Matthews – June 2010

Why Australian Citizenship? Top five questions asked in Australia

We became citizens of Australia on Tuesday 29 June, 2010. We will be dual citizens of Australia and the US. Many have asked why we went to the effort. We were permanent residents and did not have to become citizens to do work here in Sydney. It is a valid question, but all it does is open a series of other questions that will lead to the answer of the ‘Why’ of citizenship. So I will leave it to answering some of the top questions asked by people who hear our ‘funny’ accent. We get asked these questions weekly and, yes, they do asked very bluntly.

Question 1: Are you Canadian?
Cathy & I grew up in Maryland & Iowa and we do have a ‘softer accent’ than our friends from other areas of the US, but that is not where the question is based. Most Australians experience this,when asking someone from the North America about their accent. Canadians get quite offended if asked if they are from the US and Americans do not get offended either way. Americans just tend to be louder and verbose in their clarification of their country of origin. So, the safe call for most Australians is to ask ‘Are you from Canada?’

Question 2: What are you doing here?
Ah, the beauty of the accent. We are able to get into a gospel conversation without even having to ask any questions ourselves. We do not call ourselves missionaries here (sounds too Mormon-like), but as ‘ministry workers’ we get to share the reason for living here and the work we do in Sydney. We are able to share the name of Jesus and the work He can have in the lives of the people we come in contact with in the city. What a gift this silly accent provides for us to share the Gospel. God has a plan.

Question 3: Which country do you like more?
A very wise woman gave us advice on how to steer this potentially loaded question out of dangerous waters. The standard and genuine answer to this question would be, “Which do I like more? How do you choose? It is like picking which of our children I love more. I love all of our children equally for their unique qualities and unconditionally.” The same could be said about Australia & the US. We love them both equally.

Question 4: When are you leaving?
Finally, the answer to the question of our citizenship. Depending on how people respond to the first three questions, we could take this question in different ways. Generally, it is in reference that Americans do not immigrate. Americans represent the smallest immigrant population in Australia. Most Aussies are used to their American friends moving back to the US eventually. Our answer can now be, we are citizens. We are ‘all in’ and committed to being here as long as the Lord wants us to be here. If you study James’ epistle, it is foolish to commit beyond the will of God. So, if he wants us here for the rest of our days, we are committed to being here. Also, it does communicate commitment to our friends in Australia. We love this country and look forward to seeing how the Lord will use us here, even to the end of our days.

Question 5: How do you like our football?
Australia is a sport crazy nation and it has four codes of football. Rugby, Rugby League, Australian Rules Football & Soccer. This question is another potential challenge, depending on the state you are living. First pitfall for most Americans is to rave about NFL. There are pockets of people who like grid iron, but generally the only time people care about NFL is around Super Bowl time. Our response comes from a love for two of the codes, they are more exciting and faster than NFL. We started as Rugby League fans (Rabbitohs are my team – I will tell you that story someday) which is a NSW and Queensland code. Then Josh started playing AFL two years ago and we all have become hooked. So, we cheer for Josh’s team, the Southwest Tigers and for the professional team, the Sydney Swans. Like food, sport is a great way to reach into the hearts of people and see what they are most passionate about, then we can begin to share about the passion in our lives, Jesus Christ. Also, it is great fun to watch the various codes of footy. Go Rabbitohs, So Swans, Go God. Not necessarily in that order.

There are more things to share, but I will leave that to another day.

Hope this answers the questions about our citizenship in Australia & a fun cultural education.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. Oi,Oi, Oi! (If you do not understand the cheer, ask us about it when we come to a church near you.)

The ‘Aussie’ adventure continues…

Russ, Cathy, Becca, Hope, Joshua & Caroline

Matthews – June 2010

Further questions about furlough

We have had questions a few things for furlough.
*We will be in Iowa from 13 August to 5 November. This is the time we will need a van.
*We have a housesitter while we are away.
*If you want to send money to ABWE for our trip, mark it as ‘furlough’ money.

Thanks for the prayers and questions…
Russ

Matthews – June 2010

Quick furlough update

Thank you for all of your prayers, things are getting close and final preparations are underway.

Praises: We had a generous gift given to us to pay for a van to travel across from Maryland to Iowa. Thanks!

We will be sworn in as Australian Citizens on 29 June.

Prayer requests:
A van while we are in Iowa (13 August – 5 November)

Australian Passports get processed prior to leaving

Funds for our travels across US.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support. We are looking forward to seeing our friends & family in the US.

The adventure continues…
Russ Matthews

Matthews – March 2010

Caroline’s Heart Update

Thank you to all our family and friends who have kept us in your thoughts and prayers this past month. We rejoice in telling you we had an excellent doctor’s visit, with a great prognosis for Caroline.

Her actual condition is called sub-aeortic membrane. It is very, very mild at this time and is in no way dangerous or threatening and therefore there is no need to do any procedures any time soon. She will need to have once or twice yearly heart checks to make sure the condition hasn’t worsened. There is no time frame on how quickly this could change, but based on the fact that it has only progressed very slowly in her almost 5 years, we don’t foresee sudden changes occurring. This most likely will need to be dealt with at some point in her life, and the only way to deal with this is through open heart surgery. But the good news is, this is one of the simplest and easiest procedures that is done.

So that sums up today’s doctor’s appointment. Again, we thank you so much for keeping us and especially Caroline in your thoughts and prayers. We will definitely let you know of any future changes or needs in this specific area.

I’ll finish with a beautiful Bible passage that really blessed me:
“For You formed my inward pars; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.” Psalm 139:13-14

Rejoicing,
Cathy for all

Matthews – February 2010

A great season in ministry

For those in the frozen Tundra (The Northern US), to give you a warmer perspective on things. We are currently in the middle of the hot season here in Australia. It has been unseasonably humid, but February is generally hot every year. (30+ Celsius everyday) Also, this is the time of year when things start to ramp up in ministry opportunities. We would appreciate your prayers on many items that are on our plate at this time. It is exciting to be part of all that is going on in Sydney.

1. Start of City Bible Forum (We are on Facebook City Bible Forum, Sydney, become a fan) and great series. (Did Jesus Say That? , Journey with Jesus -A perspective from John, Ecclesiastes, Counterfeit gods,etc.) Please pray we can find a new and more accessible venue for Wednesday and Thursday. Please pray for a fruitful year of ministry. Pray for our expansion into Melbourne & Adelaide and continued growth in Perth & Brisbane.

2. Sydney Prayer Breakfast – I was asked to be on the board for a first in Sydney. I know there are many prayer breakfasts around the world, but this one is a first for Sydney. Andrew Scippione (Commissioner of the NSW police) will be our speaker. Good Christian man and a big event. More details and website to come.

3. Spiritual Leadership course- Glorious Hope Baptist will be a running a course for the next couple of months for our leaders. Based on the book by J. Oswald Saunders. I will be assisting with the running of the course. Please pray for the leaders for our church to rise up to the opportunities of our growing church.

4. Life of Jesus course and Bible reading groups – All of our new courses are beginning in the city. Pray for many non-Christians to come to these courses and for a fruitful ministry.

5. Urban Fight Club (Men’s ministry) – UFC gets started next week with a good Aussie BBQ. Looking ahead to the year and how we can serve the Lord.

6. Church plants- We could use your prayers on these opportunities. I will send details soon, but I will be in discussions with some key leaders in the city for two fellowship plants in the city, Sydney. We are asking for God’s wisdom in these exciting new ventures.

7. School- We are still homeschooling for this year, but we are considering putting our kids into a great school next year. Challenges are distance from where we live. Thanks for your prayers on this decision.Also, it is a new curriculum for the kids this year (School starts in January in Australia and it is year round). Pray for their adjustment to a web based learning system.

8. Caroline’s health – Caroline started Kindy this year and is excited about all things. She will be going into the pediatric cardiologist for a second opinion on some tissue growing over one end of her aortic valve that shouldn’t be there and if it continues to grow it could cause damage due to disrupting the flow of blood. Thanks for your prayers for Caroline.

9. Footy season begins- Josh will be playing AFL (Real football-check out the promotion on my Facebook page) again this year. pray for his adjustment and protection for the season. Also, we would be a testimony to the players and families who attend each week.

10. Hope and Becca turn 16- I think the prayers for the parents go without saying on this one. Two words – Drivers Licenses. Two more words – White hair. Actually, pray for the girls. They are amazing young ladies and have servants hearts for the Lord. Pray for them during these challenging teen years. Pray they would continue to be a witness for you and testimony of all He is doing in their lives.

Well…that was supposed to be a quick update. My apologies for the length. Please keep in touch with us through signing up for our monthly updates on our website, just enter you e-mail in the RSS feed box. Also, we are on Facebook. Sorry, Skype is not the best option to contact us.

I will finish with a story: a good friend was all excited about the year of talks in Sydney. He had brought a non-Christian friend to the talks. His friend had commented, “You all really focus on Jesus, don’t you?”My friend stated, “Now he is getting it!”

All praise and honour goes to Jesus. That is what we are on about here in Australia. There is much to be done and we look forward to what he has for us in the future. We appreciate your prayers and support.

The adventure continues…

The Matthews Family

Matthews – January 2010

A tale of two nights…

We were given a gift to come and housesit at a mate’s house for a summer holiday. We did get some time to relax and rest after a busy year. During that time we had friends stop by for a bbq, a swim and/or coffee throughout the stay. In a matter of two evenings we had the privilege of being part of conversations that challenged and encouraged us. The conversations also were a small glimpse into the spiritual state of Sydney.

Cherrypickin’

Romans 1:19-20

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

We have been trying to get together with a couple in our church for months, the wife is a Christian and the husband is not. We had a bbq and had a few friends over to enjoy the beautiful day in Sydney. Conversation was on Christmas, New Year’s and the summer months. Inevitably the conversation moved to the Bible. The topic started with evolution and creation. One of the blokes there turned to our non-Christian friend and asked, “What are your thoughts on this, mate.” Everyone was expecting disagreement or even antagonism, but we all were surprised. My friend stated, “I believe that God created the world.” After a surprised pause, the guys started to ask clarifying questions and even sat down for a definition of what his views were on God. It started out encouraging and then spiraled into a fascinating, twisted, postmodern answer that had us going on for three hours on theological things. My friend went on to explain that he believed in God, respected Jesus, saw the world as God’s working hand through the tool of evolution, there is an ever after that exists for all and there is no hell, and that mankind eventually moves to a point of awareness, eventually we become gods to share in God’s existence. From that clear definition, the group had a go sharing what the Bible and what God’s word states about these points. Then he did it, he started quoting scripture. My non-Bible believing friend started coming up against their arguments with Bible passages. The passages were out of context and misapplied, but beautifully placed and it had its effect. Confusion and backpedaling by the well intentioned Christians, it quieted some of his detractors. Yet, just as Jesus did in the desert, when his word is clarified and utilised properly it is the light for the conversation.

Respectfully, it was asked of him, “Within all you have to say, what do you do with Jesus’ statement No one comes to the Father except through me.” He stated, I do not believe that portion. When asked what does he measure all of these things on, what was the standard, the measuring stick? Without any hesitation he said, “Myself and my personal study.” Things continued on for a while longer. Eventually the conversation was interrupted by darkness and exhaustion. All began to leave; my postmodern friend shook my hand and stated he had a great evening. He even text me the next day to thank us for having his family along.

Within his own definition, my friend represents a group of people, Cherry pickers. A definition that comes from the machine used to lift you to high places, usually to move where a person desires to be and to let them pick the things they desire. Cherry picking can used when considering the things of God, too. Apparatuses that lift them to heights to choose the portions of theology they like and leave the other portions to the side. If it does not fit into his basket, they throw it away.

It is fascinating that people chose to do this with God, but we would never do this with other portions of our lives. Driving: Only driving a car with the parts of the engine they prefer. Career: only do the parts of their jobs that they liked. Health: only utilize the advice of a doctor that we like for the sake of our physical existence.

If you choose to cherry pick in these portions of life, you either end up broken down on the side of the road, without a job or simply dead.

Why do people choose to do this with God? In this postmodern, western landscape, this is the mindset we see all the time. Pray that we would be able to continue with our friend and others that we come in contact with to clarify the Bible. Also, explaining that the choosing of these eternal things are not based on our own choosing, but God’s. We need to be thankful for this gift of God setting the standard.

The freed captive

Psalm 146:7-8

The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.

The next night one of our Urban Fight Club members brought a mate over for coffee. His friend had just been baptised and has only been a Christian for eleven months. He was excited about everything that had to do with God. The answers could not come fast enough to all of the questions. He had come from a life of hard living and the Lord had brought him to this point in his life. He loved the people of his church (not one our family works with, but we do know the church) and he looked forward to sharing all about his new life in Christ. The enthusiasm and desire of new Christians can be described as “just not able to get enough of God.” Then the conversation shifted to frustration, he was being mentored and was in the Bible consistently. Why was he frustrated? He loved his growth in Christ, but in the process he was being told that there was only one translation of the Bible that he should be reading. He loved this new life, but why the limitation on God’s Word? He had become a freed captive, moving into freedom in Christ, but a potential captive of legalism.

We went on to describe a recent encounter on this very subject. We had the privilege to hear a Christian archeologist speak a few years back and someone in the audience asked, “Which translation of the Bible do you read?” He smiled with a knowing look of a potential trap and stated, “The original Greek and Hebrew.” But, he did not leave the crowd hanging on that answer. He went on to say, “Read the Bible you are reading, as long as you are reading the Bible. You need to be in the God’s Word. That is the important part.”

This is the same advice we gave our new young Christian. He has just been set free in a new life in Christ. Why would we want to make him a captive again? Just getting someone to read the Bible is a huge barrier to overcome. We would hope to not put up unnecessary barriers to keep someone from growing in their love for God and His Word.

Tale of two friends…

Please be praying for our friends, one to be set free from the bondage of sin and the other to grow in his new freedom found in his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Also, for our work in the varying spiritual landscape of Sydney.

Thanks for your prayers in the journey…

Russ & Cathy Matthews

Matthews – April 2009

Easter: exciting, exhausting and encouraging

Thanks for all of your prayers. This has been an exciting, exhausting and encouraging month. This is a quick note on all that we have asked you to pray about during this critical month. Easter opens the door to communicate to others about what we believe as Christians. Parades in the city, editorials in key newspapers, special services at church, and everything that comes with this month allows for open dialogue on Jesus. With your prayers and support, you are part of this process and we are grateful for you. There is quite a bit to share this month, so this note will be longer than our normal updates. Thanks for taking the time to celebrate with us and pondering the privilege it is for us to be part of this amazing ministry.

Easter

At City Bible Forum and Glorious Hope Baptist, we had many different events throughout the city. City Bible Forum had our talks on during the week and many new people coming along to ask the tough questions about the Bible and Jesus. We work with many different groups from all over city to have evangelistic events within corporations. We assist with the preparation, the talks and communication. The goal of the events are to give people opportunity to come to effective and timely follow up and we assist in teaching these classes called Investigating Christianity. One of Sydney’s largest banks allowed a group within the firm to run not one but four events. This bank is going through very difficult times of redundancies (mass firings), mergers and reorganisation. You would not think this is not an ideal time to be planning evangelistic events, but the result shows that God can do an amazing work all of the time. Inside this bank, we had over 100+ people come to the various events, with upwards of 40+ signed up for courses on finding out more about Christianity.

Church events: We had special services on Friday and Sunday. Russ had the opportunity to preach on Good Friday. He taught through 23-24 Luke and the witnesses throughout the death, burial and resurrection of our Saviour. Many people were challenged to know the Lord and communicate to others about what He is doing in the lives of the people of the church.

Fireproof

Great film, great conversation and great results.

Many of you may have seen this film in the US, but it was not shown in theatres in Australia. After seeing the film, the Urban Fight Club (Men’s’ ministry) committed to have a professional showing of this film for the people of our community. It reflected two of our key values, fighting for our faith and for the family. It was quite a bit of work, but it was worth it. Our goal was to get the non-Christian spouses of our church members to come to this great film. So, we were originally thinking a small group of people on a Friday night. Well, God had different plans. We started giving out tickets and the numbers grew steadily every week and on the night we had over 60 people come to the evening with close to half being visitors. Many atheists, non-Christians, skeptics, single adults and married couples came to the showing of Fireproof. We had good food, nice venue (not at the church) and a good quality film. Explaining to the crowd it has a Christian message, insight into marriage and that it was good entertainment value. After the movie, claps and cheers, but the best part was most people turned their chairs around and started talking. Asking questions and discussing the film. Some complaints from the atheists, but they were impressed with the quality of the event. As a pre-evangelistic event, it was perfect to plant the seeds and for our group to effectively meet with many non-Christian men who would not come to our church in the past. Pray for many of these families and lives of these men.

The Face of Suffering

During this difficult economic time in world history, many people have questions. Where is God? If he does exist, how could he allow things like this to happen? Is he even listening?

During this month it is school holidays in New South Wales (year round school in Australia) and many people are out of the city. CBF is usually at its lowest attendance, but not this year. We had a series delivered by Justin Moffat, ‘The Face of Suffering’ -Three things you can do with God in the face of suffering. Wrestle, Wait and Rely- based out of the book of Habakkuk. (I know not your typical Easter passage, but doesn’t the entire Bible point to Jesus?) What a great series and many people coming along to ask some of the hard questions, also, getting the answers. Again seeing how even the Minor Prophets point us to the redemptive message of Jesus.

Prayer requests:

1. Ladies outreach in the community around Glorious Hope Baptist.

2. Working through the growing pains of a church plant.

3. Thinking through the growth of the church and how to effectively minister within our community.

4. Investigating Christianity courses in the city.

5. Furlough details for 2010

Thanks for hanging in there and reading through this update. It is amazing to see what God is doing in this city. Thanks for your support and prayers.

The adventure continues…

Russ & Cathy Matthews

(To those concerned, we try to use the Australian spellings for our updates. Thanks for your feedback.)

Matthews – November 2008

Team Australia,

Thank you for your continued support and prayers. It has been an amazing year for our family. The opportunities for ministry continue to grow. We have had the privilege of seeing people come to Christ through the various ministries that we participated in this year. We hope that you are receiving our regular communications through our free RSS feed on our website, www.matthewsdownunder.com. Through the Lord’s will and your support we have been able to be a apart of this amazing work in Australia.

We committed to communicating our support levels to you twice a year. With all of the world economic challenges, Australia has been effected by the changes too. We have been very thankful for the continued support from all who have supported us regularly this year. With some of these adjustments we are currently close to our 100% support level, we are only experiencing a shortfall of $80 per month.

We appreciate consideration from you or your churches when evaluating your upcoming budget discussions.

Thanks, again, to God and you for all you have done for us this year. Know we pray for our supporters regularly. Please keep in contact with us. Happy Christmas and New Year.

The adventure continues…

Russ and Cathy Matthews

Matthews – November 2008

An addition to our most recent update. Thank you for your prayers for the ‘Restored’ event (www.restored.org.au) in February.

After a conference with the chaplain for the NRL (National Rugby League), we are building momentum for the ministry and the potential impact on western Sydney. After the meeting, the heads of the ministry have decided to postpone the event to February 2010.

Please be praying for specifics:

1. Commitment of Christian NRL players who will commit to participating in the event.

2. Youth groups and organizations will partner with the event to bring along attendees in the event.

3. Many young people would come into a relationship with Christ through this ministry.

Thanks for the continued interest and enthusiasm towards this event.

The adventure continues…

Russ

Matthews – November 2008

Team Australia,

What an exciting time of year. So, many opportunities this time of year for sharing the gospel. Exciting times. We have been having many In House evangelistic talks inside companies this time of year. Westpac, Oracle, Ernst and Young, KPMG, etc. With the current economic climate, many people are asking questions and seeking the answers from the Bible. Difficult times, but many opportunities to share the truth about Jesus.

Simeon’s gift: I will be speaking at City Bible Forum and PwC this year. The Evangelistic talk will be ‘Simeon’s gift: Joy in a joyless season.’ Based on the Luke 2 account of Jesus’ presentation at the temple. Please pray that many would come to the talks and here the story from the New Testament of anticipated gift that God promised Simeon, to see the Saviour. Then his response and gift of ‘Simeon’s song’ to Mary and Joseph.

Urban Fight Club Sunday: This Sunday will be the Sunday where the men take over the church. Our Men’s group (UFC) will be doing all of the work and service on Sunday. Serving the ladies and proclaiming the Word as men do. Exciting day and many friends and family will be visiting. Please pray for the men as they have this unique opportunity to serve and present the Gospel to the world.

‘Australia’ the movie: The movie has opened around the world. A campy, epic for this generation. We anticipate that many will come away amazed at the scenery, culture and beauty of this sunburned land. God has created a beautiful land, Down Under. Just a small warning for our supporters and friends. We hope that people do not come away from the film thinking that is today’s Australia. The film is based in Darwin and the outback. The reality of ministry in Australia is in the modern cities. We hope that if you do see the film, that you come on holiday (vacation) to see the land depicted in the film. (That is the desire of the Australian tourism board.) Please go to the Northern Territory and Queensland and enjoy the outback. (Australia could use a boost in tourism.) If you come away from the film and want to come to experience the ministry of Australia, it is nothing like the film. The ministry is in the city, no kangaroos, Aborigines, or vast plains. So, not to dampen your mood after seeing th film, just a small reality check. Come ready to work in the city with people from all over the world. As many who have come before, there are not many times for riding horses, seeing kangas or traveling across the outback. Please pray for our ministry in Australia in the urban jungle, not the fictitious land of ‘The Drover.’ It is an amazing land, amazing opportunities for sharing the Gospel and an amazing open door into taking His Word to the world. (Just a small caveat, we do have a limited number of spots per year for coming to Oz and there is an approval process. So, make sure if it is something your church is planning, contact us early and we can work you through the process.)

‘The mythology of Australia is in the outback, the people (ministry) are in the cities.’ – Peter Jensen

We choose the city.

Thanks for your continued support and prayers.

The adventure continues…

Russ and Cathy Matthews