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When sitting down to compose this Annual Report, it has given me an opportunity to reflect on what God has been doing in the English Ministry (EM) over the past twelve months. Much has happened over that time. We have had to face various challenges, both individually and as a congregation/church: whether it be multiple COVID cases over several months, loss of loved ones, financial stress, or even challenges in various ministry areas. We have also had several moments of joy: first-time confessions of faith, new people joining MES, people growing in their personal relationship with God, additional people stepping up to serve in much-needed areas, etc. I am encouraged by the fact that God is the One Who is continuing to achieve His perfect purposes in both the challenges and the joys we have faced (cf. Romans 8:28-29) over the past twelve months.

I have appreciated the opportunity to continue to grow and develop as a pastor over the past twelve months (indeed, the past six years). It has been a privilege to catch up with people, whether as individuals or in a small group. I love encouraging people to explore what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and to take seriously His claim to be King of the Universe. It has been challenging, yet also rewarding, to sit beside people when they grieve, and to point them to the hope we have in Jesus. I am thankful for those who want to catch up to strengthen their walk with God, and who manage to “sharpen” me in the process (Proverbs 27:17). I am also thankful for those who have been willing to trust me enough to open up about some of the challenges they are facing in their Christian journey.

I am thankful for all God has been doing in the various ministries associated with the EM (please see the reports below). I am thankful that people are returning to MES in-person, that new people are joining our MES family, and others are returning after a reasonable absence. I am also thankful that some people who are unable to join us in-person (for various reasons) continue to have the opportunity to join us via livestream or delayed viewing each Sunday.

I am also thankful that the EM Committee have been able to commence a review of how we can more effectively be an EM that has discipleship at the heart of all we do together as a community of believers. We have spent the past few months understanding the five key convictions about discipleship (Why make disciples/What is a disciple/How are disciples made/Who makes disciples/Where are disciples made). In the next twelve months, we will assess how that looks in the EM, and how to continue to develop this as foundational in “the way we do things around here”.

I am also trusting that God will provide His person as Youth Pastor in His perfect timing, as this is an incredibly strategic ministry, not just for the EM, but for the whole of NSCAC.

I am thankful that God has raised up several leaders who give generously of their time across the various areas of the English Ministry. Even though some leaders have needed to step down over the past twelve months, God has raised up additional individuals to step in where required. I pray that God will continue to raise up even more leaders, in order that the English Ministry may continue to grow and glorify God.

I want to thank everyone that has volunteered to serve over the past twelve months, across all areas of ministry. The English Ministry (and the church) is unable to grow effectively without people generously giving of their time and energy to serve others within the church. To avoid the possibility of leaving out anyone, I will mention the areas of service here (in alphabetical order, as there is no favouritism):

• EM Cell Group leaders
• EM Committee/Vine Project team
• EM Ladies group team
• LIFT leaders
• MES Bible readers
• MES bulletin team
• MES Camp team
• MES Committee
• MES IT/AV/Livestream team
• MES Music team
• MES Outreach planning team
• MES Service leaders
• MES Welcoming team/ushers
• NSY leaders

I also want to thank those who have served “behind the scenes”, either in a voluntary capacity, or to support those on the front line.

As we enter our 35^th year as NSCAC, I continue to be excited by what God plans to do in the English Ministry. I continue to echo Paul’s prayer for the Philippian church (as recorded in Philippians 1:9-11) for each individual in the English Ministry, and each individual in NSCAC:  

⁹ And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰ so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

In Him

Rev. Andrew Tibbs

The EM ladies’ fellowship hopefully continues to be a group where ladies of all backgrounds in our church (and potentially beyond) can feel welcome and encouraged.  We continue to make Bible study a feature of the ministry.  At the end of last year we had our Christmas party at one of the ladies’ homes.  The ladies enjoyed the generous hospitality.  Hopefully, yearly Christmas gatherings are becoming a firm tradition with this group!  A highlight of 2022 was a traditional high tea held at a cafe in the QVB in May.  Numbers attending were quite high and there was a real sense of fun and occasion that afternoon.  In June, we had our annual EQUIP Women’s conference, which was held remotely at church.  It was well-attended and ladies reported feeling encouraged and edified by this year’s talks on Lamentations. 

Meanwhile, the group is wrestling with finding the right balance between being a group that ladies can have fun attending (e.g. social events) and something that encourages them to go deeper in their walk with God (e.g. Bible studies).  Prayers on this topic are appreciated so that we can get the balance right!

                                                                                                                        Hayley Cheng and Emily Tibbs

Praise God that the music team has been running smoothly in the past year. The ministry has experienced many joys in the past year of serving MES.

One of the main joys has been the return to in-person, live services where our congregation can participate in singing with the music team during worship. This has allowed all attending congregation members to “teach and admonish one another… through psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit” with the “message of Christ” (Colossians 3:16). We give thanks to God for enabling MES to worship God together through congregational singing.

As a result of live, congregational singing, the MES worship team has been able to introduce several new songs, as well as increase the number of songs sung per service to three. We have also trialled a theme song, “I Want to Know You”, to support the sermon series on Knowing God. Praise God for our faithful song leaders who choose songs with Biblical lyrics to sing each week, helping our congregation to worship God and meditate on theological truths in the sermon.

While recruiting new members has been a challenge, praise God for our existing members, who eagerly serve week after week to ensure the smooth running of the worship team.

As we move into another year, we continue to depend on God for his provision for the worship team at MES. We hope to run more events, raise up more leaders, train up more musicians and most importantly, help our congregation to faithfully worship God.

                                                                                                            Alex Lei (on behalf of MES Music Team)

The Morning English Service (MES) has continued to serve God despite the challenges faced by the pandemic. I thank God that people have continued to join more in person to the service as we recognise the need to be relational and serve corporately. Please pray for guidance and wisdom as we seek to grow and develop as God’s people within the Epping community.

                                                                                                            Chris Tu (on behalf of MES Committee)

This year at Lift, we slightly changed our vision to better encapsulate what we want to be on about as a university ministry. We sought to be a community that loves God and loves others. Fleshing this out a bit more we identified some areas we wanted to grow in as a group: our hospitality, belonging to the group and organic-ness. And areas we wanted our members to grow in individually: knowledge and enjoyment of God, His word and His people. To this end, we did things a bit differently this year.

We started the year by going to a road trip in January. We enjoyed the time away spent together in God’s beautiful creation, sharing lives and deepening relationships.

In our regular meetings, we made the exciting change of adopting the cell group model which saw us meeting in the homes of members who generously showed us hospitality. This was a big blessing for us as the home provided not just physical warmth in the colder months, but also the warmth of reading the Bible together, and sharing and praying with one another in a homey environment. We also began cooking and having dinner together. It was challenging at first to shop and cook for a large group but as we adjusted, it became a real joy to come together each fortnight to enjoy a meal and conversations together.

We also moved away from pre-written studies and began writing the studies ourselves this year, exploring the person of Jesus in the book of Luke. We found that this allowed the discussion to be clearer in its flow, more pointed to the specific needs and circumstances of our members and deeper, more personal reflection. Our Lord remains as counter-cultural and expectation-exceeding 2000 years ago as He is to us today. He has challenged us deeply in His teachings yet comforted us tenderly in His compassion.  While the year came with its challenges for Lift, I am reminded that Jesus remains enthroned in heaven and Lord of all. God has graciously brought regular members along to Lift each fortnight and grown them in their desire to know and love Him. I am reminded that Christ’s power is made perfect in our weakness and that He is the one who transforms people and gives us new hearts. He has worked in ways far beyond our comprehension and we trust that He has a plan for the university students at North Side even when the path ahead seems uncertain. I am thankful that my co-leaders Alex and Ruby know and are convinced of these truths and that the love they have received from God overflows into the members they love and care for.

Matthew Lo (on behalf of LIFT leaders)

NSY (North Side Youth) is our youth group for high school students and high school-aged youth that meets on Friday nights during the school term. Over the last twelve months, NSY has been able to meet in person and we thank God for the opportunity to have a camp despite having COVID-19 still around. Since the end of 2020, we have had a few changes within the leadership team where Kevin Shum and Lydia Chung have stepped down from leading, while Adrian Ng and Dorothy Kwong have joined the team of NSY leaders. Both new leaders have been involved in helping out in Bible study groups by leading the younger youth in year 7-8. We thank God for continuing to grow and provide for the leaders serving in this ministry.

Over the past four terms, we have focused on encouraging the youth to know, grow, show and sow Christ in their daily lives. Our series for term 4 2021 looked at “The Bible and Us” which looked at what the Bible says about certain topics and how we should respond. In term 1 this year, we did an old testament overview called “Full of Promise” which aimed to encourage the youth to recognise God’s faithfulness and people’s unfaithfulness throughout time. In terms 2 & 3, we did a two part series on the book of Mark on the topic of “The Servant Who Rules” which looked at Mark 1-8, and then “The Ruler who Serves” which was on Mark 9-16. This series aims to look into Jesus’ ministry and teachings as well as encouraging the youth on how to apply the ideas of mission into their lives.

During the April school holidays, a group of NSY youth and leaders went to Katoomba to attend the KYCK youth conference held by KCC. The theme was “Joy”, which looked at the book of Philippians and how we can find joy in all situations of our lives. We were able to attend six talk sessions with time in between for bonding and relationship building. The group stayed an additional two days where the youth had opportunities to reflect on what they had learnt from the conference as well as building better relationships with the other youth. The weekend away was well enjoyed by the youth and leaders and we look forward to another year at KYCK.

During Term 2, we were able to attend two special events. ONWARD was a one-night conference to help youth to make sense of the culture and world around them with a gospel lens. This event took place at Chatswood Concourse and tackled hard to answer questions that the youth may be asked by their non-Christian friends. At the end of term 2, we had a combined youth night with Pennant Hills Baptist Church and Eastwood Community Baptist Church. This event allowed youth to meet other youth in the area where they were able to build friendships with people they might not have met and took place in a new environment. The night consisted of a lot of fun activities, singing songs and chatting over supper.

Throughout this year, we have continually seen God’s work and love in this ministry. There have been challenges along the way, such as the transition back to meeting online and planning for leadership development and the future of NSY. But, we thank and praise God, who has been carrying us through each step and growing the ministry, the youth, and their relationships with one another.

Isaac Cheng (on behalf of the NSY Leaders)

二零二一年度週年會友大會會議記錄

Minutes of the 2021 Annual General Meeting (AGM)

Date日期                  ： 19 September 2021

Time時間                 ： 2:00pm to 3:30pm

Quorum法定人數   ： 184 out of 316 voting members had voted, which was above the required quorum of 159 (>50% of 316).

Co–Chair主席          ： Rev. Constant Chow and Elder Wayne Ng

Secretary文書        ： Elder Jack Cheng

Resolutions議決事項 : 

1. Adopted the minutes of 2020 AGM and 2021 EGM.
2. Adopted the Church Business and Ministry reports for 2020/21.
3. Adopted the auditor’s report for 2020/21.
4. Adopted the financial report for 2020/21 and budget for 2021/22.
5. Adopted the proposed changes in the By-law to Church Constitutions. 179 votes agreed the change which is 97.3% of the total votes.  This is well above the required 75% to pass the motion.
6. Adopted the pastor contract renewal (a 3-year term from Jan 2022 to Dec 2024) for Rev Leo Kwan as acting senior pastor.  This is above the required 75% to pass the motion.
7. Adopted the pastor contract renewal (a 3-year term from Jan 2022 to Dec 2024) for Rev Andrew Tibbs as associate pastor of English ministry.  This is above the required 75% to pass the motion.
8. Elected Kwok Wai Cheung as elder (a 3-year term from Jan 2022 to Dec 2024).  This is above the required 75% to pass the motion.
9. Elected Deacons (Jan 2022 to Dec 2022) – all candidates received at least 162 votes which is well above the minimum requirement of 93 votes (>50% of 184): Elected deacons are Andrew Lam, Betty Tu, Carmen Li, Carol Du, Chris Tu, Gary Chang, Iris Chung, John Leung, Nancy Chan, Pal Dou and Ricky Choi.

通過接納二零二零年度週年會友大會及二零二一年度臨時會友大會會議記錄為正式記錄。

2. 通過接納二零二一年年報內的會務及事工簡報。

3. 通過接納二零二零/二一年核數師報告。

4. 通過接納二零二零/二一年財務報告及二零二一/二二年財務預算。

5. 通過接納修訂會章附則的建議(得票超過出席會友人數184的四份之三)。

6. 通過續聘粵語事工牧者關文卓牧師為署理主任牧師(三年聘約：2022年1月至2024年12月)[得票超過出席會友人數184的四份之三]。

7.   通過續聘英語事工牧者Andrew Tibbs牧師為英語事工牧者(三年聘約：2022年1月至2024年12月)[得票超過出席會友人數184的四份之三]。

8.   通過選出張國偉弟兄(得票超過出席會友人數184的四份之三)出任長老(任期三年：2022至2024)

9.   通過選出以下十一位弟兄姊妹成為二零二二年度執事(得票高於162票，超過出席會友人數184的半數)：林建隆弟兄、徐江寶華姊妹、李李嘉雯姊妹、杜陳秩如姊妹、徐承志弟兄、張幹元弟兄、鍾李翠霞姊妹、梁偉勤弟兄、陳駱麗明姊妹、杜駿驊弟兄及蔡宏基弟兄。

「末世洪流,承傳使命」
關文卓牧師

在過去兩年多, 北宣以至雪梨眾教會, 一同經歷世代的巨變, 同時經歷神的保守及恩典, 今提起筆桿寫下感言, 作回顧亦作為前瞻, 盼望在主裡互相勉勵,

2020年初開始的大流行,教會不單單在主日崇拜受衝擊, 更在牧養關懷,團契生活,接觸社區, 都變得紛亂無序,大流行疫情疫情, 政府防疫政策下, 人心變得虛怯, 使教會的崇拜及其它實體聚會都需要轉為網絡上進行, 在曠日持久的境况下,牧養信徒, 都是充滿挑戰. 雖有網絡軟件的幫助, 聚會只能在網上進行, 信徒亦習慣這模式, 網絡有著各樣的靈糧的供應, 得在神的話語上得造就, 可是這却不能代替實體的牧養關懷, 信徒身心靈的健康仍然受折損, 祈盼在疫情後, 信徒能回復「信望愛的群體」, 作主見證.

在疫情下, 周牧師本計劃於2020尾退休的他, 在繁重複雜的事工上, 及牧者隊工預計的轉變, 他願意退休延後至2021尾, 使各樣事有序地安排妥善, 為周牧師的忠心感謝神;

同時教會在定2021主題為「存基督心,化危為機」, 點出教會正面對,世代轉變, 的挑戰 預計後疫情的教會生態會急速網絡化, 實體聚會跟網絡世界之間的爭持, 疫情只是將現况加快顯露出來,教會亦尋找當中的牧養及福音機遇,

教會的異象及方向

在2021年中教牧同工在禱告中尋求神北宣教會的異象及方向, 設定要回歸信仰根基, 重尋索教會存在目的及使命, 因此定下教會未來兩年(2022-23)年度主題為, 「存基督心, 愛主你神, Having the Mind of Christ, Loving the Lord your God」(2022), 「存基督心, 愛鄰如己, Having the Mind of Christ, Loving your neighbours」(2023) 正如主基督所設定的大誡命「主耶穌說：『你要盡心、盡性、盡,意、盡力愛主─你的神。』其次就是說：『要愛人如己。』」（可12:30-31）. 因此在講台上- 羅馬書(2021下半年) 扎穩根基 2022年透過講台及小組查考   「出埃及記」, 從中學習神的屬性與神的救贖.

教牧團隊的轉變

過去一年, 除卻疫情下帶來的衝擊外, 教牧隊工的轉變, 包括周牧師的退休, 周傳道蒙神呼召在神學上繼續進修而辭去牧職, 在去年中同時設立三個聘牧小組(主任牧師, 國語堂牧者以及青少年事工牧者), 面對人看為不可能的任務,教會的長執,領袖,會眾都帶來擔心疑慮, 但小信的我(我們), 卻是經歷神的信實, 神對教會的恩慈及憐憫,禱告蒙神的應允, 使我們看見神的奇妙作為(李新寧傳道六月已入職為國語堂傳道, 蔡沛良牧師在完成所需程序過程中, 將會成為北宣的主任牧師, 另有一位應聘者, 主若願意的, 將會是青年事工牧者).

會眾群體的挑戰

北宣在2021中年邀請梁明生牧師, 舉辦名為「教會發展策略初探研討會」的工作坊, 檢視教會的屬靈境况, 領袖特質及事工結構, 而建構未來發展的可行性, 在「教會發展策略初探研討會」的工作坊完成後, 得出的結論是:教會在面對方向性的發展, 仍是有欠缺去推動策略性的改變, 在這結論下, 似乎被「失望」遮蓋, 但借用使徒保羅在林後六章的鼓勵說話, 「似乎憂愁, 卻是常常快樂…….卻是樣樣都有」,我卻相信神不是要北宣「求”發展”」, 卻是觀看神已擺放各樣「需要」在我們眼前, 在不同語言會眾的需要, 例如國語堂的社區外展事工, 英語堂的青少年事工, 粵語堂的新移民及兒童事工, 這一切, 正正就是神托付北宣的工作及挑戰. 回想神回應北宣聘牧過程中, 祂差派僕人, 正顯示神的作為, 北宣需要的是作神的忠心僕人, 不是眼瞎耳聾的, 卻是仰賴神, 如經上所記: 「看哪,僕人的眼睛怎樣望主人的手….我們的眼睛也照樣望耶和華我們的神」又說「但那等候耶和華的必從新得力。他們必如鷹展翅上騰；他們奔跑卻不困倦，行走卻不疲乏。」(以賽亞書40:31).

Elder Kwok-Wai Cheung 張國偉長老

過去幾年世界各地受著疫情影響，各地差傳工作要適應面對不同的處境及挑戰，但差傳工作卻沒有停頓下來。有些地方雖因戰禍使人們面對離散，但宣教工作就在那裡有需要的地方開展，已不單只去到遠方；因著各種因素而神帶領著人，已來到我們附近所居住的城市及地方，已成為我們的鄰舍，就在咫尺之間，福音工作已在門前。願神興起更多年青一代去承擔差傳福音工作，帶來新的動力、新的思維，使敎會的差傳工作能適切地面對不同挑戰，教會在宣教路上亦在不斷學習中回應福音的需要。而過去一年教會的差傳事工簡報如下：

• Dubbo 短宣承諾到2023年（今年已出發日期30/1/22- 1/2/22, 26-28/3/22,  21-23/5/22 , 23-25/7/22）。

• 各團契認領宣教士為宣教伙伴：迦勒團(Caleb)～M & L、約書亞團(Joshua)～Alice Deng、
路加團(Luke)～D & E、雅歌團(Song of Songs)～E & C、約翰團(John)～E & C、保羅团 (Paul)～Y & G、
婦女團 (Dorcas)～Susanna Tse及國語堂團契～Jessie Wei。

• 差關祈禱會（每月第四個星期五晚上舉行）。

• 崇拜中為宣教士代禱。

• 敎會祈禱會經常為宣教事工祈禱亦在Zoom進行（每星期三晩上）。

• 今年差傳事工委員會成員為關文卓牧師丶張國偉長老丶吳劍榮長老、柯美奕長老及張幹元執事；而本年度2022差傳年會備委員會成員跟上年度一樣是關文卓牧師丶張國偉長老、何玉玲姊妹丶廖嘉盛弟兄及鄧璧儀姊妹；年會在八月二十四日至二十八日舉行，主題為：「穆(木)宣在門前~M~Mission on Doorstep 」；講員為羅惠強宣教士，他有多年服侍穆斯林羣體的經驗，近年參與並且服侍住在曼彻斯特的穆斯林移民羣體。

今年敎會2022-2023年度差傳信心認獻預算為北宣差傳基金：
$58000及總會大使命基金：$58,000兩項合計：$116,000；
另$13,000由北宣差傳儲備撥出。

John Leung 梁偉勤執事

北宣弟兄姊妹及主内同工們,我們在此向大家問安,並分享今年在神家事奉中的喜樂和經歷。

由一月至今,我們靠著神的幫助和你們的參與,已完成以下各樣的事項:

1. 四月分教會大掃除
   1. 堂内外清潔: 玻璃門/窗、防蚊網、冷氣機隔麈網、地氈、座椅等;
   1. 教堂外四周圍: 修剪四周樹枝、剪草、清理車道樹葉、外牆清潔等;
   1. 聯略Parramatta City Council收集樹枝和雜物。
2. 七月分為十一時正的崇拜會眾和兒童主日學進行消防演習;
3. 設施維修、更新及安裝: 更換燈膽、修理門鎖、安裝新橱柜(一樓的廚房);
4. 外判工程: 消防設施定期檢測,確保附合市政廳的規定、更新年度消防安全聲明 (Annual Fire Safety Statement), 維修隔鄰(61A and 61B)的籬笆, 地氈維修(Hall 1 & 2)及地氈更新( 楼梯),

我們能夠進行和完成以上各項事務,都有賴你們的參與和禱告記念;讓大家經歷神的同在和 賜福, 在信仰生活裡操練信心和享受美好恩典的回憶!