reCharge NEWS June 2025

23rd Baptist World Congress 

Virtual Registration Closes June 30 

You can join the 23rd Baptist World Congress from anywhere in the world and experience this life-changing global gathering with sisters and brothers around the world. But don’t wait – virtual registration closes on June 30! 

Enjoy live-streamed plenary sessions, Bible Studies (including those in French, Spanish and Portuguese), Preaching Symposiums, and the opportunity to connect with fellow believers across the globe through our interactive virtual platform. Whether you join live or watch sessions on demand, you will be a vital part of this event uniting the global Baptist family. 

Sign up today for the Women’s Summit or Congress Pass or join both with a combo registration! More details on the website here 


More reason to become a child sponsor  

Baptist World Aid 

This week’s article reveals how becoming a child sponsor can help children survive disasters. 

Baptist World Aid has been transforming lives through Child Sponsorship for over 50 years. They commissioned a highly respected independent consulting firm (K4Dev) to analyse the impact of their Sponsorship program over a period of ten years.  

The result clearly revealed powerful and tangible impacts. 

Over 95% of children and youth reported positive improvement in their lives. 

80% of children can access healthcare when required; up from 50% at the start of the program. 

77% of children and youth reported a reduction in risk of harmful practices (child marriage, abuse, punishment and neglect). 

Become a sponsor and help children living in poverty access education, break the cycle of poverty, and build a brighter future. Visit bwaa.co/sponsorship today to sign up. 


Alpha Australia 

Alpha hits 1 million Australian Participants 

The total number of Australians participating in an Alpha course has just passed 1,000,000! Baptist churches are running more Alpha courses than ever before. They have 565 participants already in the first half of this year! 

Read more on their website here


Zenos Media

Brand New Kids App! 

The Zenos Kids App aims to bring children and families the best of Australian Christian children’s content to one safe, easy to navigate platform! 
Creators from around Australia have partnered to share videos, music, podcasts, stories and devotions that all have the purpose of encouraging children (2-12) and families to grow in their relationships with God and each other. 

Crossover (Australian Baptist Ministries) helped support its development making it something to share  with every young parent in your community!  

Zenos Media is an Australian not-for-profit charity that promotes, supports and encourages the use of creativity in Christian faith contexts. 


Tas/Texas Partnership 2025

The Point Baptist Church

Members of The Point Baptist Church are excited to announce that they will once again welcome the Horton family from Texas, USA. This is part of an ongoing Tas/Texas partnership that began in 2009.  

The cherished connection between the Horton family and the church community has blessed the community of Beauty Point and the West Tamar region through a range of vibrant events for all ages—including youth gatherings, women’s nights, worship services, men’s events, and our always-popular bonfire. 

The partnership continues this year from 15 June to 15 July, with plenty of opportunities to connect, grow, and share the love of Jesus with the community of Beauty Point and the wider West Tamar region. 

Everyone is welcome to be part of it! 
For more information, please contact Craig Hawkins on 0487 343 348 or hawkthe32@gmail.com


Baptist World Aid

Matching Grant Appeal

It’s been a tough year for the world’s hungry and vulnerable— but Baptist World Aid continues to trust that God is working through his people to bring healing and relief.

Can you help? By giving to the Matching Grant Appeal before 30 June, your tax-deductible donation will be combined with funding from the Australian Government to significantly increase its impact—helping to break the cycle of poverty and create real, lasting change. 

Together, it’s possible to turn impossible situations into a world of possibilities. 

You can donate online here or ring their friendly staff on 1300 789 991.

Meet Jagmati

Jagmati (below) is the face of this year’s appeal — the campaign hero. She is tenacious, intelligent and resilient. She needed support to overcome the barriers that were limiting her potential and is a beautiful testament to the ways God works through his people to bring goodness out of incredible hardship.

Photo: Meet Jagmati

Library Aid International

Supporting Global Education from Tasmania 

Library Aid International (LAI) is a volunteer-run organisation dedicated to sending secondhand books and educational resources to under-resourced schools in developing countries. These materials are primarily sourced from school libraries around Tasmania when they are no longer required. Once collected, the resources are carefully sorted, assessed, repacked, and shipped to support educators and students overseas. 

To date, LAI has sent eleven containers of educational materials to countries including Zimbabwe, South Africa, Fiji, the Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea. While the mission is global, LAI continues to operate on a modest scale, powered by a passionate team of volunteers. Despite receiving many requests for assistance, the organisation is currently only able to fulfill a portion of them due to limited resources.

Recent Highlights

LAI has just acquired its 12th shipping container. This container will be sent to the Solomon Islands for distribution to disadvantaged schools. Half of the contents have already been sorted, boxed, and loaded in preparation for shipment, thanks to the dedication of volunteers. 

Generous community support continues to play a vital role. A local sewing group recently donated $400 raised during a Friendship Day. Several LAI volunteers hosted a Pet Show during Sheffield’s SteamFest weekend, raising $1,000 to help cover shipping costs. In addition, The Railton RSL hold Trivia Quiz Nights on a monthly basis to continue fundraising efforts. 

Heartfelt Messages

LAI regularly receives heartfelt messages from individuals and schools eager to donate unused resources, such as: 

“I work at a school, and our staff are looking to donate unused resources, that would otherwise be discarded, to schools in developing countries.” — Jocelyn M. 

“I have some books I’ve removed from my library, and the previous librarian told me about your purpose.” — Josie W. 

“We are so grateful that our unwanted books are going to a special place for a new purpose.” — Kate L. 

LAI welcomes questions, donations, and new volunteers. LAI especially encourage schools who are looking to support a worthy cause during Book Week, to get involved. 

Thank you to all who continue to support Library Aid International to provide educational resources where they are most needed.


GLS Aus and NZ Leaders Networking Event

Still Standing – Building Resilience as a Leader

Ever felt discouraged or that you just can’t keep going in your leadership journey?  

You’re not alone. Many leaders face similar challenges, and unfortunately the stats would tell us that many of them don’t make it through.  

GLS Aus and NZ  new CEO, John Robertson, will be speaking LIVE in Devonport on 17 June 2025. 

“You won’t survive in leadership for long without building resilience.” 

John Robertson knows what it takes to navigate the inevitable ups and downs of leadership. John has over three decades in ministry. This includes 13 years as Senior Pastor at Riverlife. He has learned the keys to staying strong and resilient. 

Don’t miss this chance to hear from John as he shares insights on building resilience to stay in the game longer and stronger! 

Topics covered:

– Leadership is difficult and lonely, how you can stay strong and resilient?
– Everyone plays fair in Christian leadership, right?
– How to stay in the game.
– How to get up off the canvas. 
– How to stay fighting fit.

Tuesday, 17 Jun 2025, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm at Devonport Christian School
Cost: rom $67 

Visit the website here for more details or to buy tickets

GLS

reCharge News June 2025

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reCharge NEWS November 2024

The Values Project

The Values Project was re-released at the ABM as a resource reminder for churches. These videos are a good way to encourage churches, leadership teams, and small groups talk and learn about their identity and values as Australian Baptists. 

The material is designed to strengthen a sense of identity, encourage connectedness and community across our movement, and informs decision-making in leadership. 

Episode 1 is below for a sneak peek, or visit the site here to watch all four videos.


Three Organisations to Become One

The Boards and executives of Baptcare (VIC, TAS, SA), BaptistCare (NSW, ACT, WA) and Baptist Care SA are pleased to announce that our three organisations will become one, national, integrated care and services provider, subject to approvals. 

As Baptist faith-based organisations, we have a shared mission to strengthen communities by valuing people and supporting them to have hope, dignity and a fullness of life. We believe that together we can create a more sustainable organisation which will create better outcomes for those we serve.   

Our number one priority will always be delivering quality care and services for all our customers, including residents, clients and tenants.  We believe this is an opportunity for us to continue to improve the way we serve our customers, to provide greater choice and flexibility in the services we provide, and to increase our influence and advocacy for vulnerable people and communities. 

We do not anticipate any immediate change to any of the services we provide to our customers and any future changes aimed at enhancing service delivery will be communicated well in advance. 

Our combined organisation will have an employee and volunteer workforce of more than 12,000 people, providing care and support across family and community services, retirement living, residential aged care, home care, community and affordable housing, disability support, foster care, chaplaincy and spiritual care, and adventure, homelessness and mental health services. 

The united organisation will have operations in the New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia. We are currently working through the timing, but the unification of the three organisations is expected to commence in March 2025, followed by a period of integration.   

The new organisation is yet to be named, but we do know it will be led by Charles Moore as Chief Executive Officer, who is currently the CEO of BaptistCare in NSW, the ACT and WA.

We want to reassure you that our primary focus, as we become one organisation, is to ensure a smooth transition which maintains the high standards of service our communities expect from us, and you will see no changes to your care or services because of the merger at this time. 

Together we have a combined 250-year legacy of strengthening communities by valuing people and supporting them to have hope, dignity and a fullness of life. We want to continue that legacy for many years to come, and we thank you for your ongoing support.


Building Welcoming Churches 

Evangelism in Australia 
In this conversation called, Building Welcoming Churches, hear Tina Waldrom and Andrew Turner, Director of Crossover, discuss the growing trend of non-believers attending church services, especially within the Australian Baptist Ministries community.  

They dive into why more people who don’t identify as Christians are showing up at church and the importance of making churches welcoming and inclusive for everyone. Creating a positive and inviting atmosphere is crucial for helping visitors feel comfortable and open to evangelism and learning more about faith. 

The conversation also covers how churches can better engage their communities through creative outreach efforts.  

Listen to the Win/Win podcast here.

Evangelism in Australia

Sacred Arias in Penguin 

Saturday, 14 December
Themes of faith, love, and hope await to transport you, with the thrill of musical excellence by master composers. Soprano Jacqueline Ward and tenor Robb Dennis present this program with pianist Karen Smithies for the Christmas season, featuring solo arias from famous oratorios, cantatas, masses, and more. 
 
Hear stunning favourites from Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Mozart’s Exsultate Jubilate!, Haydn’s The Creation, plus others from Vivaldi, Beethoven, Fauré, Wolf and more. 

WHERE: Penguin Uniting Church 
DATE: Saturday, 14 December  
TIME: 6pm – 7:30pm

Visit this website for more information and to book tickets.

Sacred arias

Mission 25 

Sharing Jesus
Mission 25 is a collective effort of churches across Australia to share Jesus through prayer, invitation, and running Alpha.  It’s simple to join – here are the steps:

– 2024 Term 4: Dream & Join 
– 2025 Term 1: Pray & Prepare 
– 2025 Term 2: Invite & Run 
– 2025 Term 3: Celebrate

Speak with someone from Alpha, your denomination / network and other church leaders to hear what they’re doing. Join Mission 25 and get access to all the training and resources to include in your 2025 planning.

Mission 25 aims to fan into flame the glowing ember of evangelism across our country and see many more Aussies transformed by the good news of Jesus. 

An Advent Devotional 

Joyful All Ye Nations Rise 
Would you like to receive an emailed Advent devotional from Langham Partnership? A series of short devotionals will be sent by email for each day of Advent (1-25 December) to help prepare for the celebration of the birth of Jesus, Lord and Saviour.  
 
Email australia@langham.org to be added to the mailing list for a daily devotional that links you with the global church. 

Advent

Baptist Women’s World Day of Prayer

For more than 70 years, Baptist women in over 100 countries have gathered for the Baptist Women’s World Day of Prayer on, or near, the first Monday in November. Uniting in strategic prayer and giving, Tasmanians continued the legacy this year when 15 women got together at Citywide Lenah Valley on Saturday, 2 November. They focussed on the theme for 2024, “A Purposeful Life” (Romans 8:28). During the afternoon they also fashioned some origami “peace cranes” (pictured).

And they were not alone! They joined forces with 1000’s of other women to pray for their communities, seeking to make a difference in the world. In addition to praying, they also gave to fund projects in our Pacific region. 

The Day of Prayer Global Offering supports projects to provide practical help for women and children in need, while equipping Baptist women to serve their communities through their faith. 

You can still participate! You are welcome to pray and to give any time during November. 

1. Prayer Guide 2024 >  

2. Day of Prayer Global Offering project> Opening Doors for Gospel Witness (Tonga)

3. Donate to the project > Use the Reference “DOP Tasmania”. 
NB. Make sure you use the link above or QR code pictured below for direct deposit to Baptist Women of the Pacific, Westpac Bank in Cairns. (NOT via the US website, bwawomen.org)


Zonta International Advocacy Breakfast

Friday, 6 December

Save the Date for the Hobart Derwent Zonta International Advocacy Breakfast at Salamanca Inn.

Donna Adams APM PSM, Commissioner of Police and Secretary of the Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management speak on reducing violence to women and how we can create a safer community. 

The breakfast will coincide to support the 16 Days of Activism  against Gender-Based Violence.

When: 7:00 am to 8:30 am
Where: Salamanca Inn Hobart, 10 Gladstone St, Battery Point 
Cost: $40

Zonta International

Fostering Hope Mentor Program

Saturday, 16 November

Fostering Hope’s Mentor Program embodies the essence of community care, inspired by the teachings of Jesus to care for the vulnerable among us. Through this program, they aim to provide “friends with purpose” to children in care, offering companionship, friendship, and support. With just a few hours a month, you can profoundly impact a child’s life for the better. 

The next training day is scheduled for Saturday, 16 November

When: 10am to 4pm
When: Launceston
Cost: Training Days are free

Morning/afternoon teas and lunch are provided. To register or learn more about mentoring, visit the website here, or email Anthea at anthea@fosteringhope.net.au 

If you believe your church and school community can help spread the word or if you know someone who would make a great mentor, please share!

Fostering Hope

The Fostering Hope Mentor Program connects caring Christians with children in Out of Home Care, providing them with consistent support and encouragement. Our mentors are rigorously screened, trained, and supported to ensure a safe and nurturing environment for mentees. Watch this short video explaining mentoring below. 

About Fostering Hope
Fostering Hope are a Tasmanian Christian charity dedicated to supporting at-risk children and their caregivers. Learn more about their mission and values here.

Support foster, kinship, and informal carers and their families: whether someone is just thinking about fostering or been a carer for 20 years, Fostering Hope provides support, connection, and pastoral care for carers and their families. 

Trauma Awareness Training
Free online Trauma Awareness Training, developed in collaboration with Dr. Suse, aims to increase understanding and support for children and young people affected by adverse experiences. This resource is suitable for anyone interacting with children and youth in various community settings. They also offer in-person Trauma Awareness Training for churches or community groups who would like to grow in their understanding of the impact of trauma on kids together. Visit the website for more info.


ReCharge News November 2024

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