Welcome

According to the Biblical view of human life, transformation is the change from a condition of human existence contrary to God’s purposes to one in which people are able to enjoy fullness of life in harmony with God (John 10:10; Colossians 3:8-15; Ephesians 4:13).

This transformation can only take place through the obedience of individuals and communities to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, whose power changes the lives of men and women by releasing them from the guilt, power and consequences of sin, enabling them to respond with love toward God and towards others (Romans 5:5) and making them 'new creatures in Christ'. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Transformation is the progressive, ongoing and measurable, supernatural impact of the presence and power of God working in, through and apart from the Church on human society and structures. In the Church, this is characterised by increased holiness of life, reconciliation in relationships and appetite for prayer, God’s Word and worship. Through the Church this is characterised by accelerated conversion growth, mobilisation of gifts and callings, and an increased relevance to and participation in greater society.

This 'Transformation Covenant' calls Christians everywhere to unite in effective witness to the whole Gospel. The Gospel is concerned with every dimension of life. We call Christians from all denominations to joyfully and compassionately share that "...which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched - this we proclaim concerning the Word of life." [1 John 1:1 NIV]

Transforming Sydney seeks to serve communities of servant-catalysts in motivating the whole body of Christ to bless our city and our nation. This requires that the body of Christ be mobilised for prayer and collaborative action in order to reach all nations with the good news of the Kingdom of God.

Transformation Events

Inner-West Sydney Mission

Transfoming Sydney is continuing to run prayer meetings at different chruches throughout the Inner West - it is good to see people are coming from different churches to pray together for a common cause.

Our next meeting will be on Sunday night at 6:15pm on 13th May 2012 at St. Michael Melkite Church, Darlington.

We invite you to join us and to encourage prayer leaders from your church to be with us to pray for our suburbs.

For more information check the Events page and our initiative Adopt a Suburb.

Transformation 2012 - "Only Believe"

We are holding a Transformation conference on Saturday 6th October 2012.

More information is available on the Events page.

Other Sydney Events

Monday 21-May-2012 3pm at the NSW Parliament House
Patrick Madrid Live in Australia 2012
"Is Everything Up For Grabs?
A Critique of Moral Relativism"
Click for a flyer and how to register.

This Year 2012

A new year with new plans and expectations...

"Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, 'Jesus be cursed,' and no one can say, 'Jesus is Lord,' except by the Holy Spirit. There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good."
[1 Corinthians 12:3-7]

Our highest commendations to you this year:

	1.	Walk in humility and seek to spend time with your fellow Christians in an attitude of true compassion. Especially seek those who are not in your usual circle, e.g. from other Christian denominations and/or from other nations - perhaps one of your neighbours. Have a drink or meal; share your love for our Lord and pray together for your families, your churches, your workplaces, your city.
	2.	Whatever you're planning this year with your church or organisation, don't do it alone! Find a way to engage with at least one other church or group, preferrably in your suburb, and do something together. Perhaps an Easter event or an outreach. Maybe something like songs or drama or carols in the shopping centre. You can encourage the dialog by families attending each others' services from time to time. It may take time to assure each other that you are doing this out of selfless love, so start now.
	3.	If you work or go out regularly into the marketplace (i.e. where people gather for work, business or enjoyment), find and join a group there who love Christ and want to introduce people to Him. If you can't find one, start one - ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to someome you can pray with to begin. It is imperative to not be a 'lone wolf' in the world - we need to support and encourage each other in the places where we often spend 50% or more of our waking time.

Prove to Sydney that we are one body - many parts working together.

"But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."
[1 Corinthians 12:24-27]

Transformation

Mission as transformation has emerged as a new paradigm at the beginning of the twenty-first Century. We are living in a fallen, deformed world needing to be transformed. Individuals are being called to be conformed to the image of Christ. Churches are being challenged to be renewed and realigned with God's greater purposes.

To impact society we have to be the temple of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives, and thereby take the Holy Spirit with us at home, to work, and wherever we go in society, i.e. to be the temple of the Holy Spirit in the domains of the world.

	"And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us." [John 1:14 Amplified]
	"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple." [1 Corinthians 3:16-17 NIV]
	"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." [1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV]
	It is not possible to bear witness to Christ without reflecting his image, which is made alive in us by grace and power of the Spirit. (John Paul II "Redemptoris Missio")

We also need to work with a spirit of unity and collaboration between prophet, priest and marketplace leaders by building teams in the domains of the marketplace that move from agreement with Kingdom principles, to alignment with Kingdom practices. Thereby we will produce good fruit that will last, multiply and impact the world with the Gospel.

A Call to Transformation

God's heart cries for revival, God is ever present and ever ready to pour out His Spirit and revive His Church and save the lost. But we, His Church have always been His problem, We have lived in a way that God cannot honor with a revival. God cannot pour out His spirit on unrepentant church, without having disastrous consequences. If we don't renew our wineskin, the old unrepentant wineskin would burst, if the new wine of the Holy Spirit was poured in.

"Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."
[Matthew 9:17 NIV]

God has new wine for His people, but it will only be poured out at a price, and that price is to make ourselves new wineskins through repentance. If His people pay that price, we will see Heaven moved and the earth renewed and the coming of our Lord and all His Holy Ones with Him, praise God.

(From "How to recognise a revival" by Rob Cartlidge.)

As Christ's disciples, we must have reconciliation and unity among ourselves to be able to transform a big city like Sydney: to love one another as Christ loves us.

Transforming Sydney was created to support the working of the Holy Spirit in our city through our brothers and sisters in Christ. It did not come from the planning of men and women, but has grown naturally from of the desire of Christ to reconcile Himself with Sydney that has been planted into the hearts of many people. These servant-catalysts do not desire or require any glory or recognition for themselves, but seek only to lift Jesus up and for God to be glorified, and to encourage others to do the same.

Some of Transforming Sydney initiatives are 'Adopt a Suburb' and 'Adopt a Business' .