Inspired by research on churches within the Sydney diocese and trial projects in two mission areas, a new conference has been announced to ‘explore effective ministry under God’.
The research project has been developing for over a year, working in conjunction with the new Mission Area Leaders, and in particular the Parramatta and Ryde mission areas. The project has been spearheaded by Sydney businessman Tim Sims, an active member of Christ Church, St Ives.
Mr Sims, a corporate strategist who has advised many of Australia’s leading companies, has examined the historical data and social research in Sydney diocese, including a wealth of material collected in the National Church Life Survey.
With the assistance of several groups, including the Parramatta and Ryde Mission Areas, the project has now developed implementation ideas and templates that organisers believe can be implemented in the average church.
Mr Sims' preliminary findings have already been circulating in mission areas and new modular videos are currently in production.
The latest research findings will be presented at a conference, Exploring Effective Ministry Under God, to be held at Moore College on Wednesday 23rd November. A support website, effectiveministry.org, has been developed to host the new video and other resources.
The conference will open with bible studies from Archbishop Jensen and feature sessions on Mr Sims' research and hear from expert panels on implementation in parish contexts.
In particular, the conference will look at how to engage and integrate newcomers, how to systematically increase the flow of new visitors, and build disciples.
Parramatta Mission Area Leader, Raj Gupta, says "Our mission area counts it a huge privilege to have followed Mr Sims on this project. I am not aware of any previous such project that has utilised the kind of expertise that has been brought to bear. We hope others can benefit in the way that we have, as we seek to make Jesus known to our community.’
