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It has been an adventurous time since the work initially began here in this great city of Melbourne.  From the revolution rallies in May 06 till today the work has been very tough and intense however very solid and fundamental for the future of what God is building in Melbourne.

On entering the city of Melbourne all that I knew was that we (BCI) have been building through prayer into this city for the past 3 years and the time had finally come to bring those things to pass. 
Moving to Melbourne was a time of anticipation and excitement for me because it was an integral time of my life for God to move and impact into a city.  It wasn’t a surprise or a time to be nervous because we have been specifically molded in BCI to impact cities and nations and finally the time had come to move and I wasn’t going to back down.

2006
The work began with two revolution rallies in May and June.  Even though we knew no one in the city, there had been some key networks that God had established and as a result drew a massive response to both rallies.    
The revolution rallies proved strategic as it pulled together a hand full of people who were interested in joining us pursue God for his purposes (perfect for what God was about to begin in Melbourne).   
   
After the rallies we went straight into a 9 week bible course deliberately intended for Gods hand to mold and craft us into the preferred conduits for his work in Melbourne.  The bible course was intense and confronting as we felt God dealing strongly with wrong attitudes, mentalities, paradigms and behavioral patterns that would prevent us from fully expanding in God and his Kingdom.

A perfect platform had been forged and established through bible course that instigated the next move which was Breakthrough Church Melbourne’s first Sunday Morning service. 
November saw our first service begin which was held at home with one acoustic guitar. It was simple yet very potent as the service was engaged with people’s hearts that were laid down for God and his kingdom.  Shortly after service began at home we moved to Noble Park Community Centre for greater space for the service and its expansion.
Ngamata and Annie were a couple who had been sent from BC Auckland to help with the work in Melbourne.  A move that proved very strategic and instrumental for the connecting with people in church and also into the greater community.   

BC Melbourne had a break over the Christmas period as it was a perfect time for recuperation and preparation for what laid ahead of us in '2007'.  Members went on holidays with families whilst we also had couples getting married.  I was one of the couples who got married to my fiancé Elizabeth Farani, a critical step of my life that would prove very important for the work God laid out for us both here in Melbourne.  During the break, Ngamata and Annie remained in Melbourne as a contact for the remaining BC Melbourne members.

2007
Now being happily married, it was only going to add greater force to what would be generated out of BC Melbourne in 2007.
BC Melbourne recommenced back in full force on the 28th of January, with the theme for 2007 being 'a year of God being established'.  With core ministries of morning service, praise and worship, prayer meetings and leadership training; Liz and I felt a major priority of God this year would be the establishment of core eternal foundations in the church for the city. 

An intense yet critical time for the church as we look to position ourselves for a city and nation wide impact.  Greater prices are required for such an important process to take place in such a short time; however the price seems insignificant compared to the impact that is to take place.  BC Melbourne community have responded well to the call of God for this city.  Something that is pleasing to see however accurate with the Davidic generation that God is raising in this time.    

Overall the progress here in Melbourne has been tremendous. 

The work has only been going for a short time however the development, growth and maturity seen in people have been phenomenal.  We are living in such an exciting time of life where God is moving at such a rapid rate.  The requirement however upon the church is greater in order to keep instep with what God is doing.  Liz and I have learnt so much being apart of what God is doing here in Melbourne.  We are experiencing God mature people over night, something that is so possible if the church relates accurately with God in this era.  We encourage everyone in this time to lay their lives down once and for all for God and his Kingdom.  A principle that when applied will bring life in its fullness beyond your understanding and imagination.
    

By Oswin Fainga’a

Membership dinner turned out to be a greater success than what we had expected.  God had a greater plan in mind behind what we thought would only be a dinner held for the members of our Community.

Since the beginning of this year our senior leadership along with its leadership team has been building into the foundation of the church community through prayer, weekly core ministries and Sunday morning services. 

As we’re progressing into the year, we decided that now was the time to hold a membership dinner to cast out the churches Vision along with the structure of the Church so that everyone can see the overall purpose of Breakthrough Melbourne.  We also opened up the night for all our friends and family to come along and see what we’re about and where we’re heading as a church community.


We started preparing for the dinner 2 weeks prior, our leadership team had a meeting to organise everything for the night.  The decisions we made included purchasing our new church PA system to use, organizing invitations for friends and families, booking a Hall, and arranging food.  As a team we decided that we’d prepare the food for everyone. That meeting was so much fun for all of us because what was ahead was an opportunity for us to serve our members along with their friends and families.

 

The morning of the membership dinner, we received great news that 2 elders from Breakthrough Brisbane, Emma Pisia and Inez Manu-Sione were going to fly down to join us for the night.  They told us on the phone that Brisbane community were praying for us that morning and believed that the membership dinner was strategic for the mandate God has for Melbourne city. 

What they said coincided with what we’d received in prayer that very morning, the Lord told us that he was going to establish more of his Kingdom into the city merely through the presentation of our Community’s Vision as the Visions impact extends out into the city at large.  Inez and Emma flying down here along with the news of the support coming from BCI excited us so much, and we were looking forward for a great time at the dinner.

The night started at 7.30pm.  We started it off introducing the Senior Leaders, Oswin and Elizabeth Fainga’a and then we hit straight into the delicious food.  Inez and Emma arrived on time to mingle with everyone; they came with vibrant excitement to meet all the new faces of our community. 

Everyone ate and mingled at the same time, friends and family looked so relaxed due to the effort of our leaders providing an atmosphere of comfort for our guests.  As people were moving onto their second plate, both Oswin and I started off our presentation.
We started off with giving an overview of BCI’S vision to impact cities and nations.  I ran through a brief history on how the ministry started and the Church Communities that have been planted up till now.  This gave everyone a clear picture of the reason for Melbourne’s birthing as it plays an integral part in the fulfilling of BCI’S vision. 

After this overview, Emma and Inez were called up to speak as representatives of BCI and Brisbane Community.  They shared about the purpose of Church community and that Church has a greater purpose than Sunday attendance. They emphasized how God cannot be refined to a Church setting and that he extends out into every part of our lives. It was great for everyone to learn about life through the sharing of their experiences since entering the Kingdom of God.

Senior Leader Oswin finished off the presentation with a big bang. This came from an understanding that we are here to fulfill the vision God has for this City.  Everyone could see the seriousness of our purpose and Oswin’s boldness showed everyone our confidence in the direction where God is taking us.  His presentation included Melbourne Communities Vision, the Community structure and the purpose of each ministry.  This was expressed using a flow chart explaining the process and journey each member will go through.  This followed with the introduction of our Leadership Team which solidified the entire structure of BC Melbourne Community.

We finished off with a short video footage from BCI Senior Pastors David and Tina Vaka.  It was good for everyone to see our Senior Pastors because we mentioned them a lot in our presentation, so it was nice to put faces to names.

The overall night was a great success, God moved in ways we hadn’t expected.  We thought it was just going to be a gathering around food with a presentation.  However God literally established more of Himself and His current move in the hearts of the people that attended.  Through our ultimate declaration of our purpose as a Community, God established his approval over us even more.  This confirmed that He is serious about the fulfillment of his mandate in the City.  From that understanding, our significant part to play solidified. 
We had a fun night and we all came back to our house rejoicing with what God had done and we thanked each other for the effort everyone put in.

By Elizabeth Fainga’a