There have been some recent happenings in Springwood of late.
Once more, SWAC has made the illustrious Sydney Anglicans paper, Southern Cross, featuring as the first of what we hope will be all parishes in Sydney to begin moves in their local area as ‘Street Champions’ – a deliberate and concerted effort to consider our surrounding community and streets, locating yourself in it, and committing to praying for each individual house.

To read the article, click here
A large road map covering the whole of our parish has circulated each of our congregations, with the aim that each church member marks where they living, encouraging us not only to discover nearby church neighbours we may have been unaware of, but to be able to work together to actively plan for and pray for as many streets as possible in Springwood, Winmalee and the surrounding area.
As the beginning of the Connect’09 initiative, the goal is to systematically, constantly and faithfully pray for each household, then gradually progress to door-knocking, relationship building and, God-willing, leading people to Christ.

Running parallel to this, we had the inaugural SWACtacular! Burgeoning out of an idea to not only hear about and pray for our Christian brothers and sisters in Colombia, but to be challenged by their faith and boldness, and to, ourselves, stand up for the gospel in our comfortable society.
Several of us have been convicted by our utter laziness and failure to share the gospel with our friends, let alone our community.
And so, a few Saturday’s ago, around twenty people from SWAC congregations hit the streets, door knocking on street in Springwood and one in Winmalee.
Does that notion scare you? Are you sitting there saying “well it’s good someone did it, but that’s not for me“?
Well I’ve got news. Do you claim to follow Jesus as your Lord?
THEN THIS IS FOR YOU
Honestly, I was freaked – absolutely scared. The last thing I wanted to spend a Saturday afternoon doing was walking up to complete strangers and trying to tell them about Jesus. But I, and 19 others, did.

Friends, what an opportunity to at least get us and the gospel out there on the streets! What a start to challenging ourselves to exit our comfort zones for the sake of Jesus!
Some great and encouraging stories came out of this afternoon of purpose, as well as an overwhelming buzz of excitement about the gospel!

I would encourage you if you didn’t make it, seriously consider it for next time. It will be happening again in a few weeks. Pray for boldness and courage. We go as a teams, knock in pairs (of experienced and unexperienced).

You may feel untrained, unexperienced, unready. But believe me, that won’t change by not doing it. The best training is getting out there and experiencing it. Absolutely, equip yourself as best you can. But also acknowledge and remind yourself that it is God who changes hearts and can use our stuttering, mumbled, umimpressive speech to change lives.
If nothing else, this is an opportunity to grow to understand our community better, to see how the gospel can work, and how God can work amazing things through jars of clay.

Read and change to live these words:
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile…“
Amen.