The One Thing

St Faith's Anglican Church in Sydney's Northern Beaches has made significant changes to how they think about mission as they pray to see more people saved. We talk with Marcus Druitt from the church about what he has found to be the effective elements of evangelistic courses. In this episode we discuss: The important contexts of an evangelistic course, including thinking about your mission funnel and the wider ministry ecosystem. That more effective gospel presentations are often home grown or adapted for their context There are some great presentations out there: Alpha, Christianity Explored, Olive Tree Media, Nua (a Scripture Union course) Using something that is already there to keep the ball rolling. To write your own homegrown course, start with one presentation and then alter it according to what worked and what didn’t work The teacher teaches, the Spirit convicts, the Christian witnesses around the table Understand the underlying principles and convictions of the gospel, and adapt that into your context

Discover the art of personalized feedback, where understanding individual backgrounds and emotional responses is key. Relationships matter; knowing your team fosters trust and effective communication. Learn about the challenges of cross-gender feedback and cultural sensitivities in giving critique. Explore true delegation, transforming task offloading into empowerment. Embrace the balance of candor and compassion for a supportive growth environment. It's all about adapting your approach to meet diverse needs and encouraging ongoing development!

Explore the significance of regular feedback rhythms in enhancing team dynamics. Discover how structured performance reviews can foster accountability and growth. Uncover the power of reflective questions to drive personal and team development. Delve into the pros and cons of 360-degree reviews in identifying blind spots. Learn practical strategies from real examples to transform leadership through meaningful one-on-one feedback conversations. Engage with the importance of creating a supportive environment that encourages open communication.

The importance of proactively seeking feedback is highlighted as a key to effective leadership. Strategies for creating a feedback-rich environment are discussed, emphasizing emotional awareness while receiving input. The nuances of personal backgrounds in church community feedback are explored. Specific questions for sermon feedback aim to enhance understanding and engagement. Personal anecdotes and a creative screenwriting example illustrate the transformative power of constructive criticism.

Feedback is crucial for growth, especially in ministry. The SBI tool—Situation, Behavior, Impact—helps provide clear, constructive insights. Key elements include understanding purpose, timing, and tone, as well as ensuring feedback flows both ways. Personal anecdotes showcase how feedback loops foster development, while mastering feedback in preaching enhances audience engagement. The conversation emphasizes that feedback isn’t a one-time event; it requires follow-up and alignment of verbal and non-verbal communication.

The podcast delves into the critical role of feedback in church culture and the barriers that prevent it. Listeners learn about common fears that stifle honest communication, including concerns about relationships and personal expertise. The discussion emphasizes the importance of a supportive environment and the emotional awareness needed for effective feedback. Practical tools and guidelines, like the 70:20:10 model, are shared to help teams cultivate constructive criticism. Overall, it’s a deep dive into improving connections through better feedback.

We continue our exploration into how AI can help us in ministry. In this episode we go beyond CHATGPT to look at marketing, writing and other uses for AI in ministry. CHAPTGPT for brainstorming, coming up with a marketing plan and sharpening emails. Text to Image AI for producing kids ministry resources and illustrations for sermons. Creating reels (short videos for social media) using AI Using AI to compensate for your weak spots Working with AI with your head screwed on SHOW NOTESCHATGPT the generic AI engine Copy.ai for writing Jasper.ai for marketing Opus Pro for making reels from sermons. CHATGPT Store signup for more options Firefly for text to image resources Email us to let us know how you are using AI CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by Reach Australia. For ideas or questions please email resources@reachaustralia.com.au To support the Reach Australia Online Library head here.

AI has become an phenomena in the world. We're exploring how something like CHATGPT can be useful for ministry and where it cannot be substituted for person-to-person ministry. Analysis: Finding trends in data and preaching: repeated illustrations, hobby horses, proportion of application Limitations: AI is not aware of copyright issues Chatbots on church websites have limited value. They might be able to answer some questions about when services are on, but you want to be careful when people ask questions about, say, what Christians believe Sermons: Have some limited value in acting like a 'commentary', could produce transcripts and translations into other languages of what's being said SHOW NOTES: CHATGPT CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by Reach Australia. For ideas or questions please email resources@reachaustralia.com.au To support the Reach Australia Online Library head here.

Term 1 is on the way. What do I need to think about? Reminding people of the vision. Dripping vision into all things we do. Giving people a plan for the year. Have a plan for: preaching, mission, serving (recruiting, developing, onboarding and celebrating). Plan to plan for the year. Plan your holidays. Make sure you are bringing on new staff well. Planning out Easter, which is early this year. Welcoming people over Summer and knowing their next steps. Keep mission on the agenda for the year. SHOW NOTES: Episode 279: Thinking about Term 1 2023 Episode 280: Joining A New Staff Team Episode 166: Refreshing Your Staff Meetings Part 1 Episode 167: Refreshing Your Staff Meetings Part 2 Episode 315: Organising My Preaching Program Email Scott@reachaustralia.com.au for a page on training development CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by Reach Australia. For ideas or questions please email resources@reachaustralia.com.au To support the Reach Australia Online Library head here.

Dr. Patricia Weerakoon, expert in gender, orientation, and identity, discusses the need for clarity and compassion in conversations about gender. The podcast covers shifts in transgender issues, making distinctions between personality and sexual identity, and engaging in conversations between different perspectives. It emphasizes the importance of speaking with compassion to those struggling with dysphoria, speaking with clarity to those promoting the ideology, and parents speaking with honesty to children.