An introduction
Godwit is a not-for-profit incorporated association. Mission statement: Godwit Ministries is all about sharing what God has made known to us in Jesus Christ, to anyone anywhere in the world. The Objects of Godwit Ministries are:
1) To promote a trinitarian and grace oriented understanding of the gospel.
2) To provide theological training and resources, especially in the majority w
orld, for church leaders and pastors.
3) To develop theological teaching materials and resources in easily accessed and economical formats
Godwit – The name
Godwit means “the knowledge of God” or “God knows.” It is the name of a migratory wading bird that travels from the Arctic Circle to the most remote landfalls in the southern hemisphere. Godwits return to the same location year after year, even if their favourite haunt is a tiny island in the middle of the ocean. People therefore believed these birds had knowledge from God in order to relocate their old stamping grounds — hence the name. Godwit ministries is all about sharing what God knows, and has made known to us in Jesus Christ, to anyone anywhere in the world. Chairperson of Godwit Ministries:
Initially the ministry is mainly concerned with sending the chairperson of Godwit, David Kowalick, to provide bible-teaching and theological input to pastors and leaders of churches which have little access to resources that many Western churches take for granted. David is married to Catherine and they have four adult children. David is an ordained minister of the Uniting Church in and has been in local church pastoral ministry for the past twenty years. He has been involved in bible-teaching throughout Asia, and further afield, over the past fifteen years. In more recent times David believes the time is right to spend more time pursuing this particular ministry. A different approach to modern mission
There was a time when sending a person or a couple and their family to a remote part of the world to learn the language, plant a new church, and live as a member of that community was the only viable way to effectively spread the gospel. Now, however, there are very few places where there is no church. Rather than sending a person into a life-time commitment to another culture with all the attendant problems of learning a language, long-term housing, cross-cultural stress, and high levels of burn-out, it makes a lot more sense to send someone to engage with pastors who are already embedded in the culture and who can effectively touch the lives of hundreds and even thousands of people. This ministry can potentially be more effective if it can change the lives of ten pastors, rather than a thousand members of a congregation. In the long run, more lives will be affected. The problem and the opportunity
There is a whole world of need out there, but for the most part the churches in the majority world have very little in the way of financial resources and even less in terms of theological resources. There are many church pastors in these regions who are leading large growing churches but who feel inadequately trained. In many cases these pastors may have as little as two weeks of theological training under the belt and no way of accessing books or input to help them. This is the norm rather than the exception for most pastors across vast areas of the world. Right now Godwit Ministries has standing invitations to go at any time to India, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, PNG, and Nepal. There are many other promising opportunities in Fiji, Philippines, Kenya, South Africa and Indonesia. Oversight
Godwit is administered by a board, which currently consists of ordained ministers, a lawyer, an accountant, and a school teacher. They are responsible for pastoral oversight of David Kowalick (and any future teachers / theologians), helping to work out a schedule of engagements, and assisting with administration and finances. Financial support
The level of financial support that Godwit Ministries is able to raise will determine the extent this ministry can be pursued. We believe this plan is part of our Father’s will, and that through like-minded people he will provide a way to financially enable it to advance. If you would like to support Godwit Ministries please read information below for instructions:
EFT:
One of the easiest and most effective methods is by Electronic Funds transfer (EFT). Simply go online to your financial institution and make a one off donation or regular monthly donation via an automated EFT arrangement. Account Name: Godwit Ministries
Reference : donation
BSB: 065 102
Account Number: 1035 0092
Cheque:
Make all checks payable to: Godwit Ministries
