An estimated 1200 communities this year celebrated the National Day of Thanksgiving across Australia with an estimated 250,000 Australian's either taking part in, or impacted by, the events of the Day.
More than 1000 Church Kits were requested by Churches wanting to know more about the day, many of whom celebrated it for the very first time. More and more Churches are discovering the outstanding opportunity the Day presents for them to give positive leadership in their community which can open doors into areas of the community they have not previously connected with.
The most outstanding results have been where the Church has embraced the concept of not simply celebrating the day "in house" but have used it to reach out to their community in acts of kindness, expressions of love and compassion, or simply provided whole cities with the opportunity to join in community festivals and events which promote the positive impact of showing appreciation and saying thank you to each other.
In Brisbane some 1500 Christians representing scores of Churches across the city rose to the challenge of committing many thousands of hours of community service to their city by spring cleaning inside and out, more than 600 homes of folk not able, for physical or other reasons, to do that for themselves. The Lord Mayor was ecstatic, the recipients unbelieving, and those who took part overwhelmed, that such blessing could flow to both the givers and receivers from such a simple concept of displaying the love of Jesus in a practical way. Even in the space of just one day many new relationships were formed with volunteers being invited back to have meals with many of those they helped. This opportunity for friendship evangelism is exactly why Churches are beginning to see the almost unlimited opportunities the NDOT provides to reach people who otherwise they could never connect with.
Across Australia tens of thousands of acts of kindness put smiles on peoples faces, and also on God's face we believe, as His words "whatever you do for the least of my brethren you do unto me", were outlived before our very eyes.
A feature of this years celebrations was the increasing involvement of young people from Churches, Schools and Youth Groups who decided to get involved in reaching out to their community in the name of Jesus. In Goulburn NSW and Bordertown SA, large groups of young people armed with cards, ribbons and NDOT "Thank You" certificates spent the day visiting people, businesses and organisations in their community expressing thankfulness to them for the contribution they make to the community in which they live.
There were also more formal events such as breakfasts and other functions reported across Australia. Australia Worships was strongly supported with many thousands attending worship celebrations on the Saturday night. Many places had combined NDOT/Pentecost Church services on the Sunday which again were strongly supported. Many of the functions were attended by leaders at Federal, State and Local Government level.
In places like Mackay in Queensland, Churches combined together to put on large festivals attended by many thousands of people. In a number of places Local Councils were also included in the running of events thus encouraging the involvement of many non Church sections of those communities.
Around one hundred thousand cards, ribbons, certificates and "dots" were sold and distributed this year with each becoming a personal opportunity to show appreciation to someone who had been a blessing to another.
Newspapers carried stories of NDOT events in many cities and towns across the nation. "The Word for Today" devotional magazine did a major promotion this tear including sending a "Thank You" ribbon to every one of their 60,000 subscribers. The Salvation Army's magazine "War Cry" also gave front page coverage to the day with several pages of stories inside.
Again around 95% of free to air television stations carried NDOT Community Service Announcements, the Australian Christian Channel telecast a program of non stop worship on the Saturday night. More than 280 radio stations in the Vision Radio Network also played non stop worship across Australia as part of the Australia Worships event on the Saturday night as Christians gathered in their thousands to give thanks to God for our Christian heritage and to rededicate our nation back to Him.
The Day would not be the success it has been without the generous support of Koorong Books, Vision Radio Network, 103.2FM in Sydney, 96.5FM in Brisbane, the Australian Christian Channel and Australian Heart Ministries who all play vital parts in preparing and distributing the promotional material that informs the nation. Without their help we could not contemplate such an event as the NDOT has become.
Our thanks goes out too to the thousands of people at local level who put in many hours of dedicated volunteer labour to make the day happen across Australia. It is their effort that makes the NDOT such a powerful tool in God's hand.
If you or your Church hasn't yet caught up with the NDOT dont miss out next year. It could change your life, the life of someone you say thank you to, or give a much needed boost to your congregations involvement in your local community. Start planning now for the National Day of Thanksgiving 2008 to be held on Saturday 10th May, 2008.
Source: Australian Prayer Network
Missions
National Day Of Thanksgiving 2007 Report
An estimated 1200 communities this year celebrated the National Day of Thanksgiving across Australia with an estimated 250,000 Australian's either taking part in, or impacted by, the events of the Day.
By: Australia Prayer Network
Tuesday, 19 June 2007, 15:15 (EST)
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