Synod accepts ambitious renewal program

Synod 2021 has approved a 10 year renewal program with its Future Directions and the Synod Resourcing Framework.

The approved renewal blueprint, Future Directions for the People of God on the Way seeks to prioritise and fund:

· Rural and regional ministry

· Ministry with people in the first third of their lives

· Walking together with First Peoples and to the covenant with Congress

· Stewardship of the earth

· Working with Presbyteries to organise ourselves to promote growth within and through our congregations

Earlier, Dr Denise Wood, reported that in the Synod discernment groups there was affirmation of the need to have the church’s assets work hard for the mission of God.

She said there was concern expressed around the welfare of rural and regional congregations and the need for collaborate and transparent decision-making.

Moderator, Simon Hansford, highlighted the transformation this plan would bring to the church. “It will shift on what we focus on as a church, as it should,” he said.

“By better using our property assets and income, we can resource Future Directions and continue to grow to be a Church that finds its mission in the world through Jesus Christ,” the Future Directions paper says.

Previously Synod had heard that for Future Directions to succeed and for the Church to continue to grow and fund its mission, it will need:

• People with the vision, skills and experience to grow the Church through the power of the Holy Spirit

• Programs that help our witness to Jesus Christ flourish

• Money to pay for the people, property, and programs

• Property that supports the delivery of mission and ministry.

The Resourcing Framework paper states: “We propose that the Church commits to our shared sense of purpose as a living Church in mission together and commits to sharing and using our resources to strengthen the Church, as a whole and as individual Congregations, to enable us to continue to bear our unique and transformative witness of the gospel.”

Martin Thomas