Ministers Desk 21st September 2014

On Monday 15 September the Church Council was led in a discussion about the changing nature of church and society.

The high point of church attendance in Australia was in 1959.  This was a time when Australia’s population was growing and there was a spiritual revival happening.  You might remember what church was like in those days, or have heard people talk about it.  In those days groups for children, youth and adults were large and active.  People tell me that Sunday was consumed by worship, Sunday School, youth events, fellowship teas and more worship.  But this was only to be expected, because the church had no competition on Sunday and for many the church was the social hub of the community.

60 years later we find that things have changed considerably.  Pace of life, technology, transportation, lifestyle choices (such as dual income families, increases in leisure options), increased cultural and ethnic diversity, globalisation and changing attitudes have all contributed to making our society vastly different.  The world around us has changed more in the past 60 years than it has in hundreds of years before that.

The challenge that confronts the church now is to address ourselves to how we change to meet our changing environment.  Many of our church structures, programmes and activities are grounded in a society that no longer exists.  We need to find structures, programmes and activities that people in our society understand and are comfortable with.  It is a question of the method of the church being relevant to our society so that the good news of the gospel can be heard and responded to.  There is one thing that has not changed over 60 years.  People are still in need of hearing the gospel message of Jesus Christ.  God still calls people into a living relationship with him and he still chooses to use us, Christ’s disciples, as his primary vehicle for this invitation.

As a congregation we have entrusted the Church Council with looking toward the future and leading us into God’s plans for the future.  The Church Council will continue to address the question of who we are becoming as we continue to focus on our purpose of Growing Disciples who Exalt, Explore, Embody, Engage.

For all of us though, we need to be willing to adapt to our changing environment.  For Emmanuel to have a long term future and for the people of our neighbourhood to have an eternal future, we need to be culturally relevant.

Grace and peace

David Fender