Americans team up to save Ipswich souls

SPIRITUAL PATH: Team Ipswich members (from left) Matt Harris, Tish Harris, Jenica Lee and Gregory Martin will be moving from Texas to Ipswich in January to spread the word of God.

Queensland Times

A GROUP of Christian Texans are coming to Australia to spread the word of God and they have chosen to save Ipswich first.

Team Ipswich - a gang of 20-something graduates from the Abilene Christian University - are moving to the city in January next year and plan to run bible-based gatherings in their homes, called house churches.

“We want to share life with people while we learn about Jesus,” 26-year-old Tish Harris said.

“To us, sharing life means being a part of people's lives through the good and the bad while we experience what God is doing around us.”

The wholesome foursome hand-picked our city after a research trip last year and felt there was good work to be done.

“I think God has much healing in store for the families of Ipswich, and while I don't think it's all going to come by my hand, I do think He wants our team to be a small part of what He will do there,” she said.

Mrs Harris, who is married to fellow Team Ipswich member Matt, is a keen follower of The Queensland Times website and was shocked to hear of violence in our schools.

“It breaks my heart, and makes me want to show kids and teens in Ipswich that there's more to live for than the hate, judgement, and anger that goes along with fighting,” she said.

“People often go through life not feeling valued or loved, and we want to share God's message that they are indeed loved and valued by God and us.”

“There will be those who automatically discount us because we are from the US, but we think that those who get to know us and realise we are genuine, everyday people will accept us just fine.”

Third member Jenica Lee, 22, said she knew Australia had deadly spiders and koalas were not real bears, but she was looking forward to learning more.

“We hope to see people come to know Jesus and see their lives transformed,” Ms Lee said.

“We also want to help people realise why they were created - to be in a relationship with a loving God.”

The group plans to spend five to 10 years in the city.