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Patron:
His Excellency Dr Ken Michael AC,
Governor of Western Australia
More Information
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History
of the Governor's Prayer Breakfast
The Breakfast is an occasion where the State's leaders meet for fellowship and prayer, to give thanks to God and to unite in intercession for our State and Nation, acknowledging that the precepts taught by Jesus Christ are needed to underpin our society today.
This Governor's Prayer Breakfast will be the sixteenth in a series of annual breakfasts for community leaders held in Western Australia. The Current Governor, His Excellency Lieutenant General John Sanderson AC is Patron of the Breakfast.Previous Keynote Addresses:
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
Previous speakers include:
2007: Bob Edmiston
2006: Ed Silvoso - Author and Evangelist
2005: Ken Duncan - Internationally Renowned Photographer
2004: Andrew Evans - South Australian parliamentary leader - Family First Party
2003: Peter Pollock - Former South African test cricketer
2002: Brigadier Jim Wallace - Ex Commander of Special Forces and Executive Chairman of Australian Christian Lobby
2001: Colin Stringer - Intl Speaker, Author and TV Host
2000: Rev Father Michael Tate AO - Federal Minister, Ambassador and Priest
1999: Ronald W Nikkel - Intl President and CEO of Prison Fellowship International
1998: Gordon P Robertson - Field Director, Asia for Christian Broadcasting Network and Lawyer
1997: Michael Hastings - Head of UK Public Affairs at BBC, Commissioner of Commission for Racial Equality, Chairman of Crime Concern
History in Depth
The WAGPB was born in 1991 from the combined efforts of a number of people but is mainly the result of a joint effort between the State Parliamentary Prayer Group and the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship. A couple of years later the then Governor of Western Australia, Major General Michael Jeffery agreed to the role of patron of this annual event with subsequent Governors, Governor, Lieut. General John Sanderson & Dr Ken Michaels agreeing to continue as patron of the event to bring together Community Leaders in Fellowship and Unity to acknowledge God’s values and call on His Name, that God may hear and heal our land.
There was a common desire to see a forum provided to pray for our state and nation, to have our own leaders from all walks of life offer their prayers and be seen to do so.
The first event was a humble beginning with only 27 people attending.
Subsequent years saw the numbers approximately doubling annually until, in 1995, when, with Charles Duke, the American astronaut as the speaker, numbers swelled to 650.
The size of a suitable venue hampered growth since that time until 2002 when the Burswood Convention Centre expanded, thus allowing more people to attend. Last year’s (2006) attendance was over 1200. This year (2007) we expect to reach the capacity of venue with 1300 attending.
Until the larger facility became available, attendance was by formal invitation only, but in 2002 the organising committee decided to widen the invitation to allow more people to participate.
The Breakfast organisers have always gone to considerable effort to secure excellent speakers of international standing and it is safe to assume the growth and success of the event is in a good measure attributable to the excellent addresses delivered by the various State Governors and the guest speakers.
One of the aspects of the Breakfast that has always drawn favourable comment has been the wording and delivery of the prayers that are offered. The wording is both relevant to the issues of the day and biblically based. The prayers are offered by people of standing in the community in the area which they pray for.
Those offering prayers usually include the Chief Justice or a senior Judge, the Premier, senior State Members of Parliament, the Police Commissioner or his nominee and prominent business and community leaders.
Sponsorship has always been an important consideration for the committee and in view of its desire to see the Breakfast remain in the financial grasp of as many people as possible is now becoming increasingly important. The Breakfast has always received generous support from individuals and the corporate sector and the committee is keen to foster and extend this.
The Breakfast is now an important event in the wider Christian community of Western Australia and the committee is dedicated to its continued growth, success and relevance. It is organised on a ‘not for profit’ basis by an incorporated, voluntary committee which has no denominational allegiance.
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