To produce a Godly and practical conference with Christian speakers who come from a range of evangelical denominations and backgrounds
Men For Christ Ministries (MFCM Inc) was formed in 2004, after three Christian men saw a need for a practical, biblical based conference for men in the west of Sydney.
They shared this vision with other Christian men, and identified their aims as:
This was to be based on the underlying ethos of:
Each year the conference aims to provide men with quality speakers, specialist exhibitors, and topics that may be difficult to handle in their church group but are important in enabling men to become more effective Christians in all their relationships, whether as a husband, father, son, friend, leader.
It aims to offer a choice of topics on the day that are presented with a solid biblical foundation, but which provide practical examples and advice that men can use to cope with the challenges that they, their family and friends face in life.
| 8:30am | Registration & Cuppa |
|---|---|
| 9:00am | Session 1: Al Stewart A Time to Draw the Line: The Call to Respond |
| 10:10am | Morning Tea |
| 10:40am | Panel Briefing First Hand Accounts |
| 11:45am | Breakout 1 What Are We Up Against? |
| 12:30pm | Lunch |
| 1:35pm | Breakout 2 Strategies to Deploy |
| 2:25pm | Session 2: Ross Ciano The Rescue Mission: Our Mandate |
| 4:00pm | Close |
Al Stewart is one of City Bible Forum's National Communicators. He has been teaching the Bible for over 30 years. Al was also involved in commencing the Geneva Push. He served as a bishop and as a director with the Sydney Diocese of the Anglican Church before taking up the role of Chief Operating Officer for City Bible Forum. He is married and has four grown children.
Keynote: A Time to Hold the Line: It’s Not Negotiable
There is one truth that is the sharpest edge of the Christian message. A truth that brings criticism, opposition and persecution, and yet it’s a truth that must be held, for the salvation of humanity. It’s a truth that is deeply unpopular with most in the 21st century, and is the word of eternal life to others. Brothers we must hold onto this truth.
Acts 4:12
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
(Ref: NIV 2011)
Ross Ciano is an Australian Italian who was converted at the age of 16 by reading the Bible. He is married and they have two children. Ross Ciano has been preaching for around 23 years in various contexts and countries. He is passionate about evangelism. Ross and his wife church planted in Marrickville from scratch 10 years ago and they still pastor there. Ross' other interests include real football, real coffee, real pasta and cross fit.
Keynote: The Rescue Mission: Our Mandate in Action
There is a motivation to speak that today is largely forgotten and that is the reality of heaven and hell. All people will be in either place and we have an amazing opportunity to be used by God to show them his loving salvation through Jesus.
Dominic is known for calling it as it is. He’s a husband, dad, pastor of Village Church in Annandale & director of Christians in the Media.
The Panel Briefing
The firsthand accounts of challenges facing us in various areas of life and into the future.
Panel Members:
Martyn has operated a church youth ministry with disadvantaged teenagers and worked in a top-tier commercial law firm. He is currently the Managing Director of the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) The ACL is one of Australia’s largest lobby groups, desiring a compassionate, just and moral society through having the public contribution of the Christian faith reflected in the political life of the nation.
Breakout: Vicious and Calculated Assaults: The Strategic Plans of those Who Oppose God’s Rule
Changing Times, Unchanging Faith - 21st century men are called to provide leadership in times of incredibly rapid and confusing cultural change. Those changes are pushing Christianity ever closer to the fringes. Where in scripture can we discern the nature of these changes, where they are taking us, and exactly what to do in response?
Adrian is married and has one daughter and three sons. He is the senior minister at Northmead Anglican Churches and is passionate about taking God’s word seriously.
Breakout: A Clash of World Views: Hiding the truth of the Gospel Message.
David Robertson is the Director of Third Space - an evangelistic project with City Bible Forum. He was a Presbyterian pastor in Scotland for 33 years. He is married and they have three children and four grandchildren. David is an author, broadcaster and a prolific blogger at The Wee Flea.
Breakout: Being Human: Sex, Sexuality, Gender
There is a crisis of identity caused by a misunderstanding of what it is to be human. We will look at some of the main issues – sexuality, gender, transgender, marriage, children – where this is all going and how we can and should respond.
Michael is the Executive Director of Freedom for Faith, a think tank that exists to see religious freedom protected and promoted. He is a minister and before ministry worked as a lawyer. Freedom for Faith helps groups to work together to protect freedom of speech and belief. They want to have a country where everyone is free to live out their beliefs and speak well to their neighbours.
Breakout: Freedom of Speech: Proclaiming the Gospel Message Boldly in the Face of Opposition.
It is getting harder to speak as a Christian. We will look at why that is, what is likely to happen next in the cultural political and legal moment we are finding ourselves in. Then we will explore some ways of how we can speak in ways that are faithful and bold. We will also think about the changing legal and political situation before us and think about what it means for Christianity to be public. The Book of Acts gives us some models to follow of how to be faithful as times get tough.
Tony Payne is one of Australia’s best-known Christian writers. He is the author of Fatherhood, The Thing Is, The Trellis and the Vine, and more than 30 other books and ministry resources. He is a Ministry Trainer and Writer in Residence with Campus Bible Study at UNSW. He is married, and along with his wife they have five adult children and six grandchildren.
Breakout: Building the Foundations of the Gospel Message: Within Your Family
We often think of ‘communicating the gospel message’ as something that happens out there in the world, or perhaps in church (and it should happen in both places!). But our families are also theatres for the gospel—for living out gospel-centred discipleship, for discipling our families in the knowledge of Christ, and for raising the next generation of faithful Christian witnesses.
As men (and husbands and fathers), most of us feel woefully inadequate for this task. In this seminar, we’ll clarify what the task really is, be encouraged by how God strengthens and equips us for it, and talk practically about what it means to ‘make disciples’ in the family.
Simon has been a church-planter and pastor in the Hunter Valley then a missionary, training Christian leaders in Namibia. He took up the role as Head of the Department of Mission at Moore College in 2016. He is active with groups in Sydney which reach out to people from Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist backgrounds, and teaches about cross cultural ministry in Australia and abroad.
Breakout: How To Minister To A Multicultural Society: Being All things to All Men without Losing the Truth of the Gospel Message.
Do you want to become the kind of man who speaks the truth in love, in a way that people from all kinds of different backgrounds can hear and understand? We will be thinking about how ordinary men can be intentionally different with different people, so that their mates would hear and respond to the unchanging gospel of the Lord Jesus.
Peter is the Managing Director of City Bible Forum. Having a background in merchant banking in Sydney and Zurich, Peter completed ministry training at UNSW and Moore College before becoming a full time workplace evangelist. He has assisted a number of ministry start ups and served on numerous governance boards, including being the current Chair of MTS.
Breakout: Strategic Ministry: How to Share your Faith in the Workplace without Losing Your Job
We may think that it is all too hard to share our faith at work - better just to keep our head down and avoid conflict. But then Jesus tells us to "make disciples of all nations" and "love your neighbour as yourself". So we feel conflicted and inadequate for the task. Is there a way out of this negative cycle? Can we go to work with joy and confidence that our colleagues may find out the difference Jesus makes?
Grant is the Campus Pastor of MBM in South West Sydney – a 3-year-old Church Plant out of MBM in Rooty Hill. Grant is at home talking to people about Jesus and more a natural evangelist than he is a Pastor. He is married, has 3 young kids and is most at rest in the Aussie outback.
Breakout: Talking to People about Jesus: How to Be Clear & Effective
Talking to people about Jesus isn’t easy. Most of us have a desire to do it, and we know why we should, but find it hard to relate Jesus to people who’ve grown up in our communities. What makes it even harder is that we speak about God using the language of the Bible which is foreign to most Aussies, and we make it even harder by complicating ideas that can easily be explained in plain English. In this seminar we’ll think about how to be clear on the good news of Jesus, how to relate that good news to people who don’t know it, and how to partner with your local church to make up for our lack of effectiveness as evangelists.
