Across the country there are countless Mission Contacts/Box Secretaries who are the hands and feet of BCA in their churches. Some of these faithful servants have been collecting BCA boxes twice a year for many, many years as well as spruiking BCA to their church, and collecting and sending through orders of cards, puddings and cakes each Christmas.

Recently, we’ve heard stories of a few mission contacts who have served for more than 50 years and thought we’d share their passion for BCA with you.

Lauris Buckman has been the BCA Box Secretary at St George’s Anglican Church in Gerringong NSW, since 1966. When she arrived at St George’s she was asked to take over the boxes from a Mrs Rainford. The number of boxes grew over the years to up to 30, but today there are just 16. This change is mainly due to the encouragement of using direct debit. Lauris loves participating in the box collection as she feels it’s so important to promote regular giving to BCA.

“I was brought up in a family that gave to BCA through the boxes and remember as a child that a certain number of coins were put into the BCA box each week by my parents. I feel it’s an important habit to give a set amount every week rather than just giving to God whatever is left over in your change!”

Lauris is dedicated to promoting BCA and does so at any opportunity she gets. By giving to BCA, Lauris says that you demonstrate that we are ‘One for Christ’, together we can have the Gospel heard throughout Australia, and we can enable more Ministers to live in our country towns.

It was a notice in the church bulletin in the 1970’s that led Leonie Burgess to become a box secretary at Figtree Anglican Church in Wollongong, NSW. She has since gone on to become a valued member of the BCA NSW Committee and the BCA National Council.

“In the early days the boxes contained lots of one, two and five cent pieces and it took hours to count them. So, I coined the phrase ‘Counting coins for Christ’ – My joy is counting coins for Christ.

“A lovely friend from church who worked for the IMB society got me a coin tray which made an enormous difference in my counting. I could stack the coin trays one on top of the other and then I could empty a box into the tray and the 50 and 20 cents went to the top and the smaller coins filtered to the bottom. I was using these trays right up to last year.” 

Leonie continues to be an avid BCA supporter and while she knows boxes will eventually phase out due to cash being used less, she is grateful for that bulletin announcement over 50 years ago which opened up a whole new world for her.

Mavis Grinton, the mission contact at South Wagga Anglican Church has been a BCA supporter since the early 1950s. Mavis’ support has included visiting Field Staff during travels around Australia with her late husband, and even hosting Field Staff in her home.

“I know by having travelled in the outback how necessary that ministers are in these places in every sense of the word,” says Mavis. “I think they need as much support as we can give to them in terms of prayer and monetary assistance.”

Mavis was particularly fond of her original BCA money box, but after mentioning it to her senior minister Scott Goode, she was convinced by him to include it in a time capsule that was buried at the church. “It took me a little while to decide because I was so attached to that box,” she said.   

“It’s great to be involved as a mission contact – to be doing a small thing for something that’s really needed. I’ve enjoyed it and have also got to know people better by doing it. I’d encourage others to get involved. There is a lot you can do.”