The Pastor's Heart with Dominic Steele

Now, where and how for Sydney Anglicans - with Raj Gupta and Zac Veron

Sep 25, 2023

Raj Gupta and Zac Veron discuss the challenges and declining trends facing Sydney Anglicans, including attendance, financing, and mission. They analyze the gap between declining attendance and Sydney's growing population, explore the difficulty of strategic planning, and address the trend of people moving to larger churches. They emphasize the importance of engagement, effective evangelism, and focusing on children and youth ministry amidst the aging population.

34:33

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Episode guests

Zac Veron

Raj Gupta

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Quick takeaways

Understanding the current state and conducting a realistic assessment are crucial for effective vision planning.

The data shows that from 2005 to 2022, average attendance in the Sydney Anglican Church declined by approximately 18.5% despite the growing population, highlighting the need to address declining numbers and plan for future ministry.

Deep dives

Importance of Reality Check and Strategic Planning

Understanding the current state and conducting a realistic assessment are crucial for effective vision planning. By acknowledging the current reality, organizations and churches can identify areas for improvement or course correction. This includes looking at attendance numbers, financial data, and other relevant statistics. While the reality check can be both encouraging and challenging, it is necessary for growth and progress. Strategic planning plays a significant role in addressing these findings and charting a path forward.

Introduction

3min

Analyzing Attendance Numbers and Decline in Sydney Anglican Churches

7min

Measuring Progress and Declining Newcomers

10min

Decline in Church Attendance, Aging Population, and Softening in Giving

3min

The Aging Population and Church Impact

12min

Now, where and how for Sydney Anglicans - with Raj Gupta and Zac Veron

The future of the Anglican Church in Sydney.

We engage in a ‘Stockdale Paradox’ discussion, confronting the brutal facts about attendance, finances and National Church Life Survey data about mission, newcomers and maturity.

Plus we review the recent Sydney Anglican Synod debate where leader after leader poured out their heart.

The gap is widening between the diocese’s declining attendance and Sydney’s growing population.
While there are COVID factors, the National Church Life Survey trends are clearly observable and are worrying.
There’s a difference between having a heart for evangelism and knowing how to engage effectively.
While gross giving has increased, real giving (adjusted for inflation) seems to be down.
There’s a clear difficulty with strategic planning and implementation.
What to do about the accelerating trend of people moving to larger churches.

We look at the hard facts and attempt to chart a way forward.

Zac Veron is the senior minister of Bayside Anglican Church, Sydney.

Raj Gupta is the senior minister of Carlingford Anglican Church, Sydney.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/sydney-anglicans-now-where-how-raj-zac

References:

Slides used in this discussion.

How to increase your newcomers - 2019 study

Raw data on Attendance (Zac Veron’s questions)

Raw data on Giving (Raj Gupta’s questions)

Raw data on National Church Life Survey (Dominic Steele’s questions)

Sydney Mission 2020 Goals (set in 2014)

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