The rector of one of Sydney’s largest churches says leaders must set the example by inviting friends to church. John Gray talks to Stuart Robinson.

John Gray’s early years were lived in the shadow of violence and alcoholism.  He laments,  “I was not even sure how you spelt ‘love’, let alone know what it was.”

At age 15, John was invited to a youth group at St Paul’s, Castle Hill.

“What I saw from the very first night was a community which I’d never experienced before.  Those high school students displayed a love which was irresistible.  I kept on going back until I understood that the death and resurrection of Jesus was what was making the difference in their lives.”

What John saw, he wanted. Each night for a week John prayed the prayer at the back of the ‘Four Spiritual Laws’ booklet in the hope that God would change his world.  Under the discipling of David Eastway, John discovered that Jesus was more interested in changing him. “Since then, I have been
discovering what it means to be loved and to live in a community with God as Father.”

Almost three decades on, John is now the rector of St Paul’s. With his wife of 19 years,  Robyn, and his three children, Emma, Ben, and Nathan, John is once again a part of that community which nurtured him in his relationship with the Lord Jesus.

I asked John about the journey and his hopes for the future.

SR: Tell us about the road back to Castle Hill, John.

JG: I studied Social Work at UNSW in the late 70s and entered Moore College in 1982. I worked as an assistant minister at Lithgow and Northmead before
being appointed to St John’s Park as the senior minister.  Recently, I was invited to serve as rector here at Castle Hill.

St Paul’s was founded in the 1860s to serve the local rural community. The suburb is now predominantly middle class, with very high expectations
materially and educationally.

SR: What do Sundays look like at St Paul’s?

JG:  There are six services - two of which are ‘Prayer Book’, three family services   (one aimed at reaching parents of high schoolers)  and a
‘20-somethings’  Café  Church.  At each service we pray that the people attending will find a community that is growing in faith and love.

SR: Do you have a vision for ministry at Castle Hill?

JG: I am keen to see St Paul’s reach an ever-increasing section of our area and our city, for that matter. I long to see adults come to faith in the way we see the high schoolers leading their friends to Christ: by the busload!  To this end, I don’t want people to wait for an event to invite their friends to St Paul’s. We need to be asking them every week.

We want to be involved in the growth of the Kingdom by raising up leaders for other areas of ministry, locally, nationally, globally. In a nutshell, we want to grow where we are, see churches planted, and prepare and send workers for the harvest.

SR: Planting, Growing, Sending. Great vision; how do you communicate it?

JG: Here are my initial thoughts:

• Model it. If I’m not inviting people to church and growing in Christ, I can’t expect others to.
• Teach the Bible. That is, keep emphasising God’s great desire to see people come to faith in Christ.
• Build a culture of invitation by training people to get (back) into the ‘game’.
• Vision cast four times per year (through speaking at all services).
• Twice a year, we set aside time to speak with everyone in leadership for a time of envisioning and encouragement. We also do this with staff and parish council as often as we can.
• I invite all newcomers to my home and at an ‘entry level’, we talk about the vision, mission, and strategy of St Paul’s.
• We align all the ministries at St Paul’s so that they are marching to the same drumbeat.
• Once a year we combine all the congregations for a huge day of celebration and vision casting.

SR: You made reference to church planting?

JG:  We’ve planted two churches in the last six years and are developing strategies for more. We are also identifying potential church planters.

SR: What is the place of small groups?

JG:  For want of a better term, small groups should be ‘life transforming clinics’.  With people in small groups there is more opportunity to learn about being a disciple of Jesus.  In small groups you can wrestle with issues,  learn to love,  and be loved. We’ve noticed that as small group membership has increased, so too has Sunday attendance. We hope this means a stronger allegiance to Jesus too.

SR: What are the immediate challenges facing St Paul’s?

JG:  I think post-modernity blended with materialism clouds our thinking. We’re apt to believe that ‘life doesn’t get any better than this’. Such a view diminishes our longing for God. This mindset is very evident in those who don’t know Jesus, and it may also influence those who do. It deadens our desire to see men and women come to Christ.

SR: How might we pray for you?

JG: Pray that I’ll be good and godly husband and father, and for wisdom to teach and lead well.