The Presbytery of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Australia met on 4 May in Geelong for its Annual General Meeting. This meeting focuses on receiving annual reports from Presbytery committees and sessions, as well as hearing from delegates from other denominations.
We were glad to welcome Rev Lourens Nel of the Christian Reformed Church of Australia and Rev Bruce Martin of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America as delegates from other denominations. It was good to hear of the ongoing work of gospel ministry and the particular needs of each. We also welcomed Dr Martin Williams of the Reformed Theological College who provided an update on the work of the college including the encouragement of recent growth at the Melbourne campus and the appointment of Phillip Scheepers as Principal.
The Presbytery desires to continue to develop strong relationships with other Christian denominations. In recent time, we have been corresponding, and at times meeting, with representatives from both the Southern Presbyterian Church and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. We are encouraged by these opportunities and pray that God would use these efforts to strengthen his Church.
At the meeting we also agreed to a number of initiatives over the coming months in support of our Safe Church policy and procedures. These include running ‘Safe Church Basic Training’ in McKinnon and in Geelong during 2019, as well as enacting the Volunteer Approval Process, as outlined in the RPCA Safe Church guidelines and procedures, effective from May 4, 2019.
Finally, Presbytery agreed to lead a process to review the location of the Fellowship Camp in 2020.
Please continue to pray for the work of the RP Presbytery in Australia, as they seek to work for the advancement of God’s Kingdom in that nation.
