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Contents of this site is Copyright 1999 - 2007 CCG Ministries - W.A. van Leen, Director. |
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CONCERNED
CHRISTIANS GROWTH MINISTRIES INC.
DIRECTOR'S
ANNUAL REPORT (presented at the CCG Ministries’ AGM, March 2004) As we look back on the year 2003 we are able to give praise and thanks to God, and His people, for being able to complete a challenging but productive year. Once again, the positive encouragement and support received from interested people from around the world has been greatly appreciated throughout the past year. The lack of peace around the world has had a particularly sharpened focus on religious extremisms. The impact of the Islamic extremists terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, USA, on September 11, 2001 was compounded by the October 12, 2002, Bali Bombings. March 2003 witnessed the US and allied invasion of Iraq, with increasing numbers of military and civilian casualties after the war with Iraq was officially declared over by US President George Bush. While Islamic based conflicts have not been the only evidences of religious violence and extremes, it has been a major focus around the world. In spite of this there have been an increasing number of Australians and other Westerners (especially young adults) who have turned to Islam and converted. All this has led to increased concerns in society generally, and increased requests for information and instruction – from a Christian perspective – regarding Islam. Such requests began to increase in 2002 and continued through 2003. However, as in the previous year, Islam was only one of the areas of concern dealt with at CCG Ministries during 2003. Inquiries and issues relating to all sorts of other religious, cultic, occultic and fringe groups continued to be part of the general area of our work and outreach. Changed understandings regarding supposed tolerance, religious and cultural pluralism, post-modern and post-post-modern attitudes, mixed with apathy and confusion, both in the public arena and in the Christian community have all had their impact on CCG Ministries over the past few years. Around the world, a number of organisations similar to ours have found that the decline in requests for their assistance and in support, has led to their closure. CCG Ministries has not been exempted from these changes in society, yet the need for our Ministry, I believe, continues to be stronger than ever. Religious confusion and conflict continue to affect individuals, families, churches and communities. Our methods and approaches, both in operation and outreach, will need to change from time to time, but our past 24 years have not been wasted. As we enter our coming 25th Anniversary Year in 2004 CCG Ministries faces a future of challenge and potential. PERSONNEL CCG Ministries continued to guided and led, during the 2003, by our Board of Management team. We were led by Rob Furlong (Churches of Christ) as Chairman, and Ray Dorn (Brethren), as Vice-Chairman. Glynis Turpin (Baptist) continued as Board Secretary, Peter Emmens (Anglican) as Treasurer, myself (Adrian van Leen – Churches of Christ) as Director; and Board members were: Lorrie van Leen (Churches of Christ), George and Christine O'Neil (Churches of Christ). Our previous Vice-Chairman, Lester Sutton (Churches of Christ), resigned from the Board at the beginning of 2003 knowing that he would be away for many months with overseas work in Africa and elsewhere through Compassion Australia. We had appreciated Lester’s past involvement and commitment to CCG Ministries. Early in the year, our Chairman and senior pastor at Thornlie Church of Christ, Rob Furlong, went on a special brief ministry trip to India. It proved a challenging and insightful experience for him. Staff and volunteers valued and appreciated the guidance and leadership given by our Board members during 2003. We acknowledge again, as we do each year, our gratitude for the tremendous contributions made by our entire volunteer team during 2003. Without our volunteers we would not be able to function for long. They have always been, and remain, a very significant part of CCG Ministries. We are very thankful that our volunteers are willing to tackle a wide range of tasks and serve where they are needed and able. Eric Banfield is our honorary property manager and throughout 2003 continued to do voluntary maintenance, light yard work, organise work teams and more. His involvement hasn’t been limited to yard and building maintenance, however. He also handled computer data entries for our financial records and worked with our voluntary auditor, Miss Karen Heavey, to ensure our finances have been properly handled and recorded. Nancy Fairbairn has been one of our Ministry mainstays. She has been most regular and consistently coming in at least two days a week to work on library filing and sorting; do computer work, including updating subscription and support details; helping with setting up and sales at our Book and Garage Sales; cleaning the Centre, and much more. Margery Renwick has continued her research work for us, providing detailed papers, as well as brief basic outlines, on a wide range of groups. Through the year she continued to recover from previous health problems and treatment, and we have greatly appreciated her research efforts and time with us. Mary Reid, one of our regular volunteers, was a member of a team of volunteers which travelled to the Philippines early in the year on a short-term building trip. They assisted World Harvest with the building of a medical centre at an orphanage complex. She worked hard, enjoyed the experience, and was especially impacted by the poverty and lifestyle of the people, in contrast to our Western materialism. She also did some knee damage on that trip and was troubled with it for some time. Mona Morey, our oldest serving volunteer, was given special recognition at the Nollamara Church of Christ with tributes and a special ‘brunch’ on Sunday 6th April. In August Mona had a fall while at a bank and then spent some time in hospital. She was subsequently unable to continue her voluntary work with us and has since moved into aged care. We were able to acknowledge her and have her attend our annual pre-Christmas staff and volunteer luncheon in December. We have been grateful for her regular and willing help over many years of voluntary service with CCG Ministries. Eve Morgan, another of our long-time regular volunteers, continued her assistance with various office tasks throughout 2003. Margaret Beavan, continued to come in fortnightly and help with office typing needs and related tasks as much as she was able during the year. Dinah Wulff came to us for several months as a placement law student for 2003, after my involvement with another University of WA Law and Religion class. She did research for us on extreme right wing white supremacist groups that had a religious origin or basis and had a following in Australia. She also researched existing laws, both federal and State, dealing with these sort of groups. We appreciated Dinah’s company and contribution and wished her well for her future in legal work. During the year we were able to add to our team of volunteers, with Andy White, coming in on most Wednesday’s to do some mowing and yard cleaning, especially around the outside of the property and Carol Pielage, mostly helping us in the preparations for our Book and Garage Sales. During 2003 we also lost a couple of our volunteers. Ros Birch had previously been coming in one morning a week, when available, to continue putting our library books on computer, but found she was unable to continue that help in 2003. Stewart Robertson had been coming in for several days a week to work on our computer needs - from the library programme (sorting and adding books, streamlining and simplifying the programme) to redesigning and updating our website, downloading emails, and more. In September he left us for fulltime employment, but continued to help us after hours and from home. We thank all our volunteers – past and continuing – for all their help and partnership in Ministry. As in previous years, the 2003 CCG Ministries’ staff team consisted of my wife, Lorrie, and I, working full-time (Lorrie in an unpaid and voluntary capacity; and Tracy Taylor involved in regular part-time work. Throughout the year Tracy worked on updating information for our records and reference on the computer; word processing articles; completing TACL and PIM UPDATEs; plus other office and word processing activities. Lorrie van Leen somehow managed to get through the year with an enormous workload of wide ranging tasks and responsibilities. Apart from her roles as the Director’s secretary and wife; being a mother; being an only daughter of an aging mother; having home responsibilities (including cat-care and transportation), she has managed to survive another year with additional responsibilities such as: serving as an active Board member; being acting-secretary for the Board from time to time; providing lunches for Board meetings; working with and supervising the volunteers; organising and catering for the pre-Christmas staff and volunteer luncheon; doing general office work; answering the telephone; handling daily correspondence and finances; doing weekly banking; and more. My ill-health, as well as some of her own health troubles, over the year, made 2003 even harder going than other years. Without her enormous contribution neither I, nor CCG Ministries generally, would have been able to bring 2003 to a reasonable conclusion. In 2003 Lorrie was again very involved with the Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child – which has become quite van Leen family affair with Lorrie promoting it at Nollamara Church of Christ, our son, David, at Kingsley Church of Christ, and our daughter, Debbie, with her home group at Mt Hawthorn Baptist Church – and then they all came back to our home for final checking and sorting (topping up etc) before delivery to the Samaritan’s Purse warehouse for final distribution. Lorrie and I had the joy of participating in the marriage of our son, David, and daughter-in-law, Roxanne, on Saturday 29th November, 2003. In the weeks leading up to the wedding Lorrie and I increased our involvement with David and Roxanne, getting to know Roxanne better, going over wedding plans and related activities. We were glad of the opportunity of sharing the special day with many friends, including CCG Ministries Board members. Over 300 hundred people attended the wedding. The year 2003 was another busy and active a year for me as Director. It was also a difficult and long year for me health-wise. In the previous 18 months I had experienced various levels of stress and ill-health including difficulties on the last trip to Myanmar/Burma; having had an annoying and often painful ‘tennis elbow’ as the result of lugging some heavy luggage while overseas; struggling with a ‘reluctant-to-let-go’ kidney stone for more than eight months. All that left me very run down. I was at last able to let go of the kidney stone – and had no more pains from that. However, during January 2003 I began to have some disturbing turns – related to balance, light-headedness and veering to the right. This led to visits to the doctor, blood tests, a CT scan, and cardiac stress test. The stress test revealed that (heart wise) I am in reasonably good shape for someone my age, shape and condition. The CT scan was a different story. It revealed that I had had a TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack) which could also be called a lacunar stroke – a mild stroke. I was not aware of having had it, and it revealed no noticeable side-effects. My GP did not think the turns were directly related to the TIA. Then in late January came a bad case of shingles (herpes zoster) around my left eye. Another trip to the doctor, antibiotics, and a trip to the eye specialist to make sure my actual eye was not damaged or in danger of serious damage. For days I had badly swollen eyelids, swollen nose and sores around my eye and on my nose. This made it impossible to wear glasses and therefore I was unable to read or do any work for just over a week. Then came neurological tests at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital through March, April and June. These included: being wired up for 24 hours to a cardiac halter monitor; undergoing electro-oculography (EOG); having a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination of my head and also have an echo-cardiogram. Ultimately these tests proved nothing serious – and the turns I had been having gradually decreased. I believe some physiotherapy may have been of help. My diabetes had begun to increase to the point where diet alone was inadequate and I received oral medication. Unfortunately I then had several months of difficulty with medication side-effects. Eventually changes in medication improved these problems. All these health issues made 2003 a difficult year, and one in which I found I had slowed down considerably. However, by the end of the year my health had begun to improve significantly. I spite of health problems, I was able to be involved in various speaking in Western Australia; visit Singapore (during the SARS crisis) and lecture at the Biblical Graduate School of Theology; speak, for the second time, to a group of law students at a Law and Religion class at the University of Western Australia’s Law School. I was also able to continue with ongoing general research, investigation of new groups and issues, reading and related library work, use of the Internet, plus writing for various publications including: brief biographies for inclusion in TEE examination study books; a regular column in the monthly Christian paper, CHALLENGE; editing and writing most of the articles for our magazine, TAKE A CLOSER LOOK. There was also preparation and presentation of a weekly half-hour radio programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM, other media involvement, plus: answering inquiries; counselling; consultation with students and others; preparation of information and materials - including a small book on New Age Spirituality (to be published in Singapore in 2004); providing help and information for other organisations as well as churches, families and individuals; some administrative work, and other aspects of my role and activities as Director. COUNSELLING AND INQUIRIES While we dealt with a wide range of inquiries relating to various religious, and semi-religious, personalities, practices, programmes and groups, many of the inquiries in 2003 relate to extreme Christian fringe groups and issues of concerns about problems in established and mainline churches – especially manipulative and controlling leadership, and the marginalisation and alienation of sections of the church community – especially the late-middle-aged and elderly. Inquiries have come through personal visits, telephone calls, emails and correspondence. These inquiries resulted in some personal counselling, as well as sharing and sending out information in both printed and electronic forms. As in previous years, requests for help and information throughout 2003 came from around Australia, Asia, and elsewhere. Many inquirers were referred to us by churches, friends and relatives who were aware of our Ministry, or who had themselves been previously helped by us. The volume of email inquiries again continued to increase this past year, as did the number of visitors to our Internet website. Some inquirers were referred to us by various groups and agencies, including the media, welfare agencies, consumer groups, government departments, police, lawyers, community advisory and library information services. We continued to exchange information with other organisations and individuals around Australia, in Britain, and in the United States during 2003. In 2003, as in previous years, new groups and issues (also known groups either not in our files or previously included within other groups/files), not all necessarily cultic in nature, have been brought to our attention, or had inquiries made about them, and new files, or sub files, opened for them. A number of these were legitimate Christian groups either newly commenced, or newly brought to our attention for good reasons, or simply because little was known about them. These include groups and issues such as (sub-files within broader categories are indicated as [sf]): Al Morrocan Empire Moors; Alevis; Aryan Brotherhood (racist USA Prison Groups); Awaiting Christ; Bunker, Michael; Cross Over Ministries/Eddie Coe; Cult Apologists - [sf] Richardson, James T. (Jim); Destiny House/Addison, Jim; Education - [sf] Chaplaincy; Education - [sf] Reform Boarding Schools; Ewing, James E. (Rev); Faith Temple of the Apostolic Faith/Pentecostal Churches of the Apostolic Faith; Frangipane, Francis; Friends of Courage to Refuse; Fyodorovtsi Community (Sect) (Russia); Global Association of Culture and Peace; God’s Creation Outreach Ministries; Harvest City Church; Health Fads - [sf] Laughter; Health Fads - [sf] Moxibustion; Health Fads - [sf] Thought Filed Therapy; Health Fads/Issues - [sf] SARS; Hope for the Nations; International Meditation Institute/Swami Shyam; Jehovah’s Witnesses - [sf] Child Custody; Lewende Hoop (Living Hope); Life Changers International Church; Love Israel; Magnuson, Ferris; Mission of the Spirit of Holiness; Murray Arnold; Native American Spirituality/Indian – USA – Spirituality; Occult – Personalities - [sf] Crowley, Aleister; Occult – Personalities - [sf] Edward, John; Oracle Ministries Publications/Wales, Alan and Julie; Otherkin; Panawave Kenkyusho (Research Institute) (Japan); Philosophy of Living Centre; Roman Catholic - [sf] Mel Gibson; Sabaeans; Saddleback Church/Rick Warren; Salva Me Pater Omnis Oculus Meus; Save the Seed Ministries/Freeman, Robert ‘Dr Shine’; Summum/Nowell, Claude; Tabernacle of Joy (Singapore); Templeton Foundation/John Templeton; Thelema Order; Theophostic Ministries; Torop, Sergei (Russia); TV Evangelists - [sf] Murdock, Mike; Universal Life Gnostic Fellowship; Vapostori; Winner’s Chapel (Nigeria); Word of Faith Fellowship; World Bishops Council/World Federation of Churches; World Foundation for Natural Science; World of E’Co,The; Zambian Sacramental Church, The; Zhaoguang, Dr Hong. Each year we endeavour to record and list the various groups about which we receive inquiries. The following indicative listing shows the diversity and range of groups, issues and individuals about which CCG Ministries has received inquiries in 2003: Aboriginal Issues/Spirituality; Abundant Life (Adelaide); Anderson, Neil T; Anglican Church, The; Anthroposophy; Apostolic Church, The; Assemblies of God; Baha’is; Baptists (Independent & Reformed); Bethany Church of God; Brethren (Exclusive); British Israel; Buddhism; Bunker, Michael; Carol Balizet/Home in Zion Ministries; Charismatics/Pentecostals - general; Chi Kung; Chick Comics/Jack Chick; Children of God/Family; Chinmoy; Christadelphians; Christian - general; Christian Anarchy; Christian Inner Healing Retreats; Christian Life Centre; Christian Outreach Centres; Christian Revival Crusades; Christian Science; Church of Christ (non-instrumental); Church of Christ International (Boston Movement); Churches of Christ; Churchlands Christian Fellowship; City International Church; Concordant Publishing Concern; Conversations with God/Neale Donald Walsch; Cooneyites/ Go preachers/ Two-by-twos; Counselling; Cross Over Ministries/Eddie Coe; Cross Road Bible Church/Gene, Cunningham; Cults – general; Demons and Demonology; Drugs; Enneagrams; Falun Gong/Falun Dafa; Fantasy Role Playing/Dungeons & Dragons; Freemasonry; Goldsmith, Joel; Gothard, Bill; Growing Families Int’l/Growing Kids God’s Way; Hamilton-Gregory, Michelle; Hare Krishna/ ISCON; Harry Potter; Harvest City Church; Health Fads/Alternative Healing; Hinduism; Hinn, Benny; Hoaxes/Frauds - General; Holy Laughter/Toronto Phenomenon/Rodney Howard-Browne; Hope of God Church; Iglesia Ni Cristo; Innersense Life Training; Internet – general; Islam; Jakes, T.D.; Jehovah's Witnesses; Jesus Lighthouse International Church; Joyner, Rick; Landmark Education/Forum/est; Living Church of God; Lodges (other than Freemasonry); Martial Arts - general; Meditation & mysticism (general); Mind Power; Mormonism; Neo Nazis; New Age - general; Occult - general; Occult - Spiritualism; Occult - Witchcraft; Orange People/Rajneeshies; Orionia Community; Papania, Tom; Pauline School of Theology; Poonan, Zac; Potter's House; Presbyterian Church, The; Raelians, The; Re-Evaluation Counselling; Reiki; Revival Centres; Revival Flame; Riverview Church; Rock Music; Roman Catholic Church; Sathya Sai Baba; Scientology; Scripture Preservation Society, The; Seventh Day Adventism; Spirit of Truth Group; Syncretism; Taosim; Theophostic counselling; Theosophy; Thieme, R.B.; Touch for Health; Twelve Tribes, The; United Church of God, The; United Pentecostal Church, The; Uniting Church, The; Vineyard Churches; Whole Life Ministries/E. Cooke; Word Faith/Hagin; Worldwide Church of God; Y.W.A.M. (Youth With a Mission); Yoga general; Zens, John. Please note that the preceding listing of groups, topics and people are indicative of the wide and diverse range of inquiries received by CCG Ministries. We emphasise that our listing does NOT mean that we consider or classify every group, topic or person mentioned as cultic, occultic or extreme. While the preceding listing shows something of the great diversity of inquiries received by CCG Ministries, it does not reveal the amount of time in dealing with inquiries - either initially when first received, or when we endeavour to find accurate information enabling us to give appropriate responses. A good number of these inquiries require research and investigation before we can give any helpful reply or pass on any information. In some instances we have not been able to respond as adequately as we might have liked, because we were unable to find out a great deal, if anything, about some groups, issues, practices or personalities. However, even in such instances a file is opened with the hope that perhaps at some later stage, we might be able to find and add important and helpful information to such files. This work, along with our general ongoing research, with the addition of information forwarded to us from around the world, keeps us adding to our large collection of files, and enables us to be better informed. In spite of restrictions and limitations due to lack of staff, lack of time, lack of some resources and funds, we were encouraged to be informed, by various individuals and groups, that our information or counselling proved to be of significant help to many during 2003. We encouraged and helped many in their search for truth, appropriate responses to difficult and complex situations, better understandings and even reconciliation. For others we were part of a larger team of encouragers who enabled them to discover a new faith, and freedom from manipulation and controlling personalities and groups. THE WRITTEN WORD During 2003 we published six issues of our (normally bi-monthly) magazine, TAKE A CLOSER LOOK. Through the year we continued to receive positive commendations regarding the magazine’s format, overall content, as well as in regard to specific articles. We also continued to keep our supporters and prayer partners (Partners In Ministry) informed on Ministry issues during the year, through the publication of our supporters' news letter, PIM UPDATE. 2003 saw the continuing of a regular column in the Christian monthly paper, CHALLENGE with articles continuing the series on Alternatives, commenced in 2002. The 2003 series dealt mainly with Reincarnation and Alternative Healing. A series of brief biographies were completed during 2003 for inclusion in some of Andrew Creelman’s books. A Christian academic writer/publisher, and former High School teacher, he has been writing and editing books for TEE students and has been adding a brief Christian story relative to the theme of the particular book. My series were on Mary Jones and the development of the English Bible (and its influence on the English language); Sir Walter Scott; William Wilberforce; Dr. David Livingstone; R.G Le Tourneau. Following several rewrites and editing of material on New Age Spirituality for a booklet to be published in Singapore were almost completed during 2003. The book will be published in Singapore and be available in time for my planned 2004 Ministry and teaching trip scheduled for May. The project is being organised and funded by supportive friends in Singapore. THE SPOKEN WORD Speaking commitments such as lectures, talks, sermons and seminars formed a significant part of our Ministries’ preventative education programme in 2003. As Director I had the responsibility for organising and carrying our these numerous engagements at many different venues, including churches, youth groups, community groups, colleges and seminaries, high schools, and others - involving me in travelling around the Perth metropolitan area, W.A. country centres, and overseas in my teaching/speaking role. The following list of meeting venues does not indicate the full nature of these speaking commitments. Neither time (involved in travel or preparation, or actual speaking time) nor the topic is listed. In some cases the actual speaking time was 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour, but in most cases 1 1/2 to 2 or even 3 hours was the actual presentation time. Some sessions, overall, may vary between 3-8 hours, possibly involving a whole morning or afternoon, or a whole day. Sometimes, colleges and schools want one or two period sessions, others want a series of all-morning or all-day lectures as part of special module or programme. Hence there is a variety of time involved at different colleges. The numbers given after some listed venues indicate the number of specific occasions (generally on different days) on which I spoke at that venue. The mention of the denomination and venue could include speaking at church services, study groups, men’s, women’s or youth groups. Unless otherwise indicated, groups mentioned are in Western Australia. The opportunity of sharing with different individuals and Christian groups continued to be an enriching experience and a privileged opportunity through 2003. Denomination/Church:- Anglican St Peter’s Anglican Church – Wanneroo. Baptist Calvary Baptist Church [3x] (Sing); Slavic Baptist Church – Victoria park; Toodyay Baptist Church. Churches of Christ Foothills Church of Christ; Rivervale Church of Christ [3x]; Nollamara Church of Christ [2x]; Thornlie Church of Christ; Wembley Church of Christ [2x]. Foursquare Churches Highway Foursquare Church, Beechboro [4x]. Uniting Church Carine Uniting Church. Westminster Presbyterian Maida Vale. Other:- Kendenup Christian Fellowship; Overseas Christian Fellowship (OCF) Curtin Uni/combined meeting; Youth With A Mission (YWAM). Educational:- Biblical Graduate School of Theology – 3 lecture series and chapel service (Sing); National University of Singapore – Staff Christian Fellowship (Sing); Riverview Bible College; Carey Baptist College; St Stephens School; University of Western Australia’s Law School. CCG Ministries Training Institute Courses:- WEDNESDAY EVENING STUDY GROUP: During 2003 we continued our informal Bible study group on Wednesday evenings in the Banfield Seminar Room at our Ministry Centre, 50 Carcoola Street, Nollamara. The evenings commence at 7.30 pm and lasted for about 2 hours. Freewill donations were generally contributed by participants of the Wednesday evening study group. Supper was provided. For a good part of the year we looked at various mountains mentioned in the Bible, and their relation to various events and people, with implications for us today. Our ‘Up the Mountainside’ journey was a little different to previous studies, but proved interesting and worthwhile for all participants. We gained insights into Biblical characters, events, concepts and geography. FRIDAY FRIENDS and SATURDAY SEMINARS: We were unable to run any Friday evening programmes or Saturday Seminars during 2003. RADIO TEACHING MINISTRY I’ve been privileged to have been able to continue my series of 30-minutes weekly Take A Closer Look teaching radio programmes on 98.5 Sonshine FM, throughout 2003. This weekly radio ministry commenced in August 1999 and is continuing into 2004. We commenced 2003’s radio programmes with a series encouraging Christian growth through the lives and testimonies of past Followers in the Master’s Footsteps – looking at the lives of George Williams (founder of the YMCA); M R DeHaan (Radio Bible Class/Our Daily Bread); Martin & Broome (the RSPCA); Waugh, Agnew & Cowan (Child Protection and Care); Henry Dunant (founder of the Red Cross); Nicholson, Hill & Knight (Gideons International). Then a news series was started on The Tension of Tolerance – looking at Tolerance in general; Bullying & Intimidation; Name Calling & Labelling; Language Problems; Citizenship; Religious Differences; Apathy; Change & Tolerance; The Intolerance of Tolerance and concluding with Balanced Tolerance. This series was followed by a series of Take A Closer Look teaching programmes on Alternatives - examining mostly New Age alternative concepts and practices – including: Yoga; Kundalini; Siddha Yoga; Rebirthing (3 parts); Crystal Power?; Astrology; Channelling; Guru Guidance? Then came a series on Acts of Compassion: Compassion Vulnerability; Compassion Fatigue; Compassion for Outsiders; Compassion from Kids; Compassion for Kids; Personal Compassion; Compassion’s Costs; Compassion’s Creativity; Compassion for Everyone; Christ’s Compassion. In the weeks leading up to Christmas and the New Year I commenced a series which looked at God’s timing with a general introduction and concepts of time and then: The right time for: Inner Peace; Planning and Preparation; Work; Time Out; Others; A Second Chance; Salvation; Balanced Growth; Christ’s Return (to go to air in the first week in January 2004). IN THE NEWS/MEDIA Two media professionals, David Binks and Ken Moore, from Churchlands Christian Fellowship media department prepared a series of very brief promotional videos of all the missionaries/missionary groups that Churchlands Fellowship supports. That included CCG Ministries. Ours was the second video produced. David and Ken interviewed and filmed me as Director – and also filmed staff and volunteers present in our office at the time. The result was a very professional brief video which was screened during an evening service at Churchlands in late January. The video clip was then modified to be less Churchlands specific so that we can use it anywhere else for general promotion. This brief video has been shown at several groups and remains available for viewing, from our Ministry Centre. In September I was interviewed for Channel 7’s ‘Today Tonight’ programme dealing with spiritualist ‘healer’, Jim Booth. A tiny, but appropriate, fraction of Adrian’s recorded comments was aired as part of that programme segment. I also participated in a lengthy live radio interview/discussion in the small studio of the Kalamunda Community Radio Station. OUR MINISTRY CENTRE Our Centre at 50 Carcoola Street continued to be the hub of our activities and Ministry during 2003. It is where we have been involved in people contact – from inquiries through to counselling through to some seminars and other teaching opportunities. It is where we have conducted our administrative operations, as well as research and information distribution. Our second-hand Book and Garage Sales at our Centre have been a means of social and community contact, and an introduction to our Ministry for many, as well as a fund raiser. Throughout 2003, the permanent display and availability of second-hand books for perusal and purchase during weekdays, remained set up in the enclosed garage area (next to the Banfield Seminar Room). Our accommodation section was briefly used in November and December by two families who came from Queensland to share in the wedding of David van Leen and Roxanne Croot. Our honorary property manager, Eric Banfield, continued to maintain our Centre building, yard and gardens. During the year Eric was able to organise several ‘busy bees’ involving members from one of the home groups from the Nollamara Church of Christ who participated as part of their missionary support commitment. Led by Russell Turner, a lot of tasks – from repairing and repaving the verandah (next to the Banfield Seminar Room) to repainting car parking bays, and much more – were completed through the year. Another garden shed was added and areas around the sheds enclosed. A low metal barrier fence next to our main gates was erected to replace a cracked and leaning brick fence. Some more work will be done in the future to complete this fence. During the year we had some damage (squashing) to water mains pipes, with vehicles (not ours) apparently driving over them. Repairs were made, resulting in improvement to water pressure. We placed white posts around the water meters and taps to avoid similar future problems. We suffered break-ins to our garden and tools sheds, with some minor damage to doors and locks, but, thankfully nothing of significance was taken and the damage was quickly repaired. We have been extremely grateful for all the property and maintenance work done by the various volunteers and helpers during the year, and especially for Eric Banfield, his hard work and consistent support. RESOURCES AND SUPPORT The Library Additions of purchased and donated books, as well as articles and periodicals, were made to the library in 2003. A lot of books have accumulated for sorting and adding to the computer before being added to the shelves. Unfortunately lack of time and volunteers has held this part of the library work up and we are getting quite a deal behind in this area. During 2003 Nancy Fairbairn continued her work of sorting, thinning out and adding to our articles files, as well as some sorting of books for the shelves. But much remains to be done. Others, apart from CCG Ministries staff and volunteers, used the library facilities during 2003, but greater use could have been made of the library by college students and others. Book and Garage Sales We were able to only hold two major Second-Hand Book and Garage Sales during 2003. The two Sales combined raised over $1600, and increased contact and involvement with more people. Excess books and goods were also passed onto other groups/agencies, providing opportunities assist others in their ministry and service efforts. We have continued to maintain availability of the second-hand books, especially the Christian books, between formal Book and Garage Sales. A number of people, from both metropolitan and country churches, have availed themselves of this through 2003, and have picked up some excellent bargains. EQUIPMENT A major equipment addition came late in 2003. South Perth Church of Christ sold our Ministry their large Toshiba 6560 Copier at an excellent price (they were upgrading their printing equipment). This enabled us to supplement the work we were doing on our other copier – especially when relatively large quantities of copies were required. OTHER A major emphasis in 2003 was Market Place Evangelism – in which we took the initiative to help, encourage, support, and participate with churches in having a presence at local New Age fairs and expos. We were able to have some input and encourage Fremantle Church of Christ, Whitford Church of Christ and a number of Christians from various churches in Toodyay in their plans and participation at the Fremantle Psychic fair, the Hillarys Marina New Age and Psychic Festival and the Toodyay New Age Healing Festival. It was good to see churches actively involved in these sort of activities and present a reasonable Christian alternative to the many spiritual seekers attending such functions. FINANCIAL & RELATED MATTERS Like almost all Christian para-church ministries, and indeed, many churches, CCG Ministries continued to ‘feel the pinch’ financially during 2003. July was a particularly low month, and in spite all our efforts to keep our general operating costs to a minimum, our income was far below our expenses, causing us to ‘dip’ significantly into very limited reserves. Finances fluctuated throughout the second half of the year, but by the end of December we had managed to meet all our obligations and finish the year with no outstanding debts. During the year our financial records were audited by Miss Karen Heavey, who became our voluntary auditor for the year, following the resignation of Graham Underhill, who had served CCG Ministries as voluntary auditor for many years. We have appreciated the important contribution made by our auditors in ensuring our financial records were accurate and in keeping with appropriate standards. We were able to maintain payment commitments on our Building Fund loans throughout the year, and were able to reduce some of the capital from these loans. The continuing availability of private interest free loans from several of our supporters helped us with our Building Fund loan reductions during 2003. We continue to be very thankful to God and his people for the financial support received through the year. Some of our donors have been long-term regular, faithful and generous supporters for many years, but many are entering the senior years of their lives. Changes from being on a wage to going on the pension, to further changes and reduced incomes has had a related affect on our regular support income. The challenge for CCG Ministries, and indeed most Christian organisations, is finding younger donors willing to continue such regular support for the future, as well as alternative ways to raise needed finances. THE FUTURE As Concerned Christians Growth Ministries Inc. enters its 25th Anniversary Year it is clear that there continues to be a definite role and place for its contributions to both the Christian and general communities. Religious confusion and uncertainty, trouble in churches and changes in leadership direction, increases in independent church groups, new cults starting up, occult and New Age Spirituality increasing in influence – are all factors that indicate we have future. In order to affectively deal with these factors and issues, we plan, in 2004 and coming years, to:
As we look forward with anticipation, and work together as a team – Board, staff, volunteers and supporters – I believe that 2004, our 25th Anniversary Year, will be an exciting and challenging year in the service of God and the community. In His Peace and Grace W.A. van Leen, Director. March 2004
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