The Power of a Church Planting Network

City to City Australia hosted a three day Church Planting Intensive at The Garrison Church in Sydney at the end of August. At this Intensive, I witnessed first hand a superpower for church planters – the network of church planters itself.

Most of the planters who took part in the Intensive are involved in smaller cohorts of 5 or 6 planters who meet regularly online. But the Intensive brought several cohorts together in a larger group, along with other planters who are further along on the journey.

It was a joy to see relationships take root and begin to blossom among the 20 planters and planting couples from across Australia who gathered at The Garrison Church in the heart of Sydney for the Intensive. As they learned, laughed, cried, ate, planned and prayed together it became clear that this network is an incredibly powerful resource for them to draw on.

There were many special moments across the few days. Pedram Shirmast, who is pioneering a ministry reaching Farsi speakers in eastern Melbourne with his wife Leili, says this:

"The conference was not just an educational event but a transformative experience that empowered me to grow personally, spiritually, and professionally."

A key factor Pedram credits for this impact is the amount of time the planters spent in prayer over the few days. In the context of the relationships that were formed and strengthened, prayer was critical:

"Engaging with fellow attendees allowed me to establish meaningful connections. Sharing ideas and experiences with others enriched my perspective and helped me to have a better vision of the journey and the future. The prayers and support we offered one another in the small groups created a sense of unity and solidarity that was truly supportive and uplifting."

Chris Swann with Pedram and Leili Shirmast

Emma Poulsen who with her husband Chris is planting Neighbourhood Church in the community of Walkervale in Bundaberg also reflected on the power of the network of planters as it took shape at the Intensive:

"I really appreciated the unity displayed across different denominations, approaches and contexts and I was really encouraged by the emphasis on praying with and for each other – and the value placed in this was a huge encouragement!"

Jaehoon (Richard) Sung, planting in Sydney, and Emma and Chris Poulsen, planting in Bundaberg with Phil and Kath Henry

Of course, there was plenty of learning to do and wise input to wrestle with at the Intensive. But Emma appreciated the time deliberately carved out for personal reflection: "I loved the opportunity to reflect on not only ministry design and what God is doing in our plant, but also what He is doing in our hearts."

What's significant about what these planters experienced at the Intensive is that the relationships in the network are rarely their primary affiliation.

Most belong to one denomination or another – or perhaps are planting in connection with a missionally healthy sending church. And there are plenty of differences between them. All are planting in contexts that are quite different from each other. And most have differing convictions about secondary matters such as baptism, spiritual gifts, and the roles of men and women in ministry.

Yet these church planters find in one another people who get them. In the network, planters find that they are seen and understood – and are able to give the gift of seeing and understanding others – in ways that are profoundly life-giving.

Click here  to read more about our cohort program and express your interest in joining a cohort in 2024.

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Written by Chris Swann
Director of Church Planting and Coaching

MinisTree: Building a Community for Outsiders in Bendigo with Fiona Preston

MinisTree in the Central Victorian town of Bendigo is a dynamic and vital ministry which serves many local people living on the margins in locations across the city. Beginning just eighteen months ago, Fiona Preston, the church planter and community chaplain, has found a purpose and a rhythm that is sustainable, and is life giving for those to whom she ministers. 

Fiona has a background in campus ministry in Melbourne and most recently in Bendigo at La Trobe University, a town of 120,000 an hour and a half north of Melbourne. 

After conversations both with her local pastor and her bishop she considered, and then pursued, ordained ministry within the Anglican church, and by the end of 2019 she was an ordained Deacon. At that point Fiona began working as a Chaplain at Tarrengower Women’s Prison, where she still works today. After some time at Tarrengower, Fiona added Hospital Chaplaincy to her work schedule. Fiona found herself working with many men who were experiencing desperate addiction and isolation. These two experiences began in her a new and deeper insight into the grace of the gospel, and has inspired her work with MinisTree. 

When asked about the work of MinisTree, Fiona reflects:

“MinisTree Bendigo, that was the dream. It was the idea that we wanted to go outside the walls of the church and do ministry on the streets, the ‘tree’ part representing growth and life, born out of the view that everybody is made equal and in the image of God.” 

Fiona is passionate about providing dignity, respect, love, and grace to the people who find themselves in places of great need; specifically, people who are “rough sleepers”. Rough sleepers is a term that encompasses more than what is connoted by the term homelessness. A person who is a rough sleeper might not have a home, might be couch surfing, might have social housing but spends the bulk of their time with other rough sleepers, or might be a squatter living in a vacant property. A rough sleeper spends the majority of his or her time on the streets. Many have been incarcerated, have experienced complex trauma, and have complex mental health issues. Some are addicts. It is a close community, with the bonds within it frequently being the closest those members have. The majority of rough sleepers are unlikely ever to qualify for social housing because their mental health precludes the functional capacity required to perform the daily tasks necessary for managing and operating a property. They do not have support networks large or functional enough to enable them to begin to develop those kinds of skills and capacities. The leap is just too great, and the chasm too vast. And since these people are unlikely to come to a traditional church for any reason, Fiona has gone to them. 

MINISTREE ON THE STREETS

FIONA PRESTON

Over four days per week, Fiona will spend time in the streets of Bendigo, visit the women’s prison, carry out speaking engagements, and spend time in the Neighbourhood House in the suburb of Long Gully. At the Neighbourhood House Fiona will lead a pastoral care group for women (which draws on Fiona’s expertise in Spiritual Direction), and also provide some one on one support. It is the balance between all these aspects of her role as a Community Chaplain that enables Fiona to stay energised for her work, and not become exhausted by it. 

Since beginning in a Church Planting Cohort with City to City, Fiona has begun to consider that the work she does on the streets can be considered church, although she would hesitate to call it that just yet. Her work encompasses many elements of church, just in a highly deconstructed form. There is no Sunday service, so there is not necessarily a “gathered” element which is usually associated with church, but there is very much a “scattered” embodiment of many facets of church life. Fiona will pray for people, read the Bible with them, offer pastoral care, and provide practical support in the form of small food items and clothing, and hopes soon to have a portable communion set. For many who have been in prison, chapel was a place of calm and nurture, and communion was a big part of that. Because of that strong connection, and because it is part of the life of believers, Fiona would like to be able to continue to provide communion for those for whom it is significant.  

Being part of a Church Planting Cohort with City to City has helped Fiona to think more broadly about the work she is doing. She admits that she can fall into thinking “I know what I’m doing, I’ll put my pastoral hat on”, but now she thinks about supports: “Who might I ask to pray? Do I need more volunteers? Do I need to consult with people with different giftings? And if this grows, in God’s grace, who do I need to wrap around (what is already here)? And if it grows and has more staff, where might I seek financial support for that?” The cohort has also been a great encouragement to Fiona in that although neither her work, nor the work of other members of her cohort, might fit neatly into the box of a traditional church plant, the principles taught are still applicable and useful to her work. Their facilitator affirms and accommodates their non-traditional models with skill and insight, and is able to ask questions that aid understanding and development of all their work. 
In all her work, one of Fiona’s greatest joys has been praying with those to whom she ministers, and having them not just join her in prayer, but to express genuine delight in their belonging to God, and His love for them. She expresses this, saying: “You wouldn’t replace that for the world, would you, those moments of your life? Because people are really in desperate need of God. I just love them. I love them.” 

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Written by Jane Duff

Revitalise Nelson: Hearing What the Spirit Says in the Diocese of Nelson

A process of discernment began in the Anglican Diocese of Nelson at their annual Synod in September last year. 

It was not necessarily a comfortable process, nor one which yielded solely comfortable results. Presented with statistics and graphs which illustrated the diocese-wide decline of its churches was deeply sobering for all present. It was recognised that there was and is rampant and rapid change in the western world, and that it was a critical moment for paying attention to the Spirit, the prevailing culture, and potentially making some big changes. But how that change might occur, and what it might require, was unknown. 

In the Anglican Prayer Book in New Zealand there are two statements to be said after scripture is read. The reader will say: “Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church”, and the congregation will respond: “Thanks be to God”. One thing to whom those present at Synod could attest was a sense that God was calling the diocese to pause, listen, and discern; to “Hear what the Spirit is saying” at that precise point in time. As the season of discernment proceeded, it was decided that the entire Diocese of Nelson would engage City to City Australia to implement a revitalisation consultation program: Revitalise Nelson. All twenty-three parishes in the Diocese would individually undergo the Revitalise program. This was launched recently at Nelson’s Leadership Camp in July, the theme of which was ‘Hearts Transformed by Jesus’.

REVITALISE NELSON

It is no small thing to have an entire diocese undertake a process of change at a foundational level simultaneously in every parish. Given this herculean proposition, attendees arrived at the Leadership Camp with many questions. Once it had been articulated and understood that there was not going to be a single uniform and rigid program rolled out over the twenty-three parishes, but a highly individualised and consultative process, uniquely contextualised for each parish, with research and analysis of all facets of the life of each church, and a clear plan devised which would be implemented in concert with their City to City Lead Consultant, a sense of hopeful anticipation began to grow. 

Andrew Katay, CEO. of City to City Australia, and Jamie Bester, Lead RA Consultant for Tasmania and for Revitalise Nelson, gave several examples of real churches, very similar to those in Nelson, where deep and lasting positive change had occurred through the revitalisation process. 

Many attendees of the Leadership Camp, which comprised clergy, leadership, and lay people, had arrived expecting answers of a concrete nature to the many questions they had about what was going to happen in the revitalisation process.

What they received, however, was the discovery that within the essence of revitalisation at City to City:

“There is a philosophy, or even a theology at work with this idea that we haven’t encountered before: and it makes sense.”

  – Simon Martin, Bishop’s Chaplain, Nelson

That philosophy or theology was found in Jamie’s message: listen to what Jesus is saying about abiding in him and being connected to him, and the life and the fruit that comes from him that is produced in us. Similarly, one of Andrew’s key points was that transformation in our churches is not a product or a result of our work, but is borne out through a work of God in our lives. And so, according to Simon:

“The shift in thinking went from ‘Yes, we want change, but how?’ to ‘Through us, in us first, and through us to others’. And this is the way we’re wired. So there’s a sense of anthropology which gave people a wake-up call to the humanity of change. It was refreshing in the way that it wasn’t a system, or mechanics, or a program, it was a realisation that this is the human condition, this is how God made us, this is how God works. It’s how He effects change.”

This invitation to rethink how change happens in our church communities from a gospel perspective with Jesus at the centre was not quite the concrete “how-to” that many had anticipated, but it was life-giving revelation that began to bear a deep hope and excitement.

GROWING EXCITEMENT IN THE DIOCESE

The result was that there began a lively buzz in the breaks between sessions and at meal times. People were lining up to enquire further of Andrew and Jamie about the ideas and principles they had been sharing. Numerous requests were made for copies of all the slides used in the presentations, recordings of the talks, and which books might be useful to read for further insight into gospel renewal and transformation. Many ‘a-ha moments’ were felt and shared across the camp. Attendees grew in eagerness to begin, and to know what was next. Excitement for the future was palpable and tangible.

Conversations with the many young adults present showed that they had collectively been struck by the concept that change begins in the heart and works outwards. This contrasted strongly for them with what they often understood from many sermons: that change is a result of gaining more knowledge, which can result in a moralistic invitation to “try harder, or have more faith, or love God more”. Heart transformation from gospel renewal was received as a tonic by many, coupled with statements marvelling: “Of course! Yes! But how is it that we’ve missed that?”  

The camp ended with the majority of attendees feeling optimistic and genuinely hopeful about the future. The teaching sessions from Andrew and Jamie had been revelatory and life giving, and had deeply challenged people as they considered the import and implications of their theme “Hearts Transformed by Jesus”. Change for the Diocese of Nelson is certainly in the air, and the desire to see it transpire has been galvanised through this recent camp. Please pray for this diocese as the process of Revitalise Nelson begins!

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Written by Jane Duff

Building Local Outreach in the New Housing Estates of Melbourne

Kathryn was in the Ordination stream in the Baptist Union in 2019 when she heard a Church Planter tell a story about church planting. In her words, while listening to the story of an 18-year-old-church plant: “I heard something in the story, and something came alive in me.” Being an associate pastor at Mill Park Baptist in the northern suburbs of Melbourne at the time, she shared her experience with the leadership there and began to discern the call to plant. And then COVID hit.

Kathryn reflects that part of her experience of the COVID pandemic was freedom, in that it stripped back some of the excesses of modern church life, and made way for a ‘cocoon of growth and development’ where she was free to dream and pray about the call to planting. During this time she further discerned her sense of call with trusted others, and it only became stronger. Her church was supportive of her and the call to plant, and made plans to bring it to fruition. 

Mill Park Baptist released Kathryn to begin planting Donnybrook Community Church (DCC) with a small team in the new housing estate of Olivine in Donnybrook in June of 2021. Olivine houses a lively and diverse community, with 20 percent of the population from an Indian background. She began working one and a half days per week, which increased to three days in her second year, and has now increased to four days a week. In the early stages, the church met as a house church in local members’ homes. It launched publicly in June of 2022, and has just ticked over one year of public meetings. 

Being bi-vocational has been of great benefit to Kathryn during this time, and not just from a financial perspective. She feels her work as a counsellor has given her credibility within the community, especially in the wellness space. 

Perhaps one of the happiest eventualities for Kathryn and DCC is the confluence of the arrival of two other strong Christian presences within the Olivine community alongside their own, while the community as a whole is in its infancy. There is a local Placemaker, akin to a Chaplain to the whole local community, as well as a café called “Shared Cup”, an initiative of the Baptist Union where those who struggle to find employment can find it, and all profits are returned to the community. These three bodies collaborating means that the community can be served in vastly more ways than if only one of these three were present. 

For example, Kathryn meets regularly with Michelle Mitchell, the local Placemaker, and it is through this relationship that Michelle introduced Kathryn to Nimi. Michelle knew that Kathryn is keen to run an International Expo with food, music, and dancing at some point in the future, so when Michelle met Nimi in the course of her daily work, and learned that Nimi, a Punjabi woman, had extensive experience in community work, she introduced her to Kathryn. Kathryn and Nimi met and discussed what an International Expo could look like in Donnybrook, and in the course of that meeting, Nimi learned that Kathryn was a pastor. Nimi expressed her desire to learn more about Kathryn’s faith and work, and now they are studying the Bible together.

Similarly, the members of DCC have inaugurated and established a quarterly event called “Raise Your Glass” which happens at Shared Cup. The aim of the event is to build community connections for locals, and to nurture an affirming and pro-social culture. It is an evening meal with a guest speaker (themes have been the importance of community post-pandemic, the love languages, or most recently a trivia night in place of a speaker), and an opportunity to publicly acknowledge local residents. There is a section of each event called ”Toasting not Roasting” where anyone may stand up, raise a glass, and toast a community member for their positive contribution to local life, large or small. This is a brilliant antidote to the Australian pastime of demonstrating acceptance by verbally roasting one another, and at the same time shows that the church is a place where that can be sidelined in favour of genuine affirmation and warmth. Each “Raise Your Glass” event includes the offer of opportunities to talk further about any of the themes of the evening, and information about upcoming community events. 

In terms of City to City Australia’s (CTCA) assistance and involvement with this process, Kathryn is most grateful for being part of the Church Planting Cohort. In that group, she says, “...in the early formation stages (of DCC) they were there to discuss all the ‘firsts’. It was so helpful to have a live conversation to help with what we were experiencing in real time.” Some of the relationships she formed in that cohort are ongoing, and continue to be a source of support and nurture for her. Kathryn also highly valued the sustained support, prayer, encouragement and ‘the right questions’ from Brett Mitchell, her CTCA coach. She says that CTCA has supported her ‘on every level, with funding, training, and coaching’, and that each of these three has been key.

Of the path of a Church Planter, Kathryn observes that “it’s a slow path, and not necessarily efficient. Self discipline of the ego of the leader is involved, and it doesn’t appeal to everyone.” On the flipside, reflecting on the context in which she has planted, Kathryn says “To be able to shape culture in a new housing estate where everything is rising up all around you is incredible”.