Church Leaders
A rich part of the deeper story of Churches of Christ is ‘mutual ministry’ or ‘the priesthood of all believers’. This means that everybody is gifted and important, including those with the gift of leadership. This rich deeper story of ours must never be interpreted as ‘anti-leadership’.
Leadership is a critical factor in the health and growth of churches. Simply put, healthy and growing leaders cultivate an environment of health and growth in churches and in mission activities. Healthy and growing leaders equip other people for leadership expressing the Shared Value of Collaborative Ministry found in our Statement of Purpose: We value the unique contribution to ministry of each individual believer, and are committed to equipping believers (through, for example, the five-fold ministry pattern of Ephesians 4:11-16), and releasing them to participate in ministry and mission on the basis of their giftedness and capacity.
The same is true across a system, in this case the family or network of churches known as Churches of Christ in Vic/Tas. Without leaders (and leadership) local churches and the Conference ‘system’ would struggle to exist.
We greatly appreciate all of you who provide leadership. Some of you do it as your calling or vocation and are paid accordingly. Others do it as volunteers, faithfully contributing to the mission and ministries of churches over and above the ministry and mission you perform in your workplace. Thank you for what you do.
This website is one place that leaders can discover tools and resources and helpful links to strengthen your leadership. It is also the place to engage with those who provide leadership across Conference. We need to hear from you, to hear your stories of your church’s health and growth, and also of its struggles and challenges. We also believe that you have something to contribute to Conference as a whole, and also to other churches. We look forward to the dialogue with each other.
Church Health
Church health is really important. Conference leaders and Partner Departments are committed to working with your church (and every church) to develop its health, and subsequently its growth. We have often talked about our role in ‘the cultivation of an environment where a diversity of healthy and growing mission-shaped activities can thrive’.
Church health doesn’t just happen. It requires intentional, and at time times intensive, activities. It is important therefore to consider what church health (and growth) looks like, how much it is understood, the degree it is ‘owned’ by Conference’s stakeholders, and, what can we do together to help it be developed in a deeper way. One view of what a healthy and growing (or ‘missional’) church could look like is described in this list of characteristics.
Church Health is everyone’s responsibility. Whatever part you play, whatever position or influence you have in your church, you contribute to its health and growth. Considering those characteristics, personally and corporately, is one good place to begin.
Church Health is an important focus for Conference Council. In fact constitutionally its primary role is to, ‘Oversee the spiritual health and direction of Conference’. Each of the Partner Departments has a similar focus, expressed within their particular area of contribution.
Here are just some of the areas in which your church’s health and growth can be supported and facilitated:
- Mission & Ministry – Minister Care, Church Health Consultancy, Intentional Interim Ministries, Congregational seminars and retreats, Governance here
- PropCorp – Property, Insurance, Risk Management, Legal, Employment, Governance
- Stirling Theological College: a ministry of Churches of Christ – Theological Training, Ongoing Professional Development
- Community Care – Support for Community Mission projects through CareWorks
For another angle on church health see a blog post from Paul Cameron ‘The Lawsuit is in the Mail…’
Careforce Lifekeys programs address the issues of ordinary people, struggling with everyday life, and are a powerful outreach tool. Yet Lifekeys is not just an evangelistic tool, it is also a profoundly important tool for church health and leadership development. Careforce Lifekeys, a Mission Agency affiliated with Churches of Christ in Vic/Tas, enhances both church health and evangelism in the 21st Century.
