1,600 Attend Evangelistic Series Launch in Melbourne, Australia

By: Tracey Bridcutt, Adventist Record

The Victorian Conference church region’s “Revelation Today” evangelistic series launched on May 3, 2019, with more than 1,600 people attending the opening sessions.

The series — hosted by popular It Is Written speakers John Bradshaw and Eric Flickenger — is being held at four locations around Melbourne and is a key part of the region’s Harvest Victoria initiative. Some of the opening sessions were so full that there was standing room only; others needed additional chairs brought in to accommodate the crowds. A further 1,200 people have been watching the series online.

Revelation Today/Harvest Victoria project manager Fraser Catton said it is exciting to see the number of attendees interested in studying the Bible.

“One lady saw an ad for [the series] on TV in Ballarat, which is an hour and a half away from Melbourne. She was so excited to be studying Revelation that she drove from there to attend,” Catton said.

“[Bradshaw and Flickenger] are excellent presenters, and they have presented in a way that is non-confrontational but challenging,” he added. “It has been really good to see people who are passionate about wanting to study the Bible. It’s exciting to see them engaging with it and asking meaningful questions.”

Of those attending, at least half are from other faith backgrounds or no faith background.

Around 250 volunteers are supporting the program. Local church pastors are contacting the attendees during the series to build relationships and to respond to any questions they might have.

“At the end of the series each local church will be running a follow-up series and will be inviting the guests [from Revelation Today],” Catton said.

“The one thing we have noticed, having it set around four different locations in a city, the churches are collaborating quite closely, which has really built the Adventist community in the city,” he said.

Catton asked church members to pray for the program’s success.

“Please pray for the program and the guests who are attending, that the Holy Spirit will continue to work and we will see amazing things happen,” he said.

Revelation Today continues until June 1 with four sessions weekly at each venue.

The original version of this story was posted on the Adventist Record news site.