Last week CS Tang attended the launch of the Gospel Coalition Australia. Following is his report.

National Launch of The Gospel Coalition Australia

The Gospel Coalition Australia was launched at a public meeting held at Brisbane City Hall on July 23. More than a thousand attended.

DA Carson preached from Galatians 5. This is a historic event for the church in Australia. But this is just the beginning. Confessional reformed evangelicals all over this country need to recover a voice to speak to our culture and work together for the sake of the gospel. To do that it needs a platform that would bring together like-minded believers; TGCA is that platform. During our time in Brisbane we also ran a 3 day conference and consultation with about 100 key leaders from all over Australia. During this time we discussed and consulted each other about the nature and shape of TGCA, and how we can forge a unique Australian gospel movement. We examined our foundational documents, particularly the Theological Vision of Ministry. Philip Jensen spoke warmly in support of his ‘friends’ who constitute the Council. His brother, Peter expounded Philippians 1 powerfully along with Peter Adam and DA Carson. We left with a sense of huge responsibility we carry as council members of TGCA. A few key leaders at the consultation described us as essentially the ‘peak evangelical body’ of our country.

The TGCA website http://australia.thegospelcoalition.org/ has more than 260,000 users in Australia and twice that number when we include users from outside the country. It is a powerful tool which we want to use for the good of the gospel.

How it began

About 2 years ago, I started engaging with members of TGC (USA) about setting up TGC in Australia using their foundational document. They gave helpful advice and guidance, particularly Ben Peays, Tim Keller, DA Carson and Stephen Um. It was drawn to my attention that other individuals have been trying to set up equivalence of TGC in Queensland and Melbourne. My strong conviction was that we needed a national based TGC as a priority. Local chapters would follow later on. DA Carson put me in touch with Gary Millar, who is highly respected not just in our country but among leaders of TGC in USA and elsewhere. Together we put together the council of TGCA. The Gospel Coalition (USA) graciously invited a number of us to participate in their council meeting in April 2015. Our friendship with TGC (USA) is something we value highly.

The council members of TGCA are Peter Adam, Alistair Bain, Neil Chambers, Ray Galea, Paul Harrington, Rick Lewers, Dave McDonald, Gary Millar, Andrew Reid, Bill Salier, Rory Shiner, David Startling and CS Tang.

The Council appointed 3 of its members to be the executive with Gary Millar in the chair. The other members of the executive are Peter Adam and CS Tang.

What TGCA seeks to do

We pledge to work together for the glory of God through the promotion of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We humbly recognize that we serve Christ alongside many brothers and sisters who do not share all our core convictions.

We share an Australian-wide vision for promoting faithful, persevering, Christ-honouring, Bible-driven, Spirit-empowered, gospel-centred ministry.

We pray for a growing culture of mutual support, prayer and encouragement among gospel workers across Australia.

We are committed to working ‘from the ground up’ to encourage new and existing gospel partnerships.

We are passionate about encouraging Christians in Australia to reach all who live here, including those whom God has brought to our shores from other nations.

We seek to play our part in encouraging Christians in Australia to take the message of the gospel to the ends of the earth.

CS Tang

July 28, 2015