From the CMA National Director
On January 23rd, 2001, in a Qantas Meeting Room at Brisbane Domestic Airport, the first CMA Board Meeting took place. This year, we celebrate 25 years of God’s faithfulness!
In Judges 2:10 we read that “…another generation grew up who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel.”, and although our ongoing focus needs to be future-oriented, we strive to never forget God’s grace, mercy and faithfulness to us – and to tell anyone who will listen about what God has done!
So as we celebrate God’s faithfulness for those 25 years, it does serve to glance in the rear-vision mirror; there are so many lessons to be learned, little and big occasions to celebrate, and reminders of how God has led and supported us in so many ways.
Another important reason to glance backwards is to recognise and thank so many kind and generous people who have helped move the mission forward: past and current board members, staff members, givers, sponsors, volunteers, speakers at conferences and events – and over 2200 current members who now are engaged in the CMA family. We are truly grateful for all that so many have contributed to help get us to this milestone.
This note is not the place to delve into any historical detail, but in 2022 I delivered a plenary address to our 20th conference entitled ‘Turning Vision into Reality: Stories and Lessons from CMA’s first 20 years”. A kind of bootleg video recording was made, not proper production quality, and in it I told the CMA founding story in three stages:
If you’d like to hear some of the details in 30 minutes, click here.
Along with the gratitude we feel, however, is a sobering sense of responsibility, to be a good steward of the platform God has now given us. As 2026 advances, we will take various opportunities to both celebrate the past, and look to the days ahead.
We haven’t locked in all our plans for 2026 yet, but we’re starting in March with a series of breakfast events in five capital cities. The primary focus will be ‘Leader Care’ breakfasts and group discussions, but during the breakfast we will take just ten minutes to release a brief report, and highlight our plans for 2026 and beyond.
Our mission has been tweaked since that first board meeting, but is the same in essence, and is by no means accomplished!
Advancing ministry by maximising the effectiveness of governance, leadership and management in Christian churches and organisations.
A few significant dates for your calendar:
If you aren’t a CMA Member, maybe this is the year to get on board! The next 25 years starts here! www.cma.net.au/join
In conclusion
Praise God for 25 years of His faithfulness!
Thank you to the countless people who have played a role over those years in sharing with us and helping us grow.
Pray with us for 2026 and the years ahead, that we will more fully realise the vision that we are believing God for: Australian society transformed by the effective ministry of well-governed, well-led, well-managed Christian churches and organisations.
Gary Williams
CMA National Director
