In 1978, in a conversation on a Newcastle beach (NSW, Australia) between Dr Colin Standish and an Adventist layman, Carl Branster, the issues that had developed over Desmond Ford's theology and the banning of the old pastors from Adventist pulpits, hatched the idea that these men should be given the chance to speak to the laity without the impediments applied by the official church. As a result, the Adventist Laymen's Fellowship (ALF) was founded to counter the growing Desmond Ford movement in Australia. ALF held a series of weekend meetings at Vision Valley (owned by the Wesley Mission) outside Sydney, to which local and overseas conservative Adventist speakers were invited to speak. The first weekend meeting was in November, 1978 and featured Dr Ralph Larson (then pastor of Campus Hill Church in Loma Linda, California), pastors JW Kent, Austin Cooke, George Burnside and Dr Colin Standish. Approximately 800 Adventists attended, part-emptying many Sydney SDA churches on the Sabbath. Attendees came from as far away as Queensland and Victoria.