Hi there,

Bobbie and I are very aware that as a nation, we’ve been going through a difficult time; firstly with drought parching the land for some time, and now fires raging across large swaths of our land. Tragically, lives have been lost, homes have been threatened and, in many cases, destroyed.

As a church, we are committed to pray and believe God for drought-breaking rain to quench our dry and parched land. We believe there is hope in Jesus, and in Him, unshakable promises on which we can stand firm on behalf of our nation. Deuteronomy 28:12 reads, “The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand.”

During Men’s Event last month, our church gave generously for those who have been affected by the fires and to those brave men and women who have been fighting them on the front lines.

Our Australian Bushfire Appeal funds will be allocated in two ways: immediate crisis response and long-term recovery. In the short term, we will be supporting our frontline firefighters in the Rural Fire Service (RFS) and the Salvation Army who are currently on the ground dealing with families in crisis in evacuation centres, providing for their immediate needs including food, water and emergency housing. As the crisis abates, we will work through our Network churches in the affected regions to identify some of the families that may need longer-term recovery support as they seek to rebuild their lives.

God is a God of goodness and grace. Better days are ahead… Together let’s continue to believe that the best is yet to come.

With love and blessings,

Brian Houston

If you would like to donate to our Global Bushfire Appeal, you can do so here: hil.so/bushfires

Header image photographer: Adam Stevenson