ABOUT US

WHO ARE WE

Our Vision

The core purpose of the Soldiers of the Cross is to be about the Father's business to 'make disciples of all Nations' (Matthew 28:19-20) by evangelising the lost and seeing the church come into a greater level of maturity in fulfilling 'The Great Commission' and become the fully-functioning army of God it is meant to be.

Background

Soldiers of the Cross Inc. was founded by Pastors Tim and Leah Knowling in July 2008 and became an Incorporated Association in May 2009. In August 2023, Soldiers of the Cross Inc. became an Australian Registered Body, which enables them to operate in any state in Australia.

Early Days

Tim and Leah met each other in 2003, through a ministry called the ‘Tent of Promise’ (an Australian national tent evangelism ministry). It was through this ministry that they came into a place of realising the calling God had on their lives.

During their time with ‘The Tent’, God brought Tim and Leah together as friends and later in courtship. In May 2004, they were married and almost 20 years later, they now have 3 beautiful children, Samuel (17), Rebekah (15) and Sarah (11).

Ministry Ordination

In 2005, Tim and Leah were ordained as ‘Ministers of Religion’ and from 2006 to 2007, Tim and Leah led ‘The Tent’ on the road and learnt many lessons quickly.

However, it was during 2007 that both Tim and Leah felt their season with ‘The Tent’ was ending and that the Lord was calling them to establish a new work. At the beginning of 2008, after 5½ years with ‘The Tent’, Tim and Leah worked in their last crusade. Six months later, after much prayer and seeking the Lord, ‘Soldiers of the Cross’ was born.

Soldiers of the Cross is born

After starting Soldiers of the Cross (SOTC), a newsletter was begun to inform family and friends of the ministry about SOTC - its purpose and vision, and to keep people informed about what we were doing. This has grown into a Magazine called ‘The Evangelists Magazine’, for the purpose of edifying the church and encouraging and equipping those who are either already involved in evangelism outreach or inspire others to get involved. Along with our website, this has seen a number of doors open. Click on the links for more information on our Magazine, or to view or download previous issues of The Evangelists Magazine.

In 2012, SOTC planted its first church in Nairobi, Kenya, under the leadership of Ps Nicholas Onyango, who continues the vision to equip and encourage the body of Christ for the works of the ministry.

In Australia, SOTC has also been active in evangelism training through facilitating the Biblically-sound evangelism programs by Way of the Master, such as ‘Conquer your fear, Share your Faith’, an intense 4-lesson program, and the 8-week ‘Basic Training Course’. Tim and Leah use the principles in these courses in their own personal evangelism efforts through both one-on-one witnessing, and tract distribution, as well as organising Tract Distribution events, such as ANZAC Day, Australia Day and Christmas outreaches.

A New Season

In 2017, Tim and Leah moved to Alectown in NSW, to serve another ministry. During that time, they started a street outreach in Parkes, NSW, with Leah singing Gospel songs, and Tim and their children, and other labourers, handing out tracts and sharing the Gospel with those who walked past. This has been a very fruitful outreach over the past few years.

Today

Whilst COVID restricted some of our work for a time, Tim and Leah were still active where possible in personal evangelism.

In 2023, Tim and Leah developed their own 4-5 session evangelism training program (using 2 copyright-free videos from WOTM), called EQUIP and did their first training day in Parkes, NSW in September.

We are excited about the work the Lord has for this ministry in the near future. SDG.

We believe the Bible to be the inspired, infallible, authoritative, and inerrant Word of God (2 Timothy 3:15-17, 2 Peter 1:21).

We believe there is one God, eternally existing in three persons: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:1, Deuteronomy 6:4, Matthew 28:19, John 10:30).

We believe in the deity of Christ (John 10:33); His virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23, Luke 1:34-35); His sinless life (Hebrews 4:15, 7:26); His miracles (John 2:11); His vicarious and atoning death (1 Corinthians 15:3, Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 2:9); His resurrection (John 11:25, 1 Corinthians 15:4); His ascension to the right hand of the Father (Mark 16:19); His personal return to earth in power and glory (Acts 1:11, Revelation 19:11-16).

We believe in the absolute necessity of regeneration by the Holy Spirit for salvation because of the exceeding sinfulness of the human nature, and that all are justified on the single ground of faith in the shed blood of Christ, and that only by God's grace through faith alone are we saved (John 3:16-19; 5:24, Romans 3:23; 5:8-9, Ephesians 2:8-10, Titus 3:5).

We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; those who are saved unto the resurrection of life, and those who are not unto the resurrection of damnation (John 5:28-29).

We believe in the spiritual unity of the believers in our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, Galatians 3:26-28).

We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by Whose indwelling and empowering the Christian is enabled to live a godly life and be witnesses for Christ (Romans 8:13-14, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19-20, Ephesians 4:30; 5:18, Acts 1:8).

We believe that we as Christians are examples of the love of God in this world. It is this (agape) love that we desire to possess and without which we have no right to call ourselves Christians (1 John 4:16-17).

We believe it is the mandate of the whole Church to go into the whole world and to preach the Gospel to every living creature. (Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:19-20)