The Exploring Effective Ministry conference held at Moore College recently was looked forward to with great anticipation. The word that came back most often when I asked the usual post-conference question "What did you think?" was the word "stimulating". It certainly was.
The day began with an address by Archbishop Peter Jensen on Ephesians chapter 1. The rest of the day was led but by no means dominated by Tim Sims, a strategist and member of Christ Church, St Ives who has been working with our mission areas for the past 12 months. Mission area leaders were keen that the research so far was made known to a larger audience. The conference made no claim that it "had the answers" but presented some of the highlights of the research and the initial ways forward. Nor did the conference address the critical challenges of church planting and reaching people of different cultures. Not everything can covered in one conference. It did focus however on "exploring" effective ministry so that the church is spiritually healthy, dependent on God, genuinely welcoming new comers and inviting outsiders, and truly making disciples.
Evidence-based
Tim Sims summarised the research, identifying gently but confrontingly reasons why reaching the Sydney Diocese (and Australia) is such an enormous challenge, reasons such as family breakdown and outsider views of the church . The 2001-2006 data indicates a net growth per year of 1.4 people per hundred in Sydney Anglican Churches. We were encouraged not to accept the status quo, but to improve, based on evidence rather than anecdote, being hands on rather than abstract, and moving ahead in a programmed/proactive way rather than a sporadic/reactive way.
Archie Poulos led a panel discussion with Col Marshall and Tony Payne on the task of making "disciple making disciples". It was refreshing to hear that discipleship is "not a course" that is run by the church as such, but (ideally) intrinsically part of all we do in our ministry, both formal and informal. Tim Sims then engaged in a conversation with Andrew Heard about coordinating effective ministry in the local church, both large and small. The "diary trap" was identified, revealing the enormous strains on the senior minister and how his diary may not reflect priorities. A thought provoking alternative to the traditional model of church staffing was also offered.
Sarie King presented results of her research into why many small groups in our churches were not succeeding in growing disciples, and she identified a number of issues. Leaders were often not properly recruited, trained and mentored. The balance of bible, prayer, one another ministry and mission is a problem, as well as lack of accountability and evaluation. David Clarke, Bruce Hall and John Gray explained their different positive approaches to small group ministry and the training of leaders.
Using 'third spaces'
The next session was called Meet/Greet/Integrate. "Horror" stories of lack of welcome were shared by Lesley Ramsay, but she also outlined a good example of welcome and integration strategy by EV Church on the Central Coast. Raj Gupta spoke of a "great gift of God", a husband and wife team who spearhead the welcome ministry at his church. Steve Kryger spoke of the street front ministry of his church, taking advantage of their location on a busy street and near cafes. He also begged all churches to fix up their websites! With great humour, Toby Neil described their welcome ministry in inner city Sydney via text messages and Facebook (with a warning that this should only be attempted by young adults to young adults!) and the use of "third spaces" such as coffee shops. However, welcome is only the first stage and proper and disciplined follow up is essential, and ideas were shared.
The final panel session was a fascinating one on Transition/Relocation/Invitation. There are major transition points in the lives of our church members when they are vulnerable to dropping away from church. Ray Galea, Justin Moffatt, Andrew Nixon and Craig Schafer spoke about ways to watch and care for people at these points. We know that Christians, like everyone else, relocate and move house, and possibilities were explored on how we can help them find a new spiritual home. There are also great opportunities to connect with people, both Christian and non Christian, who move into our area and would accept an invitation to our churches. Research indicates that far more unbelievers would accept an invitation to church than we realise.
The demanding but rewarding day closed with a summary application by Tim. All senior ministers received a Parish Profile, supplied by our Anglicare Research Unit, and Tim examined the profiles of churches that were Small and Declining, Medium and Not Growing, Medium and Growing, and Large and Modestly Growing.
Action plan?
The important question is What Now? The research will continue, including seeking best practice and examples that can guide us to solutions. Videos of the day and other resources will gradually be made available on the [url=http://www.effectiveministry.org]http://www.effectiveministry.org[/url] website. Each mission area will decide how they take up some of the matters raised in this conference. One way forward is for senior ministers to meet in small groups for what might be termed "peer-mentoring", to pray for one another and their mission fields, to present and improve their plans to implement priorities. Staff and lay people can also meet to pray, and to share experiences and resources in their areas of ministry. Training and workshops can be organised as appropriate and requested by each mission area. In gospel partnership together and in dependence on God, I trust we will see more and more people come to know our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
