“The Encourager” is a newsletter aimed directly at current and past Lay/church/deacon Workers in the LCA. While others are welcome to subscribe through the LCA website, our aim will be to keep you informed of what is happening in and for Lay Ministry each month. The e-News will cover:

• Lay Worker stories to inspire you as Lay Workers answer God’s call to join what God is doing in their community
• Positions available
• Training courses and workshops across the country
• Inspiring ideas
• An appreciation of the wide variety of mission and ministry occurring across all Australian States and Territories.
• Celebrating highs and sharing the many challenges
• Making and keeping contact with past Lay

The right hand column of the e-News (Information & Links) is designed to provide you with important information, contacts and links to resources to keep you informed. The left hand side is to share stories, ideas and inspiration. We invite you to interact and give us feedback...and each other by reading and then emailing a word of encouragement or congratulations...so that we can provide a resource that works for you...where ever you are practicing ministry.

To do this we need to hear feedback from you.

Lay Ministry:  mission & ministry encouragers
To define the role and purpose of Lay Ministry, we’ll be using the above title and phrase.
As Lay Workers involved in Lay Ministry, I think of you as “Lay Ministers”…people involved in non-ordained ministry.
Our roles are in both mission (connecting people and church with our local community) & ministry (discipling and supporting people around us)
encouragers is intentional.  While Lay Workers certainly do “do”!, a key role is to develop leadership in others and to encourage all people to enthusiastically take up the call to be God’s people in their community and their church….”where love comes to life”

You may be working in a busy multi-staffed community, an office cubical, in the outback, mallee, hills or at the heart of a city. You may work with children, youth, the aged or the dying, you may consider yourself a lapsed Lay Worker!… Where ever you are and whatever your role, Welcome to the Lay Ministry community! We want to hear and share your stories and connect you with the dreams and visions of fellow travellers.

Through the mission and ministry God has given you, may more people experience Jesus’ love for them and commit to follow Him!
Paid or voluntary, part time or full time, we thank God for you and the difference you make in your community!
Nevin Nitschke

Robyne Downey, born in Tasmania and currently living and working in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.

Growing up in a Christian home I was blest with always knowing the name of Jesus as that of my Lord and Saviour. 

The strongest influence within my family in my Christian walk was my Grandmother. (Marie Ellen Downey, Nee Perry) She never let me forget that there was nowhere I could go that God wouldn’t or couldn’t follow.  Most of all she let me know I was forgiven, forgiven and forgiven, and all while I was yet a sinner.

When I was 10 I went to a missionary convention where a friend was retelling her story of being a missionary in China. The minister asked if there was anyone who felt God asking “will you go too?”. I quietly raised my hand, scared to be laughed at or ridiculed, yet certain this was what God was asking of me. A feeling that never left, and it was in response to this feeling that I raised my hand and offered to take over from Pastor Basil Schild when he decided to take leave of absence. I had a great job I was enjoying immensely but felt that this was the place that God was calling me to serve.

Having lived in Central Australia for many years and worked predominantly among the Aboriginal People, I was well aware of the cultural differences that cause a lot of the difficulties that arise between the factions in Alice.

>>Read more

Those of you who have visited the Board For Lay Ministry display at Synods this year will have noticed something new. We have adopted jelly beans as our Lay Ministry confectionary.
Yes we are now giving away jelly beans. Some of you who noticed this visited our display a great many times more than normal!
So why jelly beans? Simply, because these days they come in so many different flavours, colours and even sizes. There are now over 50 ‘official’ jelly bean flavours with apparently more to come!
Lay ministry also comes in many different ‘flavours’.

>>Read more

Shirley Klinge retires from her role as Parish Nurse in September. Shiley has served Faith Lutheran College and Redeemer Lutheran Church at Laidley since 1998. Indeed it was on the 13th of December in 1998 that Shirley became th first Parish Nurse to be installed in the LCA in Queensland. At the time Shirley wrote..."This is a new venture for Qld and I pray as we set out on unchartered waters that God will lead us."

Shirley over 13 years came to be fondly known by the students as the ‘Nanna Nurse’. During her first years at Faith Shirley also served as the inaugural college chaplain.  She also served for a time as Secretary of the Queensland District.

>>Read more

Warrambui 4th - 8th November 2013
The Lay Worker Conference is for current and past (Ministry Partners) Lay Workers, support staff and Volunteers as well as Pastors.

Cost:       $300 (accommodation/meals/materials & linen)
Registrations Close:      14th October 2013

Guest Speaker:
John North is the Ministry Team Leader of Ambassadors for Christ International–Australia. Born in India to Australian missionaries. He has been working with AFCI in Australia for the past 19 years, building a team focused on accelerating the spread of the gospel through Australian churches. He developed the LifeWorks evangelism tool which has seen thousands of Australians come to faith in Christ and is used by many churches around the world, wrote the GrowthWorks small group course to help Christians start growing again, is on the radio each morning in Sydney with the Time With God devotional spot, authors the Time With God daily devotional email read by more than 30,000 people each day, and trains church leaders in Jesus' process for building a spiritual movement. Beyond all these things John loves to preach and teach God's word in a penetrating way that changes people's lives.

RPL:
We are excited to announce that lay workers working toward a Cert IV in CMT (30772QLD) at ALC can obtain credit for the Spiritual Resilience unit through participation in this conference and through an RPL process ($150cost). For further information and to apply please contact Natalie Wear, Administrator, School Theological Studies on 08 8267 7400

See you there...

To Register