Vision for Mission

Carrying a street sign that once pointed to a growing Uniting Church congregation Vision for Mission Advocate Rev Duncan Macleod spoke to the November meeting of the Queensland Synod about the lessons learned from two and a half years with the Vision for Mission project.

Mr Macleod explained that the sign had become redundant when the congregation closed and asked, “Where is the church opening now?

“The Queensland Synod needs to foster new expressions of the church while still supporting those congregations which are well established.”

He suggested the most effective model was to encourage congregations in their development of informal faith communities.

“The Gap Uniting Church, for example, is developing the capacity of its members to connect with students from the high school next door. “Youth and community worker Richard Cassady has been working with congregational members, teachers and students from the school and local business leaders to transform a storage space into the Bike Workshop for Year 9 boys.”

The Vision for Mission project started in 2006 and was designed to encourage ventures in mission and ministry by developing a culture of courageous and generous mission.

“What is clear to us all is that the changes we’re looking at take years to develop and embed,” said Mr Macleod.

The Vision for Mission project has helped the Queensland Synod partner with congregations seeking to engage with their communities in new ways through the appointment of key staff .

“Caloundra Uniting is supporting Jan Reid as she develops communities of faith associated with Unity College, and Emmanuel Cairns is supporting Irinale Taudula working with new ethnic faith communities in Moorooboo. Sunnybank Uniting is working with David Kim to develop a mission-focused Korean worshipping community. Esteban Lievano is developing a Spanish-speaking community in partnership with St Paul’s Stafford.

“The goal in each case has been to develop a learning community which will provide insights for the wider church’s engagement in the community,” Mr Macleod said.

The Vision for Mission advocate and team have also sought to encourage small budget and short term projects that encourage generosity and courage at a local level.

“Pioneer Valley Uniting Church sought the advice of the local dance school using their facilities about how best they might partner together. “They learned that parents waiting for their children were anxious about the safety of their toddlers. “With the encouragement of a $500 ‘Go Grant’ the church council set out to raise funds for safety fencing around the property.”

Living Faith congregation in Carina, Brisbane, heard about the project and decided to ask the same question with their tenants. They now provide hospitality for dance club parents two days a week, building friendship and community connections.

Mr Macleod said one of the downsides to a Synod-wide grants scheme is the danger of dependency on faceless, costless funding, with little sense of local ownership. For this reason the Queensland Synod is exploring ‘grassroots funding’ as a concept in which sacrificial giving is inspired by real life stories of transformation.

Mr Macleod spoke about the need for embedding the vision for mission at every level of the church’s life, from that of individuals carrying out their daily lives, through to the decisions made by Synod gatherings, Presbyteries and church councils.

“The focus over the next two years will be on sharing the stories of people and their expression of the mission of God.”

Those stories will include the ways in which people are being equipped to share their faith, engage in their communities, and connect worship, witness and service together.