8-11 september

STANWELL TOPS, NSW

FIEC was formed in 2004 when a small group of churches based in New South Wales decided to join together in fellowship for the purpose of reaching Australia for Christ. Since then, we have grown to 60 churches across Australia, and each year the highlight has been our National Conference, where we come together to be refreshed, encouraged and challenged by God’s Word, sing praises to our great God, and hear stories of what God is doing through our churches. And that will continue to be the case this year as we celebrate 21 years as a fellowship of churches who are working together to see hearts transformed by Jesus as we reach our nation with His gospel of grace.

During our time together we will sit under God’s Word, hear about new church plants, spend time praying together for our nation, communities, churches, families and ourselves, and enjoy chatting over meals with old friends and new ones.

The FIEC 2025 National Conference is for anyone from FIEC churches - pastors, spouses, elders, leaders, staff, volunteers - everyone will benefit from joining us at Stanwell Tops this September.

TIMETABLE

THEME

Preach The Word (2 Timothy)

For 2025, our main speaker will be Rev Paul Harrington from Trinity Church in Adelaide. Paul was raised in Adelaide and became a Christian in 1978 while studying at Adelaide University. After working for several years as a lawyer, Paul went on to complete a theological degree at Moore College and in 1988 he joined the Trinity Church Adelaide staff team. Since then, the Trinity Network has grown and now meets at 14 sites across Adelaide and regional South Australia. These days, Paul’s main role is to encourage and coach senior staff and help lead the Trinity Network in reaching more people across South Australia with the Gospel. He is married to Sue and they have three adult children and a growing number of grandchildren. Paul will teach us from 2 Timothy, highlighting the importance of proclaiming the Scriptures as central to Gospel ministry.

OTHER KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Karl DEENICK - Karl is a lecturer in Theology and Practical Theology at the Sydney & Missionary Bible College (SMBC) and is currently the Acting Director of the Centre for Preaching and Pastoral Ministry. Karl has been serving on our Statement of Faith working group and will speak to us each night of the Conference, walking us through the latest embellishments to our Statement of Faith.

Kirsty BUCKNELL - Kirsty is an organisational psychologist who specialises in change management, organisational culture and leadership development, with a focus on resilience and wellbeing. She is a consultant at the Centre for Ministry Development at Moore Theological College in Sydney. Kirsty will share with us how intentional ministry reflection can help develop resilience among ministry workers.

Stephen DRISCOLL - Steve works for the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (AFES) at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. He is also a member of Crossroads Church. Steve has written the book Made In Our Image: God, Artificial Intelligence And You which offers a Biblical perspective on how Christians should think about themselves and about God in light of the rise of AI.

Andrew HEARD - Andrew is the Senior Minister of EV Church on the Central Coast of NSW. He also serves as the Chairman of the FIEC Executive. Andrew will conclude our time together with a thoughtful reflection on our mission to reach Australia for Christ, and the challenges and opportunities this brings.

WORKSHOPS

  • If this is your first FIEC conference, or you are coming along to learn about the Fellowship, then this workshop is for you. It is run on the first day of the conference and will give you some framework for the rest of our time together. Also very helpful if you are a church representative thinking of applying for membership to FIEC.

    Presenters: Bruce Bennett (FIEC) & Andrew Heard (EV Church).
    Venue: Acacia Room
    When: Monday 4:30pm

  • If you have been newly credentialed as an FIEC marriage celebrant, or you are due for some “professional development” in this area, please join us for this day one workshop.

    Presenters: Dave & Ruth Sheath (The Lakes Church).
    Venue: Banksia Room
    When: Monday 4:30pm

  • How much of someone else’s work can you use in a sermon without attribution? Is it OK to get ChatGPT to write the first draft of your weekly sermon? What about the second draft? With more access to online resources than ever before, how are we to use these resources wisely? If you are responsible for preparing a sermon each week, this is the workshop you shouldn’t miss.

    Presenter: Steve Driscoll (Crossroads)
    Venue: Waratah Room
    When: Tuesday 4:30pm

  • Building on her plenary address, Kirsty Bucknell will present some practical ways you can make reflective practice a part of your ministry rhythms.

    Presenter: Kirsty Bucknell (Moore Theological College).
    Venue: Acacia Room
    When: Tuesday 4:30pm

  • Join Dave Moore, author of The Team Leader’s Handbook, and Executive Pastor of Hunter Bible Church, as he unpacks how to best structure ministry teams in your church. Learn how to become a more fruitful team leader, and how to equip your team leaders for joyful service.

    Presenter: Dave Moore (HBC).
    Venue: Boronia Room
    When: Tuesday 4:30pm

  • How to make children’s ministry dynamic and appealing while at the same time teaching the Gospel.

    Presenter: Kirrily Griffiths (EV Church)
    Venue: Crawford Room
    When: Tuesday 4:30pm

  • How to be a good church-planting church. This workshop will draw on the many years of experience from the Trinity Network in Adelaide.

    Presenter: Paul Harrington (Trinity Church Network)
    Venue: Banksia Room
    When: Tuesday 4:30pm

  • Do you come from an Elder led church? This workshop looks at how to engage your elders well with the ministry life of the church, combining their roles of shepherd and overseer.

    Presenter: Ed Springer (OEC) & Bruce Bennett
    Venue: Crawford Room
    When: Wednesday 4:30pm

  • We often consider systems, policies and procedures as boring red tape that get in the way of ministry. But this shouldn’t be the case. In fact, if you have well designed ministry systems, and good policies and procedures, it will make things so much better for your leaders, and your church.

    Presenter: Adam Ch’ng (Cross & Crown Melbourne)
    Venue: Acacia Room
    When: Wednesday 4:30pm

  • Has your church growth hit a wall (maybe a ceiling)? What do you need to do to remove growth barriers?

    Presenter: TBC
    Venue: Boronia Room
    When: Wednesday 4:30pm

  • Jumping straight into a bachelor level degree program might not be the best place to start for many in your congregation. But there are other options. Andrew Beddoe from Vocational Bible College will share an apprenticeship style of training that can equip your people for ministry.

    Presenter: Andrew Beddoe (VBC)
    Venue: Banksia Room
    When: Wednesday 4:30pm

  • Alongside the sermon, small group Bible studies can be a major part of getting women into the Bible. How can we maximise both depth in the Bible and real change in our lives? In this seminar we will consider both small groups for women, and women in mixed groups.

    Presenter: Nikki Radloff (Cross & Crown - Gold Coast)
    Venue: Waratah Room
    When: Wednesday 4:30pm

LOCATION

The 2025 FIEC National Conference will take place at The Tops Conference Centre, Stanwell Tops, NSW, about 1 hours drive south of the Sydney CBD.

The Tops is easily accessible by car or train from Sydney Airport. If you are arriving by train, we can arrange for you to be picked up from Helensburgh Train Station.

ACCOMMODATION

The 2025 FIEC National Conference is residential, and includes accommodation and all meals. Last year we did run out of accommodation space. This year we have booked some extra rooms at a nearby hotel to add to our capacity. It is advised to register as early as you can to guarantee a room.

You are welcome to look at options of staying offsite and can register at a lower price for doing so.

CHILDREN

Your children are very welcome to join us at the conference, however this year we will not be running a dedicated children’s program during the plenary sessions. Instead, we will have a space set aside where a parent can mind their own children, with a video link so you can still see the session.

We know the value for couples being able to attend the conference together, so to make it easier for couples with kids to afford to come, there is no cost to bring them.

COST

We do our best to make our National Conference as affordable as we can for everyone. It is not an event that we make money out of. In fact, some years we have run at a loss. Costs at The Tops have gone up a little, and so this is reflected in our registration prices this year.

We offer a small early bird discount for those who register by the 30th June. There is also a concession rate for MTS / Ministry Trainees / Apprentices / Bible College Students / Retirees. Kids attend for free, and some discounts are available usually for those having to travel a significant distance (read Western Australia).

There are part time rates for those who can’t stay the whole time.

Onsite costs include conference, accommodation and all meals. There is a small extra charge for linen (or you can choose to bring your own). Offsite costs include conference, morning/afternoon tea, lunch and dinner.

This year, the only option to pay will be by credit/debit card on check out.

 

We have a number of volunteer positions that we need to fill in order for our Conference to run smoothly. You can receive a generous discount on registration fees as a thank you for volunteering your time.

 

FAQs

  • If you are coming from WA, or just finding it hard to cover the cost of the conference, then please email us at info@fiec.org.au to discuss what discounts might be available to you.

  • The Tops Conference Centre will cater for all dietary requirements. Just give us as much information as you think is helpful and we will pass it on to the kitchen.

    You are welcome to bring your own milk and/or bread and store them in the fridge in the Waratah Meeting room.

    Please email info@fiec.org.au with any questions or special requests.

  • The nature of The Tops Conference Centre means that if you are attending the conference on your own then you will most likely be sharing a room with a few others. A great way to get to know them!

    You can ask to share with your friends or co-workers when you register. We can’t promise that will happen, but we will try our best.

    Couples have a room to themselves.

  • Yes, definitely. When you register, just choose the part-time option and register for however long you are able to join us for.

  • Unfortunately, the site can’t accommodate you staying in your own caravan. You are welcome to find a caravan site in a local caravan park and stay there, and then join us for the conference. You can eat with us as well. Just choose “full-time but staying off-site” when you register.

  • While it does add some extra administrative steps at our end, the main reason is to avoid having to follow up people for payment. At past events more than half the people who indicated they would pay by bank transfer needed to be followed up weeks later, and sometimes multiple times. It’s just one extra hassle we don’t need. We apologise for any inconvenience.