Modern society is generally divided by age. Children and youth spend most of their time in childcare and school. Adults make up the workforce. Older persons tend to live separately from their family, with some in retirement homes or aged care. Often our modern churches are no different.

All Souls has segregated ministries for children and youth. Morning tea is designed for adults while children tend to go outside or sit in the corner. Our worship service uses language and furniture for adults while the kids’ stuff is stored in the hall. Even our staffing has promoted segregation: Paid musicians for specific services, a paid playgroup leader for outreach, and a succession of children’s and youth ministers who each experienced burnout before resigning...

Instead of separating into silo-ministries, how can we allow the gospel to unite us and transform our worship and community life?  What changes should we make for us to truly live as God’s family, with young and old caring for and learning from each other, putting aside our own interests to build up the body of Christ? I’d love to hear your suggestions as we develop our Mission Action Plan together! 

There’s no success without succession. In the church and in ministry, there must be a succession plan, otherwise the church will die. In 2 Timothy 2:1, we find four generations mentioned as a model for ensuring the sustainability of the church. The Apostle Paul (1), who has trained Timothy (2), instructs him to entrust the gospel to faithful people (3) who will be able to teach others as well (4).

All of us have a responsibility to entrust the good news of Jesus to others who will pass it on to others as well. This is the biblical imperative that has stood the test of time: Intentionally passing on the gospel in a form that can be received, applied and then passed on to others as well.

For our church to be biblical, faithful and sustainable, this must be central to our strategy. But the key for this, as emphasised in 2 Timothy, is to rely on God’s power and love, rekindling and fanning into flame God’s gift. It involves being strong in the grace of Christ, being intentional about our ministry amidst all the distractions and complexities of life today. It involves remembering the great heritage of faith we are part of, but looking forward in mission because God’s Word is not chained.

​What is our succession plan here at All Souls? I’m not aware of one for our current context. That is why we are seeking to develop a Mission Action Plan.

What legacy do you want to leave? This is a core question of our vision process as we reflect on who we are and who we want to become. God loves his people so dearly that we can trust him for helping us become who we already are in Christ (cf. Phil 3). But a lack of a clear and consistent focus on who we are leads to a lack of fruitfulness in our ministries.

It is always easier to focus on the outward forms of a practice instead of its underlying meaning and power. That is why we need to constantly review, rediscover and re-appropriate the underlying meaning of our traditions so that they can live on into the future. What legacy do you want to leave?

Many Anglican churches leave a legacy of decline, degeneration and death. We know what patterns produce this (see the Vision Display in the church foyer), but breaking these patterns is costly. We also know the principles that produce life, growth, and rising generations to engage with the Christian faith. We can implement these principles at All Souls if we want, although it will be costly. So at the core of our vision process is not so much what we should or shouldn’t be doing, but about discovering our underlying intention and then focusing on that. In other words, What legacy do you want to leave?’