Various contemporary religious movements, cults, extreme Christian fringe groups, and false doctrines have been around for years, and are still continuing to cause confusion around the world.

In 1959 Adrian van Leen, as a teenager, made a deliberate choice to become a follower of Jesus Christ. He expressed this choice publicly at the Billy Graham Crusade, held in Perth, Western Australia, in May that year.

He became involved with Churches of Christ and determined to find out all he could about the Christian Faith. In the process he began to learn about religious groups, both historical and contemporary, which claimed that they alone had salvation truth.

The ensuing years included continuous research into cultic and other contemporary religious movements, theological training for pastoral ministry, training and post-graduate studies as a school teacher, further theological and religious studies.

The shocking deaths of 913 cult members in Jonestown, Guyana, in November 1978, led to a growing number of people making inquiries of Adrian van Leen about various religious groups. As requests for help and information grew, the small inner-city congregation of which he was pastor, encouraged and initially gave some limited financial support, to the establishment of CCG Ministries in October 1979.

Since a bank account was first opened for Concerned Christians Growth Ministries in North Perth, Western Australia, in October 1979, our organisation has grown into a well known and respected group.

A Board of management was formed, and the organisation formally and legally incorporated as an association in 1982.

As a legally incorporated association, CCG Ministries is under the control of a Board of Management made up of people from differing professions, backgrounds, and Christian denominations. The Director, other staff and volunteers, are accountable to the Board. We believe in accountability - including in the area of finance - our financial records are audited annually and copies submitted to the Australian Securities Commission.

After years of using various rented premises, CCG Ministries was able to purchase, at auction, on the 29^th April, 1998, a former Aboriginal hostel at 50 Carcoola Street in Nollamara, Western Australia, to be the organisation’s permanent Ministry home.

CCG Ministries, through its Training Institute provides services to the community in relation to Contemporary Religious Movements (CRM’s) - ranging from cultic groups to occult groups to extreme Christian fringe groups.

There are two main approaches to our work.  We are involved in both crisis intervention and preventative education.

When someone in the family, or an employee (or employer) becomes involved in a CRM it usually causes a crisis for those close to that person.  From misunderstanding to extreme behaviour, a dramatic change in personality to sudden departure from home or non-return from a long-distance holiday - these and other possible changes brought about by involvement in a CRM can precipitate a family or business crisis.

In these crises we are called on by many people to counsel family members, friends, those assisting the family, the person involved in the CRM, and to provide accurate and helpful information and documentation about the groups concerned.  We are approached for understanding, guidance, moral support, confirmation of appropriate action, help in seeking reconciliation, as well as information.

While most of our crisis intervention involvement is with relatives of the CRM member or new convert, we also provide counselling for CRM converts and members when they are willing - recognising that their willingness may be tinged with suspicion and apprehension because of cultic propaganda against us.  Our counselling involves us in sharing information about the group they may not be aware of and to assure them of their right to examine all relevant evidence, think independently for themselves, and have a different opinion to the CRM group (or to us), and give them the opportunity to rethink their CRM commitment without pressure of any kind.

We are a legally incorporated association and our constitution states clearly that we seek to provide Christian educational help, counselling, support and relevant available material assistance, without distinction of colour, race or creed to those disenchanted and dissatisfied with the cultic group to which they may belong; to those facing the trauma of leaving or having left such a group; to the families and relatives of cultic group members - especially to those who, because of cultic involvement are suffering distress, disorientation, family disintegration, loss of employment or destitution; and to those who through poverty or other social misfortune lack the support systems to help them which may more readily be available to others.

In our efforts to provide such crisis intervention, counselling and help our Ministry:

a) Will work in cooperation with all Christian Churches, as a servant of the churches providing a specialised ministry.
b) Will NOT be involved in efforts to extract or hold any member of any CRM group by coercion, force, kidnapping, or other such means.  while we understand the desperation of parents and families, we believe such action is not the most helpful or appropriate, nor is it legal, nor is it moral or Christian.  We have never been an Association of ’deprogrammers’ involved in any form of ’brain washing’ in reverse.
c) Will encourage, and provide supportive prayer, for persons concerned for CRM members, and that members of cultic groups may seek and find the truth in Jesus Christ.
d) Will encourage every effort to be made to have, and continue, positive loving and accepting communication between members of CRM’s and their relatives.
e) Will provide supportive counselling and assistance for families and CRM members, when they are open to it, regardless of colour, race, or creed, and endeavour to bring reconciliation and healing - and to prevent family disintegration that could lead to possible divorce and/or delinquency

Advocacy is also one of our roles. In our counselling and support we are often consulted by lawyers - usually in Family Court situations - for help and information. At times our Director, Adrian van Leen, has been asked to appear in court as an expert witness in Australia and Singapore.

In the preventative education aspect of our work we seek to provide Christian educational courses, seminars, in-service training programmes, extension programmes, tutoring, counselling, and information sharing with 

i) The general public
ii) Teachers of religious education
iii) Teachers in Sunday Schools, and similar church-based teaching programmes.
iv) Secondary and tertiary level students.
v) Youth workers and young adult leaders and counsellors.
vi) Clergy and similar professional groups.

We believe that by publicly sharing information - often information that goes well beyond the initial public propaganda put out by groups - people will be better informed and equipped to make decisions about involvement in CRM groups.  Such decisions should not be based solely on emotional needs, loneliness, spiritual and social naivete or other forms of vulnerability.  Religious commitment is vitally important and needs to be thought through carefully.  Because genuine commitment involves the whole person - emotionally, spiritually and intellectually, commitment decisions should always be balanced between emotional response, prayerful seeking, and a thoughtful evaluation of claims/teachings and what is known about the Church or group.

In other words, we believe, from an educational point of view, that people have the right to know what they’re getting into before they get so involved they find it hard to leave if they want to do that.

In trying to carry out its role in crisis intervention and preventative education CCG Ministries has set up an extensive reference library now being used by college and University students, community workers, and a wide range of other people.  We also seek to provide resources for sale in books, tapes and videos.

Our Ministry deals with telephone, e-mail, and correspondence inquiries from around the world and has received thousands of requests for help and information.  Requests for assistance have come from former Soviet/Eastern Bloc countries, as well as from North and South America, Africa, and Asia, Oceania and the Pacific regions, but with resource limitations our teaching ministry has basically been confined to Australia and Asia.

In providing our services in relation to cultic, occult and extreme Christian fringe groups we are constantly involved in research and investigation.  New groups appear constantly, and old groups change tactics and public propaganda - but underneath the spots usually remain unchanged.  We examine CRM’s from psychological and sociological perspective’s, and also theologically.  Beliefs are important to CRM groups - and also to Christians and members of other major world religions - and therefore, we believe, need to be considered (and presented) carefully and fairly.

Our approach is unashamedly Christian.  We openly acknowledge our Christian bias - everyone has a bias, to say otherwise is either ignorance or deception - ours is a Christian one.  We believe we can be fairer and more objective by knowing and acknowledging our bias, and exercising the disciplines of critical thought and research, than denying bias.  We believe, and let people know, that Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour (rather than any one Christian denomination) is the best alternative to cultic, occult, or extreme Christian fringe group involvement.  However, people must be free to consider that alternative without pressure, and in their own time.

With currently only a small staff of two full time, and one part time, members, and several volunteers, we are often stretched to (and beyond) the limit.  Our organisation does not receive grants from the government or any foundation.  Our finances come from individual donations and support, speaking engagements and a few church congregations.  The recession has hit many of our supporters and in turn has hit us hard.  We have not had sufficient finances to adequately pay our staff or restock our depleted numbers of sale books, for quite some time.  Financial support and encouragement are needed to keep our services going.

Over the years since CCG Ministries has been functioning we have built a reputation of balance, fairness, and accountability.  This continues to bring people to us seeking our services.  With social, economic, and religious trends around the world this is not likely to decrease - if anything, our work load continues to increase - but our resources and support struggle to keep up with the demands in these difficult times.  Time will tell whether people believe that the services we are providing are worth being continued for a growing number of seeking, hurting, confused and deceived people - particularly in Australia and Asia.
 

While our small staff  sometimes share in the speaking/teaching workload, this is supervised, and most of it done, by our Director, Adrian van Leen.  Adrian is a qualified and accredited minister with Churches of Christ in Western Australia.  He has had 17 years in pastoral ministry in one country church and two metropolitan churches.  While pastoring metropolitan churches he also trained to be a school teacher and then taught school classes for several years.  He has earned qualifications including a Diploma in Ministry, Diploma in Religious Education, Diploma in Teaching, Diploma in Theology, a Graduate Diploma in Educational Technology, Post Graduate Diploma of Arts (Religious Studies).

He assisted in designing and setting up a unit in Contemporary Religious Movements for the Religious Studies department of what is now Edith Cowan University.  He has designed and conducted a variety of accredited semester units on CRM’s and World Religions at Perth Bible College, WA Bible College, Kenmore Christian College (Queensland) and the Churches of Christ Theological College in New South Wales  [these two colleges are now combined as the Australian College of Ministries], Bethany School of Missions (Singapore), and shorter courses or units at Biblical Graduate School of Theology (Singapore) and Haggai Institute (Singapore).  He has been a regular and sometime visiting lecturer/speaker at Edith Cowan University, the above named Colleges, Luther Seminary (South Australia) and the Lutheran Seminary in Hong Kong.

He has spoken to student and staff Christian fellowships, and other groups on university, college, and high school campuses around Australia and in Singapore.  He is a regular guest speaker with Overseas Christian Fellowship student groups.  He has conducted seminars and spoken to a wide range of groups - church groups, para-church groups, camps, conferences, youth groups, men’s and women’s groups, Rotary groups, Armed Services wives’ support groups, and other community groups.

Adrian is a most able communicator, effective cross-culturally, as well as with different age groups.  He has worked through translators in numerous alternative language situation, and had effective presentations around Australia, in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), Singapore, and Thailand. He is helping and guiding other staff in their participation in our preventative education outreach.

Our preventative education work also involves us in the media and we are regularly consulted by print, radio and TV media around Australia and overseas.  We have been quoted in state and regional newspapers across Australia - from the Adelaide Advertiser the Brisbane Courier and the Canberra Times, through to the West Australian, as well as the New Paper and Straits Times from Singapore; and the Oregonian in the USA.  Articles have appeared about our Ministry in the New Idea, Cosmopolitan, Australian Women’s Weekly (twice), as well as in Christian publications such as New Life, New Day, On Being, Impact, and numerous denominational and para-church publications in Australia and overseas.  We have had series of articles in several Anglican and Roman Catholic publications, as well as reports in a number of  Protestant denominational papers.  Our Director has had regular columns  in several Christian publications.

The original logo for CCGM reflected that we, as Christians, believe God takes the initiative, and in love, lifts man up out of the darkness and sin that alienates him from God, and leads to difficult and damaged relations with others, to bring us all into the light of reconciliation and restoration.

As Christians, concerned about people’s right and need to grow, especially in their understanding of God, and having the right to make informed religious choices, we seek to reach out a helping hand to lift others out of the darkness and confusion that can occur with cultic involvement.  We seek to bring the light of  Truth and understanding in an endeavour to help others find freedom and reconciliation.

The cross of Jesus Christ is central and over all, as we seek to reach out a helping hand to people, regardless of race, colour, creed, or status.