About E.M

The ‘Effective Ministry’ (E.M) stated aim is:

“to build effective disciple-making ministries through evidence-based research, combined with theologically sound practice”

The E.M ministry was initially instigated in 2010 with the goal of carefully examine (through thoughtful and thorough research) the reason and rationale behind apparent low growth rates within the Christian Church in Australia, and more particularly, within Anglican churches in the Sydney Diocese.

The aim was to investigate what opportunity there might be, under God, to increase ministry effectiveness within our current church ministries to begin to address the apparent lack of growth.

Avoiding anecdote and speculation, and using an ‘evidence based research’ approach, E.M drew upon, and analysed, vast amounts of ‘locally based’ statistical data, including sources such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), McCrindle Research, and the National Church Life Survey (NCLS); as well as canvassing a large number of broad based field interviews with local Anglican Ministers, assistant ministers, key individuals and senior clergy across the diocese, in order to comprehensively understand and analyze the issues.

As part of its evidence-based research, E.M also compiled, read, analysed and critiqued an extensive range of Christian written literature focusing on church growth and church growth strategy in order to investigate and understand the current, and historic, landscape of influence.

This detailed research, undertaken over a six-month period, unveiled some very clear concerns at the core of the matter. The heart of the challenge that lay before us is perhaps best captured by the ‘spidergram’ graph below.

From the graph several initial key concerns are made evident.

Firstly, despite congregation members finding their church leadership ‘open and inspiring’, and strong ‘front of church’ teaching, preaching and leadership, findings indicated a poorer capacity to effectively communicate a clearly articulated, demonstrable plan and direction for the church. This resulted in a relatively low understanding, or commitment from parishioners to any clear discernable ‘goal,’ or effective ‘call to action’.

Secondly, it appears, that despite 62% of parishioners (on average) in attendance in small groups / bible study, congregation members indicated they felt they were ‘not growing strongly in their faith’.

Nor did it appear congregants were – giving generously to the church, following up drifters, actively engaging in serving ministries, or seeking to reach the lost for Christ. This data indicated a concern in our ministry effectiveness to achieve ‘transformational growth’.

Finally, despite the efforts of ministers to ‘work harder’ to achieve good outcomes, there remain concerning levels of personal stress and burnout amongst many clergy and staff ministry teams, as well as reasonable difficulty for our leaders in managing ministry responsibilities in a strategic and effective manner.

After careful review and consideration of all the evidence presented (statistical data, Christian literature study and field interviews) E.M concluded that despite the many current challenges within, and the regardless of the impact of various secular attacks on the church over the last 50 years, there remained a significant opportunity for considerable growth recovery and renewal should the concerns and growth inhibitors identified above be intentionally, strategically and effectively addressed.

Particularly, and more importantly, if ways forward were shaped and developed from both a ‘theological’ and ‘practical’ perspective, providing the church with a clear analysis of ‘best practice ministry’ through a careful integration of orthodoxy with orthopraxis.

Identifying ‘best practice integration’ of ministry orthodoxy with orthopraxis in response to effective church growth is what E.M subsequently sought to do.

As E.M moved on from data analysis to examine the biblical and theological perspective on how gospel growth is achieved. It became evident from the mandate given to the church in the Great Commission (Matt 28), that the ‘vision’ set before the church, the designated ‘task’ set before its people, the key biblical, theological and practical driver of ‘best practice church growth’ is to be achieved through a concerted and strategic effort to focus church ministry strategy on building churches of – ‘disciple making disciples’.

Biblically and theologically, if we’re to become effective at ‘growing the church’, at strategically achieving ‘true gospel growth’ (both numerically and spiritually), then we’re to implement the scriptures call to build churches where making ‘disciple making disciples’ is our core – ‘vision’, and where challenging every believer to that task is our – ‘call to action’.

Don Carson describes the church’s clear mandate this way:

“The injunction made to the first disciples in Matt 28 to go forward and grow the gospel by ‘making disciples’ [disciple making meaning everything from witnessing Christ to non believers through to growing others in Christ] is a paradigm for all disciples that follow. This disciple making function and priority becomes binding on all Jesus’ disciples to now make others what they themselves are – disciples of Christ”

E.M’s research theologically and practically concluded that what is therefore needed in the church today is not a new ‘vision’ statement, or a new pragmatic growth strategy, nor the adoption of the latest leadership development course, but a – culture change, a radical return to the practice of daily and mutual discipleship and disciple-making, by every believer, and -through every opportunity.

It’s evident from the research findings that such a culture change will require a rigorous redirection in the order of our time and priorities, a renewed focus in our churches on nurturing transformational growth in disciples of Christ to become proactive disciple makers, and on developing greater gospel intentionality in the way we shape our ministries.

If we’re to achieve and renew gospel growth, then deliberately and intentionally growing disciple making disciples must begin to form the very DNA of each and every church, and each and every believer.

The Vinegrowers ministry affirms this conviction well:

“Discipleship is the wellspring of all evangelism and church growth. If we start with growing the church, we won’t necessarily grow disciples. When we grow disciples under God, we will grow the gospel and grow the church”

INITIAL RESPONSE STRATEGIES:

In the initial stages of immediate execution and implementation of this research, EM proposed 4 key strategy areas each church could begin to address where it was clear our gospel growth strategy was weakest, and where, under God, renewed growth and recovery could be found. In particular to recapture focus on growing – transformed disciple making disciples.

They were:

1. Improve the effectiveness of small groups
2. Strategic integration of newcomers into the church community
3. Addressing the transition, retention and relocation of Christians
4. Building effective children and youth ministries

E.M’s task since has been to research and develop ‘ministry working papers’ on each of the 4 areas for church use and implementation. Each of these ‘Ministry Modules’ were carefully researched and developed using the same research methodology, focusing on disciple making in each area, using careful integration of orthodoxy with orthopraxis within that process.

These working papers are specifically designed to assist churches as they begin to implement culture change in developing disciple-making disciples in each area of ministry.

The first 4 papers (Small Groups, Welcoming and Integrating, Children and Youth and data on Transition and Relocation) are available on this website, as well as other support materials, for each area of ministry.

Subsequently, 4 further modules have been researched and developed, with further researched ministry working papers to come on various areas of ministry.

1. Retention and Transition of Children, Youth and Young Adults
2. Disciple-Making Pastoral Care Within Small Groups
3. Intergenerational Ministry
4. Church Websites

EM has also developed a MINISTRY MODULE ASSESSMENT TOOL to assist churches to survey their congregation and leadership in relation to disciple-making principles against current practices.

Since completing the initial research E.M has been invited to present the research and the working papers to church leaders, Mission Area groups, and ministry organisations across the Sydney Diocese, as well as yearly teaching the graduating student class at Moore Theological College.

E.M has also been invited to prepare and present parallel research (using the same methodological approach) into other geographies, including the Armidale Diocese in NSW, for Anglican Connection in the USA, as well as one presentation with ongoing research planned for the UK.

E.M will continue to provide ongoing research and resources on disciple making for churches and Christian ministries.

The aim of this website, and the E.M Facebook page, is to make all current E.M research, resources and working papers available to churches, ministers, staff teams and lay leaders.

E.M’s METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH

* Note: Data gathering informs us of the nature of the issue analysed, but ultimately theology shapes and determines best ministry practice. The literature search and review process involves a thorough survey and a theological and practical analysis and critique of key, or influential, Christian literature written on the given issue/topic at hand.

E.M’s RELATIONSHIP TO CMD

The Centre for Ministry Development (CMD) was instituted in 2012 as a Centre of Moore Theological College to assist churches and ministers strengthen their ministries.

The aim is to individually assist ministers and church leaders in the implementation of the Effective Ministry research, and its ministry working papers, as well as provide whatever other support structures may be necessary for ministers in the field through the CMD program.

The goal of the Centre is to enhance lifelong reflective, theologically shaped, evidence-based ‘best practice’ in ministry by providing training, mentoring and support to those currently serving as gospel workers at the ‘coalface’.

As part of that process CMD (in direct association with Effective Ministry) began a rector and church consultancy ministry in 2013 to extend and build the fieldwork arm of the E.M ministry as a separate entity under the Moore College umbrella.

An Interview with Tim Sims on the E.M Research and it’s Findings