Almost 500 people convened at Yarra Holiday and Adventure Park in Stuarts Point for the ninth annual North New South Wales Conference (NNSW) Prayer Conference, held from February 2 to 4.
Delegates came from around the NNSW conference, interstate and overseas. According to the registration data collected, more than 70 churches were represented by those in attendance this year.
NNSW prayer coordinator Charissa Torossian said she was excited to see the number of young people in attendance this year. “Of the registered delegates, 30 per cent were between the ages of 13-30. This is a really wonderful statistic! It’s so encouraging to see our youth hungry for a closer walk with Jesus and a desire to strengthen their prayer lives,” she said.
This year’s main guest speaker was Pastor Dwayne Lemon who currently lives and serves in the Northern California Conference. He shared five powerful messages that thoughtfully explored the conference’s theme —Follow the Lamb—where he emphasised the importance of following Jesus.
Pastor Lemon shared he was happy to be speaking on the theme for the conference. “I realise that there is a lot of confusion about what’s happening in our world. No matter where I go, I am seeing that the foundation to a lot of people’s confusion is because, even when they profess to follow God, they are following [Him] through the lens and mind of another human being. And this creates a whole lot of problems,” he said. “Long before I heard about this conference, the Lord has really been impressing on my heart this thought, ‘Follow Me’.”
Worship was led by Sabbath Singalong ministry creator Sandra Entermann, who was accompanied by her brother Gary, niece Phoebe, pianist Sanja Kitevski and Marleta Fong. The conference also included a Sabbath afternoon sacred concert which featured music from other artists who were also in attendance.
For the first time this year Prayer Conference delegates were invited to participate in outreach to the local community around the campground on Sabbath afternoon. More than 70 delegates teamed up to go door-to-door, offering to pray with and for the needs of the community. Many positive testimonies were shared that evening from those who went.
The weekend also featured a children’s program run by the NNSW family and children’s ministry director Colleen Savage for around 50 children aged 3-12. Themed Summer Games, the program was designed to show children how living for Jesus is the ultimate goal, as illustrated through the story of Daniel.
Next year’s Prayer Conference will be extended by one day and held from February 27 to March 2, 2025 at the same venue.
