The Aussie Connection
A Newsletter – From the Russell Family
Calvary Chapel Melbourne, Australia
Volume 2 #10
Greetings Beloved,
I pray that you are having a magnificent day! Isn’t the Lord our God amazing? I stand in awe of His loving-kindness, mercy and grace. We have been so blessed to have spent the last two years of our lives serving here in beautiful Melbourne Australia, and are looking forward to what the Lord has for us in this upcoming year.
We would like to personally thank all of our supporters for their prayers, encouraging words, and faithful support. You have heard us say it many times before, but it’s so true, that we could not accomplish all that God has set before us without the team back home behind us. Thank you so much for partnering in the ministry with us.
School of Ministry (in-depth discipleship)
This has been a positive, productive and important element in developing, equipping, and training our key leadership team. It’s been a blast to talk them through many valuable leadership topics. God has done some amazing things through this time of one-on-one fellowship; we have seen some real breakthroughs and have overcome many hurdles that were standing in the way of their leadership development. I feel that God has used this time to lay the foundation for our future staff here at Calvary Chapel Melbourne.
Visa Update
Here is the latest news! We are still in the renewing process; all of the required paperwork has been turned in and we are now waiting for a response from the Immigration Department. We believe wholeheartedly that the Lord wants us to continue the work He has started here in Melbourne and we have faith that God will provide a way for us to stay in country and complete the work that He has called us to do. We will keep you posted, and as soon as we get word of approval you will be receiving an email of Celebration and Excitement! It will be a huge victory, and all of the glory will be given to our wonderful and mighty Lord. (Photo: Joshua playing soccer)
A recent question: What’s it like to be a pastor?
This is my tenth year of active involvement in church leadership, both as a volunteer and as a staff member. People often ask me, “What is it like to be a pastor?” I have a common answer – “I find ministry extremely fulfilling yet
challenging.”
On the fulfilling side – what an honor and a privilege to be used by God to make a difference in peoples lives; what a joy it is to see people come to Christ and grow in their faith and love for the Lord. It is a wonderful thing to see teams of people working together using their gifts to build God’s
church.
On the challenging side: ministry stretches you to the maximum – it constantly pulls you out of your comfort zone and at times can be very physically, emotionally and spiritually draining. There is a tremendous amount of
responsibility and pressure as a leader, and the problems and challenges you face don’t often have easy solution.
The apostle Paul, one of the great leaders of the church in the first century had a similar perspective on ministry. He saw ministry as a huge privilege and something he was willing to give his life for. He loved the reward of seeing
people come to Christ, churches planted and the gospel impacting communities. However, he also found ministry very challenging (see 2 Cor.4:8-9; 6:3-10; 7:5).
My Top 5 challenges right now are: (1) keeping fresh, (2) not having enough time to accomplish all that I would like to, (3) building emotional sustainability, (4) raising up more leaders, and (5) moving to a higher level of spiritual
effectiveness. There are many more … but we’ll leave it at that for now.
All of us have challenges, no matter who we are or how things look on the outside. Many of you have challenges that make mine look pretty insignificant – a debilitating sickness; a struggling marriage, family conflict or singleness issues; timepressures (balancing a busy career, family and a ministry),
fatigue (you’re tired and run down); financial pressures that are beyond you’re ability to solve in the short term or personal internal issues that you grapple with every day (habits of life that you’re trying to change).
What do you do when facing challenges? Here are a few
things that have helped me along the way …
1. Believe that your challenges have the potential to make you strong.
The very process of facing and dealing with life’s challenges is how we become strong people. You can’t develop ‘strength’ without pressure and without a degree of stress (and sometimes even pain). The hard times can make us
strong.
“Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.” [African
Proverb]
How we think about our challenges is vital. The quality of ‘resilience’ is the ability to successfully meet and surmount challenges, obstacles, and problems. This quality is not hereditary and it has nothing to do with your talent or even
your anointing. It has to do with your way of thinking – how you look at and interpret life’s challenges.
Paul tells us that, “God is working all things (this includes challenges!) together for our ultimate benefit because we love God and are called according to his purpose.” I believe that it is essential that each one of us has a clear sense of the call of God for our life and ministry, and then embrace a strong belief in the sovereignty of God and in his goodness.
“I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much.” [Mother Teresa]
2. Do what you can to overcome them.
Don’t give in or just come under the challenge. Give your best efforts to face it head on and believe for a solution. Give it your best prayers, your best thinking and your best energy. There’s always something you can do to either completely conquer the challenge or at least minimize its impact.
Sometimes there are tough choices to be made, changes to be embraced and maybe even compromises where we have to choose less than the ideal. Sometimes you need to try a different approach – a different tack. Look at it a different way or do something different about it. Don’t ignore your
challenges and try not to be overwhelmed by them. Refuse to just give up and become a ‘victim’. Determine to be a ‘victor’ no matter how long it takes. Amen
“Call unto me and I will answer thee, show ye great and mighty things” – Jeremiah 33:3
Home leave
We will be coming home for a visit at the end of May! We are so excited and are looking forward to spending as much time as possible with family and friends. We would also like to connect with as many supporters as possible and
answer any questions that you may have about the work that God is doing here down under.
Prayer Points
The renewal of visas – the process to go quickly
A greater passion for the Word of God and for the people of
Australia.
For the anointing of the Spirit upon our lives and the church
For strength and guidance.
For protection, discernment, and guidance.
For wisdom in making decisions.
Provision in finances – monthly support and for home leave.
Just to let you know
Here is our churches web site.
www.ccmelbourne.org
Blessings to you and until next time,
Pasttor Andrew Russellll
Andrew,, Niikii,, Joshua, & Chriisttiian