 |
"In Christ" quote for today | ||
| Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come -- II Corinthians 5:17. | |||
|
| Home Page
| Newsletter Index
| |
 You will never miss another issue if you subscribe to our RSS feed. Learn more about RSS here! |
Positive Words Newsletter
#152 / 28th March 2008 Expanding your awareness of "the simplicity that is in Christ" (II Corinthians 11:3) ----- http://www.peterwade.com/ ----- As a reminder, this email is only sent to 100% opt-in subscribers. Or a friend may have sent their copy to you. To unsubscribe, see the links at the end of the newsletter. DO NOT reply to this email, as your email will not be seen. You can write to Peter Wade at http://peterwade.com/go/contact . The Wades Celebrate 50 years of Ministry
The religious culture was very different then. Billy Graham and Oral Roberts were at the height of their ministry. Pentecostals and Catholics were to be shunned like the plague by "normal" Christians. When Oral Roberts came to Australia for two healing crusades in 1955, bringing his 10,000-seat tent, the crusade in Melbourne had to be terminated after four days due to union-led thuggery and harassment while the local police looked on and did nothing. In 1959 when Billy Graham had a crusade in the same city 130,000 people filled the Melbourne Cricket Ground. However, the local committee would not allow Pentecostals any part in the crusade, not even as ushers or counsellors! Such were the times when Peter and Vivien became Pentecostal ministers.
On Easter Sunday, 1959, they commenced ministry at Cottesloe, Western Australia, where they ministered for six and a half years. During this period Peter published a magazine on behalf of the church, set up and operated a number of correspondence courses, and wrote numerous articles for Christian magazines, as well as filling the office of State Secretary for the Assemblies of God and Dean of the lay ministers course. A number of his sermons from this period appeared in the US minister's magazine The Sermon Builder. In 1965 Peter Wade went to the United States to attend a three-month Summer School at The Way Biblical Research Center, which was then a non-denominational teaching organization. "His abilities, depth of perception, and conviction were immediately noticeable. Upon his return to Australia and the pastoring of a pioneering work at Taperoo, South Australia, he put into practice all the principles he had been taught and mightily convinced the believers of the fullness of Christ's work and the accuracy of God's Word." In June 1966 Peter was invited to take his family with him to the United States to specifically develop the outreach ministry of the organization through the printed page. The Wades arrived in Ohio in the end of May 1967, Peter, Vivien, Lindsay (7) and Gary (4). Peter "was influential among all with whom he came into contact. Spiritually he was an inspiration to the leadership and gave encouragement, joy, and assistance to them." He was editor of a monthly Christian magazine, and spoke at many family camps, seminars and local fellowships in the Mid-West.
On September 29, 1968, Peter was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. The citation states that "you have proven your God-given gifts in Australia and in the United States by your dedication and faithfulness to the principles... in declaring the accuracy of God's Word". After three years in Ohio, Peter and his family returned to Adelaide, South Australia in May 1970, to establish a non-denominational teaching ministry in Australia. This they did through weekly teaching sessions, seminars and local fellowships. After two name changes, this organization became Positive Word Ministries Inc., of which Peter is still President. The Way and the Wades parted company in 1976. Meanwhile, seeing a need in South Australia that was not being filled by local churches, Peter and Vivien with three other couples in 1979 started the Community Christian Church in Ingle Farm, in metropolitan Adelaide. They served as pastors for nine years, and then retired from the pastoral ministry. Most of Peter's books were produced during this time, and all messages were recorded on tape to form a large part of our current audio library. During the period from 1977 to the present, Peter, often but not always accompanied by Vivien, made at least 19 visits to the US, to speak at camps and weekend seminars, hosted by the many friends they made during their three-year stay in that country. They also ministered in London, England in 1993. Two Bible conferences were also held in Australia, in January 2001 and January 2003.
Having purchased his first computer in the early 1980s, Peter, in addition to his ministry, was employed by many large corporations to write documentation for computer users. It was therefore a natural progression to write and produce the printer-ready copies of his books on computer, and then in October 1995 to start a web site on the Internet. Now, as Peter and Vivien celebrate 50 years of ministry (30th March 2008), their main ministry is online, with thousands visiting the web site each month and reading the articles by Peter and others or listening to audio teachings. Their current vision is to continue to record their teachings on video to bless and inspire even more people with the greatness of Christ's completed work and the integrity of God's positive Word.
IN OUR NEXT ISSUE... We continue with our inspirational teachings from Colossians chapter 4 -- "The Positive Power of Christian Friends" (part 2). We will look at Luke, the beloved physician; Ephaphras, the faithful minister; Demas, who let Paul down; Nympha, the lady house-church leader; and Archippus, a minister of the Word. ~~~~~~~~~~ This email was launched into cyberspace to bless you. Our newsletter is never sent unsolicited. You are receiving it because you subscribed and confirmed your subscription, or someone thought you'd be interested and forwarded it to you. |
 |
|