Dear Friends,
The results of the National Church Life Survey have arrived. You may remember that we participated in the survey with all the churches across Australia in late 2016 to assess our vitality and health. The survey results focus in on nine core qualities that have been shown to be central to the life of a vital church.
The Parish Council has had the opportunity to look at the results and as a staff we have begun to do some analysis but we need your help!
The nine core qualities seen in a thriving church are:
An alive and growing FAITH;
A vital and nurturing WORSHIP;
A strong and growing sense of BELONGING;
A clear and owned VISION;
Inspiring and empowering LEADERSHIP;
Openness to imaginative and flexible INNOVATION;
Practical and diverse SERVICE;
Willing and effective FAITH-SHARING; and
Intentional and welcoming INCLUSION
The results indicate that we have improved in some areas and dropped back in others.
In order to process all of this, we are inviting you to join us in some short focus-group discussions.
At St Andrew’s, Jason and the Wardens will arrange a meeting soon to give you the opportunity to comment on the results.
At St Peter’s we will be arranging five focus-group meetings centered on what the results say for each of our 5Ms – Magnification, Mission, Membership, Maturity and Ministry. This will help us continue to plan in accordance with our vision. You are invited to join us for some of the five or the lot!
The Ministry Meeting will be held on 10th September, 2017 at 12.30pm
The Mission Meeting will be held on 24th September, 2017 at 12.30pm
The Maturity Meeting will be held on 22nd October, 2017 at 12.30pm
The Membership Meeting will be held on 5th November, 2017 at 12.30pm
The Magnification Meeting will be held on 26th November, 2017 at 12.30pm
If you would like a full copy of the results please email me (nigel@campbelltownanglican.org) or call me
(4625-1041) and we will get them out to you.
Between now and then, here are two observations from the survey.
1. The aspect of church that you value the most is “sermons, preaching or Bible teaching”. That a majority of church attenders indicated that listening to God speak to us is valued more than anything else is cause for great thankfulness. This has spurred us on to work harder at this!
2. Two of the aspects of church life that you would most like to see given greater attention in the next twelve months are “building a sense of community” and “spiritual growth”. This is really helpful for us to hear what you are thinking!
Please pray for staff as we analyse the results and prepare for our focus group meetings.
In Christ
Nigel