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NATIONAL SECRETARY Sean Stanton
It has been a privilege to serve the pastors and churches of our ACC Movement in this past Conference season. This has been a time when every pastor and local church experienced the challenges of the global pandemic and added to that, and many felt the devastating effects of drought, bushfires and floods. With over 1,000 registered churches and more than 3,300 credentialed pastors, we have emerged grateful to God for His faithfulness.
Resourcing our pastors and churches I am thankful and appreciative that every ACC pastor and local church has had available to them the support of an extensive network spread across our nation, from the National Office team in Sydney, to our State offices, and regional leadership. Added to this are our Ministry Departments and Boards that have provide appropriate governance and resources. When faced with the Covid pandemic restrictions in 2020, we continually provided practical and necessary resources to pastors and churches via our digital platforms, ranging from ideas for online services and creative ways to stay connected to congregations. Sound governance for pastors and churches We are committed to providing sound governance support as this is an essential facet of every local church. Input is drawn from professionals across a wide range of relative fields to ensure our churches and pastors are supported and have up-to-date resources on necessary compliance and due diligence. Building safer churches is always a key focus, and we are ensuring our Safer Churches strategy is being effectively implemented and strengthened at national, state and local levels. Child protection remains at the forefront of our Safer Churches strategy. We have expanded this to include detailed procedures and policies that protect everyone potentially at risk, such as those with special needs and in situations of domestic family violence. A detailed report on our Safer Churches strategy is included in this report on page 22. Policies, Procedures and Position Statements
We constantly review and update all our policies and procedures. During the two-year Conference period, a number of ACC policies were assessed and revised where necessary by Committees of selected professionals in their respective fields. This includes the proposed updates being presented to the 2021 Conference regarding the Child Protection Policy and the Ministerial Code of Conduct. Should the Code be adopted by Conference, the Grievance Procedure will be updated accordingly in consultation with State Executives. The National Executive commissioned a thorough review of the Doctrinal Basis of the Movement in 2020. The intent is that our Statement of Beliefs be more credal in form, precise in language and more coherent in structuree. We have sought to reflect orthodox theology as proclaimed in the Apostolic and Nicene Creeds while firmly holding to the Pentecostal ethos and distinctive of the ACC Movement. Over the past two years, we have consulted and worked with respected theologians and leaders in our Movement. Additionally, we have consulted with Pentecostal theologians globally. Two primary documents have been produced: A revised Statement of Beliefs and a Theological Supplement that provides a Scriptural foundation and a more extensive explanation for each Statement. These will be put to the 2021 National Conference for acceptance. ACC Position Papers for pastors on a variety of issues are also updated accordingly. The Position Statement on Human Sexuality was reviewed and updated in 2020. The Position Statement on Domestic and Family Violence was also updated, with a supporting document produced that provides Procedures and Good Practice Guidelines as a resource for pastors. National Redress Scheme
During the two-year Conference period, we worked together with ACS Financial to assist churches in opting into the National Redress Scheme, which was launched in 2018 in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. We deem this extremely important to support the victims of child sexual abuse. All ACC >
churches have received regular communication inviting them to opt into the National Redress Scheme. We are pleased that the vast majority of our churches are registered with the scheme. ACC Census
Our annual ACC Census helps us track the growth and strength of our movement across local church life. Due to the Covid pandemic, we did not run the ACC Census in 2020, as suspended in-person programs and online services were held by many churches. We are looking forward to comparing the data of the 2021 ACC Census with that of 2019 to track any shifts in church life.
Health & Wellbeing The National Executive gave the health and well-being of our pastor’s high priority in 2019, to support those pastors of churches struggling during the drought and bushfires. This intensified in 2020 with the Covid pandemic, with a particular focus on Mental Health. The Mentoring Seminars hosted by Alun Davies, with Tim Hanna and Keith Farmer, provided great insights for our pastors and will continue continue to be a regular resource for our pastors. Behind the Scenes
Behind the public face of our churches and ministries are incredible people who sit on Boards and in Administrative roles that keep every church on track and moving forward. I want to pay tribute to our National Executive and the collective wisdom around the table that steers our Movement. At State Level, our State Secretaries do an incredible job of giving attention to every detail of running the States efficiently. A big thank you to Chris Smith (NSW+ACT), Chris Mulhare (QLD + NT), John Griffiths (SA), Gus Yearsley (Tas), Mark Bates (Vic) and Grahame Barlow (WA) for the outstanding job they do, ably supported by their State Administration teams.
I am particularly grateful to the ACC Review Directorate, which supports the National Executive in the duty to govern and control the entities of our Movement. Thank you to Ian Maynard (chair) and members that include Stacey Bonney, Graham Corney, Stephen Crouch, Michael Kilham, Carl Wood and Matthew Zschech for sharing the wealth of their expertise and professional experience. National Office I am incredibly grateful to God for Jeffrey Bartlett, our ACC General Manager, and the entire National Office staff, who are a massive support to me as ACC National Secretary/Treasurer. Jeffery is dedicated and responsible for the oversight of the business administration and legal governance, and we value his attention to detail and management of the National Office in
New Executive team 2019
Sydney. The National Office team continues to efficiently support our entire Movement across the nation and beyond our borders. My long-serving Executive Assistant, Elba Broadhead, retired in 2020, and I am grateful to each team member who has stepped up and continued to run at full strength amid the Covid pandemic. Thank you to Sharon Hamman (Accounts), Robyn Douglass and Ann Byron (Member services), and Daryl-Anne Le Roux (Communications) for their daily support of the pastors and churches in our movement.
Conclusion
This Conference marks ten years since I became the National Secretary/Treasurer of our Movement, and it has been a great honour to serve our pastors and leaders over this time. In the past decade, we have made tremendous progress and built solid foundations to be in a position of strength for the future. I want to thank Wayne Alcorn and the National Executive for their leadership and vision over the two-year Conference period, as well as my gratitude and thanks to my wife Lynda and my church team in Canberra for releasing me to serve you.
