questions for Olivia, but to see the people I have been working with over the past months in action. They assisted in handling the apologetic answers beautifully. Gently, but without compromise. Olivia went away from the group with solid answers to her questions. Also, she asked to come back next week. Please pray for her and that she would come to the saving knowledge that can only be found in Jesus Christ.

The rest of the day involved getting ready for another event with close to 100 people coming to hear another Inspiring People panel. I got home about 10pm that night.

It was a great day. To start off and finish the day with big events that proclaimed the Gospel to a large audience in Parramatta and in Sydney. But the thing that excited me most about the day was that dispite my attitude and weariness, I had the priviledge to sit down and share the Gospel and the finer points of the Bible with a young lady that I hope to see in a relationship with Christ one day. Me, a man from small town Iowa, sitting in a boardroom in the largest bank in Australia, sharing about Jesus.

That is what it is all about. Without sounding trite or cliched, it was not how good I was feeling that day that made the difference. Quite the contrary, despite me the Lord was able use this former businessman who had a stinking attitude to share the most amazing gift in the world, the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a young lady in Sydney, Australia. Figure that one out. It can only be with God.

This makes me thankful for all of you that support us. This is an amazing priviledge. God is utilising your financial giving and prayers in mighty ways. God is amazing! Thank you.

The adventure continues…

Russ Matthews

05.03.09

How to reach a community of predominately hurting women? Pamper them!

Our church meets in an economically & spiritually challenged area of Sydney. Most of the women in the area live hard and fearful  lives. To be treated with respect and love is a rare thing in many of the lives of these ladies.  On Saturday 2 May, 2009; Glorious Hope Baptist Church held their third annual Pamper Day for the ladies of the community around our church. Women of all races, faiths, economic and social backgrounds arrived for a day of hand & foot massages, makeovers and haircuts. Also, included in the day were a delightful morning tea, a delicious lunch and a gift bag. A speaker shared her testimony of hope through here family’s journey to coming to know Jesus Christ as their Saviour. Over 70 women came through the doors on the day and many left changed.

Cathy was overseeing one team of service. She was able to talk and pray with most of the women who came to the day. One of the highlights of the day was having the opportunity to share and pray with two Muslim women who had come for the day. Hope and Rebecca were able to serve child care and with whatever areas needed assistance on the day. Every woman walked out feeling and looking transformed and all were given the opportunity to know the transforming power of the Gospel.

All the ladies of the church came away exhausted, but encouraged by the opportunity to touch and pray with women of our church community in a unique way. Touching many women that this world considers untouchable. They arrived in the morning to bless the people of the community, but at the end of the day, came away blessed indescribably  by the opportunity to be the hands and feet of our Saviour, Jesus.

Yes, it was a good day!

Thanks for your prayers and maybe consider being  part of this incredible ministry in years to come.

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