I am currently reading through the book of Acts and have just reached chapter 12. Here we find Peter in prison and the early church earnestly in prayer for him (v5). We aren’t told what they prayed, but it doesn’t appear that it was for him to be released (v15). Nevertheless, Peter’s exit from prison and subsequent escape was a wonderful outcome from their prayers.
The thing is though, the apostle James had also been arrested, but rather than being spared he was executed (vv1-2). I would imagine that the church prayed just as fervently for James as they did for Peter, yet one was executed while the other spared. God always answers our prayers—sometimes granting then, sometimes saying ‘no’, and sometimes ‘wait’. Yet through it all God is sovereignly working through our prayers.
So, in our prayers for our Centre for Asian Christianity, may we earnestly commit the ministry to our Heavenly Father and then expectantly look for how he answers.
Let me share with you a few answers to your prayers for the Centre over the past few months.
| Asian Ministry Summit III |
Held in Darling Harbour, Sydney, about 25 people engaged in various Asian ministries spent a fruitful day discussing key issues regarding Asian ministry as well as networking together. The whole day flowed well —with great involvement and support from different Board of Reference members, too.
CAC Fundraising Appeal and Dinner
April was our CAC Appeal month, culminating with our dinner on 27 April. It was a wonderful evening, with more than seventy people gathered to share in what God has been doing through the Centre this past twelve months, and to capture some of our vision for the future.
One of the projects we shared about is the reprint of the Thai-Greek Dictionary and Strong Concordance being done through Kanock Bannasan publishers in Bangkok (you can watch a short video of this project here). Praise God that friends like you helped raise enough funds to support this project!
We also heard from Rev Dr Felix Chung on ‘Challenges and opportunities for the 1st generation Chinese church in Australia’ and prayed for God’s ongoing work amongst Chinese-speaking people across Australia. We set a goal for the appeal and dinner to raise $50,000—with a generous donor willing to match any money given up to $50,000. We are so thankful to God that while we did not hit this target, close to $30,000 was raised and has subsequently been matched by our donor. This matching offer has been extended until the end of 2023, so if we raise a further $20,000 it will also be matched.
Incoming CAC Director
Andrew Prince, who has been CAC Director since 2016 will be taking on the role of Academic Dean at BST from 1 July. It was announced at the dinner that one of the current Board of Reference members, Grace Lung, has accepted the BST Board’s invitation to take on the Director role. Grace has been part of CAC from the beginning and so brings great continuity with the vision and values of CAC along with significant knowledge and experience of Asian ministry. Grace is currently involved in a church plant alongside her husband as well as multiple Asian ministries and so we look forward to how God will continue to use her in this new role.
Things we would love you to commit to prayer…
- Thank God for the generosity of supporters of CAC’s ministry that is changing lives of people in Indonesia, Thailand and Australia.
- Thank God for the growing opportunities for CAC’s ministry in Indonesia and Thailand.
- Thank God for the provision of Grace Lung as incoming CAC Director. Please pray for Grace as she begins leading this ministry that God would grant her wisdom, encouragement, and fruitful conversations and contacts.
Thank you for your continued interest, support, and prayers for the Asian church.
