2013...

There are countless blessings that our congregation has received in every way during our journey in 2013 that we must be thankful for. As a congregation, we have been enriched in grace, in knowledge and in love. We have seen additions through baptism, the appointment of our new Pastor Ola and his two deacons, Nathan and Regina, and most of all, the renewal of our faith and the rediscovery of power through the Holy Spirit. All of these were given to us by the Holy Spirit as a living testament that our loving God did not give up on His community in BHCAC, or on each one of us individually. It may be more apparent to some than others, but there had been a shift in focus and direction for our congregation overall. Placing all aspects of the congregation together from 2013, the sermons focused on living out discipleship (Love, Being the Church), surrendering yourself (iWorry); our Bible studies focused on genuine faith (James) and on the Holy Spirit; and our camp focused on our core identity as a disciple of Jesus. In summary, the English Congregation was encouraged and led to place an emphasis on Life in Christ. This called for an urgent renewal of our position in Christ as the leadership, as the congregation as a whole, and individually to rediscover Gods direction. This on-going transformation of our congregation will allow us to see and rely on the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit so that the Gospel may be fully proclaimed and that our neighbours might know Christ through us! May our lives bring glory to God. As we seek to be a Church that places primary emphasis on the mission of God, we are convinced that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens and sustains us.

I lift my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2

What is your full name? Abiodun Oladipupo Odejayi What is one thing you want to do before you turn 50? Before I turn 50, hmm.... I would like to visit the Arctic Circle. If you could rid the world of one food, what would it be and why? Well, I enjoy all good food, but the excessive smell of garlic does my head in. Either cook with less Garlic or chuck garlic in the bin. What is something you have learnt from God in this past year? Re-establishing the awesome reality that Gods faithfulness to the glory of His Name and His commitment to our joy in Christ are not at odds What is one question you still have about the Bible? Not so much a question about the Bible, but it would be nice to know what happened to dinosaurs. What are you excited for in 2014? Being a dad, looking forward to holding my darling baby angel in my hands for the first time. Pure joy!

GETTING TO KNOW
What is your full name? Ramona Charlene Odejayi What is your favourite memory of being a child? My favourite memory of a child is being read bed-time stories by my mother at night every night. It always helped me go to bed! If you could describe yourself with a mythical animal, what would it be and why? I had to Google this as I dont know too many mythical animals! The animal I use to describe myself would be a horse so the closest mythical animal would be a unicorn. A horse/unicorn are faithful, loyal, strong, friendly, wild and tame at the same time! What is something you have learnt from God in this past year? God is always faithful and to always have hope, no matter what the circumstances are. What is one question you still have about the Bible? Not so much a question about the Bible, but I would like to know if we would be able to fly in heaven! What are you excited for in 2014? The arrival of our baby and spending more time with my family building our home and of course... six months of leave :)

our pastor & his wife

Ola Ramona

gospel night
Is it worth it? That was the question on the mind of many youths as the doors opened and many young people filled the church. The exciting program started with prayer and worship. Laughter and entertainment filled the room as contestants stood up to face the challenge of 60 Minutes to Win It. The anticipation of the night climaxed with guest appearances from Mario and Luigi in the skit, who captivated the audience with their antics and real life struggles of career, materialism and peer approval. We were challenged to think about what we were worshipping with our time, money, thoughts and energy. We all have a god-shaped hole in our hearts that cant be filled, nor completed by anything else. On this night, many youths walked out the same doors challenged and questioning, but most of all hearing the gospel of Jesus and His significance for our lives. Only God is worthy of our worship.

youth event

07.07.13

u o y

p m a c th
CM
alking W J I+

born identity
As we grow up, our Picture of God changes. An all-powerful Judge? A Father, abounding in love? Our picture of God influences our understanding of how He sees us! Over a weekend in July 2013, CMi and J-walking went to Galston Gorge for a fun packed weekend and discovered our Identity in Christ. The youth discovered their Born Identity as children of God and followers of Jesus through a series of talks and devotions, with pizza and games to bind it all together. In between the talks and quiet time we had crazy games that involved teenagers dressed in garbage bags and a whole heap of paint! Not to mention some table tennis and basketball, and a campfire to top it all off. Many stories were shared and many ways to cook a marshmallow was discovered. We came out of camp inspired, left with the question, What now? Life is about God and everything else stems from that fact!

For we are Gods handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

CJ youth 2013
2013 has been a big year for CJ! It has certainly been filled with lots of fun, laughter, fellowship and meaningful discussions. Over the year we have seen the youths develop a closer bond to each other as well as building on their relationship with God. This year in CJ they have been challenged to find their identity in Christ and to live a Christ centered life. It is evident through their conversations whether during youth nights or in their sharing that the Holy Spirit is working in their lives, it is also clear that they have been growing spiritually. This continual growth is also shown through their responses, attitudes and their eagerness to be challenged by the Word. It has been great to see that the youths have personally applied these learnings in their lives and in doing so, have also begun to share their personal experiences with their peers and families.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. -James 4:7-8

EC camp

UBF + NUBF

love work play

Over the October long weekend, our young adults and young professionals went on a road trip to Hunter Valley. The theme for this years camp was Love, Work, Play based on Colossians 3:17, giving the glory to God in every aspect of our lives. While sitting in fields overlooking a vast vineyard, were challenged to reflect, quieten our hearts and hear God speak to us. One of the phases that were posed for reflection was Driven or Called, asking ourselves if our external reality is at one with our inner being. The camp was full of joy with time to reflect on God, reflect on ourselves, and build meaningful relationships with the focus on one anothers spiritual well-being.

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:4-6

By Gods grace UBF (Young Workers Fellowship) and

NUBF (University Students Fellowship) has been increasingly well supported in 2013. The year has been challenging and exciting. We thank God for Enoch Law who helped the study leaders with the Bible Study prep. The Book of James was our focus this year. We are not just to be those who hear the Word but do nothing, but that we act out our Faith with love and compassion. Ola & Ramona were called as the Pastor for the English congregation in April 2013. Ola have since being leading and equipping the study leaders even as the English Congregations transitions into a new and exciting time of ministry. In the last quarter of 2013, our Bible Study was focused on the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. Through video teaching by Francis Chan (The Forgotten God and Jim Cymbala (When Gods Spirit move), and study of the Holy Spirit in John and Acts, we get a better understanding how the Holy Spirit sanctifies and empower us to live the Christ-like live and living as authentic witnesses of Christ Jesus to the glory of God. We can certainly continue to count the blessings from Gods, including: Our Uni-student and Young Adults Camp, themed Love, Work, Play) that challenged us to reflect on our lives in these facets of love, work and play; For additional numbers in our fellowships; and The work of the Holy Spirit in changing hearts. As we look forward to 2014, we rest in the assurance of Christ in Philippians 1:4-6. The English Congregation is looking forward to an exciting and adventurous 2014 as we clarify our vision and discern the direction God is taking us.

baptisms & testimonies

One morning I decided to play Starcraft 2, usually I would play for around 1-3 hours per time. However, this time I decided to play a little bit more than usual. 2 hours became 4, 4 became 6 and 6 became 8. I played a total of 8 hours! During that 8 hours, I would not eat, I would not move around.As I finished my game, I reflected upon my action, and realized that I need to be saved. Which then, I decided to stop gaming and redirect my eager from games to Jesus. I watched this video clip on Youtube, which talks about the link between, beating gaming addiction and God. After watching this, at that moment I knew that I needed Gods help. I needed his love and support, and this was how I discovered God, and never looked back. I love Jesus Christ. Xiaokun Wu

Although through choice I had walked away before, today, through choice after experiencing Him, I have decided to give my life to Jesus Christ. He is my Savior and Sanctifier and I want to be closer to him. Through his strength, have victory over sin and I hope to live a life that will reflect Jesus. GO TEAM JESUS. Cynthia Lau

I still remember the first day I returned back to church after like a year of not going, I didnt know why I was going but I remember holding back my tears during worship and upon reflection I know that that was the Holy Spirit in me. Afterwards, I slowly tried changing my ways. It was hard because my heart still wanted all the things of the past. It wasnt until I submitted myself to Christ and his Word and teaching that God changed my heart. Pearl Wong Through the support of my brothers and sisters in Christ, I have been through big ups and downs, they have helped me understand the word of God and ultimately contributed to my journey of accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Within the duration of baptism classes, I learnt a lot through Ola, but of course Jesus was using him to speak to me. I Learnt salvation and sanctification and what it means to live out the life of a baptized Christian. The classes had literally opened my eyes and allowed me to see a bigger picture and that Jesus was anchored into my life at that point. Jefferson Wong

Conviction
we are all about Jesus and making Him known
As a community, we are convinced that sin can be forgiven and reconciliation with God and one another is possible only through Jesus Christ our Saviour, Sanctifier, Healer and Coming King. Thus, we dont live for ourselves. We stretch our comfort zones and even step out of our comfort zones. We are fully convinced that Jesus is Lord of All. Thus, we tell the story of Gods saving grace in Christ to everyone in the world around us. We firmly assert that Christs unfailing love can overcome any form of social injustice in the world. People may think we are weird, but we are filled with crazy love and power that comes from Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, in 2014, we seek to prayerfully reach out to engage and build holistic relationships with people in our everyday lives, to see their lives transformed through the power of the gospel of Jesus, discipleship in the Word and the power of the Holy Spirit. We seek to be a Christ-centred community that is abiding in the love, joy and hope we have in God through Christ, living irrevocably to advance Gods mission in the world. We live for the glory and worship of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit! This is our conviction.

Discipleship: Be one | Make one

welcome to 2014...

As we seek to be a Church that places primary emphasis on the mission of God for us as a Christian community and in our individual every day lives, we are convinced that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens and sustain us.

Join the joyful adventure... We are all about Jesus and making Him known!

Ola, Ramona, Nathan, Regina and the leadership team.

Baulkham Hills Chinese Alliance Church One church, three congregations Sunday Worship Cantonese 9:30 | Mandarin 9:30 | English 11:30 2/4 Gladstone Rd, Castle Hill, NSW 2154 P 8090 7123 F 9680 7545 E englishservice@bhcac.org.au

Thankyou to our contributors: Nathan Lau, Cara Mok, Hannah Tai, Bernard Poon, Jesse Ko Produced by: Chloe Ng, Sarah Kung, Ola Odejayi