In churches all over Sydney there are groups of people poring over maps, census figures and NCLS statistics preparing for Connect09. At St James', Turramurra, sydneyanglicans.net found the Rev Dr Michael Stead and the congregation hard at work on the numbers.
The NCLS parish survey packs have been a boon but even before the Turramurra pack arrived, Dr Stead had been on the internet and looking at the census collector districts.
"We were able to break down our parish into seven zones and work out by zone who lives in which area and then we can target our approach to each area to make it specific to those zones."
This approach is common to many of the parishes who are well advanced in their planning for Connect09. The ability to break down the parish into manageable areas means that the task is not as daunting.
St James' hopes existing networks of Bible study groups and other people in each area will sign on to take responsibility for various zones, because they are already part of the local area.
Dr Stead's approach to planning 2009 has been "from small to large. We started with a strategy group, and we've moved from that to the parish council which had a planning day where they looked at the plans and refined them. From there we've got a meeting with the parish Bible study leaders and some key people. Then we plan to do a public launch in conjunction with the big prayer day on November 2 to present that to the church."
Despite the planning going on, Dr Stead admits there will be many in his congregation, like others across Sydney, who have yet to come to terms with the scope of Connect09's theme of "Pray, Connect, Expect'.
"My feeling is that many in the congregation are still very much at the "pray' stage and that's about as much as they have thought about it," he says.
"We've been encouraging prayer but they're not sure yet how they're going to connect. Our next big step is to move them beyond prayer and to get people trained up and encouraged about taking the next two steps."
Although Connect09 is not solely a doorknocking campaign, that is one of the key ways people can contact and then connect. What if that's just not you? What if you can't see yourself doing that at all?
At St James', Dr Stead says there will be people who feel that they aren't physically able to get out and knock on doors, but they can still be part of the team for the parish zones.
Even if people are not physically knocking on doors, he considers it extremely valuable for those who go out to know that they have people back at home base praying for them as they visit.
"We did some initial research and we discovered that about 78 per cent of the congregation would be happy to pop something in somebody's letterbox, about 48 per cent would be happy to knock on doors and ask for a tin for Anglicare and about 28 per cent would be happy to knock on the door and offer a copy of the Scriptures," he says.
"The challenge for us is now to change the 28 per cent into the 48 per cent and to move the 48 per cent upwards. We realise that there'll always be some people for whom that's not going to happen but the aim is to maximise the number that are."
The prayer day on November 2 and the Big Day In telecast and webcast on February 8, 2009 are key dates for the congregation to be enthused about the task ahead.
Dr Stead says it's already happening.
"I think it's because we're all focussing to do something special. We all believe in evangelism but we all find excuses not to do it. I think this is an excuse to do it," he says.
"We're encouraging people that 2009, well it's not a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but it is something that doesn't come along every year. To have all of Sydney reaching out at the same time is something for all of us to be excited about" there is a sense of being part of something bigger than ourselves which is very attractive.
Top idea: Lifting church’s game in marketing, signage and architecture
Create conference at The King's School, Parramatta
Rectors from across Sydney who attended the overnight briefings at Bishopscourt to plan Connect09 have admitted that they are out of their depth.
Not in Bible teaching, pastoring or even parish management. But in the look and feel of parish signage, graphic presentation and websites.
There are some notable exceptions where churches have designed their own logos, have video production and internet portals running and excel at outdoor signage.
But most rectors, and their congregations, lack the basic expertise to communicate to a generation that is increasingly sensitive to the look and feel of how churches present themselves.
As part of the solution to this problem, Connect09 is sponsoring a day-long Create conference on November 15 at The King's School, Parramatta.
Run by Outreach Media (part of the FEVA ministry), Create will feature leading professionals in the fields of media, graphics, advertising, architecture, web design, theory of communication and more. The purpose of the conference is to help ministry teams bridge the gap between our Christian culture and the "post-Christian' world we live in. It's a Christian "marketing conference' with much more thrown in.
FEVA's Malcolm Williams is excited at what could be achieved in a day. "We're discounting the registration fees on group bookings to encourage groups to come. Church ministry teams should think about bringing as many people as possible and sending them to the various elective strands through the day so they can swap notes and ideas."
"If a minister brings members of their church, they'll have the opportunity to present their church promotional material to be looked at by industry professionals in small workshops. There will be other opportunities to think about their church site with industry professionals in the fields of architecture, including a session on the logistics of getting your DA approved."
In addition, all attendees will be given a free "CopyWrong' DVD that will help their church do the right thing in the area of copyright.
Lunch will be provided on site and workshops will run hourly so people can visit several sessions across the day.
Popular sessions from previous conferences such as "Arriving and staying on the web' and "Death by Powerpoint' will be on again with fresh content, as well as new seminars including one on using technology to best advantage.
Connect09 executive director, the Rev Andrew Nixon says, "We have to understand that how churches present to outsiders their "shopfront' plays a big part in people's perceptions and their willingness to join us. When we match or exceed contemporary standards in graphics, advertising, web " even our buildings " we send a message that we are part of our 21st-century community.
