Church members from Australia have provided this information about dealings in their country. They ask for prayers from their fellow Adventist brethren around the world.
South Pacific Division President Pastor Glenn Townend
Over 175 members packed the Avondale Memorial Church on 17 November 2025 for a business meeting. An unusually large turnout that underscores growing unease about the South Pacific Division (SPD)’s handling of church land developments. The meeting revealed deep concerns over financial transparency, governance, and the future of historic church property of Avondale Memorial church. The original Avondale Church which the present church was built-over was opened around 1896 and Mrs. White preached in the original church during her time in Australia. Beyond the gathering, members and pastors continue to raise alarm about the SPD’s ongoing financial difficulties, which many attribute to mismanagement under President pastor Glenn Townend.
Some points from the business meeting. From the floor, a question,
“You mentioned AUD $15M over five years each share, where is that coming from, from the Watagan Park estate? Is that coming from future profits? Where's that money actually coming from? Future profits? Is it coming from the Division’s working capital?”
Answer from the front, in summary,
“We have met that requirement, we are going to draw down on that, and it's going to be Division funds that we are drawing down. And it will be repaid or add it back through future profits from the Watagan Park estate. We are not getting any profits from the Watagan Park estate at all—at the moment.”
From the floor,
“I'd like to ask Lorin and Francois, have you at this stage spoken to a developer? And do you have a developer in mind for the future?”
From the front,
“Well, we probably would work with our current joint venture partner because if we worked out of Wagan Park as in Keith Johnson. If we've got a thousand, 1,100 apartments around the town centre that we're working on, we wouldn't want to bring in a second joint venture partner because we would be cannibalising ourselves.”
Comment; ……’cannibalising ourselves’,…. Pardon?.... and this is one of the SPD officials who negotiated a multi-million-dollar SDA Flying School grounds / Watagan Park estate development deal! So, the SPD is going to make the same mistakes as they did with the SDA Flying School grounds deal!
Note the SDA Avondale Memorial Church, Avondale School, the ex-SDA Flying School grounds which is now the Watagan Park estate currently under development by Johnson Property Group, Avondale University, and the land which Mrs. White counselled not to be developed.
The SDA Flying School grounds which is now the Watagan Park estate, currently under development.
In the following video link Keith Johnson, the principle of the Johnson Property Group, says in summary at the 2min 45sec point in responding to a question when the church can expect a monetary return,… I would hope in the very near future,….. return an income as soon as possible but realistically you are looking at 2, to 3, 5 years before we can cash up and get an investment and get a return.
The video was posted by the Adventist Record on Dec 12, 2008 and note the heading, “At the press conference where a billion-dollar development was announced on a North Cooranbong site owned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church on behalf of Adventist College."
Church members want to know, “Where is the money from OUR church property?”
Trinity Point on Lake Macquarie just a matter of minutes from Avondale, a Johnson Property Group property with website:
In sharp contrast to the church’s financial limbo, JPG appears to be doing well. Trinity Point on Lake Macquarie is promoted as a thriving luxury marina and residential community. JPG has recently received DA approval from Lake Macquarie Council for a AUD $665M expansion.
Information on SDA Wahroonga church which is located ‘directly opposite’ the SPD offices on Fox Valley Road, their website.
The church members are not confident what intentions the SPD President pastor Glenn Townend and SPD have planned for the future of the church site. So much so, a number of members travelled (a two-hour drive 200kms / 120 miles round trip) to the SDA Avondale Memorial Church Business Meeting.
‘Local residents’ opposition information to any development in the Wahroonga area by our church LINK.
SDA Flying School grounds / Watagan Park estate development Contract:
Church members have been told with individual conversations with SPD officials when they make suggestions ‘on this financial debacle and scandal’ get a response in summary,…. We cannot do that for we are under a contract.
Church members want to know whose contract, is it SPD contract ‘as it should have been’, is it a Johnson Property Group contract, who wrote up the contract, who authorised the contract, who approved the contract, who signed the contract, was the contract out-sourced to a specialised Company outside our church to put the contract together ‘which should have happened’ for a multi-million-dollar development of this nature? For the SPD President pastor Glenn Townend and SDA officials certainly did not / does not have the business acumen nor experience. So many questions on the contract and how it came about?
The SDA Flying School grounds was church property. WHY are we waiting for the end of the Watagan Park estate development by Johnson Property Group for our church to receive the money? WHAT YEAR WILL THAT BE?
This is a. ‘utter financial debacle and scandal’ and SPD President pastor Glenn Townend and SPD officials responsible have to take responsibility and SHOULD RESIGN their positions immediately. They have created and involved themselves in a AUD $200M business deal, at great financial detriment to our church.
A female church member recently attended a function at Avondale and she observed SPD President pastor Glenn Townend and Keith Johnson seated at the same table beside each other and she said they were in deep conversation all night.
Church members have been informed and want to know why SPD President Pastor Glenn Townend has organised the SPD staff Christmas party at Trinty Point, “8-at-trinity”, a Johnson Property Group premises, which is a two-hour drive 200kms / 120 miles round trip from SPD offices at Wahroonga? There are numerous excellent restaurants in the Sydney area!
Well, this says it ALL for church members and pastors, SPD President pastor Glenn Townend having a street named after him at the Watagan Park estate in the ‘Alton Links’, “Townend Drive”!
(The land prices in the ‘Alton Links’ by the way start at AUD $498k through to AUD $698k.)
SPD President pastor Glenn Townend, Mr Francois Keet (his Son commenced working for JPG), Mr Lorin Bradford, and ex-Treasurer of the SPD Mr Rodney Brady (after leaving the employ of the SPD became a consultant to JPG), are all friends with Keith Johnson. This causes them to lose their objectivity and clouds their judgment regarding the SDA Flying School grounds / Watagan Park estate development negotiations that were carried out. Plus, a church multi-million-dollar development deal was well outside of their business acumen, experience and capabilities.
Our Request
What church members are requesting is for Pastor Erton Köhler of the SDA General Conference in Washington DC to send the GC Treasurer and a Vice President to Australia and review all the church correspondence going back twenty years (and the Contract, too).
Also interview all church officials ‘individually’ involved in this ‘financial debacle’, including Keith Johnson. Once they have all the information then to brief President Pastor Erton Köhler. ‘No briefings at all’ during this whole period to ‘any’ SPD officials, the investigative GC Team has to keep their findings confidential until after President Pastor Erton Köhler is fully briefed and all his questions are answered. This GC team also needs to engage a top Sydney Law Firm as consultants, ‘and’ the Law Firm to do land title searches on the Watagan Park estate to ascertain the ownership of all the Lots currently and previous. Church members are of the opinion this is the only way to get to the bottom of this ‘financial debacle’ — an investigative GC Team from ‘outside of Australia’.
A. T. Robinson inquired if this section would have any bearing on the matter of handling the estate of the Avondale school, one portion of which is for sale, and the other portion not to be sold without direct vote of the people (GCB April 17, 1903 page 98.5),
“Until recently I have not felt at liberty to speak about this. Even now I do not feel free to reveal all things because our people are not yet prepared to understand all that in the providence of God will be developed at Avondale. In the visions of the night some things were clearly presented before me. Persons were selecting allotments of land near the school, on which they proposed to build houses and establish homes. But One stood in our midst who said: You are making a great mistake which you will have cause to regret. This land is not to be occupied with buildings except to provide the facilities essential for the teachers and students of the school. This land about the school is to be reserved as the school farm. It is to become a living parable to the students (Testimonies to the Church, Volume 6, Page 181)
Thanks for listening and and thanks for your support and prayers.
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AussieMouse