From the Superintendent's DESK‍

A weekend of special meetings was held in Melbourne, Australia, October 6-8, and was a great time of refreshing for all who joined. The following report of the event was written by Faithful Ogugua.

The weekend meetings kicked off to a great start with an inspiring woodwind trio from members of the orchestra, which was followed by a choir presentation, “The Sweetest Song I Know.” A duet closed the prelude with “Just Over in the Glory Land.” Before the sermon, a male quartet sang “Just a Little Talk with Jesus.” Sam Ajayi, Director of Australia Work, took his sermon text from Roman 6:16-23. He talked about two categories of people with different masters and how one is obedient unto sin and the other is obedient unto righteousness. He admonished the congregation about the importance of being obedient unto God and righteousness, which has its start at salvation but must continue through life.

The second day started with a violin solo. It preceded the choir singing “Hide me, Rock of Ages.” Then a vocal trio sang “In the Old-Time Way”—a song that prepared the congregants’ hearts for revival. Before the sermon, a soloist sang “Jesus, I come,” which linked beautifully with the message. The message came from Luke 8: 41-45, 48-55 and focused on a man named Jairus as well as the story of the woman with the issue of blood. Each of these people “disturbed” Jesus and got their desired victory. The preacher encouraged the worshipers that Jesus, the Master of all things, wants to be troubled by all people for their needs. A prolonged prayer session followed the meeting as the worshipers went to their knees seeking the face of God.

The final day started with a Sunday school lesson on divine healing. Michael Chiutare from Western Australia taught the lesson. To open the morning service, the orchestra presented an arrangement of the song “Stayed upon Jehovah” and “Praise the Lord, His Glory Show.” The Melbourne choir then sang “Magnify the Lord with Me.” A trio from Sydney also sang “I’m Winging My Way Back Home.” The Bible reading was taken from Ecclesiastics 3:1-8 and the song that preceded it was “Must I Go and Empty-Handed?” This highlighted the desire of every worshiper.  Before the message, Lekan Olagookun sang “Got Any River?”

Brother Sam took his text from Malachi 6:1-3 and said our lives from childhood revolve around prescheduled time events: birth, sitting up, crawling, walking, and so on. We are also bound to time by schedules at church, school, work, and so on. Contrarily, Jesus is not bound by time, but operates in His own way. He is always ready to save, sanctify, baptize, and heal. As Malachi foretold, Jesus “shall suddenly come to his temple.” He will pour out blessings today and also suddenly appear to take His people home. The congregation was admonished to prepare adequately for both the blessings of today and Christ’s Second Coming.

In the evening, a youth woodwind quartet played “Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken” and “He Brought Me Out.” This was followed by a trio singing “I Will Never Forget Thee” and a duet singing “Don’t Turn Him Away.” Before the sermon, the Melbourne choir sang “Why Do You Wait?” The preacher took his text from John 4:5-16 and talked about the blessings God has prepared for each person. He stated that the devil is moving as a roaring lion, targeting whom he may destroy. However, Jesus, as the undefeated Lion of the tribe of Judah, is targeting sinners to save them and saints to bless them. The congregation was encouraged to respond positively to Jesus, which will bring blessings that last even beyond the next Melbourne special meetings and into eternity. 

The testimony Service truly had something special for everyone. A brother from Sydney, who was among the founding members of the church in Australia, told how God miraculously helped him fix his car during the recent Sydney camp meeting. He also praised God for healing his toothache. Another brother testified that God answered his prayer as he moved to Melbourne. He knew there was no Apostolic Faith Church there and prayed the Lord would establish one. He thanked God that today, there is a vibrant group in Melbourne. A sister testified about how the Lord helped her forgive others for a long-term situation. And a brother testified on the way God has kept him in the Gospel from a young age until now.

During this weekend in Melbourne, we witnessed God’s mercy and grace to bless us in a wonderful way. We have partaken of a special time of visitation and connection with God. For this, we are thankful.

We thank the Lord for the blessings received during the meetings this past weekend and pray that He will continue to prosper the Gospel work in Australia. Should He tarry, next year’s camp meeting in Sydney is scheduled for September 29 through October 6, and the Melbourne special meetings for October 11-13.