By Richard James

An exciting initiative for church planting in the Northern Region has been approved by the Northern Region Council. The initiative involves offering any suitable church planter with vision and know-how $120,000 over three years as seed funding to make their dream a reality. I discussed this initiative with Bishop of North Sydney, Dr Glenn Davies.

Richard James: Bishop, can you tell us what the Northern Region is proposing?

Glenn Davies: For some time we have been thinking about how we can promote some new ideas and new initiatives for planting congregations. A number of our parishes are already thinking creatively along these lines. However, we need more ecclesiastical entrepreneurs. So the Regional Council has decided to invite potential church planters to work in partnership with the Council in establishing a new work north of the Harbour.

Some may think the Northern Region is over-churched and lacks the need for such an initiative, but quite the contrary – one thing which has been demonstrated is the longer a church has been established, the harder it is to grow. In the same way in which ‘new’ Christians are often more enthusiastic about evangelism than ‘old’ Christians, a similar comparison can me made with congregations. Since we are convinced of the Diocesan Mission strategy of multiplying congregations to achieve growth, planting new churches is a key way to achieve this. This grant is one way of promoting a possible church plant that might otherwise have never been considered.

RJ: What will such a church plant look like?

GD: The goal is that a new church plant will be established within three years and become a self-supporting fellowship of at least 100 adults. This is an ambitious proposal, which may need modifying after three years, but we wanted to put forth this challenge and see what God will do.

RJ: Who can apply for this grant?

GD: The appropriate applicant will already have a good idea of what could be done and the know-how to do it. We are inviting applications from any qualified person, within or from outside the Northern Region who has a vision for planting a church within our region. We want to encourage creative thinking, and are open to any suggestion, whether it be an idea for planting a congregation in a specific geographical area or neighborhood, or perhaps by penetrating a specific kind of group or relational network.

RJ: Do you expect many applications?

GD: I hope this initiative will result in many great ideas. The Council is aware that we best serve the region by being open to ideas beyond our own members. I believe this initiative could be a seedbed for many ideas to surface, which we as a Council might never have contemplated. This will also enable us to think more creatively about the future of the expansion of congregations in our region.

RJ: How much is the grant and when will it start?

GD: The grant begins in 2006 and applications close by May next year. Over three years the grant will be $60,000 in 2006, $40,000 in 2007, and $20,000 in 2008.

<i> Details: contact the Northern Region Office on 9265 1533 or by email: raa@sydney.anglican.asn.au </i>