Sydney Anglican Property’s fundraising arm, New Churches for New Communities (NCNC), has set itself an ambitious goal – but one that, according to executive director Ed Hercus, is needed to meet the challenge of modern Sydney.
“Our goal is to be building a church a year over the next 30 years on the land that Sydney Anglican Property ‘banks’ in the greenfield and urban infill areas,” Mr Hercus says. “The urgency around this is to be in these new communities from the outset, as new people are moving in and establishing connections. We want to get in before communities are established and be there to welcome people when they arrive.”
NCNC was established under Archbishop Glenn Davies to help fund the construction of new facilities in frontier suburbs where land purchases have already been made.
“We have a number of those banked properties that are getting closer to a point where they have the population that demands a church – locations such as Marsden Park, Riverstone, Box Hill, Catherine Field, eventually Rossmore, Bringelly and so on,” Mr Hercus says.
“Using Box Hill as an example, only a few short years ago it looked like farms. We know that more than 15,000 people are moving in over the next four years. We want that church to have a prominent accessible facility to welcome people to, just as we have seen at places like Oran Park and Leppington. This approach is bearing fruit in these places, and we want more of it!
We want to get in before communities are established and be there to welcome people when they arrive.
“If you drive down Heath Road at Leppington you will see kids in the church playground, people sitting on the terraces drinking coffee, enjoying each other's company and there's nowhere like that in the area. Bishop Koo recently said that people build their new homes with a dream of a better life. They naturally want community, they want connection. If we are there from the outset, then the church becomes the first place to offer the very thing they are looking for. But of course, we hope to offer so much more than that!”
Mr Hercus says people are giving to the NCNC fund because they want to see this vision go forward, appreciative of the legacy all Anglicans share.
“Most of us meet in church buildings and we have no idea who paid for them and why we happen to have one of the best-located blocks of land in the neighbourhood. We just inherited it. I hear from a lot of people who want to leave that same kind of legacy. As well, there is excitement around reaching new people with the gospel and a sense that if we can reach the western parts of Sydney we will reach the nations because they're coming there.
“It's also affordable for a lot of younger people. In many of these brand-new churches, we see people getting saved on a regular basis. It’s just an exciting thing to be a part of. Donating to the NCNC fund is a way to actively partner with that kind of outreach.”
Mr Hercus is encouraging people who have the opportunity, to leave a bequest to the NCNC fund. “Bequests are a way that you can create a genuine legacy. But for the most part, we see people giving through tax-deductible means, through one-off gifts. On top of that, we also see whole churches creating fellowship by helping to resource new churches. There are beautiful connections between very well-established parts of Sydney and the new neighbourhoods.
“The Department of Planning’s population projections indicate that well over 1.5 million people will be landing in these parts of Sydney and we've got a great opportunity to reach them with the gospel.”
