More than 200 people from across Australia gathered at Stuarts Point Convention Centre (NSW) over the weekend of March 6-8 for a prayer conference entitled “He Promised”.
Organised by North New South Wales (NNSW) Conference Prayer Ministries director Charissa Torrossian, the weekend attracted a diverse range of attendees—both young and old—to engage in intentional prayer and ask for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
“The messages were so personal because the Holy Spirit was working among us,” said Mrs Torrossian. “The weekend felt really wholesome, there was a great representation of both young and old, and it had a really nice, warm family feeling.”
Two speakers from the United States—The New Life Challenge CEO Sebastien Braxton and Louis Torres from Adventist World Radio—were guest presenters for the conference. They were joined by author and Adventist Identity Officer at the Australian Union Conference, Nina Atcheson.
Following each sermon, attendees were asked to break up into small groups and pray about the message they received.
“[Pastor Braxton] called us to be truly committed disciples of Jesus, highlighting how the apostle Paul called himself the ‘slave of Jesus Christ’,” said Mrs Torrossian “Many, many personal commitments to Christ, to this end, were made.”
Each morning at 6:30am, a nearly-full tent of people joined for “United Prayer Sessions” prior to morning devotionals taken by NNSW Conference secretary Pastor Abel Iorgulescu and NNSW Young Adult Ministries director Pastor Blair Lemke. In addition, the weekend featured music by Marleta Fong, Sanja Kitevski, and Blair and Emma Lemke, interspersed with testimonies from attendees who have experienced answers to prayer.
“One man from Queensland who attended said he wanted to come to the prayer conference but didn’t have the petrol money to do so,” said Mrs Torrossian. “One day he noticed that his neighbour had some yard work that needed doing, so he offered to do it, and was gifted the exact amount of money that he would need to attend.”
Different prayer ministries from around Australia were also featured, including “Prayer Room to Victory Room”, which was started by Carolyn Parkinson at the Ellen White Research Institute at Avondale University College, and whose prayer kits have gone right around the world.
The weekend was themed “He Promised” to remind and encourage attendees of God’s generous and trustworthy character.
“At last year’s prayer conference, we were praying for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and all these things He has promised, so [this year] was to remind us of who made the promises, and that God’s ultimate promise is to come back to take us home, and to send us His Holy Spirit,” said Mrs Torrossian.
Mrs Torrossian and the other event organisers are encouraging church members to experience next year’s annual NNSW prayer conference.
