We have an amazing line-up of elective speakers for Activate 2025 conference! Increase your knowledge of what God is doing around the world and be challenged by how you and your church can further God’s mission in the world He created.
Major Religion Worldviews: Our Purpose and the End of Days
*Panel format, running in both elective timeslots.
Dave Sutherland
John B
Denis Savelyev
Samy Metry
Our lives are informed by what we believe our purpose is, and what end we believe we are living and working towards. But what might sharing the Gospel look like with those who have different beliefs about their purpose and the future? Join our panel of experts to discuss what some of the major religions believe about the purpose of life. How can we engage missionally with Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, in the light of their worldviews?
Dave Sutherland along with his wife Andrea and their three children, has served in northern Thailand for 11 years in a ministry that trained up tribal minority young adults to be the future leaders of tribal Christian churches and ministries in east Asia. Dave now serves as the State Ministry Leader for OMF in Victoria; a role he shares jointly with Andrea.
John B is an Ministers Kid (MK)/ Third Culture Kid (TCK) born in north India, raised in Nepal and attended boarding school in south India up to year 10. He has spent more than half of his 70+ years in the Indian sub-continent. He served as a school principal in both Nepal and India and with his wife Janine has raised three TCKs and now has 5 grandchildren. He is still involved in MK/ TCK care, with a focus on those from the global south, especially Asia.
Denis Savelyev is originally from a Muslim-majority region in Russia. Before moving to Australia, he served as a lecturer and alternate director at the Eurasian Missionary College in Kazan and was actively involved in church planting. He is currently a Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.
Samy Metry: Before devoting his work full time to OM Australia in year 2011, Samy served the Lord as an evangelist in Egypt, since 1978. Worked as a graphic designer with a mission organization called the Navigators from 1983-1989, the Lord called Samy with his family to Australia, arriving in Melbourne August 1989. Samy preaches the Gospel to many ethnic churches in Australia, to Motivate & Mobilise ordinary Christians to love their Muslim neighbours in word and deed, and to help churches to Mentor & Multiply dynamic communities of disciples.
On Earth as it is in Heaven: How to build for the Kingdom
*Presentation format, running in both elective timeslots.
Michael Bird
As disciples of Jesus, what drives us to share the Gospel? How can our hope for the future inspire our present actions and sustain our motivation for engaging in and supporting mission? Join Michael Bird in exploring how the ‘not yet’ informs the ‘now’!
Rev. Dr. Michael F. Bird (PhD University of Queensland) is Deputy Principal of Ridley College and Lecturer in New Testament. He is the author of several books including Evangelical Theology, Seven Things I Wish All Christians Knew About the Bible, and with N.T. Wright, The New Testament in its World.
Wellbeing on Mission
*Practical focus format, running in both elective timeslots.
Michelle Jackson
Kathryn Fletcher
Spiritual! Mental! Physical! Financial! Relational! How can we maintain holistic wellbeing while preparing for and serving on cross-cultural mission? How can we support the wellbeing of those preparing for and serving on cross-cultural mission? Join Michelle and Kathryn- both returned missionaries who currently work in member care – in exploring what it means to serve God sustainably and well!
Michelle Jackson works for CMS in pastoral care, mobilisation and helping run the Across Cultures training program. She served in Japan for 12 years with her husband and three children doing evangelism and Bible teaching. She is passionate about supporting missionaries so that they can persevere in ministering on location.
Kathryn Fletcher currently serves with CMS as the facilitator of the Across Cultures training program. Her life is filled with the vibrancy of many multi-cultural relationships in her local church. Previously she served with her family as CMS missionaries in Mexico where they worked with university students for 10 years.
Discerning God’s Call
*Pathways (active and reflective) format, running in both elective timeslots.
Miriam Payne
Helen Sahl
How do I know if I am called? What are the ways that God speaks to us about mission? Are we all called to engage in mission? Join Miriam and Helen in exploring tools and principles for hearing where God might be calling you!
Helen and her husband, Max, served with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Papua New Guinea in Support roles. They went for two years to teach Missionary Kids (MK’s) at Ukarumpa International School, a small school in the Highlands of PNG, and stayed for 20 years raising their four children there. They saw God doing a great work through Bible Translation and in teaching MK’s they were able to help support that. Helen now heads up the Victorian team of Wycliffe Bible Translators sharing the needs for Linguists and Support people with Churches, University groups, Bible Colleges and Schools.
Creativity and Mission: Using the Arts to join in God’s Divine Melody
*Pathways (active and reflective) format, only running in first elective timeslot.
Peter
From the creation of humanity in Genesis through to the poetic visions of Revelation, we can see God’s creative and artistic spirit at work. But what does it look like to use the arts in cross-cultural mission today? Join Peter in exploring where and how God invites us to join in His work with the gifts of art and culture He has given us.
Peter is a practicing contemporary artist with qualifications in Fine Arts, Applied Linguistics, Theology and Intercultural Studies. He currently works with SIL Australia as a world arts advocate and consultant and has previously worked in Papua New Guinea for 16 years in a variety of roles including arts research, and alongside other communities in the Pacific, Kenya, and Central Australia. He also has regular exhibitions in Melbourne’s inner-city commercial galleries.
Prayer and Mission
*Pathways (active and reflective) format, only running in second elective timeslot.
Lynda Hart
Hannah
Prayer is absolutely essential for mission! But what does that look like in real life? Join Lynda and Hannah to learn about the principles and practices of praying for missions, discerning God’s voice, and in praying together as an elective group for the coming of His kingdom.
Lynda and her husband (Steve) have been called to serve as Christian Guesthouse workers, looking after the wellbeing of missionaries who are in need of rest and restorative care support .
Hannah is a disciple with a call to the Afghan people. She works with Praxeis and is focused on mobilising prayer, training disciplemakers and engaging the harvest, with the vision to see disciplemaking movements catalysed among Afghans throughout the nations.
