Heads Of Churches & Colleges Meeting

The results of the research released to the Heads of Churches and Colleges last week are a wake-up for anyone who thinks the Church is reaching our city. They are a call for us to rise up together and claim the future:

3,600,000 people live in Melbourne (and growing about 80,000 a year).

300,000 at church weekly - 150,000 of these attend Catholic Churches·

65,000 of all attenders are aged over 75 (163,000 are over 55).

68,000 church attenders are under 34 years!!

Churches report about 5,000 come to faith each year.

There is a net loss of 4,800 from the church each year.

The Church, through local churches, and Christian welfare agencies, schools, aged care facilities and many other activities, provides enormous and irreplaceable support for our city which depends on these services. Few in our city are aware of how vital Church support is (even Christians) nor how much our society depends on our Christian heritage and values for its social stability and well-being. BUT without spiritual regeneration the Church will not be able to sustain this vital support. Likewise the current serious increases of crime, relationship failure, domestic abuse, self-harm and addictions will continue unabated.

AND – caring for people, having great meetings and even leading people to faith is not enough:

We are called to EXPECTANT PRAYER, believing the Lord will lead us far beyond what we can do.

We are called to MAKE DISCIPLES who will share their faith and lead others to be disciples (without this the Church will continue to decline. Making disciples who make disciples will reach the whole city).

We are called to LOVE ONE ANOTHER to reveal Jesus is in our midst, and to show the power of the Cross to reconcile.

If we don't respond now in intentional mission to reverse these trends can we expect anything different for future generations? Now is the time for church leaders to come together to seek God to lead us to fulfill His call on the church in Melbourne for the future.

ALL MELBOURNE MATTERS - The Research Reports

THE RESEARCH OF THE WHOLE CHURCH IN MELBOURNE

For the first time ever, the National Church Life Survey results from participating denominations have been combined with additional surveys carried out by Transforming Melbourne. CRA research has been added, and all this put alongside the National Census figures to compare Church data with the demographics of the city.

The result is a snap shot of the size, vitality, diversity and trends in the life of the Body of Christ in our city, together with descriptive reports on many vital aspects and ministries of the Church.

There are many encouraging aspects of the report, but the statistics of the Church as whole and the current trends are a shock. The good news is they provide a basis for developing effective and strategic plans for collaborative mission and ministry to reverse these trends.

1. THE CITYWIDE REPORT
This is the major report on the Church across Greater Melbourne, containing detailed data on the Church and the people who live in Melbourne, with analysis, charts and digital maps. The report is full-colour book of 100+ pages.
Prepared for Transforming Melbourne by the Christian Research Association

2. LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA REPORTS (LGAs)
A report is available for each of the 31 local government areas of Greater Melbourne. These give detailed information and comparisons of the Church and the community demographics in each LGA. Each includes analysis, charts and digital maps showing church locations.
Prepared for Transforming Melbourne by the Christian Research Association

3. THE DIRECTORY OF CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES IN MELBOURNE
An On-Line Interactive Directory of Christian Ministries, Organisations, Denominations and Churches in Melbourne to support all parts of the Church in serving our City. It has been developed for the use of local churches, organisations, leaders and individual Christians to provide easy access to the resources and multitudes of ministry and mission organizations across the Church in our city.

The directory is will allow on-going input and updates. It already includes over 3000 Ministries and Churches

Prepared and Managed by Transforming Melbourne

4. MISSION RESPONSE BOOK
A small book to support a meaningful response to the picture of the Church revealed in the ALL MELBOURNE MATTERS Research reports. It highlights some issues and trends from the reports, and contains questions for reflection and discussion, and ideas of some potential missional strategies and resources for the Church at citywide, community and local church level. Its aim is not simple answers or solutions, but rather provoking engagement with some big questions and the journey that will see the Church strengthened and confidently responding to the needs of local communities and our city for the future.

This book will be of value to leaders of denominations, ministry organizations, church pastors and boards and to small groups and individuals. It will also be valuable when later in 2009 there will be facilitated workshops in local areas of Melbourne to examine and respond to the detailed research of the Church in each local government area.

REFLECTIONS FROM PRAYER

Sue Tinworth, Associate and Prayer Coordinator of Transforming Melbourne, shares the following reflections from prayer:

Week One: Seeing Jesus as He Is.
I was blown away by the invitation to have the eyes of my heart enlightened and for the images of being one with Jesus; being filled by His Spirit.

A pivotal moment on earth had to be when Jesus was born human and heaven opened to say something… Luke 2:14 isn’t just a Christmas carol. Last week I unpacked it.

From Luke 2:8 it’s all great, great, great … for all people… Great news of great joy from a great company of the heavenly host praising God and saying… “Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace to men on whom His favor rests.”

The word peace means to be set at one again! Quiet rest, satisfaction, delight because we are one with Him again. The word for men means the countenance – the faces of people- and it refers to those who gaze open eyed at something remarkable. This is us as we focus on who Jesus is in these weeks of prayer and fasting!

Heb 1:3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being…
2Cor 3:18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Matt 5:8 Those who see God are pure in heart.

The words favor of God mean a divine influence that comes upon the heart and its reflection in the life -graciousness in manner and action. I see gracious radiance and peace on those who spend time gazing at who Jesus is!

From Luke 2:15-20 the words see and heard and all repeat in a crescendo because when they see they have to tell others. And it was just as they had been told – this experience had integrity!

And this is for all who will receive! Are you one of them?

Week Two: Seeing the Church as Jesus Sees it.
Am I open to see and respond to what He shows me?
I was shocked on Sunday night – the first night to get a revelation that challenges me to responds to what I have been shown.

As I prayed, I was seeking to bless our Lord and I remembered if we seek Him we will find…
I prayed to have no agenda but Him/His and felt the Spirit sigh into this.
His agenda is to love and be loved. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain by loving Him.

But then I felt Jesus’ invitation to love ‘her’ for Him.
This wife he loves so much. Ephesians 5:25-27
This dear woman whom He entrusts to his son to take to his home. John 19:26-27
He entrusts His bride to us, friends of the bride groom, while she is waiting for Him. John 3:29
Before he left Shepherd entrusted His lambs to those who truly, truly, truly love Him, saying, Take care of my sheep. John 21:15,16,17

Do we see the Church as lovingly as Jesus does?

Share With Us What God Does In The 40 Days!

The 40 Days of Prayer and Fasting for the Church and Future of our City is starting tomorrow (Ash Wednesday 25th February). The theme is "Pray we see our city as Jesus sees it and love Melbourne as He does."

We at Transforming Melbourne would like to encourage you to include the following in your personal prayers:

(1) WRITE DOWN names of people God puts on your heart to pray for each of the 40 days.
(2) OBEY what God asks you to pray or do.
(3) SHARE with us what God does in the 40 days!

Please feel free to use the comment field below to share with us!