Can An American Come To Australia And Start A Church?

[LYDIA WESTERN]

Do American’s love Australians too? I wish we had more churches like you do.

I’m a pastor’s daughter. Number eight in a line of nine children, A.C.E homeschooled, had to flee the state we lived in because child protection services were after us kids (ever heard of that? My sister put us in. Nice girl), I.B conservative Baptist, the whole bit. I love Andrew Murray, F.B Meyer, Francis Schaffer, my parents have been around for three hundred and ninety-five years (actually Dad’s in his seventies), been through every kind of church problem you can think of and met every kind of Christian nut imaginable (Pharisees included). Don’t you love those people that think even sugar’s sinful. 

Anyway, There are about 180 I.B churches in Australia. Most are in NSW, QLD and VIC. There are about 3 in Tasmania and 1 in Northern Territory. There are about 9 in South Australia (where I was born), 5 of which are in Adelaide city. My Dad started the first I.B church in South Australia about forty some years ago after coming back from bible college in Springfield Massouri (sorry can’t spell). He was actually raised church of Christ and had never heard of the I.Bs because there were hardly any in Australia back then. Actually there was one church called Calvary Baptist in S.A that had been going a year before he started his but he was almost the first anyway. Might aswell have been, there wasn’t anyone around. It was called Northside Baptist Church. Now my brother Simeon Western pastors the church. It wasn’t planned. There have been other pastors between Dad and him but that’s what ended up happening. We actually live in Bathurst, N.S.W now. 

The churches here are typically between 60-80 people. A hundred or more is considered big. Churches of 30-50 are very common also. Apart from the cities, churches are typically hundreds of KM apart. America has about 25 times the number of I.B churches as Australia. I believe you have around 9,200 or something like that. Australia has about 180 - 200 maybe that any one directory is aware of. Certainly not thousands anyway. It’s really lonely, actually. There are some hidden flowers growing in this desert. Good ones too. The sort of people that you look at and say, “Wow, why hasn’t anyone found you yet?” But Ill be honest and say that Americans are better looking than Australians I think (not that looks are everything. I’m just half asleep and thought I’d say it). Anyway, off topic.

So if anyone wants to be a missionary to Australia, you can come and you can meet my family too. We’re in Bathurst, N.S.W and have about fourty-fifty people in our country church. But we have a really nice home and we’re normal by the way. The sort of people that you could talk for hours with about church problems over a cup of tea? Great isn’t it. 

Anyway, I hope some Americans will love Australians and I’ll be sure to love you back if you ever come. 

God bless.

 

•  

Edited February 22, 2020 by LYDIA WESTERN

[DaveW]

By the way, Brother Graham (Lydia's Dad), is a nice guy and a very accomplished musician, aside from anything else.

(I don't know him well - doubt he would recognise me at all, but I have met him a few times, and been privileged to hear him play. We live about 4000km away)

[No Nicolaitans]

I would love to come to Australia and have the opportunity to serve the Lord...that's one of my personal dreams!

By the way...I already have personal and first-hand knowledge of Emus (long story)!

However, my wife is afraid that one of those evil Australian spiders will bite her (or one of us)...so she would rather us move to Florida...where alligators and boa constrictors help themselves to people's backyards and swimming pools.  

[LYDIA WESTERN]

15 hours ago, No Nicolaitans said:

I would love to come to Australia and have the opportunity to serve the Lord...that's one of my personal dreams!

By the way...I already have personal and first-hand knowledge of Emus (long story)!

However, my wife is afraid that one of those evil Australian spiders will bite her (or one of us)...so she would rather us move to Florida...where alligators and boa constrictors help themselves to people's backyards and swimming pools.  

lol don’t worry. No one has died from a spider bite since 1979.

There are roughly about 3000 snake bites per year in Australia but on average only one or two fatalities. 

[Pastor Matt]

On 2/23/2020 at 5:04 AM, LYDIA WESTERN said:

lol don’t worry. No one has died from a spider bite since 1979.

There are roughly about 3000 snake bites per year in Australia but on average only one or two fatalities. 

....and that would be me. I would be one of the two fatalities.  

[LYDIA WESTERN]

21 hours ago, PastorMatt said:

....and that would be me. I would be one of the two fatalities.  

Haha  You’re funny.

Just your luck, hey?

Edited February 25, 2020 by LYDIA WESTERN

[Ukulelemike]

I think the requirements to stay in Australia are pretty strict. I believe you have to have someone to sponsor you, you need to have a certain amount of ready funds, and I think a job lined up. At least these were the rough requirements for someone going there to go to school, which is what kept my niece from being able to, as she couldn't meet all the requirements.

As for going as a missionary, I don't know if they're different, or if it would need be done through the sponsorship of an existing church.

[Martyr_4_FutureJoy]

On 2/23/2020 at 4:04 AM, LYDIA WESTERN said:

lol don’t worry. No one has died from a spider bite since 1979.

There are roughly about 3000 snake bites per year in Australia but on average only one or two fatalities. 

If you received first hand direct information,  or a revelation / dream from God,   concerning

the number of deaths from government actions (isolationism, injectivism (toxins injected),  and other atrocities or injustices,  

do you happen to know how many that would be ?  (some countries note many deaths from injections,  other countries do not note that, for one reason or another)

I did not ask here or yet how many died from disease caused by government training about nutrition (or lack there-of).    The cause of disease(s) is rarely if ever taught by public schools,  or most private schools perhaps also.   I just remembered though you mention home schooling, so there is hope , eh,  both in regards to rejecting the gov interference in otherwise healthy families,  breaking them apart,

and the medical interference by pharmakeia,  destroying them.

[SureWord]

On 2/25/2020 at 3:13 PM, Ukulelemike said:

I think the requirements to stay in Australia are pretty strict. I believe you have to have someone to sponsor you, you need to have a certain amount of ready funds, and I think a job lined up. At least these were the rough requirements for someone going there to go to school, which is what kept my niece from being able to, as she couldn't meet all the requirements.

As for going as a missionary, I don't know if they're different, or if it would need be done through the sponsorship of an existing church.

Only in America can you come and stay forever. At least if you are from south of the border or a Muslim nation.

[Salyan]

1 hour ago, SureWord said:

Only in America can you come and stay forever. At least if you are from south of the border or a Muslim nation.

Eh, Canada too. And if you're a foreign national, you don't even have to quarantine for 2 weeks when you fly in. Only Canadian citizens have to do that...

[BrotherTony]

On 2/22/2020 at 5:54 AM, LYDIA WESTERN said:

Do American’s love Australians too? I wish we had more churches like you do.

I’m a pastor’s daughter. Number eight in a line of nine children, A.C.E homeschooled, had to flee the state we lived in because child protection services were after us kids (ever heard of that? My sister put us in. Nice girl), I.B conservative Baptist, the whole bit. I love Andrew Murray, F.B Meyer, Francis Schaffer, my parents have been around for three hundred and ninety-five years (actually Dad’s in his seventies), been through every kind of church problem you can think of and met every kind of Christian nut imaginable (Pharisees included). Don’t you love those people that think even sugar’s sinful. 

Anyway, There are about 180 I.B churches in Australia. Most are in NSW, QLD and VIC. There are about 3 in Tasmania and 1 in Northern Territory. There are about 9 in South Australia (where I was born), 5 of which are in Adelaide city. My Dad started the first I.B church in South Australia about forty some years ago after coming back from bible college in Springfield Massouri (sorry can’t spell). He was actually raised church of Christ and had never heard of the I.Bs because there were hardly any in Australia back then. Actually there was one church called Calvary Baptist in S.A that had been going a year before he started his but he was almost the first anyway. Might aswell have been, there wasn’t anyone around. It was called Northside Baptist Church. Now my brother Simeon Western pastors the church. It wasn’t planned. There have been other pastors between Dad and him but that’s what ended up happening. We actually live in Bathurst, N.S.W now. 

The churches here are typically between 60-80 people. A hundred or more is considered big. Churches of 30-50 are very common also. Apart from the cities, churches are typically hundreds of KM apart. America has about 25 times the number of I.B churches as Australia. I believe you have around 9,200 or something like that. Australia has about 180 - 200 maybe that any one directory is aware of. Certainly not thousands anyway. It’s really lonely, actually. There are some hidden flowers growing in this desert. Good ones too. The sort of people that you look at and say, “Wow, why hasn’t anyone found you yet?” But Ill be honest and say that Americans are better looking than Australians I think (not that looks are everything. I’m just half asleep and thought I’d say it). Anyway, off topic.

So if anyone wants to be a missionary to Australia, you can come and you can meet my family too. We’re in Bathurst, N.S.W and have about fourty-fifty people in our country church. But we have a really nice home and we’re normal by the way. The sort of people that you could talk for hours with about church problems over a cup of tea? Great isn’t it. 

Anyway, I hope some Americans will love Australians and I’ll be sure to love you back if you ever come. 

God bless.

 

•  

My family almost moved to Australia when I was in my teens. Dad was a shoe repairman and there was a large company that had several shoe repair shops that wanted him to come and supervise them. But, it wasn't meant to be. Because of this, while my wife and I were in Bible college in Illinois, we had considered trying to become missionaries in Australia. But because of the stringent requirements to come (we would have had to have a sponser, as at that time we were IFB, and also would have had to complete our deputation for support) we found it was nearly impossible. New Zealand was almost the same way. We still have a heart for the people of Australia, but we have to support missionaries instead of being able to come personally. Now, we are nearing our 60s, and  have found that it would be much harder to come. Still, it has and probably will be a dream we won't be getting over anytime soon. If there were any way we could come to Australia and serve, we definitely would.