Australia and New Zealand Report
- by Bob Nolte
3/89
ADELAIDE, Australia (FR) - Three thousand Christians
marched down the main streets of this Australian city
early this year, proclaiming God's ownership of the
city and praying for the government as the parade halted
in front of various city offices and business houses.
The rally, held in conjunction with a nationwide Christian
conference called Revival '89, was yet another visible
sign of the impact Christianity is having upon the
nation of Australia.
Participants in the parade were numerous young people
from Maranatha fellowships in New Zealand and Australia,
some of whom had only been recently converted to Christ.
Bob Weiner, founder and president of Maranatha Campus
Ministries, was a keynote speaker at the convention
- which drew leaders from throughout the Pacific region.
The Adelaide conference, sponsored by Barry Chant, leader
of Tabor House, underscored a year of Christian activity
that caused even secular observers to marvel. Last
September, a constitutional amendment which many Christians
feared would curtail civil and religious liberties
was resoundingly defeated. One noted newspaper columnist
in a Melbourne daily wrote of that event: "Christians
have made their presence felt during the last year
more than at any other time in our history. Voters
turned down the national referendum that would have
given government a stronger voice ... I suspect (the
Christians') opposition did much to influence voters.
As for this writer, I welcome the Christian viewpoint
in Australia. It's about time we heard from them."
There was also more movement toward Christian unity in Australia last year as over 35,000 people, including youth from Maranatha churches in Melbourne and Sydney, joined the National Prayer Gathering in the nation's capitol, Canberra. In keeping with the 200th birthday celebration of Australia, the Bible Society last year organized Christians to distribute Bibles to every household in the country.
Meanwhile, Maranatha campus churches in Sydney and Melbourne continued to grow last year, adding more international students from southeast Asia than ever. More than 24,000 Australian editions of Forerunner were printed and distributed on campus. According to Grant Clark, editor of the newspaper, the publication of an Australian edition dovetailed with the nation's bicentennial, which "allowed the nation to focus on its foundations and achievements. It has also allowed a time to ponder our future. Many politicians, church leaders and sportsmen have called for Australia's youth to lay the foundation for the next 200 years."
Evangelism has penetrated the Sydney University campus so powerfully that a recent poll disclosed that Christians have become the second largest group on campus, second only to the ski club! Christians are also making inroads into politics. In New South Wales, three Christians formed "Call to Australia," a new political party. During a hotly contested election, three party members were swept into office and now control the balance of power in the New South Wales Upper House. In Adelaide, the Student Representative Council President is a Christian and a member of an Assembly of God Church.
With this growth of Christian influence has also come an increase in Australia's stature worldwide. NBC Television spent a week televising live segments of the Bicentennial celebration, giving millions of Americans a window into a country they have known little about. Recent movies about life in Australia, such as "Crocodile Dundee I and II" and "A Cry in the Dark," have sparked a new wave of tourism - making it the number one industry in Australia. Hotels and related industries are building beachheads in not only the capitol cities of Sydney and Melbourne but also in medium-sized cities and resort towns where experts are predicting over 5 million tourists a year will visit by the turn of the century.
Visitors to Australia say there is a new spirit in the
land, an enthusiasm and excitement that is translating
into positive economic effects for the nation. Even
though socialism has lurked in the culture for decades,
a renewed free enterprise fervor is gripping the land,
making Australia more prosperous than at any time in
its history. "Aussies feel good about themselves,"
says Pastor Mark McClimens, who credits much of the
change to the spiritual revival that is sweeping the
land.
Meanwhile, in New Zealand, the promise of spiritual
renewal is touching a country that one internationally-known
Christian leader says "could go Marxist at any
time unless a mighty Christian revival washes the land
clean." Maranatha Campus Ministries has accepted
the challenge to help change the nation: a team of
10 Americans, led by pastor Bob Muni, is now surrounded
by a band of young, enthusiastic new believers who
are preaching on campus and sharing Jesus Christ in
classrooms, cafeterias and in their homes.
Christians who came to the campus during the Auckland
outreach were amazed by the openness of unbelievers
who wanted to hear the gospel. Pastor Muni says he
wants to bring New Zealand back to its spiritual moorings,
and believes his core group of 45 are making an impact
on the nation even though the campus fellowship has
been active for less than a year.
The young people in the Auckland church have a passion
to impact the world. Angela McGrath, 21, a freshman
from England studying at the University of Auckland,
says she wants to "restore the education system
in New Zealand to godly principles." Presently,
Angela says feminists and lesbians are running the
teacher's college where she is enrolled. "We are
raising up a new generation of Christian leaders in
every area of life," she added.
Nineteen-year-old engineering student David Senn watched Muni and evangelist Ken Dew preach boldly in the student union quad area during last summer's outreach He gave his life to Christ as a result, and now stands in the same spot to preach his own messages. Senn commented: "I want to see us in student government next year to raise God's standard on the campus."
Larry Goodall, 21, a recent mechanical engineering graduate, is working for the government "to be a shining light." Goodall and dozens of other students say the campus was impacted by Maranatha's summer outreach. "When the Maranatha team arrived, it shook the campus," reported Megan Hughes, an 18-year old freshman majoring in science. "I was one of the people who was totally adamant that I would not get 'saved'! But I realized there was more to life than partying and drinking. I realized I had not gone to that meeting by chance. God had drawn me!" Megan says she wants to travel and witness to people all over the world about Jesus Christ. Right now, however, she admits there is much missionary work to be done at Auckland University.
But things are just beginning in New Zealand. Ken Dew and a team of young Maranatha evangelists will hit the Auckland campus once again in July of this year. If you are interested in being part of this venture, plus a 20-day evangelism thrust in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, write: Maranatha Missions, P.O. Box 1799, Gainesville, FL 32602.
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The Real Jesus: Who is the Real Jesus? Ever since the dawn of modern rationalism, skeptics have sought to use textual criticism, archaeology and historical reconstructions to uncover the "historical Jesus" -- a wise teacher who said many wonderful things, but fulfilled no prophecies, performed no miracles and certainly did not rise from the dead in triumph over sin. Over the past 100 years, however, startling discoveries in biblical archaeology and scholarship have all but vanquished the faulty assumptions of these doubting modernists. Regretably, these discoveries have often been ignored by the skeptics as well as by the popular media. As a result, the liberal view still holds sway in universities and impacts the culture and even much of the church.
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