In 2002, Sydney Anglicans undertook an ambitious 10 year plan.
The first step was to adopt a mission statement that clearly identified the main priority for the churches, organisations and members of Sydney Diocese.
All goals and policies of the Diocese of Sydney now flow out of this mission statement.
The Mission >>
To glorify God by proclaiming our saviour the Lord Jesus Christ in prayerful dependence on the Holy Spirit, so that everyone will hear his call to repent, trust and serve Christ in love, and be established in the fellowship of his disciples while they await his return.
The second step was to adopt a primary "goal' to help focus all the activities of the Diocese's congregations and organisations. So, under God, and together with other like-minded churches, Sydney Anglicans have adopted "10% in 10 years' as a memorable slogan to summarise their aims.
The Goal >>
To see at least 10% of the population of the region of the Sydney Diocese in Bible-based churches in 10 years.
The senior leadership of the Diocese also presented a statement of "commitment' they had signed to the Synod " or parliament " of the Diocese of Sydney. In an unprecedented sign of support the vast majority of Synod representatives enthusiastically signed on, committing their parishes and organisations to work towards the goal.
The Commitment >>
In submission to the word of the Lord Jesus, the Archbishop and Bishops of the Diocese have committed themselves in unity of heart and spirit to give the example, energy and leadership to this Mission. They are doing so in fellowship with the Archdeacons, the Synod, the Standing Committee and its Mission Task Force, and they invite the whole Anglican community in the Diocese of Sydney (with all other believers) to join them by taking the initiative to see that Christ is proclaimed to all people.
The Mission and Goal led the senior leadership to rethink the Diocese' policies. In 2002, Synod agreed to a new ministry strategy that could be summed up under the following fundamental aim:
The Fundamental Aim >>
To multiply Bible-based Christian fellowships, congregations and churches which equip and nurture their members and expand themselves, both in the Diocese and "in all the world".
In turn this led to the Diocese adopting four main policies. In the briefest possible terms these policies are:
The Strategy>>
- Prayer for an outpouring of God's Spirit so that his people will be assured of his love through his word and develop a sacrificial compassion for the lost.
- To enable parish churches to grow (both numerically and in discipleship) and become the mother-churches of as many fellowships and congregations as possible.
- To increase the number of people being trained for ministry.
- To reform the organisations of the Diocese to support the fundamental aim of "church-planting'.
For a more detailed account of these policies click here:
[url=http://sydneyanglicans.net/mission/missionthinking/1033a/]http://sydneyanglicans.net/mission/missionthinking/1033a/[/url]
