Christian Witness Ministries (''CWM'') is a non-denominational church affiliation founded by the former National General Secretary of the

Assemblies of God in Australia The Australian Christian Churches (ACC), formerly Assemblies of God in Australia, is a network of Finished Work Pentecostal churches in Australia affiliated with the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, which is the largest Pentecostal denomin ...

1989-1992, Philip Powell. CWM publishes a quarterly magazine, ''Contending Earnestly for The Faith'' (CETF), of which Philip Powell is the editor (B. Michael Bigg assistant editor) and to which a number of authors from different backgrounds contribute, including

Dave Hunt (Christian apologist) David Charles Haddon Hunt (September 30, 1926 – April 5, 2013) was an American Christian apologist, speaker, radio commentator and author. He was in full-time ministry from 1973 until his death. ''The Berean Call'', which highlights Hunt's mate ...

, Bill Randles, Mike Gendron, Aeron Morgan, Jeffrey Whittaker, Mark Mullins, Roger Winter-Smith, and Larry DeBruyn. CWM also runs a bookshop and conducts Bible conferences and ministry tours featuring the above speakers plus Justin Peters and Peter Stokes. CWM is a watchman

discernment Discernment is the ability to perceive, understand, and judge things clearly, especially those that are not obvious or straightforward. In specific contexts, discernment may refer to: Religion * Discernment in Christianity **Discernment of spiri ...

ministry.

History

Philip Powell left the Australian

Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...

in 1992, believing that the church was preaching false doctrines and supporting false prophets and teachers. After his departure from the AOG, Powell became associated with others, who have come to similar conclusions. Philip with his wife, Kathleen launched Christian Witness Ministries in 1994, and began to publish a quarterly magazine entitled ''Contending EARNESTLY for THE Faith (CETF)'' out of

Hamilton, New Zealand Hamilton (, ) is an inland city in the North Island of New Zealand. Located on the banks of the Waikato River, it is the seat and most populous city of the Waikato, Waikato region. With a territorial population of , it is the country's List of c ...

. There are now clearing offices in Australia and the UK as well as in New Zealand. The magazine is now published from

Brisbane, Australia Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Ministry

Christian Witness Ministries is committed to spreading the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

based

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

(Good News) of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

and to maintaining "the faith which was once or alldelivered unto the saints" - Jude 3. With this mission in mind CWM, fearlessly identifies the teachers in the church who spread aberrant non-biblical teaching, their false works and utterances, that abound in our time. They believe in the present day reality of the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

and His work in and through the believer in the fruit and the gifts. CWM is biblical in basis,

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

in emphasis, and

Evangelistic Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as persona ...

in purpose. They endeavour to follow

Paul the Apostle Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...

's example in preaching the good news of Christ to both

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Gentiles ''Gentile'' () is a word that today usually means someone who is not Jewish. Other Groups claiming affiliation with Israelites, groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, have historically used the term ''gentile'' to describe outsider ...

. CWM is therefore both a teaching and a warning ministry. They endeavour to keep a balance, in line with the

on both aspects, in the spoken and written word. They refuse to entertain doctrinally or morally suspect teachings and teachers and have no desire or intention to establish a hierarchical denomination or movement. They do however recognise all who are sound in their teaching about

and His

, as fellow believers — those who the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

calls "saints". With these things in mind CWM recognises a group of voluntary networking churches and fellowships without reference to

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...

. CWM has a Statement of Faith and Mission. CWM has made a stand against Australian Assemblies of God pastor

Frank Houston William Francis "Frank" Houston (22 April 1922 – 8 November 2004) was a Pentecostal Christian pastor in the Assemblies of God in New Zealand and Australia. Frank Houston founded Sydney Christian Life Centre, which would eventually come und ...

, the father of

Hillsong Church Hillsong Church, commonly known as Hillsong, is a charismatic Christian megachurch and a Christian association of churches based in Australia. The original church was established in Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, as Hills Christian Life Centr ...

Brian Houston Brian Charles Houston ( ; born 17 February 1954) is a New Zealand-Australian former pastor and evangelist. He was the founder and senior pastor at Hillsong Church, based in Sydney with locations around the world. He was the national president o ...

. CWM is also a major critic of Hillsong Church. CWM is mentioned in Tanya Levin's controversial book about Hillsong, ''People in Glass Houses''.

References

External links

* {{official website, 1=http://www.christianwitnessministries.com.au Pentecostal churches in Australia Christian magazines Mass media in Brisbane Pentecostalism in Australia Magazines with year of establishment missing Magazines published in Australia Magazines published in New Zealand Mass media in Hamilton, New Zealand Quarterly magazines published in Australia Calvinist and Reformed Christians