Should we plant new churches or invest in revitalizing struggling ones? If you had to choose, where would you lean?

• Know Yourself: Are you wired to pioneer something new, or are you better suited to steady, transformative work?
• Listen In: What are others saying about your strengths? Seek out feedback.
• Maximise Impact: Which option has the greatest gospel potential?
• Foundation or Fresh Start?: Planting means starting from scratch; revitalising means building on an existing foundation.
• Nurture or repot: And if you choose revitalisation—how do you know when to keep nurturing and when to repot entirely?



TOOL BOX:

Church Planting Podcast

Gospel Workers Questionnaire

Church Planters Questionnaire 

376 Why Everyone Needs to Know About the Church Planter Questionnaire 

Church Planting is for Wimps

Church Health Consults



CREDITS:
This episode was brought to you by Church Suite

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You might not ever plant a church, but you should be looking for people who can. Where are you going to send them if you think they might be suitable? 

Hopefully you'll send them straight to the Church Planter Questionnaire on the Reach Australia website. Here's what you need to know about it before you send them the link.

• Gospel Workers Questionnaire: For anyone considering serving in ministry.
• Church Planters Questionnaire: Specifically for those thinking about leading a church plant.

These self-assessments are most helpful when followed by a debrief conversation to fully unpack the results.

Defining Success in Church Planting:

• Sustainability and effective outreach.
• Convictions: Strong gospel convictions and a concern for the lost.
• Competencies: Visionary leadership and emotional intelligence (both of which can be developed).
• Team Size: A larger planting team often signals greater success potential.

TOOL BOX:
Gospel Workers Questionnaire

Church Planters Questionnaire

Church Planting Prospectus

Church Planting Australia Podcast

CREDITS:
This episode was brought to you by Exdia

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

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Chris Mann (Cornerstone Box Hill, Sydney) and Rob Abboud (MBM Church Blacktown, Sydney) launched churches in 2024!

• What happens when you aren't prepared
• Seeing and getting your teams working
• The difference between week one and week two
• The process of seeing new people start to get integrated
• What makes a good lead-up process, including the assessment process
• Keeping alignment on track with both the launch team and new people coming in
• Watching for the moments of God working

TOOL BOX:

Church Planting Australia Podcast

Gospel Workers Questionnaire

Church Planters Questionnaire

Reach Australia National Conference '25: watch for the planting conference

MBM Blacktown

Cornerstone Anglican Box Hill

CREDITS
This episode was brought to you by Worship Tools from CCLI

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

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Term One: It seems an eternity away. After all, we haven’t even got to Christmas yet! But the key to starting strong in Term One is getting on track in Term Four.

• Think ahead about the five important things for Term One
• Ensure you’re ready to welcome new people coming into church
• Aligning new leaders and staff is crucial. How will you do it?
• Be prepared for mission opportunities: plan ahead

• Think ahead about the 5 important things for term 1
• Make sure you are ready to catch the new people coming into church
• The importance of alignment for new leaders and staff is key. How will you do it?
• Being prepared for mission opportunities: plan ahead
  

TOOL BOX:

332 What Do I Need to Think About in Term 1 2024

279 What Do I Need to Think About In Term 1 2023

280 Joining A New Staff Team

166 Refreshing Your Staff Meetings Part 1

167 Refreshing Your Staff Meetings Part 2

315 Organising My Preaching Program

CREDITS:

This episode was brought to you by EA Insurance

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"We become bolder in our local mission when we see what God is doing globally."

Being a healthy church means being concerned what God is doing throughout the whole world.

Wei Han Kuan thinks that Charles Perry (the evangelical founding bishop of Melbourne) got it right when he said in 1851 that “the best means of ensuring the health of the local church is a vital commitment to world missions.”

• How do have the conversation about how many missionaries you're supporting in global ministry? And who they should be?
• Can you name the missionaries you support?
• How do you think about a balance different types of mission partners?
• How do you send people out from your local church?
• Are you AIMING to send people from your local church?
• Who is responsible for discerning who should be sent?
• Generous churches breed generous people

TOOL BOX:

Redeeming Babel by Wei-Han Kuan

Gaining by Losing by J D Greear

52: The Sending Church

Policies - to come

CREDITS:

This episode was brought to you by  Safe Ministry Check

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How does global mission partnership work? "In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now," (Philippians 1:4-5). The Philippian church was not just concerned about how the gospel was going in their city, but where Paul was ministering as well.

• Partnerships at a church and an individual level
• Missionaries on home assignment at your church - what's helpful and what's unhelpful?
• Why link the visits of missionaries to local mission?
• How missionaries can be great for community building
  
• Using tech to support and encourage people around the world

TOOL BOX:

Ideas for Praying for Missionaries

Ideas for Caring for Missionaries

CMS Support

CREDITS:
This episode was brought to you by The Team Development Program

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

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Carey Neiuwhof has looked at some of the changes in North America, but what about the changes in Australia?

• We are closing more churches than starting. Is closing a church a bad thing?
• Fill in the blanks: we only have one church for every XXXX people in Australia
• How long do Australian churches take to become viable?
• Why too much funding is a problem for church plants
• Why authenticity matters
• Doing it alone: when does it work?
• What to look for in a planting core team

TOOL BOX:

Church Planting is Changing: Here's How to Change With It by Carey Nieuwhof

Gospel Workers Questionnaire

Church Planters Questionnaire

Church Planting Australia Podcast

Reach Australia National Conference '25: watch for the planting conference 

CREDITS:

This episode was brought to you by VCA

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠.

For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

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25% of people in churches will have switched in the last 5 years. Changing churches is hard, but it's meant to be.

• When is a good time for people to move churches (geography, kids and families)?
• What are some of realities of people switching?
• How do pastors pastor people doing a switch (both leaving and gaining)?
• What about people moving to a church plant?



TOOL BOX:

How to Walk into Church

Unmissable Church

301 How do I Help People come to Church? (Part 1) about Unmissable Church

302 How do I Help People come to Church? (Part 2) about Unmissable Church

Integration Pathway

Love Your Church 

CREDITS:

This episode was brought to you by Compassion

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

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Retirement is more than golf, gardening and travel. Once someone finishes work, they enter a new phase of life. Philip Hayes (EV Church, Erina), a retired eye surgeon, thought about what would happen if we used this as a great opportunity for the gospel. He's developed a great ministry to help others transition to this new stage of life.

Phillip talks about:

• The life of a retiree is not what you think
• Retirees work better together. How do we get them together?
• Realigning their hearts to their new life stage
• Helping people to look back as well as looking forward
• What retirees can do in ministry

TOOLBOX:

The Course of Your Life

TALK WITH SOMEONE

CREDITS:
This episode was brought to you by MTS

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The timeline for some people is that they meet their spouse, get married, and prepare to have kids. (It's not everyone and we love people who are single or kids is not an option for them!). But some people find themselves about to have kids, but are at a congregation that does not have a kids program. 

Geoff and Wendy Lin from Holy Trinity in Adelaide talk about how they prepare couples for kids. Here is what they cover: 

• What people can do before they have kids to develop great habits
• How ministers can help the transition and preparing people for it 
• The importance of farewelling people from one congregation,
• Some of the changes people should expect as they change churches 
• What is different for mums or dads to change churches
• Making sure family does not become the idol

TOOLBOX:

"Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come. (Psalm 71:18)

61: Marriage and Ministry with Keith and Sarah Condie

98: Marriage and Ministry with Dan and Teresa Lee

Webinar with Paul Tripp, Craig Tucker and Ruth Sheath

CREDITS:
This Episode was brought to you by the Reach Australia Team Development Program

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠.

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Youth and young adults have unique challenges. Karl Bonner from Northlight Anglican Church shares:

• Changes from school to post-school: from programmed to self-initiated
• Church provides constancy when there is a lot of change
• Effects of COVID on people leaving school
• Differences between adults and young adults
• Young adults are less likely to conceal their sins, but are less likely to continue in good habits?
• Appropriate levels of responsibilities
• How to teach them in ways that leaves them wanting more

TOOLBOX:

247 Youth Ministry

The Ecosystem and Youth Ministry

The Leadership Pipeline ebook

CREDITS:
This Episode was brought to you by Crossbeam Communications

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠.

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