A sneak peek

In the last two posts I introduced you to our strategy for the next 5 years.

Here it is at its simplest:

In 2025 we will be taking the grace and truth of Jesus deeper into the heart of our church, and further into our community and beyond. 

I want to begin to show you the nuts and bolts of how, and where, we will do this.

There are six aspirational themes that captured many of the ideas that have been raised over the last 18 months. Below you will find a summary of each of these themes and some very broad aims.

For each of these themes we have very concrete goals, tactics and measurements to help bring these aspirations to reality.

1. GOSPEL

We see a church that is rooted in and delights in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We see a church where the gospel is preached every week and every person is nurtured in the grace of the gospel and equipped to know, love and share the gospel.

We will commit to:

• teaching the ‘whole counsel of God’ as revealed in the Scriptures

• preaching the gospel every week

• consistent standard of preaching that reflects our understanding of the grace and truth of Jesus

• creating church services that give people a rich experience of the gospel

• helping one another apply the gospel to our hearts

2. OUTREACH

We see a church that is a city on a hill and a church that takes seriously Jesus’ command to ‘go and make disciples of all nations’.

As a church we will:

• explore new justice ministries and strengthen current ones

• develop our ‘public face’—be known in the community and be a place people are drawn to

• innovate/create new outreach opportunities, particularly opportunities that meet felt needs in the community

• desire to grow numerically, primarily through conversion growth

• understand where we are (i.e. a concern for contextualising the gospel)

• plan and pray for outreach to be a central part of our church’s life and activity.

3. LEADERSHIP

We see a church that has diverse, self-sustaining leadership pathways. A place where people’s gifts are identified and encouraged for the good of the body.

We will aim to:

• recruit, resource and release leaders who lead like Jesus

• raise up leaders who reflect our church and our area

• nurture and develop our leaders

• develop new layers of leadership

• have sustainable leadership pathways

4. COMMUNITY

We see a prayerful community that is dependent on God. We see a church community that is hospitable, warm, welcoming and always caring. A community that is richly diverse where women and men, young and old, and all cultures share rich fellowship.

We would like to see:

• a diverse community made up of all ages and all backgrounds

• a place where intergenerational discipleship is fostered

• a commitment to establish systems of pastoral care that ensures everyone is known and loved and has a strong sense of belonging

• small groups multiplied and equipped to shepherd and disciple one another

• people enfolded into our church community through planning and prayer

5. GENEROSITY

We see a church birthed through the generosity of Jesus. We see a church that has richly benefited from the gospel generosity of others and desires to be a conduit of that blessing to others.

We desire to:

• wholeheartedly serve our church community

• think generously of one another and act generously toward one another

• send staff and members to less resourced areas

• send financial support to mission partners

• send members into the harvest field.

6. STEWARDSHIP

We see a church that faithfully and fruitfully stewards its resources for the benefit of others. We see a church committed to developing our property, increasing its capacity for ministry and strengthening our systems of governance.

We would like to:

• create inviting, welcoming, safe spaces for all people

• take care of the property we have and improve it where possible to meet the demands of ministry

• continue to value and deepen systems of administration (PC, wardens, safe ministry)

You’ve probably heard it said many times that ‘talk is cheap.’ And churches, it seems, are often prone to dreaming big and executing poorly. As mentioned above, these goals are very broad. The particular shape they take will be teased out in the coming weeks as we present concrete goals, tactics and measurements for each of these.

Like deconstructing a coffee...

A little while ago I heard the ridiculous story of someone who ordered a flat white in a Melbourne cafe. They received their coffee in three beakers, each containing a different element of their little old flat white. The barista was trying to highlight the significance of each element. What have we come to?!….There’s a place for deconstructing things but it ain’t coffee.

Today I want to deconstruct that statement I introduced to you last week.

IN 2025 WE WILL BE TAKING THE GRACE AND TRUTH OF JESUS DEEPER INTO THE HEART OF OUR CHURCH, AND FURTHER INTO OUR COMMUNITY AND BEYOND.

This statement needs to be unpacked a little as each word communicates something of value to our church.

In 2025 we will be taking …

This may sound a little presumptuous but it communicates something important about our church. There’s a desire for our church to be active in mission. Throughout this process people have expressed clear ideas for our church to be innovating new ways of being a church on mission together. This too is part of our spiritual heritage.

At our first workshop in 2019 we looked at our congregational identity (you can read more about that here).

One of the hallmarks of Anglican Evangelicalism has been what historian David Bebbington calls activism. Bebbington notes that historically in evangelical movements there has been an expectation that spiritual transformation would be seen in individuals and society at large. This has led to the development of mission agencies and also a strong concern for justice.

Under God we plan to be active, to be taking new ground for the kingdom of God. There’s no reason to be shy about this.

Grace and truth

These two things ground our understanding of the gospel. The word gospel is a little elusive and can mean different things to different people. By emphasising the grace and truth of Jesus we remember the timeless, unique truth of God as revealed in the gospel of Jesus Christ. As the church of God, we are commanded to uphold this truth. As Paul wrote to Timothy: 

… if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. (1 Timothy 3.15)

At the same time we remember that in the gospel of Jesus Christ, God has lavished his grace upon us.

As a church we are unashamedly convinced that the grace and truth of Jesus Christ is relevant and necessary for all people and all of life. That is, we want our teaching and discipleship to be soaked in the grace of God. Imagine a church that is addicted to the grace of God in such a way that it fuels our ongoing sanctification:

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. (Titus 2.11–12)

Of Jesus Christ

These are easily the three most important words in our mission statement. It is by his grace and his truth that we live and move and have our being as a church. The ultimate sphere in which we operate is Jesus himself.

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2.19–22)

He is the rock upon which we are built, the source of our spiritual and numerical growth, and in him alone we experience the power of God’s personal presence.

We are unashamedly a Jesus-centred church because we are firmly convinced that in Christ Jesus God has reconciled us to himself, and shown himself to be a God for all people.

Into the heart

The first place we are seeking to take the gospel to is our own hearts. The Scriptures consistently speak of the need for change to begin in the human heart, the engine room of the entire self. Take Psalm 51 as an example: David has catastrophically sinned. He’s committed adultery and has been complicit in the murder of his lover’s husband. He’s in a world of trouble, yet he identifies that the root of the problem lies within him. Notice how, for David, the change begins in his heart.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. (Psalm 51.10–17)

We want to see the reign of God’s kingdom increased. This begins in our hearts. Better doctrine or passionate preaching alone are not sufficient to produce the change we need. True and lasting change happens when the gospel of Jesus is applied by the power of the Holy Spirit to the depths of the human heart.

Our church

We desire to see the reign of God extended within our church. God not only brought his church to life, but has throughout the ages, sustained and nourished it with the grace and truth of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. St. Paul’s is an Anglican Church which is part of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church. We are the precious body and bride from whom Christ died. Rightly therefore, one of the more pressing themes that has come up has been our need to deepen elements of our church life. This deepening is not separate to the idea of heart transformation but builds upon it. There are many elements of our church life that are doing well. We’ve seen significant growth and exciting new ministries have begun. But in all of it there’s a sense that we need to nurture these ministries, and one another, more and more.

Our community

We are committed to making disciples of Jesus Christ in our community, the parish of Canterbury and Hurlstone Park. This is our mission field. The reality is that we are the only evangelical, multiethnic church in a parish that could house 35,000 people by 2030. We are committed to seeing the grace and truth of Jesus taken further into this community. This will require us to be innovative in the ways that we reach out to others.

And beyond

One of the unique aspects of St Paul’s congregational identity is that our church has, for a long time, seen itself as a “sending church”. On the stained glass in the church building is an image of three boats representing Paul’s three missionary journeys. It is a visual reminder that our congregation has benefited from the missionary endeavours of others and is committed to reciprocating that. Recently, St Paul’s has sent people into the mission field, like the Webbs serving in Broome, the Bennett’s in South Sudan and Sally to the Middle East.

This period of discernment has highlighted people’s desire for us to continue to send gospel-takers beyond our local parish.

This also includes a desire to be a conduit of blessing to less resourced areas of our city. We joyfully imagine the difference we could make to a small, less resourced church by sending people, money and prayers to help them make and mature disciples of Jesus in their own area.

Going further and going deeper: this is what the next five years, God willing, will be all about.