Gathering to pray since 1958
In the 1950s, several families from the Mylor, Aldgate and Stirling area travelled to Adelaide CRC for church every Sunday. Early in 1958, these families living in the Hills were meeting weekly for prayer and bible study. This became regular Saturday meetings held in a farmhouse in Mylor. The Saturday night meetings grew as God moved by his Spirit and souls were saved and baptised in the Holy Spirit.
Soon, gatherings were moved to the Mylor Hall along with outreach nights held in Aldgate and Stirling. Sunday meetings subsequently commenced in the Stirling Masonic Hall moving to Aldgate Memorial Hall. With continued growth and outreach across the community, the need for a permanent space was obvious, and in 1975, a newly built facility was opened at 2 Avenue Road Stirling.
Our heritage.
Dedicatory Prayer for the opening of the Church.
As a congregation, we continue to believe and trust the Lord to see these prophetic Words come to pass. This is the prayer that Pr Leo Harris prayed on 24 May 1975
“This building is dedicated to the Glory of God. As men, women and children enter these doors to meet Jesus Christ, they find:
A hope in Jesus Christ, An answer to every human need through Jesus Christ, To the Glory of God;
In healed minds and bodies, To the Glory of God;
In lives saved from eternal death, To the Glory of God;
By the maturing of people growing up as sons and daughters of God, the Father.
This will magnify God's name as nothing else can—that these walls shall house, week by week, a people who are pressing on with God, losing themselves in Christ and finding themselves again in Him; knowing that the day is not far distant, when He, whom we love and serve, will come in power and great glory and we will share that glory with Him on that great day.
This building is dedicated to the Glory of God,
To the work that is dear to the heart of the Lord in these momentous days,
We dedicate this church of God and the ministry to people,
That they will be gripped, touched and transformed by the Holy Spirit.
We dedicate this church of God to the task,
That people will be joined together on that great resurrection morning,
And the glory of the living God will shine in His Son, Jesus Christ.
The world will know and see that God has taken charge of the whole world situation and has saved man from himself, and that He, God, has set up His kingdom here on earth to His glory.
And finally, we dedicate this building and this assembly and every church represented here and the whole hills area that,
A new anointing, A new flood of revelation, A new conviction,
An enlargement of ministry, An enlargement of people,
That a gathering of many be brought into Your kingdom.
This we dedicate to You, Heavenly Father, in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen”
Prophetic Prayer at its 40th Anniversary.
This is the prophetic prayer that Pr Barry Silverback prayed on 20 June 1999.
Thus saith the Lord, "I have seen your faithfulness and indeed you have been faithful in that which is little and I shall make you ruler over much… For indeed the Lord has delighted himself in that which you have displayed in the past.
For indeed the Lord would have you to face the future with a clear understanding that I have been with you in the past, that I shall continue to be with you in the future… As you would begin to reach out and take new things for me, when you would be bold and courageous to go beyond the perimeters and the boundaries that are presently around you, then you would be going on into new horizons and new vistas and new adventures of faith. This is what the Lord would have for you. For you shall not just glory in that which is gone before but indeed the Lord has prepared a way for you and he wishes for you to take with your hand. The Spirit of the Lord would say unto you that you need to be bold and courageous. The Lord would also say unto you that I am going to break the potter's vessel. Not as that which I broke and had to remake but the breaking of the potter's vessel like that of Gideon. And that which is redeemed will begin to shine forth…
The Lord says I will come and I will cause that which is within to shine forth, to flow forth, to come forth and the Lord would say that His work of the spirit is going to come as a wind upon you gently. Gently will he move upon some of your lives and there will be new feelings and new things within your life that you will not initially understand. But this is the Lord's doing saith the Lord and He would come upon you and he would begin to create and extend desires in your heart that you have not known for many years…
The Lord would say unto you that I will kneel upon you and I will bring to life again those dormant desires, those dormant visions and dormant seeds that are within you and they shall begin to arise and you shall be amazed. You shall wonder and you shall even be frightened in the beginning, but fear not for this is the Lord's doing and I'm about to move by a fresh wind of my Spirit upon some of you. You will be amazed at some of the feelings and tensions that arise with you. But this is the Lord's doing for he wishes to bring you to the purposes for which he has ordained you. Thus saith the Lord, you have been faithful in that which is little… and now God wants to give unto you that which is rightfully yours... Take with the hand saith the Lord. Be bold and courageous. No longer be timid. No longer be reserved. Break forth the living hands saith the Lord and you shall see God's Spirit and you shall see good success" saith the Lord.
Foundational Patterns.
Several activities of the early congregations were recorded by leaders. They noted that the pattern of following Jesus has never changed in substance. The method may change, but the message does not. This is what was noted:
Prayer - regular, solid prayer, both personal and in community.
Bible Study - giving time to understanding and study, and not just cliche’ or one liner christian teaching.
Faith - together with the vision of outreach putting the New Testament into practice.
Commitment - most of the church was present, not only Sunday by Sunday, but also at the mid-week meetings.
Expectation - looking always to the Lord and waiting in the power of the Holy Spirit—every day of the week, not just Sunday.
Home Groups - meeting together for study, prayer, fellowship and outreach.
Missionary Heritage.
Our ongoing missionary heritage compells us to pass onto every generation
Heritage is most valuable when it is shared, understood and carried on. Every generation stands on the shoulders of the previous. Our Church has an ongoing calling to global missionary endeavour and it helps to remember those who have gone before us. It is our prayer that others would remember our heritage and consider answering the call to serve overseas and in doing so, we continue to pass the baton to the next generation as we make a difference everyday in our world.
