dR. Deane J. Woods

MA, BD (Hons.), ThD.

Conversion

My parents were led to Christ through the ministry of visiting Welsh Evangelist to Australian Baptist Churches in the early 50’s, Rev. Ivor Powell. He was a doyen of Welsh evangelistic preaching.  This outcome occurred in November, 1952. I recall being in the counselling room with them with the preacher, now turned personal counsellor, sharing “his favourite verse”, Romans 10:9-10. With them, I prayed to receive Christ though I am unsure whether that was the actual time of my being born again. Certainly it was a significant step for me in my spiritual journey.

Through the influence and leadership of my now converted parents, I became active in local church life. In my mid-teen years I attended a Youth Camp which my folks organised on a farm property at Georgetown in the State’s midnorth. This was June 1955. I definitely came to know Christ through the Guest Speaker, CSSM (Scripture Union) Evangelist and Pastor, Rev H.A. Brown. I was later baptised in my home church, Peterborough Baptist, in September of that same year. I was challenged by the life and testimony of my Pastor, Rev. John Johnston, a missionary-teacher from Darjeeling, India, with the Australian Baptist Missionary Society. Later, I was to learn of his constant prayers for me to be called of God to “fulltime” Christian work. Years later he told me that He believed he saw gifts in me that would take me down this path.

I always wanted to be a teacher. The opportunity to enter University was not presented to me at the time of my final year at High School. I took up the invitation of a godly Banker, later Wycliffe missionary and Translator to the Australia Aborigines, Brian Geytenbeek, to join the National Bank of Australasia. I was transferred to Adelaide (Rundle Street Branch) four years later; I sensed God’s call to train for pastoral &/or missions work.  A week after my twentieth birthday in 1961, I responded to a “Missionary Call” given by Oswald J Smith (The Peoples’ Church, Toronto, Canada) at Unley Park Baptist church.

I applied for, and was accepted into the three year year Theological and Missionary Training Course at Adelaide Bible Institute (now Bible College of South Australia) in February, 1962. I responded positively to the spiritual and astutely competent training and mentorship of Dr Edward (Ted) G. Gibson. Over the next decades that servant of the Lord would become my personal mentor, confidant and friend. Though quiet of nature and retiring of disposition, I owe much of my spiritual heritage and disipleship to him. In matters eschatological, I found his views concurred with my understanding of the Scriptures on these issues.

Ministry Goals & Interests:

1.  Bible Teaching – I major on Exposition of the Scriptures with personal and practical application, emphasizing world mission in this context.  I enjoy sharing in, and the track record would indicate that I am apparently well-received in Convention Ministries here and internationally. (This is corroborated by what has been outlined above, plus the fact that I have been Guest Speaker at Keswick Conventions at Atherton, NQ, (twice); Perth, WA (twice); Tasmania; and one visit to (undisclosed places and people) for Bible Ministry to ex patriots in Saudi Arabia. I also ministered the Word in the UAE on two different occasions and in Israel in 1999, and at Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary, Amman, Jordan that same year.

2.  I enjoy writing for Christian Journals, Papers and scholarly works. I was asked to write a Commentary on Hebrews by Anzea Publications (Scripture Union Press) but they were bankrupted by an external commercial failure later that year. I desire to again take up this ministry (along with some simple, practical Literary Helps (Manuals/Handbooks with CDs on Second Advent themes and the Middle East situation) for believers sometime after I complete my ministry as ACM Principal in December, 2003.

3.  Pastor, Leader, Administrator, Motivator.

4. Mentoring & Discipling – I am a people-orientated person, yet can also become engrossed in long periods of study alone. I enjoy one-to-one evangelism and disciplship, particularly training potential spiritual leasders. By God’s grace, one is able to trace that there is “much fruit that remains” (John 15:1-8)