Regional Snapshot

Regional Snapshot: Australia

Authenticity and patience

By Rod Matthews

VARSITY LAKES, Queensland, Australia—Spreading the gospel in Australia is a real challenge.

Generally, the post-Christian social environment Down Under is not receptive to those who share the gospel of Jesus Christ. In this context, a Christian has to earn the right to share his or her beliefs by first becoming a genuine friend.

If people sense an ulterior motive—that you are trying to convert them, for example—then you have little hope of getting past first base.

An understanding and sensitivity to the culture in which we work ... and patience ... are prime requisites for those seeking to share the gospel with others here.

To this end, the church in Australia has established a range of ways to interact with, build, strengthen and offer help in repairing the communities in which we work.

This has enabled the church to demonstrate the love and care of God through the way we communicate and serve. In other words—to take the characteristics of God, as reflected in his community, out to the local community around us.

People respect what we say only when they respect us. This is true of organizations as well as individuals. On a national and congregational level, we are starting to see the results of years of patient labor toward this goal.

A prime example of this effort is Pacific Training & Development (PTD), which was established in 2000 using the professional skills of office staff members to serve the community.

Aub Warren and John McLean, both of whom have post-graduate business qualifications and are accredited trainers in a range of professional development programs, have for the past several years conducted numerous public and in-house leadership, communication and team building workshops.

PTD has led to numerous positive contacts and opportunities, including with the National Church Life Survey and Christian Management Australia.

National Church Life Survey (NCLS): In the past 12 months, the church in Australia has developed an exciting and unexpected relationship with NCLS—an independent research organization that conducts Australia-wide surveys every four or five years, focusing on church health.

NCLS works with more than 25 denominations in Australia covering more than 7,000 congregations and connecting with more than 11,000 church leaders at denominational and local levels.

Their findings are of significant interest to anyone desiring to respond to the spiritual needs of their flock, and therefore NCLS is most concerned about the integrity of its research and its academic and intellectual honesty.

John McLean

Through contacts established at a Pacific Training seminar conducted by John McLean, Australian national director, and Aub Warren, Pacific Training & Development manager, NCLS management invited John and Aub to meet with their staff in Sydney as they prepared for the 2006 national survey.

They have express-ed concern that much effort goes into collecting and analyzing their research data, but that many church leaders do not know how to use it to improve the spiritual health of their churches.

Aub Warren

So NCLS is considering whether it could also offer several training plans that use the data effectively to benefit the local congregations.

John and Aub have been invited to advise at every level, including giving input into the design of the 2006 questionnaire and into developing and delivering the possible training programs. John has also been asked to contribute as a co-author of a book NCLS is preparing for release next year.

Christian Management Australia (CMA): WCG—Australia is a founding member of CMA and has participated in its annual conference since its inception.

CMA is a non-profit, non-denominational membership organization for leaders and managers of Christian organizations.

Its goals and aims are consistent with our own, and they have expressed their focus as: Understanding—addressing the misunderstanding which says that “ministry is spiritual, management is secular”; Connecting—helping churches and ministries to discover each other, and work in cooperation instead of isolation or even competition; Resourcing—providing resources to save reinventing the wheel, and to help managers in Christian ministries to be more effective; Training—providing seminars and conferences with a particular focus on aspects of management, as they relate to ministry; Benchmarking—identifying and developing best practice standards for ministry management and leadership.

In addition to these national initiatives, congregations throughout Australia have developed lasting relationships with a wide range of community support programs, with many individuals and congregations being honored for their work.

The Australian church is striving to fulfill in ways that are culturally appropriate, Paul’s admonition in Galatians 6:10: “Right now, therefore, every time we get a chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith” (The Message).

Australian Office Move

Late last year, the Australian Office completed the move from the Burleigh Heads building it had used since 1976 to its new facility at Varsity Lakes, about five kilometers (three miles) away. Located in a new office park development, the two-level building is much more compact and modern. It has proven to be suitable for housing the management and administrative support staff who serve the congregations of the church across the country as well as Ambassador College of Christian Ministries and the church’s professional development arm, Pacific Training & Development.

The facility includes a modern, well-equipped meeting room suitable for small conferences and seminars. It has been used for the two national ministerial conferences conducted this year.

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