The Sydney Diocese reclassified three churches to parish status at Synod yesterday and there are still two more to come.

St Thomas', Cranebrook is one of five local ministries moving from provisional parish to parish status at Synod this year.

"The church has experienced a steady growth in membership and ministry in the four years since becoming a provisional parish," says rector, the Rev Richard Goscombe.

Under the Rev John Reid, parent church St Paul's Cambridge Park brought St Thomas' to a position of viability by the end of 1998.

The provisional parish of St Thomas', Cranebrook was reclassified as the Parish of Cranebrook with Castlereagh.

The move from infancy to adolescence was recognised in 2004, when St Thomas' was declared a provisional parish. Numbers had doubled, offertories trebled and comprehensive and integrated ministry has been established within the church.

"Now, in 2007, we continue to rejoice to see the growth from a heavily grant-dependent branch church, to a viable, maturing centre of ministry with two full-time and two part-time workers, and two vibrant congregations committed to reaching Cranebrook for Christ," Mr Goscombe says.

There is now an average of 140 adults and 50 children attending each Sunday.

God-given gospel growth

Along with St Thomas', Cranebrook, St Nicolas', Coogee and St Stephen's, Lidcombe also moved from provisional parish to full parish status at Synod.

The rector of St Nicolas', Coogee, the Rev Craig Segaert says by the grace of God upgrading the church's annual fete, developing a strategic hall rental policy and acquiring regional grants helped generate the essential income that has seeded growth since 1998.

"We have had a building program and upgraded hall facilities, we have focussed on children's and families ministry with both Sunday services and playgroup and we have reconnected with some lapsed attendees," he says.

The church is even in the process of obtaining a children's ministry leader

"When we started here there were two kids in the church, now we have over 90 kids in our church twice a week," Mr Segaert says.

The rector of St Stephen's, Lidcombe, the Rev Joseph Thiem says his church has focussed on gospel ministry in his ten years there to help it grow from a dwindling parish of 20 to a vibrant multi-ethnic congregation of over 140 people.

"Three quarters of the growth in the church has been through conversions and that is mainly in the areas of first and second generation Chinese ministry and Chinese university student ministry," he says.

More to come

The parish of Newtown with Erskinevile and St James's, Menangle will be the two parishes reclassified at today's afternoon session of Synod.

The amalgamation of St Stephen's, Newtown and Holy Trinity, Erskineville, which took place in April this year, will be complete as the parish of Newtown with Erskineville is reclassified to full parish status for the first time since 2000.

The Rev Peter Rodgers says the church has grown significantly and is financially viable again.

He recalls there were three things missing at the church when he arrived in 2002.

"We didn't have people in the 20 to 35 year bracket, yet according to the census the majority of residents in Newtown are that age, there were no Bible study groups in our church and no staff other than me," Mr Rodgers says.

"The majority of our congregation is now in the 20 to 35 year age bracket, we would have 80 people in mid-week Bible study groups which have become the lifeblood of our church and we have four part-time staff with an office assistant, two student ministers and a children's ministry coordinator."

However, Mr Rodgers in no way thinks the church has "arrived'.

"While we have come far and thank God for that, the job has just begun. We are just back on our feet ready to do our job of reaching out to the people of Newtown," he says.

St James', Menangle will become a parish after having spent several years as a branch church of St John's, Camden, then three years as a provisional parish.

Rector, the Rev Craig Fulton, who began at the church in 2002, says the church has concentrated on carrying out the Diocesan Mission and made prayer and preaching the basis of the ministry.

Mr Fulton says the church has a "four-prong approach' for community outreach.

"We have a church newspaper that goes out to every residence in the area, we have a youth and children's worker who is now chaplain at the local high school, we have a team of men who carry out manual labour and maintenance for people n the area who need assistance, and we have a Christmas carols event which over half the community attends."