The success of the Diocese’s drive to raise Mission dollars may depend on Sydney Anglicans learning fundraising lessons from mega churches like Hillsong and Willow Creek, the Synod has been told.
In a dramatic move last night the Synod accepted a proposal by the Rev Zac Veron, Rector of St George North, to launch a massive fundraising appeal to buy land and build churches under the Diocesan Mission.
"Let's get serious about fundraising " let's get good at it," Mr Veron, a member of the Mission Property Committee, told the Synod.
Mr Veron's speech came during a presentation on the New Capital Project, a scheme set up in 2004 to raise the capital needed for the Diocesan Mission by selling or leasing existing parish assets.
It is now believed the New Capital Project will not raise anywhere near the $300 million hoped for to build new churches, rebuild and expand existing assets and teach and train ministry workers.
However Mr Veron has suggested four dollars extra a week from every church member in the Diocese could raise $75million out of the $100 million needed for the expansion of new fellowships.
"If you are committed to the Diocesan Mission, you will open your wallets," he said.
Alluding to Hillsong, Mr Veron said a certain other church in the North West has only one tenth of the regular weekly attendance of the Sydney Diocese but raises tens of millions of dollars from its members.
Diocesan Secretariat CEO Rodney Dredge has reported that current contributions to the New Capital Project are more likely to amount to between $8 and $14million.
This sum is likely to come from parishes with high property values that have agreed to have their property assessed with the view to some or all of the assets being leased or sold.
Mr Dredge said out of 18 parishes selected for asset realignment, four declined to participate, 11 agreed and three are still considering their position.
"It is far, far from the hundreds of millions we believe we need," Mr Dredge said.
"But there is a process of capital we believe we can tap into " and for that we are very thankful."
Mr Dredge said conclusions pointed to a "low pain threshold' among Sydney Anglicans, lower than expected market value and the fact that a substantial proportion of capital released will be absorbed by the existing parish.
The second stage of a bill was passed that called on the Synod to continue funding the New Capital Project's work for another 12 months. This includes the continued use of an extensive database which records information about diocesan assets and information about parishes and organisations. The bill will be completed next Monday.
It is believed to be the first such database used by a denomination anywhere in the world.
Rector of St Luke's, Clovelly the Rev Lindsay Johnstone was a lone critic in the debate, telling the Synod that his church was one of the four that withdrew from the project because of its "heavy hand on struggling parishes'.
"The New Capital Project poses a distinct problem for parishes struggling with viability," Mr Johnstone said.
"Sacrifice is being asked of those parishes with the least ministry resources. Thirty years ago there was a move to sell off St Matthias [Centennial Park]. What shall we say to that now?"
Public appeals to Sydney Anglicans and other similar fundraising initiatives have previously been rejected as effective ways of generating the large amounts of money needed for the project.
Mr Dredge said Stage One of the New Capital Project gave his team "the outcome we wanted, but it gave us a limited outcome'.
"I think we should run for another year and we should look at other ways of fundraising," Mr Dredge said.
Diocesan organisations seeing increasing growth but stymied by lack of funds include Moore College and the Sydney Anglican Schools Corporation.
