Welcome to the Fifth Edition of Grevillea an E-Magazine to Stimulate Your Thinking!

Grevillea

May, 2005

Welcome to the fifth edition of Grevillea an e-magazine to stimulate your thinking!

Why "Grevillea'? The Macquarie Dictionary defines "grevillea" as any shrub or tree of the very large, mainly Australian genus Grevillea family. Many are attractive ornamentals and a number are useful trees. It is also worth noting that grevillea can be very toxic.

So Grevillea is an Australian e-magazine which will cover a large range of subjects as time goes on. We trust they will be interesting (not just ornamental), useful and stimulate (not irritate) your thinking. We aim to have articles that will be short, practical and worth your opening them as attachments.

This edition focuses on Evangelism and Mission. There are five articles from people with different perspectives and experiences.

Graeme Gardiner shares about his experience in doing an exchange ministry in the USA. He reflects on its implications for us in Australia. Christine Bayliss Kelly tells of how she has gone about her ministry with children and families at Baulkham Hills. John Thornton speaks about the evangelism conference he attended in Thailand. Rodel Palma offers some challenging practical reflections from his Filipino experience both in the Philippines and with the Quakers Hill Filipino congregation. Finally I offer some thoughts on the relationship between evangelism and mission.

There is also an evaluative tool that the Parramatta-Nepean presbytery has endorsed and some recommended books on evangelism.

I hope you are encouraged by this edition of Grevillea.

Grace and peace

Chris Walker

Changing Places

During October and November 2004, Rev. Graeme Gardiner of WestEppingUnitingChurch entered into a ministry exchange with the Senior Minister of First Congregational Church, UnitedChurch of Christ (UCC), Cheshire, Connecticut.

Having watched the movie The Stepford Wives and light-heartedly considered it as part of my background research for a two-month ministry exchange in Connecticut, USA, I half expected to meet the ivy-league, country club set with their grand homes and perfect teeth. After all, Connecticut is the wealthiest state within perhaps the wealthiest nation on earth. However, locals were quick to alert me to the fact that much to their shame, Connecticut is also home to two of the ten poorest cities in all of America; both of them within a short commute of Cheshire, the location of my exchange.

Nevertheless, Cheshire does bear some hints of the caricature that is often cast of Connecticut. It is a mostly privileged town, with many large homes and quite a number of well-heeled people. It is also, by American standards, populated largely by a reserved, conservative, even if politically diverse kind of person. They are well-educated people; many in professional, highly-charged vocations and with a love of ‘traditional’ family life. In many respects, not all that dissimilar to the people who populate my part of Sydney – West Epping. People with the same struggles of holding relationships together in the midst of demanding, complex lives. People dealing with the same issues of illness and loss, unemployment and overemployment. Wherever you go, people are people are people…

And yet…. Religion has a very different place within the cultural mindset in Connecticut (and the USA at large) than it does in West Epping (and Australia at large). Can you imagine a regional town in Australia with a population of 29,000 (the population of Cheshire) able to sustain up to 12 viable congregations, some with a membership of over 1,000 (which is the membership of the congregation I served in this exchange)? To have a religion (mostly Christian) is still closely allied to being an American, but having a religion has absolutely nothing to do with being an Australian!

And so, in an edition of Grevillea, focussed on the subject of evangelism and church development, I find myself somewhat conflicted in reporting on my ministry exchange experience. For while FirstChurchCheshire is a vibrant and growing congregation, its growth on the surface appears to be totally unrelated to evangelism. Indeed, in the two months I was serving within this congregation I did not witness the word evangelism either spoken or in print. Neither was there any mention of other related expressions well-familiar to UCA members such as ‘mission’ or ‘faith-sharing’. Oh, yes, they do have a Board of Outreach. However ‘outreach’ has a very different meaning to our use of the word. It refers to acts of benevolent welfare emerging from Christian compassion and justice – that which we might often refer to as ‘mission and service’. No, on the surface, the growth and vibrancy of this congregation would seem to be more related to the remnant of social conformity that still exists in New England society and the fact that the Church still sits close to the centre of American society and identity.

Although on further reflection, such a conclusion would be to sell this congregation short. Their growth and vibrancy is not merely the consequence of opening the front door and watching people enter. In the Connecticut context there may not be the same driving need to become ‘incarnational’ (to use NCLS language), for they already are ‘incarnational’ in the sense that the church is still held affectionately within the community’s mindset and sense of identity. However, their growth and vibrancy is still reliant upon intentional action to be successfully ‘attractional’. So while this exchange has little or nothing to say to our Australian setting in terms of our imperative to place the church back within the centre of community life, (for their church is still there – symbolised physically by its location right on the town green!) it does have something to say about how a church can attract and hold people within its life. Once engaged with the congregation, faith-sharing or evangelism takes place gently, over time, unforced, without it ever needing to be explicitly named as such. FirstChurch has, for instance, run Alpha courses ‘in-house’ for its members and newcomers.

First Congregational Church, Cheshire has bucked the trend of the majority of congregations within the United Church of Christ (UCC). Like the UCA, the UCC is in serious decline. And the UCC is similar to the UCA in ethos – theologically diverse, a ‘union’ church formed from Congregational and Reformed traditions, inclusive in its intentions and with a particular strength in advocacy on matters of justice and ecumenism.

Yet unlike most UCC congregations, FirstChurch is growing. And it is growing whilst maintaining its theological diversity and essentially traditional patterns of church life. It is neither overtly ‘charismatic’ nor ‘evangelical’ nor ‘liberal’ in message or style. It does not use contemporary music to any great degree nor does it use modern media or technology in worship. It uses a pipe organ to accompany hymns for congregational singing, delights in its robed choir and its quaint bell choir bringing mostly classical anthems of previous millennia, and is led by ordained ministers in full regalia (black academic dress of course!). It has not responded to the temptation to become either a ‘Willow Creek’ or ‘Saddleback’ cloned congregation, in contrast to some Australian congregations who feel drawn to model themselves upon the success of a church like Hillsong. So why is it growing? And does its growth give fresh hope to UCA congregations that are also essentially ‘mainstream’? Or does it risk giving false hope to traditional congregations that their future is found in harking back to the past glory days if only things can be done like they used to be?

So what is leading to the growth of this traditional ‘steeple church’ housed in its 1826 meeting house? I don’t believe its growth is an accident, but is the consequence of these factors:

1)They are offering a Church experience that people in their context are seeking.

Simple, isn’t it! In the conservative New England context there are still many who are looking for the heritage church that offers clear, relevant, contemporary preaching, a quality traditional music program and a good Sunday School for their children. So, while from my context the style of church they offer appears outdated and would certainly not be successful in West Epping, in their context it remains highly relevant to people’s felt needs.

2)They are doing what they do well even better.

There is a commitment to quality and a preparedness to invest in it. The music program is resourced by a highly skilled musician. The children’s Christian education program is resourced by a highly skilled educator. And the Senior Pastor is a highly skilled communicator and motivational leader who is continuing to invest in developing his skills in creative preaching. No wonder, in a sub-culture that highly values music, children’s education, clear leadership and dynamic public speaking that this is a congregation able to attract and hold growing numbers of people. Aware that if the children are enthusiastic about Sunday School, parents will likewise remain motivated to attend, this congregation has invested substantially in adopting a fresh and creative ‘workshop rotation model’ of Christian Education for the children. With dedicated rooms imaginatively designed and decorated to reflect the varying learning styles of each rotation, and with the smell of fresh popcorn wafting down the hallways, it is not surprising that it is often the children bringing the parents to church! Even within a relatively traditional model of Church life, this is a congregation displaying flair, innovation and leadership.

3)There is clear and confident leadership and the staff functions as a genuine team.

Unlike most UCC congregations where the Associate Ministers are regarded as ‘assistants’ to the Senior Minister, the staff at First Church operate as a genuine team in which all members are ‘equal but different’. That is, each member of the team has a clear specialist role, but there is a great degree of consultation and mutuality. The Senior Minister’s role is to serve through ‘leading confidently from within’ rather than ‘forcefully from above’. Such a model of specialisation leads to quality ministry and fulfilled practitioners.

4)There are intentional measures in place to grow Christian community and develop Christian discipleship.

In a denomination that does not have a strong heritage in small group life, First Church is investing in the development of home groups, study groups and special interest groups, aware that growing deeper and closer as a people is a prerequisite to growing larger.

There is no doubt the mission context facing the UCA is much more challenging than that of the UCC in Cheshire, Connecticut. Nevertheless, I concluded this ministry exchange more confident than ever that even relatively ‘mainstream’ congregations like most in our Presbytery can potentially ‘buck the trend’ and move into cycles of growth. I also felt further confirmed that the principles of clear and confident leadership; genuine team ministry; the focussing of people upon the use of their gifts and passions; and an openness to innovation and excellence are key qualities for any large congregation no matter their cultural context.

Children’s and Family Ministry at Baulkham Hills

Christine Bayliss Kelly

In the last seven years I have worked with the specific focus of ministry with families and younger children (<12). I have seen some amazing changes, especially driving around the vast area that the Baulkham Hills congregation covers. We have families in Box Hill, Glenhaven, West Pennant Hills, Northmead, Toongabbie, Kings Langley, KingsPark, Glenwood, and Kellyville, as well as Castle Hill, Baulkham Hills and WinstonHills. As a regional congregation many people travel quite a way to come to worship or be involved with the Baulkham Hills Congregation.

The challenges for ministry with families and children in this area of Sydney are varied and shared with a number of other congregations. The changes in demographics have been difficult to quantify because of the rapid increase in townhouses, ‘knockdown/rebuild’ homes as well as the vast areas of new housing estates opening around Glenwood, Bella Vista and other new suburbs. The statistics, and the services simply can not keep up!

Many of the people we work with are asset rich but time and cash poor, with high mortgages, demanding jobs and extensive work travel times. The sense of community that many people grew up with is non-existent and so many families are struggling to survive, let alone anything else.

The Baulkham Hills congregation, known as ‘St Matthew’s’, decided to focus on family and children’s ministry 8 years ago. The hope was, like any church, to grow this ministry which would result in more families with children coming and attending worship. And there has certainly been an increase in the number of new families who attend worship, although there the ‘regularity’ of worship is varied, and we have seen other families move on as their family enters a different life stage. Whilst we have a large number of programs there is also a great deal of individual work and so much of this ministry is measured in changes in people’s lives.

The programs run by the congregation include Sunday school (called KUCA), a Kids’ Club, Play Groups and a strong link with the Pre-school which is on site. There is involvement in SRE in some schools, including a new SUPA club at one local primary school. There is a discussion group for mums, a families group and other social groups. And there is a wonderful interactive children’s Christmas Eve Service which is attended by many families we may not see much of during the year. However, a number of new initiatives have been tried to seek ways to reach out to many people we are in ministry with.

In the last five years we averaged 37 baptisms per year. This gives great opportunity to meet with families, and find other ways for linking them into the community. We developed a Baptismal celebration service where families are invited to come back, have a special service for the children, relight their baptismal candles and join together with afternoon tea. This has been successful and two services are planned for this year. ‘One-off services’ enable people to make a greater effort to come to church, and as they are tailored for the families, it is much more fun and more meaningful for them as well.

Four years ago we started a ‘Mad Hatter’s Tea Party’ as an opportunity to meet new pre-school and play group families. Attendance varies, but has given another opportunity for people to come and link with the church. And we initiated an interactive nativity play with the pre-school children leading up to Christmas, where they come into the church and are shown some of the things in church they may never have seen before.

In response to the growing number of families who were caught up in sport on weekends which made it more difficult for them to get to church on Sunday mornings, we trialed a service on a Saturday afternoon. This went quite well for a time, but the busyness of life intervened.

In response to a survey sent out to families, we will be trialing a new family bible study on a Sunday afternoon. This is called “Faith in Depth’ and is intended to enable families to spend time together whilst being equipped with some resources. It will also enable growth in Bible knowledge and understanding for the whole family. Many parents expressed their limited biblical knowledge, and their feelings of inadequacy in being able to help their children grow in this area, so we thought it was an opportunity to get them together.

Opportunities exist for many new groups to arise to offer support and resourcing for people, but the challenge is developing leaders. The ‘over-committed’ feeling that so many people have makes this a difficult challenge, but we continue to seek ways to work around it.

Last November the family worship services focused on specific issues, e.g. juggling many roles; male and females; parenting and taking care of self. Many ideas have been proposed to help in supporting families and children, but they are often unable to be implemented because of the limitations of space and time. Creative ways around these challenges are being thought about.

This ministry is extensive and exciting as well as challenging. There is a great sense of excitement at being called to journey with people through some demanding times in their lives. The immense number of people whose only experience of church has been Sunday School or Scripture raises some great opportunities for working with adults, and their children. The diverse ages of parents in this day and age raise other interesting opportunities, especially as parents with young children may often be dealing with older parents in ill health. The increase number of grandparents caring for young children introduces even more opportunities for ministry.

Ministry with families and children is in an exciting and challenging place and there is a vast mission field waiting more workers. However it requires flexibility, creativity and vision for different and new ways of being church with people, who have had little or bad experiences of church. From caring phones calls, to fun play groups, to meals where families can come together, the range of possibilities is endless. Such is the opportunities that lie ahead for congregations in this exciting are of ministry.