Perth Alliance Church (South) is a member church of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) of Australia. Perth Alliance Church English (PACE) congregation is part of Perth Alliance Church (South).
In January 1986 the Canadian Chinese C&MA Church sent Rev & Mrs Jonathan Kaan to launch a new church plant in Perth, Western Australia. In March that year Rev Kaan & more than 30 brothers and sisters held their first Sunday service at Victoria Park, in which the church, then named “Perth Chinese Alliance Church”, was formally established.
In June 1987 the Hebron Mission of Hong Kong C&MA sent Rev Kephas Wong to take over the leadership of the fledgling church. Shortly thereafter Rev Kaan left Perth for Canada to continue with his ministry there.
In May 1992 Rev Thomas Auyeung, former principal of the Macau Bible College, arrived in Perth and joined the pastoral team of the church. In July 1994 the single bilingual service was separated into separate Cantonese and Mandarin speaking services.
In 1996, to make it more inclusive, the church’s English name was changed to “Perth Alliance Church”. The same year the church acquired its own building and moved to 324 Belmont Ave, Kewdale.
In March 1998 the first English service was held in Belmont Oasis Leisure Centre; Rev Tim Davis was employed as a part-time pastor. At that time the English congregation comprised mainly young people whose parents went to the Cantonese congregation. The following year Tim Davis became full-time English congregation pastor.
In February 2002, two church members, Amy Leong and Stephen Ho, felt called to full-time ministry and entered Trinity Theological College to be equipped. In 2003 the church launched a church planting project led by Rev Thomas Auyeung to reach out to the northern suburbs of Perth. In November that year the new church plant, known as “Grace Alliance Church,” had its first meeting at Hamersley Community Centre.
In March 2005 Amy Leong, Stephen Ho and Rolf Van Wollingen all graduated from Trinity Theological College. Amy moved to Sydney to serve as Children’s Minister in a Chinese Presbyterian Church. Stephen took-up the role of pastor of the Perth Chinese Baptist Church. Rolf Van Wollingen (and his wife Nonna) came to serve in the English congregation as “Missionaries in Training.”
At that time Rolf and Nonna were thinking of serving God in China to train-up pastors for the rapidly growing Chinese church. However, after serving for a year in the English congregation, Rolf felt God was calling them to stay and help raise-up workers for the harvest field in China and beyond. In March 2006 Rolf was appointed pastor of the PAC English (PACE) congregation.
In March 2008, Unit 6, 41 Belmont Ave was purchased and in May the English congregation commenced Sunday worship services at this location.
Over the past 25 years, the English congregation has sent out many short-term missionaries, and several ministry and pastoral workers, around Australia and the world.
The Christian and Missionary Alliance
The Christian and Missionary Alliance, or “the Alliance” as it is commonly known, is an evangelical denomination with an Australian representation of some 40 churches. Internationally, the Alliance includes some 7,500 churches, 1,200 career missionaries, and more than 2.5 million members worldwide.
Founded in 1887 at Old Orchard, Maine, by Dr Albert B. Simpson, a Canadian-born Presbyterian minister, the C&MA was originally established as an evangelical foreign missionary organisation that received support from an alliance of Christians from several denominations and nationalities.
A.B. Simpson entered the ministry at age 21 after graduating from Knox College in Toronto. He became pastor of the Knox Presbyterian Church, Toronto, and in his eight years there, saw some 750 persons added to the membership.
He then pastored a respected church in a major American city, but his spirit soon grew discontented as he assessed his congregation in light of the city and its needs. During a time of fervent prayer, he became aware that before anything could happen in his church, something must first happen to him. As he sought and surrendered to God, Simpson experienced an anointing of the Spirit that transformed him and his ministry.
This experience not only revitalised his local evangelistic ministry but also touched his spirit with the plight of the un-evangelised around the world. This burden for the whole world led him to accept a pulpit in New York. He wanted to be at the centre, in touch with the lives of those radiating to the ends of the earth.
He began publishing an illustrated magazine on foreign missions – believed to be the first of its kind. He founded the first bible institute in America in 1882 known as the Nyack Missionary College. He was the first to introduce the “faith promise” method for missionary support. Between 1884 and 1919 the Alliance sent 300 workers around the world including the Congo, West Africa, Jerusalem, the Philippines, Japan and South America.
Simpson’s emphasis on the centrality of Jesus Christ as summarised in the “Fourfold Gospel” – which focuses on faith in Christ as Saviour, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King – sparked a movement that was to become the Christian and Missionary Alliance of today.
