About Connect

Check out our Ministry Information (PDF).

Does the following story sound familiar?…

“Our churches’ strategy meetings acknowledge the critical need for training and discipling but lack the time or resources to make it happen. We struggle to find leaders who are willing and able to shepherd God’s flock and many of our key ministries are led by people who may not have the necessary skills, training or coaching. The few leaders we do have are often overworked – many burn out – and the mentoring and guidance of the next generation of leaders can feel like yet another responsibility on an already overflowing plate. Meanwhile our pastoral search committees can spend years looking locally, nationally and internationally for a suitable pastor without success. As such, replacing pastors who leave is becoming increasingly difficult.”

While the details may differ from church to church, the story is a common one for Asian churches struggling with generational and cultural differences. In fact, each of the Connect committee members can share similar stories from their own personal experiences as church leaders.

Connect seeks to partner with churches to reverse this trend and see such stories become a thing of the past. Read on for more about us…

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The Aim

To see every Asian church in Melbourne equipped and empowered to train and raise their own leaders.

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The Strategy

Connect is an inter-denominational Christian ministry dedicated to help churches

• equip and encourage their current leaders;
• find leaders for tomorrow; and
• sustain their leaders for life long ministry.

To do this we will organise events focused on meeting the needs across the spectrum of church leadership – from new or potential leaders, to lay leaders and those considering full time ministry.

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The Reason

The Bible speaks about churches being led by Christians of godly character, conviction in the truth of God’s word and competency in shepherding his flock (1 Tim 3; Titus 1). The Apostle Paul set an example of discipling and training leaders who were suitable to help him in the task of strengthening the church and spreading the gospel in Asia Minor (e.g. Timothy & Titus). Most leaders are not selfmade; they are discipled and encouraged by more mature leaders who help them develop the gifts God has given them to build his church (Eph. 4:11,12).

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The Vision

Our vision is to see leaders raised in every generation who are Biblically solid, Gospel centred, spiritually humble, culturally sensitive, mission minded, ministry competent and who will grow the church and empower her for mission to reachMelbourne, Australia and the world (Matt. 28:18-20).

We do not have all the answers and we acknowledge that Connect might not be for everyone. However, given the difficulty churches have in organising their own training programs and leadership retreats, we at Connect see an opportunity to partner with churches to begin to address this need.

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More questions? Try our FAQ or contact us directly.