1. Secularism
IT's September 11, the fifth anniversary of that great paradigm altering event " the terrorist attack on New York City. Hermann's Bar at the University of Sydney is packed. But the bar's regulars are not discussing Islam or world politics but leafing through collections of poetry by Christian students and reflecting on the gospel-themed artworks on the walls.
The bar has been co-opted for "Creation', the Evangelical Union (EU) contribution to the university-wide Verge Arts Festival. Featuring drama, jazz musicians and a reflection on "God, art, and humanity' by Ian Powell from St Barnabas, Broadway, the event is part of the EU attempt to engage the student body and overcome the roadblocks to student ministry on campus.
With each post-World War II generation there has been a growing apathy towards religion. Since September 11, it's said that Australians have added suspicion. Not only is religion irrelevant but it is down right dangerous.
"People are afraid of religious conflict, so it is more important for there to be peace in our multi-faith society than for competing religions to have their say," according to Claire Smith, who is leading the Sydney Diocese's Mission working group on culture.
"I'd say "extremism' of any kind is on the nose, and having a serious Christian faith would be seen as that."
If anxiety about religious extremism has increased, is there evidence of ministry being restricted in those politically correct hot-beds " our university campuses? Is religion excluded from the public square?
"I don't feel that concerns about "fundamentalism' are a roadblock to student ministry," says Sarah Thompson, a full-time ministry trainee working with EU. "I think there is potential for people to misunderstand the Christian faith and lump it in with other beliefs, but that's not a major factor."
Bonita Waddell, a staff member with Evangelical Christian Union (ECU) at Sydney University's Cumberland Campus agrees, despite the fact that ECU has been prevented from recruiting as usual at this year's student enrolment. She says that the concern from the Student Guild was more about preventing interference with the enrolment process.
The real problem at Cumberland is what she calls the culture of "niceness'. People are willing to talk about their beliefs, but aren't interested in Christian claims.
"When we tell someone the gospel, people will say "thanks so much!', but there's no urgency in their response. People have comfortable lives, and no sense that the gospel matters to them personally."
So is the main roadblock resulting from secularism people's apathy towards the big questions of life? Not entirely, says Dr Rod Irvine, from Figtree Anglican Church.
"Since about 1960 there has been in general, a turning away from the Christian faith in our society," he says. "This is so pronounced that in some parts of the media Christian truth is not seen as merely some quaint overlay from the past, but is actually seen as morally wrong. Therefore, in suburbia, where most of us minister there is in general apathy towards church and Christian things."
To overcome such apathy, EU is focusing on relational ministry. This year has seen the resurgence of the "dialogue dinner': where non-Christian friends are invited to discuss Christianity over a meal. They've proved popular, with 15 dinners taking place over the last two months.
"It's been quite amazing," says Sarah. "I was recently involved in a dialogue dinner that had actually been initiated by a non-Christian international student who heard about the concept."
There has also been a rethink of traditional evangelistic approaches, with a trend away from large public meetings. Sarah says that while university still has that "stretch-your-mind' culture, there's a need for missionary-style events that take the gospel to the students.
"There is going to be more need for events like "Creation', events that connect into the uni culture at a faculty level," she says. "It's all pretty exciting."
Bypass this roadblock
>> Be missionaries and engage culture
>> Think parochially: Phillip Jensen says a mindset shift is required away from church-based activities to where, "clergy and congregations are more outward looking, concerned to reach the thousands living in their parish area".
2. Collapse of community
Churches are far from alone in struggling to recruit new members. Concerns have even been raised about the dramatic decline in community sports volunteers. On the Gold Coast the number of surf lifesavers has dropped by one third since the 1990s. Even golf, Australia's largest participant sport, saw club memberships decline by four per cent in recent years.
There are very tightly related roadblocks that spring from living in a very fast-paced and affluent consumer society: people are too busy working long hours to join anything, family time is precious so privacy becomes more treasured, and there is a disappearance of community spaces.
In short, social capital has collapsed: people are more individualistic and are primarily focused on meeting the material desires of themselves and their families.
"We live in a society that is very "earthbound'," sums up Rick Smith. "Many Christians find it hard to resist the things our secular community is consumed with; every moment of every day is filled with hedonism. Decision making is consumed with what will be best for me and mine, as opposed to what will be honouring to Christ and good for his people."
One measure of the collapse of Australian community life is the decline in people joining clubs and volunteering across the spectrum. How can traditional churches expect their membership to be thriving in such a cultural landscape?
"Volunteerism is diminishing across all sectors, so membership of anything is countercultural!" says Claire Smith.
However, pointing to the Olympic Games as an example, Stephen Semenchuk says churches need to recognise that "the right sort of cause still brings out volunteers'.
Some research does shows that the rate of "formal' volunteering has been steadily decreasing, however the picture is mixed. For example, research by the Smith Family shows those who do volunteer are doing so for longer hours.
The problem area for churches is finding people willing to commit to the unglamorous jobs that keep ministry ticking over. "People are less likely to commit to ongoing programs compared to occasional or one off ministry projects such as a mission week," says Stephen Semenchuk.
Bypass this roadblock
>> Show lives transformed: "Highly committed people need to see how their commitment will transform lives," says Stephen Semenchuk.
>> Radically distinct Christian communities: "If we are going to get around this roadblock, Christians need to be taught to live radically distinctive lives," says Rick Smith. "Our time, energy, money and choices need to be uncompromisingly governed by the lasting things of God."
3. Work/life pressures
The busyness of Christian people and the collapse of social capital in the wider community are syptoms of the same disease. It's what social commentator Clive Hamilton calls "affluenza', the addictive pressure of living and working in a complex consumer culture.
The 2002/3 Well-being Survey showed that one in four Australians work more than 40 hours a week. A further analysis by Sydney Anglican researchers found that about two thirds of those who worked more than 50 hours a week had high levels of work/life conflict, and that it was harming their closest relationships.
Not surprisingly, parents were also at high risk from work/life pressure, especially mums in casual jobs.
Most troubling, Christians were no different from the rest of the population in regards to work/life pressures. Indeed there are indications that dual income parenting is contributing to the decline in regular church-going. Research by Dr John Bellamy from the National Church Life Survey has shown a connection between long work hours and less frequent church attendance.
What ministers like Stephen Semenchuk see are many people who say "they do not have the time and energy to even attend church regularly, let alone serve in a ministry or invite their friends'.
"The bottom line is that everyone has the time to do the things they think are the most important," says Stephen. "If meeting with God's people and serving him miss out, it usually means these things are not high priorities."
But as Stephen admits there is no magic bullet. "Answers vary because every individual's circumstances are complex," he says. "Christians themselves must come to the conclusion that their lifestyle is squeezing God out."
Bypass this roadblock
>> Focus on the gospel not programs: Rick Smith says it's easy for churches to make things too complex and "lose sight of the unique message with which the church is entrusted'.
"We end up being so busy and yet when we look back we realise that we haven't called on anyone to repent and entrust themselves to Jesus," he says.
>> A compelling vision: Inspiring busy people rather than making them busier is the key says Stephen Semenchuk. "We have to make sure that our meetings and ministries do not "waste' people's time," he says. "We need to get better at taking people to a God-sized vision for their life."
4. Risk-free ministry
Rick SMITH detects a weariness amongst some of his ministry colleagues. "The task just seems too big. So we limit our activity, and we limit our reach, and we retreat into the safety of an increasingly insular church."
To overcome this roadblock we need "to try new ways of engaging the hearts and minds of those who are yet to understand God's grace in Christ,' he says.
"It is risky but we can take great comfort from the truth that our Lord is able to accomplish more than we can imagine."
Stephen Semenchuk agrees. "The style of leadership that plays it safe is defensive and restrictive and will not create a culture of adventure, risk taking and evangelistic entrepreneurship," he says.
Citing the example of a proposed church plant that was waiting to raise the funds for audio-visual technology, Jim Ramsay from Evangelism Ministries says the answer is "being more resourceful, rather than finding more resources'.
In fact, says Rick Smith, there is a danger of being over-resourced. "Too much of our time is spent in getting ready for mission when we are as ready as we will ever be," he says. "I often wonder whether focusing too much on training actually hinders people from doing what we say that we are training them for. I'm not saying do less training. But it would be great if, for every Christian conference, there was an event that engaged the non-Christian world with a biblical worldview."
Jim Ramsay agrees that the word "training' may be misleading. What he advocates is a mentoring style of leadership. "We need leadership that gets alongside people and shows them how it is done. If people are learning to do evangelism it must not just be in a class, but "on the job'."
Bypass this roadblock
>> Accept failure: "We need to try lots of stuff and keep what works and not be afraid to fail," says Stephen Semenchuk.
5. Reaching the lost
IT's HARDLY rocket science but the last National Church life Survey (NCLS) showed that the factor most strongly linked to a high percentage of newcomers in a church was that members were actually inviting people to the church.
Jim Ramsay, CEO of Evangelism Ministries who has been asked to examine this issue for the Diocesan Mission says there is an underlying difficulty.
"A lot of people have run out of immediate contacts," he says. "There is a big difference between the uni student who walks past thousands of people every day and the person who works with just two other people."
Stephen Semenchuk says ministers must also be brave enough to ask "why?' people are reluctant to bring friends.
"I often hear it is fear but I suspect there is often embarrassment at work as well," he says. "Many church people are not confident that their friends will be challenged in a sensitive and relevant way."
Intriguingly, the NCLS shows that ministers who encourage their lay people to use their gifts can have a big impact on the number of newcomers flowing into their churches. However, this is an area where Sydney Anglican churches are particularly weak when compared to other denominations. Only 27 per cent of Sydney Anglicans said their church leadership encourages them to find and use their gifts to a great extent. This compares to 64 per cent amongst Australian Pentecostals.
"If people have bought into what they are inviting people to, then they will have the confidence," says Jim Ramsay. "But this means the "regulars' have to be prepared to make friends with new people and see follow up as equally their responsibility."
Bypass this roadblock
>> Love our neighbours: The way to overcome people's guilt and fear about evangelism, says Jim Ramsay, is to make our expectations simpler. "We just want Christians to be the friendliest and most generous person on their street," he says. "From there they will have opportunities."
Mission is not a "task' adds Rick Smith but should be "the natural overflow of a living relationship with our living God.' Perhaps then, "Mission would seem more an everyday privilege and less a chore to be diarised."
>> Passion in preaching: Zac Veron says preachers should address people's "eschatological ignorance'. "When Christians lose the sense that any minute God could bring in the day of judgment they also tend to lose the urgency to proclaim Jesus as Lord and Saviour."
