Southern Cross Presbyterian Church

Some of you may know that big changes are up ahead for The Bible Talks (TBT) ministry on campus at Southern Cross University. Although TBT will continue to be in close relationship with Southern Cross Presbyterian Church, it will soon be funded independently and overseen by the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (AFES).

These changes are aimed at growing the ministry and building a team fully focused on that ministry. One of the most exciting aspects of this is the addition of a female staffworker, Katharine Crossle, who we met on Sunday.

Katharine was interviewed by Jasmine Mathie, who hopes to be doing METRO next year with a focus on uni ministry, and I have tried to capture as much information as I could from the interview below…

Katharine, tell us a bit about yourself…

At the moment I’m on holidays, but I’m also in my final year at bible college in Sydney. I grew up in country Australia, went to uni in Armidale, and am now living in Sydney.

What’s brought you to the point of joining the team at The Bible Talks?

I’ve always lived in country areas so moving to Sydney has been interesting. I went to Bible College to get better equipped to promote the gospel with an idea that I’d like to do ministry in a country area. I was keen to move out of the city, so I got in touch with AFES about working with TBT in Lismore and got the job!

What will your role be in terms of being the female staffworker?

I’ll be looking after the women on campus by meeting with them one to one in a discipling role. The main focus will be to help them become better equipped for evangelism on campus. It’s a great opportunity to grow the ministry and proclaim the gospel in a very secular place. I’m really looking forward to it.

What can we be praying for?

I’m in my last semester of college, so pray that I would learn lots. I’m also involved in a ministry at a uni campus in Sydney where I’m being trained in uni ministry, so please pray for that too. Please pray that during my last 6 months as a student I would be preparing well for next year.

It is my great pleasure to write this blog, although with a little sadness. For those who don’t know, I’m expecting a baby in a couple of months and have thus resigned from my position as Ministry Co-ordinator. Although I will miss my job in the office, I am looking forward to motherhood and am also thrilled to introduce you to Julie Nicholson who will be stepping in as the new Ministry Co-ordinator from July 7.

It’s an exciting time for the ministry team as they welcome Julie on board. We heard from Julie on Sunday and I have tried to capture as much information from her interview below:

So Julie, tell us a bit about yourself and what you have been doing for the past few years…

About this time 3 years ago, I was a missionary in a tribal village in the south of the Philippines. I found myself back in Australia and ‘passing through’ Kyogle, where I ended up staying and living for a time. I also got a job working in an accountants firm in Lismore, then subsequently moved into Lismore to live.

In a couple of weeks you’ll be taking over from Jillian as Ministry Co-ordinator. For those who aren’t aware, what is the role of the MC at SCPC?

The title of the job is fairly self explanatory: the role of the Ministry Co-ordinator is to co-ordinate the ministries of our church. As there is a lot of administration that comes with being a larger church with many ministries it’s an enabling and supporting role to both full-time staff and everyone else involved in the ministries of our church.

How are you feeling about joining the ministry team, and what can we be praying for?

I’m nervously excited about joining the ministry team at Southern Cross as my job here will be somewhat different to what I’ve been used to for the past few years and there will be a lot to learn in a short time. Please pray for me (and the rest of the staff!) as I settle in, that I will learn the ropes quickly and won’t be too overwhelmed by all the detail.

We understand you’ll be getting in touch with our church family via phone soon…what’s that all about?

I’ll be phoning everyone in our church family during my first couple of months as Ministry Co-ordinator. This is for a number of reasons: firstly, to introduce myself to you (for those who don’t already know me); secondly, to get an idea of the ministries and/or roles you already have within the church family; and thirdly, to ask you about any interests you may have in joining existing ministries within our church family. I’m looking forward to it!

Julie will commence as Ministry Co-ordinator on Monday July 7 and can be contacted during the week via email at julie@scpc.org.au or by phone (02) 6621 3655.

To all the women of SCPC! You’re invited to attend a video night on Thursday 19th June at 7:30pm at Park Ave. We’ll be watching a bible talk on DVD called “Sex in the City” by Di Warren. This is NOT to be confused with the Hollywood movie due to be released soon.

To get underway on time please arrive at 7:15pm and remember to bring a rug, warm clothes and some snacks to pass around during the talk. After the talk, we’ll be having some short discussion groups to get us thinking even more about the topic.

The talk covers the topic in quite some detail, so it’s recommended for older girls and women – both married and single. You can borrow the DVD beforehand if you wish, or ask Suzie Thompson, Jillian Coutts, Ros Cree or Rachel Iedema about it as they have all seen it.

The talk, “Sex in the City”, was given by Di Warren at the Women’s Equip Conference 2006. The talks, discussion questions and reflection questions from these conferences are always biblical and well presented by godly women. The church library has a couple of DVDs from previous Equip conferences that you can borrow, but why not visit the Equip website at www.equip.org.au for further information.

The 2008 North Coast Christian Convention (NCCC) is fast approaching – it’s only 3 weekends away on Saturday May 24 – Sunday May 25 at Evans Head K-12 School.

The theme for this year’s convention is “never say NO to Jesus”. David Jones (a Welshman, from Tasmania) will be speaking directly on this topic, and Steve Young (minister at Moorebank Anglican Church) will be speaking from 1 Corinthians 15.

Not only will there be excellent bible talks at the convention, but there’ll also be a men’s seminar (Steve Young), and a women’s seminar (Di Warren) on Saturday afternoon. On Saturday evening there’ll be an opportunity to be challenged about going into full-time ministry with David Jones, and Steve Morrison will be giving a concert on Saturday night.

The usual fantastic children’s & youth programs will also be running during each session, thanks to the dedicated teams from Brisbane and the North Coast.

NCCC 2008 will be an excellent weekend for the whole family to be encouraged and challenged from God’s Word. It’s also an opportunity to share with other Christians from our region and to encourage each other all the more to live as followers of Jesus.

Please register before the weekend – the cost is $37 adult, $16 high school, $7 primary, and $3 creche. You can register by completing your registration form and posting with payment to PO Box 5117 East Lismore 2480, or you can phone (02) 6621 3655 to pay with your credit card.

Hope to see you there!!