In our last episode for 2024, we are joined by Council member and AFES Director, Richard Chin, to hear his reflections on the Meet Jesus project which spread across university campuses and local churches all over Australia.

Richard shares many encouraging stories and talks about how raising the spiritual temperature of our our outward-looking prayers can be a powerful way to lean on God's saving activity in our midst, and beyond into the world.

We're almost at the end of the year and the end of Season Two of Commending and Contending. For this episode I went back through clips that ended up not being included in the episodes they were recorded for. Whether it was an extra bit of the conversation, or part of the chat we had to prepare, there is so much more encouragement in my conversations with guests that I wanted to share with you.

Come with me, in this episode to the isolated town of Roxby Downs in northern South Australia. We'll get to hear from local pastor, Glen McDonald about the unique features of this mining town and how the local church looks for ways to connect people to the saving work of Jesus. There may be a surprise in how this regional town is learning from the ways of the big capital cities.

Over the past month the team at TGCA have been praying for one hundred new supporters who commit to giving one hundred dollars a month, to sustain the valuable work which has grown over the past decade.

Join me, your host Jonathan Holt, as I dive into a recent article by Council Chair, Rory Shiner and a much older, and every early article which tells some of the origin story for the TGCA.

The Frill-Neck Lizard and the Future of TGC Australia

Introducing TGCA

Christina and Peirce Baehr (and their little baby) join us this episode to talk about Pilgrim Hill, which is both a hostel for travellers, and place for Christians in the arts to work and meet and create.

Christina and Peirce something of their own journey and how they see the gospel of Jesus commended in the space they have created to host backpackers and also the arts festival they run.

See more about them and their labour for the Lord:

It's a good thing when we are commending and contending for Jesus ourselves, but there is an important ministry of cheering-on others who do this around us. Amy Stopher is our guest on this episode and she shared some of the way she takes us this ministry of cheering on and also tells us who is her cheer squad.

In this episode Simon Camilleri joins us to talk about epicly big Bible readings, where a whole book of the Bible is read in one sitting. Simon explains why this can help our understanding and how he plans to do this in connection with the Meet Jesus project.

Find our details about the plans for the epic reading of John's gospel.

Kid's Guide Books

Two of Simon's Epic Bible Reading Articles at the TGCA website, here and here.

In this episode we will take some encouragement from a recent article at the TGCA website about the progress on the Meet Jesus mission. We will also dip back into one of the Bible talks from the 2022 National Conference, Gospel Fueled Holiness.

Living and working in the Northern Territory has given Naomi Ireland a deep understanding of the impact of the changing seasons on the people of Australia's Top End. The result of this is an awareness of how to shape ministry to respond and move with the changing seasons.

Hear from Tim Thorburn about the profound difference that connection beyond the local church made to the wider gospel-ecosystem in Perth. What will only happen if we do it together, across like-minded churches? Tim shares from his experience in the emergence of the Perth Gospel Partnership (or PGP).