BBC MINISTRY MEETING 9TH JUNE 2024

Proposals & Discussion Document

Moving Forward with Our Vision and Mission

Almost a year ago we, as Busselton Baptist Church, set our vision and mission to guide our next steps in seeking to be faithful to God - with the centrality of Christ, His glory, and a love for the lost as our motivations.

Our Mission

To make mature disciples of Jesus in ever-increasing number worldwide - for the glory of God and the love of others.

See Our Vision or BBC Vision Booklet

Opening Comments

We want to make decisions based upon our gospel convictions – we will at times, in our diversity, disagree on the precise detail of how this is applied – but we do want to begin with these unifying gospel convictions as those united under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and His mission. Our gospel convictions include:

The Reality of Heaven and Hell
The Cross of Love
This World Ends 
The Brevity of Life

Along with the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20), these convictions clarify the necessity of a passion for church growth and a willingness to embrace the pain of change for the sake of winning people to Christ and seeing them mature as disciples.

No doubt the changes proposed in this document represent pain for each one of us - change is costly. But we are not a people primarily motivated by comfort; rather, we have a vision to be a fruitful church so that we can love more people and love them better.

Church, we believe now is the time to embrace wise and strategic change for the sake of God being glorified in us and for the love of others.

God has been growing us. We currently have the highest number of people calling BBC home that we've ever had and we find ourselves with two capacity problems/growth barriers:

Our Sunday facilities (auditorium, car park, foyer, etc.); and
Our staff capacity to equip and mobilise all God’s people for the work of service.

To address these barriers in order to grow in number of maturing disciples, we desire to take three steps forward:

To address space capacity by commencing a second congregation.
To address leadership/equipping capacity by structuring our BBC ecosystem to identify leadership and staffing needs.
To approve a budget that supports these next steps

Our vision and mission have been guiding us, informing our path forward. Today, as we share this discussion document and prepare for our upcoming meeting, we are inviting you to embark on this exciting new chapter. Let's delve into this season together with enthusiasm and curiosity. We encourage you to actively participate in discussions, join the church life forum, and connect directly with Board Members. While we may not have all the answers at the outset, let's trust that as we step forward, God will lead us, shaping our journey and setting our course.

Sincerely,
Your Board.

Contents

Decisions

Motion 1: Sunday Afternoon Congregation

“The launch, in early Term 3, of a new congregation of BBC, gathering weekly on Sunday afternoons under the oversight of the Elders.”

Motion 2: 2024/25 Budget

“That the Budget for 2024/2025 as presented to the members of BBCC be accepted.”

Step 1

Addressing our Space Capacity - Afternoon Congregation Rationale

Motion: The launch, in early Term 3, of a new congregation of BBC, gathering weekly on Sunday afternoons under the oversight of the Elders.

Opening Comments

We can all recognise that we have no more room to love more people. With 269 people calling BBC home and an average Sunday attendance of 211, we do not have space to see significantly more disciples made and matured.

To see our vision of being a fruitful and multiplying church realised we believe the key next step is a second service. A second service creates space for more people to gather, for new leadership pathways, and the opportunity to reach a group of people that our current service is not well suited to reach. We have already seen in BBC's own data that two services promotes more people gathering. When we split into two services - as a temporary COVID restrictions solution - the last of the 4 Sundays had our highest individual attendance for 2022 (except Christmas day).

A. Previous Ministry Meeting Brainstorming

At the last Ministry Meeting (18-2-24) nine table groups were asked to brainstorm ideas and write down thoughts about the second service. Ideas were broad and diverse. There were a lot of question marks, pros and cons mentioned, and a wide variety of ideas - even within the same tables. We believe the collected responses showed a willingness to be led by thoughtful leadership seeking to wisely consider the theological and strategic implications of various options - this proposal comes to you from the Board in light of this.

B. Theology of Church

Our decisions should always be made carefully considering our theology. We want to build our ministries on a biblical foundation of understanding. Below are five important questions relating to becoming a multi-congregation church.

1. What is a church?

It is a gathering of God's people
In NT Greek, ekklesia simply means ʻcongregationʼ or ʻgatheringʼ or ʻassemblyʼ.

It can refer to gatherings that are not gatherings of Jesus' church:

OT people of God: Acts 7:38 - [Moses] was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living words to pass on to us.
An angry mob: Acts 19:32 - The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there.
A legally recognised entity: Acts 19:39 - If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly.

Early Christian ekklesia usually met in houses (Rom 16:5; 1 Cor 16:19; Col 4:15)
People belonged to an ekklesia and it is still appropriate to refer to them as the ekklesia when they're not together. (Acts 12:1; 14:27; 15:30)

"a better English word than church is really 'congregation', because it carries the sense that at the heart of the identity of this group is that it regularly gathers together" (Gathered Together - Karl Deenick. Pg. 24)
Benjamin Keach, a 17th Century Baptist pastor in London (who pastored the same congregation Charles Spurgeon would later lead) defined the church in his classic work, The Glory of a True Church (1697):
“A Church of Christ ... is a Congregation of Godly Christians, who as a Stated-Assembly ... do by mutual agreement and consent give themselves up to the Lord, and one to another, according to the Will of God; and do ordinarily meet together in one Place, for the Public Service and Worship of God.”

2. Can a church have two congregations?

Is it biblically permissible? Yes.
Acts 9:31: “Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.”

Luke speaks of an ekklesia (singular) that cannot ever gather as one...

The book of Acts gives scope to speak of a 'gathering' that is multiple 'gatherings'. The context is mission - the context is of a growing kingdom (Judea --> Samaria --> onwards; cf. Acts 1:8 & 9:31)
We desire to become a church with two congregations because "Any church community that doesn’t have mission at the centre becomes deeply unhealthy - we’ll never be satisfied" (Andrew Heard at Reach Aus Conference 2023)
BBC is on the edge of a significant 'fruitful' act - becoming two ekklesia. But we can still speak of ourselves as one church - one Busselton Baptist Church. It is biblically permissible and missionally strategic that we would use the English word 'church' to refer to Busselton Baptist - an organisation/church with two congregations. Two congregations is genuine multiplication without the significant resources cost of a church plant at this stage.

3. Can't we just have two 'services' creating more options for people to attend on any given week?

We could, but…
We believe we have the weight of biblical evidence (and Baptist tradition too) behind us to say that we must guard against the danger of a kind of 'pseudo-congregation' that does not encourage people to commit, belong, and serve as they regularly gather together.
Of course, we cannot force people to commit to one congregation as their 'church family', nor do we want to - the essence of our gospel proclamation is loving persuasion (exhortation), encouragement, and invitation. But we have a responsibility to establish our structures in a way that encourages our church towards the truest expression of a NT church and thus what will be best for them in their discipleship to the Lord Jesus.
Tony Payne writes "ʻCongregationsʼ are theologically significant groups of people, defined and formed by congregating - both definitionally and in reality over time. This means that ʻthe 9:30 serviceʼ we attend each Sunday is what the NT calls a ʻcongregationʼ - a group of people who are committed to meeting together regularly and continually around Christ, and who have towards each other an ongoing obligation of mutual attentiveness, love and edification that stretches over years. The spiritual health of this group of congregating people is the work of every member, with godly elder-overseers taking particular responsibility..."
What does our adopted Vision and Mission say? Appendix A - Glossary states:

"Services: A gathering of God’s people, under the structure of a church organisation, with a commitment to spurring one another on in both discipleship to, and mission with Jesus."
We believe this definition points to a congregational mindset - people identify with, and belong to a particular gathering as where they commit to one another and spur one another on.
When our Vision and Mission uses the everyday vocabulary 'Service', we are referring to 'Congregations'.

We encourage BBC to embrace that when we use the word 'service' we are using everyday vocabulary to refer to a congregation. The task ahead of us is to launch a new congregation and to become a multi-congregation church.
We want to discourage consumerism and encourage commitment, belonging and service. A ‘two-services-move-around-as-you-choose’ kind of picture plays into the danger of a consumer mindset. Furthermore, if someone floats between two gatherings of people based on convenience do they actually belong to a church? How do we know who we are committed to meeting with, loving and spurring on in discipleship to the Lord Jesus?
‘Two-services-move-around-as-you-choose’ also has growth barrier challenges - when we, under God and His grace, double in size to 500 people, do we expect everyone to know everyone's name - let alone know anything further about all 500 people?
Again, we will not be forcing anyone to move or not move but we have a responsibility to encourage every member of BBC to commit to one congregation where they belong and serve both formally and informally. If we want a new congregation with mission at its’ centre then we should begin with encouraging that mentality from the beginning.
In essence, we are planning to plant a new congregation from our existing congregation. As you read this document, you might consider volunteering to be one of the people to be ‘sent’ from our morning congregation to help start our new afternoon congregation…

4. Should we also aim to have 'whole church' (organisation) events to express our unity together as BBC?

On the one hand, it is not biblically mandated.

In Colossians the same word ekklesia (church/congregation) is used of both the worldwide church (body of Christ 1:18) but also of a specific gathering in a house (4:15). It is right to say that each church/congregation fully expresses the body of Christ when we gather together. Therefore we don't need each other to be a valid expression of the body of Christ (cf. Rory Shiner at Reach Australia Conf 2023. 9:40)
"There is little NT evidence for organisational unity or visible unity but there is plenty of energy to prayer, giving and receiving resources and Gospel workers" (Rory Shiner at Reach Australia Conf 2023. 23:40)
The unity of the church is not something to strive for but it is a true reality - So one church (organisation) with two congregations are united in Christ even if we never gather as one.
Furthermore, there is a danger in focusing too much on visible unity (gathering two congregations together as one) - it doesn't encourage a fruitful mindset - it is growth with the desire to retain rather than send and multiply.
But strategically and practically we share a lot of things - prayer, giving and receiving of resources and gospel workers/leaders - hence being one church is helpful at our size / current sending capacity!

On the other hand, there are caring and strategic reasons that we would seek to visibly express our unity together. Whole BBC picnics, Church Camp / Getaway, hiring a larger venue for an annual combined service, etc. would all be ways to do this.

A caring reason: Especially in the early days it would be out of love for those struggling with the change or even grieving the loss of the one gathering
A strategic reason: Combined events could be of great encouragement to our church and increase mission heat and enthusiasm
An organisational reason: There will be other natural spaces for cross-pollination across congregations such as Nexus and Ministry Meetings

5. Can a congregation aim to reach a certain group of people?

First, a connected question - Is a church service for all people?

Theologically, yes!! The NT makes clear that the gospel unites people to Jesus and each other across the divides of class, ethnicity, age, and gender.
But practically, no. By necessity, all congregations must make choices and decisions about their gathering that will preference one group of people over another (e.g. Language spoken, time of the day, style of music, length of service, availability of kids programs, level of formality, disability services, etc.)
For example, a service using high-level formal English at 8:30am with a 'robed' minister and a hymn book would preference English speaking seniors who have been a Christian for many years (some churches seek to reach seniors with a service of this kind).
We value unity with diversity but diversity is always necessarily limited.
We cannot avoid developing a culture of a congregation that is limiting to the diversity potential of the gospel. So the question is what level of 'limiting by culture' is biblically permissible and missionally strategic? The answer is in holding a tension between the gospel-truth we declare, "All one in Christ!", and the necessary decisions we must make.

It would seem both strategic and faithful to God's mission call on us, to leverage choices for mission gain - the congregation will develop its own culture so we might as well be intentional about it for the sake of those we’re trying to reach and/or mature.
At the moment, BBC has one service that seeks to straddle accommodating preferences from all ages and stages. There is much that is beautiful in this visible display of gospel unity across diversity.

We have people of all ages and stages because the gospel does indeed unite us across our differences under the Lordship of Jesus and His gospel message. The more mature a disciple of Jesus is the more they will be willing to suspend their preferences of style and culture to faithfully gather with their diverse brothers and sisters in Christ.
But as we move to two congregations we can ask an important missional question: Who is more likely to be able to suspend their preferences? - Mature disciples or either not-yet-disciples and young disciples?

If you try and be all things to all people you will please none. Mature disciples can be called to rise above that, but those we are trying to reach or mature will struggle much more. Romans 15:1-2 has bearing on this: "Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not to please ourselves. Each one of us is to please his neighbour for his good, to build him up."
One way to apply this thinking would be to define each gathering in this way: A congregation for all ages, aiming to reach <a certain demographic range>.

With this kind of framework of thinking, as unique individuals and families make their choices about which service to call 'home' it is likely that we will still see a good amount of diversity, but all those who are seeking to shape, organise, lead and serve will have clarity with a framework for practical decision making.
The end result for BBC - with two congregations aiming to reach a somewhat different demographic range - will be a greater missional potential to reach all ages and stages in our city.

Practically one way this could look at BBC is:

9:30am - A congregation for all ages, aiming to reach adults, families & seniors (≈ Gen X & Boomers)
Afternoon - A congregation for all ages, aiming to reach late teens, young adults & young families (≈ Millennials & Gen Z)

And we encourage a freedom and celebration of considerable overlap as people and families make their decisions on who to gather with, based in part, on who they desire to reach with the gospel

C. Our Context (SWOT Analysis)

Strengths

The internal positive aspects of a current situation or project. Unique resources, skills, or advantages that set us apart.

Growing numbers (269)
Multiple new young families in the last 12 months
Growing average weekly attendance (211)
Growing number of young adults who call BBC home (31)
Financial capacity to grow staff team
Significant collaboration, thought, time and prayer into becoming a multi-congregation church - we began actively discussing our Vision and Mission over two years ago
101 people currently in serving teams

Weaknesses

The internal factors that may be obstacles or challenges. Limitations, areas for improvement, or aspects that need attention.

Young Adults Connect Group is sitting on a growth barrier and needs changing
Our current Sunday Gathering struggles to cater to such a wide range of people (especially if young in the faith)
Those with a heart and capacity cannot serve weekly in a during-service ministry (Kids Church or Creche) as they don't have another space to gather regularly under God's word
We do not have precedence for how our decision-making and division of responsibilities operates in a multi-congregation church (We do however have clarity for our various Ministries and Ministry Leaders - Constitution 12.2)

Opportunities

External potential favourable situations or circumstances that could benefit a project or decision. Identifying areas where we could capitalise or enhance our strengths.

The gospel is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes (Rom 1:16)
God wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim 2:3)
Expecting Busselton population growth of approx. 45-50% in the next 7-8 years.
Two major groups are retirees and couples moving to begin their families
There are very few churches in our city

Threats

External factors that could pose challenges or risks. Changes in the environment or other obstacles that may impact a project.

We are in a spiritual battle
The powers of this dark world (Eph 6:12) are against us and do not want people to be saved

D. BBC as a Multi-Congregation Church

How will BBC’s existing governance operate in a multi-congregation context?

As mentioned under SWOT Weaknesses, we lack a precedent for multi-congregation in the way BBC does things. We do, however, have a good system balancing responsibility, authority, and accountability for our Ministries and Ministry Leaders (e.g. Pod, Thrive, etc.).
In essence, each gathering/congregation is a ministry of our church. Albeit our one - proposed two - primary/flagship ministries. If this is the case, as ministries of BBC, they should be governed by the rules of the Constitution, as well as all other relevant policies and procedures. See BBCC Constitution - 12. Ministry Leaders. Key takeaways:

Ministry Leader (ML) is a Board Apportionment
ML is accountable to Lead Pastor and Elders and responsible for achieving agreed outcomes
ML is responsible for forming a team to assist them
ML can be staff or unpaid
"12.2.2 The Ministry Leader will be required to work according to the constitution, values, policies and principles of the Church and within the parameters of the budget allocated to that ministry. They will be given the authority to develop their ministry and will be accountable to the Lead Pastor and Elders for achieving the agreed outcomes."
"12.2.3 A Ministry Leader may appoint other church members to form a team to assist them "

How does our current gathering operate? The precedence is that decisions are mostly made by the Lead Pastor / Gathering Teams Ministry Leader, Gathering Team Leaders and the Ministry Leaders for the five Serving Teams... Solid decision-making in plurality is achieved mostly by those actively involved in the leadership of the ministry with oversight by the Lead Pastor and Elders.
In addition to this governance clarity, under our Emerging Ecosystem Structure (See Step 2 - BBC Church Ecosystem) we are seeking to appoint several 'Focus Leaders', including one for each gathering. A simple way to clarify how the Focus Leader role is governed by our Constitution is to define them under the rules for Ministry Leaders 12.
The Board has adopted this way of thinking about our gatherings/congregations. Here are a few practical implications:

We recognise that each gathering/congregation is a ministry and needs the Board appointment of a Focus Leader (defined by the rules for ML)
Governance of both congregations and pastoral oversight remains with the Board and Elders respectively
The Focus Leader is responsible - in collaboration with the Elders - for recruiting a Launch Team
Once established, the Launch Team is retired, and the Focus Leader continues to collaborate: primarily with Ecosystem Area Leaders and Serving Team Ministry Leaders for Afternoon Gathering; with accountability to Lead Pastor & Elders for outcomes.

The Board has appointed Simon Holmes, Associate Pastor, to the role of Focus Leader should the proposed afternoon congregation be approved by the Members.

E. Closing Comments

We are attempting something hard. We are attempting to grow larger than the average church in Australia. We are also shifting to becoming a multi-congregation church. There is more than one way to do this but after years of deliberation, it’s time to get started with a good option. We believe the option presented in this document is a very good option.

This proposal represents a plan to launch a congregation for all ages, aiming to reach late teens, young adults and young families, which gathers together weekly on Sunday afternoons. We want to be wise and seek a culture that discourages a consumer mentality and encourages a sense of belonging, commitment and service to one another with mission at the centre - that is the DNA of Jesus' church.

By God's grace, we will see our church grow - even double in size - seeing both disciples matured and new disciples made. We have the growth and attendance trends, a strategic plan, and a solid approach to collaborative ministry with good accountability. But far more than this, we have a Risen Saviour who has conquered sin and death and is on a mission - through His body, the Church - to win people to Himself, rescuing them from the clutches of sin and evil spiritual forces. Furthermore, our Lord Jesus will return and bring about His new perfect world. With that truth behind us, how can we not move forward with hopeful anticipation in what God might do with our plans surrendered to Him?

It would be so exciting to see an acceleration of the transformation of countless lives for eternity here in our city. May we be fuelled by passion for God's glory and a compassionate burden for the lost to find salvation in Jesus' name.. And may we choose change that costs us because we are captivated and consumed by the cause of the gospel. Let's embrace this big next step knowing that our efforts, under God, are truly meaningful and life-changing.

We believe now is the time to take our first significant 'fruitful step' since the adoption of our new vision and mission. Are you willing to step out in faith and move forward despite not having all the answers, trusting that God will guide us through the details as the two congregations establish themselves and that He will bring the fruit of maturing disciples in an increasing number?

Step 2

Addressing Leadership/Equipping Capacity - Ecosystem Thinking

A. Ecosystem Thinking

What is an ecosystem? Your dictionary would tell you that an Ecosystem is “a complex network or interconnected system”.

Every church is complex – As a local community of disciples of Jesus, we are a diverse range of people with varied expectations, personalities, ideals, goals and ministries… All in connection with each other in some way. And we have a unique culture in which we express these elements of ‘interconnectedness’. We are an ecosystem.

The BBC ecosystem exists so let’s utilise it to help us on our mission!

We can use Ecosystem Thinking to help us:

Identify key leadership positions
Prioritise people’s mission & maturity needs
Prioritise the maturity outcomes & key ministries of our Church
Love more people and love them better

As mentioned above, our mission is to:

“Make mature disciples in ever-increasing numbers worldwide - For the glory of God and the love of others.”

So how do we grow in maturity? - The NT envisages various characteristics of disciples who are wholistically maturing. There are many ways to describe this process but we as a church have chosen five maturity areas to focus on. These five areas form the basis for our Ecosystem Thinking.

Deeply Trusting God’s Word
Love for God
Belonging in Community
Serving Others
Reaching out on Mission

See Our Vision > Our Values > Growing Mature Disciples or BBC Vision Booklet pg. 10-12

We can picture ecosystem thinking in this way:

B. Area Leaders

Breaking down the aim of maturity into these five areas can give clarity to our leaders. We have established five maturity Area Leader roles in BBC, each with a responsibility to think intentionally about an area of discipleship maturity across the ministries of our church.

These maturity Area Leaders will collaborate with other leaders to measure progress, set goals and promote growth in their particular maturity area.

As a leadership, we want to think intentionally about our current church culture, outcomes, context and people. Breaking down the task with Ecosystem Thinking helps us do this. It can also improve our shared responsibility and collaborative ministry.

Currently, the responsibilities of these five Area Leader roles are shared mostly between our two pastors. We are in the process of clarifying responsibilities and enabling more people to fulfil these Area Leader roles.

We can picture our current maturity Areas in this way:

As our church grows there is, and will continue to be an increasing need to have different people fulfilling the Area Leader roles. Area Leaders do not replace Ministry Leaders or others serving on the ground in various ministries but they rather view the area of maturity as a whole, measure outcomes, think/plan strategically, and support those who serve on the ground.

C. Focus Leaders

In addition to Area Leader roles, there is one further layer to ecosystem thinking - Focus Leaders. The role of these leaders is to focus on a particular group of people’s mission and maturity needs. We’re choosing to break down our people into these five focus groups:

Morning Congregation
(All ages, aiming to reach adults, families, and seniors)
Afternoon Congregation
(All ages, aiming to reach late teens, young adults, and young families)
Kids
Youth
Seniors

We can picture our current Focus groups in this way:

Similar to Area Leaders, as our church grows there is, and will continue to be an increasing need to have different people fulfilling the Focus Leader roles. As with Area Leaders, Focus Leaders do not replace Ministry Leaders or others serving on the ground in various ministries but they rather view the group of people as a whole, support those on the ground and seek to promote discipleship growth with an intentional awareness of their mission and maturity needs.

D. BBC’s Ecosystem Structure

We can now see the full picture of Area Leader and Focus Leader roles working in collaboration - a full ecosystem structure:

Looking at the BBC Ecosystem in this way helps us to:

Realise the scope and complexity of our mission as a church
Recognise that our staff & leadership team will need to expand in specific areas to help us embrace the opportunities for growth

E. New Staffing Structure Rationale

Can we grow with our current staffing levels? Unlikely, but yes we can if we grow our team and refine areas of leadership responsibility.

Our adopted vision highlights that we see utilising teams, leaders and staff as crucial to the progress of our vision. See Our Vision > Our Values > Planning for Progress > Teams & Leaders or BBC Vision Booklet pg. 16

Ephesians 4:11-16
“11 So Christ himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.
…
15 But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head – Christ. 16 From him, the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.”

Disciples mature when each individual part of the body is ‘equipped’ by leaders (evangelists, pastors, teachers) to do its ‘proper work’ and ‘build itself up in love’. A healthy supply of high-level leaders is needed to mobilise all the saints for the work of ministry.

We have been growing

We are currently on an upward growth trend so now is a strategic time to expand our ministry staff team.

Some of our current numbers:

Our current Staffing:

1 Service/Congregation (Auditorium seating capacity on a Sunday ≈ 260)
2 Pastors
0.8 Ministry Support Staff

Our People:

269 Regulars (217 Young Adults & Adults)
209 Average Attendance
122 Members
10 Ministry Leaders
42 Youth registered in 2024 (+ 10 Leaders)
40 Young Adults (Incl. 6 Leaders)
101 Serving Team Members (Incl. 20 Leaders)

As the body of Christ at BBC we, in varying degrees, each contribute to the equipping and mobilising of the saints. We do this through serving Christ and in turn serving one another. The extent or scope of how we contribute is affected by:

Our faith journey
The season of life we’re in
Our personal capacities
Our current level of skill/competency in ministry tasks
The varying commitments to life outside of our church community

As a church, we rely on our ministry staff to use their time to equip and mobilise all of God’s people for the work of service and to help us mature as disciples of Jesus. Growing numbers means growing discipleship needs. Therefore we desire to raise more leaders in our church, both paid and voluntary.

We want to have faith and trust that the Lord will provide these people! Matthew 9: 37b-38 tells us “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

The Potential of 3 FTE Ministry Staff Positions

Our growing church family brings with it the opportunity and necessity to re-evaluate the roles and responsibilities of our current paid ministry staff. The Ecosystem Structure described above helps us to give each Pastor and Ministry Staff Worker a specific sphere of responsibility.

The likely position overviews of our Lead Pastor, Associate Pastor, and 2 potential part-time staff positions (1 FTE in total) are highlighted below.

In our church's cultural context, the breakdown of positions, roles and workload is informed by both the roles/responsibilities we identify as well as the people who may fulfil those roles/responsibilities. As the Lord provides the people, we, as the Board, will respond appropriately by adjusting the roles/responsibilities and positions we have.

We recognise that the appointment of these roles/responsibilities is dependent on the individuals that the Lord provides and may take different forms. For example, a single 1 FTE appointment, two fractional appointments or even a combination of paid and voluntary roles.

Constitutionally, the two new positions would fall under the category of “Other pastoral Staff” (12.3.1). Essentially, the Board is entrusted with the responsibility to work out the details of various positions and then to make a recommendation to the Membership for a decision to appoint specific ministry staff members.

12.3 Other Pastoral Staff
12.3.1 Where a ministry area cannot be achieved by a volunteer but requires the appointment of a full or part time worker, that person shall be appointed by the Members of the Church on the recommendation of the Board. Clear terms of the call shall accompany the appointment of that person together with the arrangements for the termination of the call. All other pastoral staff are accountable to the Lead Pastor and Elders.

The new roles proposed for moving forward equal a further 1 FTE of Ministry Staff to cover the role/responsibilities of:

Area Leader - In Community
Focus Leader - Kids Church
Focus Leader - Youth

The minimum qualification requirement for these staff roles would be a Diploma in Theology or Ministry, or working towards it. These positions will be advertised and due process followed.

We can now picture the proposed new ministry staff in our ecosystem structure:

What would each role look like in the new structure?

1. Lead Pastor Position Overview

As Lead Pastor, seek to bring into reality the vision and mission of the church through leadership and collaboration serving as:

Pastor / Elder/ Board Member
Elder’s Chairman
The Focus Leader’s Co-ordinator
Morning Congregation Focus Leader
The “Deep in the Word” Area Leader
The “On Mission” Area Leader
Management of Ministry Support Staff
Pastoral Care Team Co-Ordinator

2. Associate Pastor Position Overview

As Associate Pastor, seek to bring into reality the vision and mission of the church through leadership and collaboration serving as:

Pastor / Elder / Board Member
The Maturity Area Leaders Coordinator
Afternoon Congregation Focus Leader
The ‘Serves Others’ Area Leader
MTS Apprentice Trainer
Launch Internship Ministry Leader
IT Support Coordinator

3. Area Leader - In Community Overview

Potential split - 2 days per week (0.4FTE)

Seek to bring into reality the vision and mission of the church through leadership and collaboration serving as:

Area Leader – Belongs in Community:
Seek to promote discipleship growth across all of church life in the ‘Belongs in community’ maturity area. Especially:
- Welcoming and Integration in collaboration with the Hub Ministry Leader and teams.
- Pathway analysis – Inviting individuals to newcomer events, Membership Course, and Connect Groups.
- Promoting community outcomes in collaboration with Connect Group Leaders.
- Collecting and analysing key metrics

Focus Leader – Kids:
To promote discipleship growth with intentional awareness of children’s mission & maturity needs.

4. Youth Worker Overview

Potential split - 3 days per week (0.6FTE)

Seek to bring into reality the vision and mission of the church through leadership and collaboration serving as:

Focus Leader - Youth
To promote discipleship growth with intentional awareness of teenagers’ mission & maturity needs. Especially:

Discipleship of Youth in partnership with families
Lead collaborative planning and implementation of a vision for the Youth Ministry in alignment with the wider church vision
Create safe and inviting spaces for healthy relationships, fun, and opportunities to connect and encounter God
Leading and developing youth Ministry teams for DGs and Pod groups, promoting a growing knowledge and trust in God’s word
Develop a culture within the youth of serving others that impacts their sense of belonging in the community of believers
Encouraging youth to reach out on mission through local high school and southwest church network

F. Closing Comments

As we continue on our mission to make mature disciples in ever-increasing numbers, we recognize the essential role each ministry worker plays in this journey. With the resources at our disposal, we have the opportunity to expand our team with the result that we love people better (maturing, equipping, and mobilising existing BBC regulars) and love more people (reaching new people with the gospel).

Step 3

Finances

The finances to love more people and love them better

Motion: That the Budget for 2024/2025 as presented to the members of BBCC be accepted.

The budget before us reflects the Elder’s and Board’s desire to faithfully move into the spaces we have discussed earlier in this document. This budget seeks to support the vision and mission of this church and step forward in faith at what the Lord can do with what we have been given to faithfully steward.

Included here is:

Proposed 24/25 Budget
5 year graphical history and projection of our finances
The effect of losing our hire income
How changing our giving would affect our finances

The figures in the proposed budget have been based on actual YTD expenditure and projected end-of-year expenditure. We have sought to include estimated increases based on general ‘cost of living’ increases.

Wages & Salaries, Superannuation and various other line expenses include the two new Ministry Worker positions to show the full-year costs of our Vision & Mission growth plan/strategy.

Apprentice income and costs have been included – to show our hope and expectation of appointing someone to that position.

We believe this is a realistic and wise budget that shows our intention as a church to proceed with our growth strategy and includes a stretch for us as a church.

The 24/25 Budget reflects a step forward to using the accumulated savings we have accrued.

The extent to which we use these savings will be affected by the giving of the congregation.

A. History and Projection of our Finances

Graph 1 - How are we doing meeting our budgeted general offering?

The orange line reflects our actual giving over the last 5 years. It has always tracked reasonably close to the budgeted amount (line). Our actual giving has increased on average 5. 1% over the last 5 years. This has been very encouraging and we are so thankful for your faithful giving. In line with current projections, we would expect to see a shortfall in budget vs actual giving for 2025.

As you will see from the proposed budget for 2024/2025, you will a significant increase in the budget. This is primarily due to the additional staff we would be hoping to employ. 2024/2025 will also be the first year that we include the income from Young Bucks in the budget. The budget will seem a little confusing, but there will be several opportunities to engage with the Board for clarity and understanding.

In essence, the proposed staff workers would be paid for from the existing future staff fund we have in place (Approx $90000) and any ongoing income from Young Bucks. The extent to which we use the fund and ongoing extra income will be determined by the giving of the people of BBC.

Some take-home points:

Be encouraged! - The Lord has blessed us abundantly and given us the wisdom to steward our finances faithfully.
We have generated other forms of income that continue to grow.
- This is especially true of the last 2 years with new Hire/Rental income
We have made savings since 2019, mostly due to our ancillary income streams.
We have increased our expenses (as well as generated savings) more dramatically over the last 2 years in light of having extra income streams.

B. Proposed Budget 24/25

Board Approved 20-5-2024 • Pending Member Approval

C. What if we lost our Hire Income?

The loss of our rental income alongside no meaningful increase in our general offering would require us to deplete our savings. Our available accumulated savings is approx. $170,000.

The extent and timeframe to which these savings would be depleted would be affected by 3 main factors:

The timing of the appointment of new staff
Note that it is unlikely that we will have new appointments until well into the financial year
The increasing numbers of people giving to the church and the amount that each individual is giving.
The sourcing of new Hire/Rental income

Anecdotally, in a ‘worst case scenario’ of:

Loss of hire/rental income
Stagnant general offering
Newcomers to our Church not giving anything
No new hire/rental income, and
an already employed new full-time staff member(s),

We would deplete our savings in approximately 18 months from the beginning of the next financial year - December 2026.

D. How Could Our Giving Change our Finances?

If every household gave an extra $7.30/week (less than the cost of two coffees) we would not need to use any savings.

If every household gave an extra $21/week (the cost of a 20 McNuggets chicken meal at McDonald’s) we would not need any supplementary income.

E. Closing Comments

We want to be a church that is increasing in the numbers of those who give a portion of their finances to the work of this church as well as giving as much as is in our heart to give before the Lord.

Alongside the generous giving of our church, we have the opportunity to utilise our accumulated savings in a low-risk / growth mindset as we seek to faithfully steward what the Lord has given us.

Together, let's seize this opportunity, taking good Gospel risk, trusting God will be faithful to build his Church through our means and efforts for the glory of his Son and our joy in him.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this Gospel ministry document and proposals are not merely about implementing a set of activities; it's about transforming lives, spreading hope, and building congregations rooted in faith, hope and love. Together, we have the opportunity to make a profound impact, touching hearts, and souls with the message of salvation and redemption. As we embark on this journey, let us remember that our ultimate goal is to glorify God and serve His kingdom faithfully. With dedication, prayer, and unity, we believe we can achieve great things for His kingdom. Prayerfully consider over the next few weeks and may our Lord show us the way forward together.

There will be several opportunities to engage with the leadership in the coming weeks before we make decisions together.

From Tuesday 28th to Thursday 30th May, there will be several forums planned at the church building (in place of the Connect Groups that week). They are as follows:

Tues 28th May 10am-12pm
Tues 28th May 7:15-9pm
Wed 29th May 7:15-9pm
Thurs 30th May 7:15pm-9pm

The purpose of these forums is to engage with leadership, ask questions, seek clarity, share your thoughts and considerations. Then Ministry Meeting on the 9th June where we vote as a membership on the proposals set before you. We want to encourage you to make every effort to get along to one of the forums planned so that together we seek the Lord’s will for us. This document has gone out to all who call BBC home but only members will vote on the proposals.