Mission & Church Development Group
Jamie Freeman / Associate Director - Mission & Church Development
Mission & Church Development Group Teams and Team Leaders:
- Church Health – Tim Burns
- Church Multiplication – Ken Kamau
- Church Witness / Intercultural Ministry – Marbuen Diaz
- Global Mission – Andrew Duncan
As we reflect on 2024, it’s clear that our pursuit of the Gen1K vision—to see 1,000 healthy churches in a generation—continues to gain momentum. This year was marked by Spirit-led growth, intentional leadership development, and transformative partnerships across NSW and the ACT.
Supporting Churches Towards Greater Health and Multiplication
The commitment of the team to support Association churches saw increased engagement with our services:
- 26 leaders participated in the 2-year Multiply initiative, equipping them to nurture disciples, develop leaders, and multiply new congregations.
- 15 leaders successfully completed Church Consultant training, enhancing our capacity to support churches through seasons of transition, growth, and revitalisation.
- introducing new resources on governance, visioning, team building, and baptism, designed to strengthen church leadership and discipleship pathways.
- engaging in 205 conversations about church multiplication, sparking fresh vision and initiatives across diverse contexts.
- launching the Australian Intercultural Team with 4 dedicated workers in NSW/ACT, in partnership with Baptist Mission Australia, focusing on empowering leaders in intercultural mission.
- facilitating 500 engagements with 115 CALD leaders, representing over half of the CALD churches within our Association, fostering deeper connections and intercultural learning.
- continuing our commitment to mental health and resilience, providing vital support to flood-affected communities in the Northern Rivers and Western Districts.
Growing and Multiplying Disciples and Congregations
This support and our shared Gen1K vision continued to bear fruit through:
- the approval of 21 new congregations by the NewStart Advisory Group, reflecting vibrant growth across our movement.
- establishing 2 Resource Church covenants empowering these churches to lead in multiplication efforts.
- an encouraging 22% increase in churches completing the Annual Report, revealing over a 49% rise in average baptisms per 100 attendees. This surge is a powerful testament to lives transformed by the Gospel.
We acknowledge the significant contribution of Ken Kamau as Team Leader – Church Multiplication. Ken’s leadership has shaped our multiplication strategies and supported new church plants across the region. As he transitions into his new role as Senior Pastor at Ryde Baptist Church, we are excited to see how God will continue to use his gifts and leadership.
Resourcing the Gen1K Vision
Strategic resource allocation continued to be pivotal to our growth in 2024 by:
- acquiring property in Marsden Park, positioned strategically within one of Sydney’s fastest-growing communities, to serve as a hub for new ministry opportunities.
- deploying a church planter into the Wilton property, acquired last year, catalysing ministry within the south-west growth corridor.
- piloting multi-congregational Ministry Centres in two diverse urban infill areas, exploring innovative expressions of church life.
- distributing $217,270 in Seed, Growth, and Property Grants to 7 church plants across the South Coast, Hunter, Western Sydney, and the Illawarra. Notably, a matching grant in partnership with the Hunter region enabled a church plant to secure its first property in Branxton.
Thank you for your faithful partnership in this mission. Together, we are seeing lives transformed and communities renewed by the hope of the Gospel.
Church Health
Tim Burns / Team Leader - Church Health
In 2024 the Church Health Team interacted with 135 Association churches. This represented an increase of 7% over the previous year which, in turn, had seen a 5% increase over 2022. It is encouraging that a growing number of churches are looking to the Church Health Team for advice and support for a wide range of reasons.
The Church Health Team continued to invest in proactive initiatives that support pastors, leaders, and churches, including:
- Multiply – 10 pastors commenced the two-year program of training and coaching that focusses on multiplying disciples, leaders, and congregations
- CHAT – 24 churches used the Church Health Assessment Tool
- Consultancy Training – 15 pastors and leaders completed the two-year course
- Resources – work was done on producing a Governance Pack, a Visioning Pack, and a Building Healthy Teams Pack. These will be added to the Church Health Page of the Association website in due course.
The 2023/24 Consultancy Training attracted pastors and leaders from as far as Deniliquin, Yeoval, Dubbo, Newcastle, and Casino, as well as Greater Sydney. Eight people who graduated joined the Consultancy Team, covenanting to participate in ongoing training and make themselves available for consultancy work.
Feedback on the 2023/24 course was very positive, including:
“The consultancy training was pivotal in my growth as a church and organisational leader. The content was engaging, relatable, and delivered by experienced facilitators who shared valuable insights while fostering a collaborative space to tackle real-life ministry challenges. I highly recommend this training to anyone leading in a faith organisation or church. I’m grateful and excited to be part of a denomination that practically values healthy churches and leadership teams.”
Nic Cassar, Lead Pastor, Belair Baptist Church
“Consultancy training highlighted many helpful insights into the life of a church in ways that I had not previously thought through but have proved important to ponder on. I was provided with so many helpful tools and resources that I have used and will continue to use in my ministry as a Children and Youth worker.”
Lucinda McKee, Associate Pastor, The Centre
“I’ve had the great privilege of participating in the Association’s Consultancy Training over the past two years. In that time, I have found the sessions engaging, uplifting, and profoundly relevant for pastoral ministry. Serving as a pastor in Baptist churches calls for an appreciation of the breadth and diversity of our movement, while holding to our core convictions with singular clarity. This training fosters such an appreciation while strengthening these convictions — all for the betterment of Christ’s churches and their ministers across our Association.”
Jonathan Hoffman, Senior Pastor, Windsor District Baptist Church
The 2025/26 Consultancy Training Course will be based in the Hunter Region with approximately twenty pastors and leaders participating.
Rev. Yvonne Zheng left the Church Health Team in November 2024 and is to be acknowledged for the contribution she made as the Gen 1K Process Coordinator. Glorious Hope Church, Coffs Harbour Chin Immanuel Church, and Harbourside Church were all affiliated in 2024 with Yvonne supporting them to this point.
The Church Health Team comprised Rev. Tim Burns (Team Leader), Rev. Steve Hales (Church Health Facilitator), Rev Nick Barber (Church Health Facilitator), and Mr Ted Bell (Volunteer Senior Consultant). It continued to be well supported by the various Regional Church Health Facilitators and the many people in the Consultancy Team.
Church Multiplication
Joel Noonan / Interim Team Leader - Church Multiplication
The Church Multiplication Team (CMT) continues to drive the vision of Gen1K, working towards the goal of 1000 healthy churches within a generation. Our role is to encourage, equip, and empower church multiplication across NSW and ACT.
We remain committed to a blended ecology of church planting, recognising that different contexts require different expressions of church. We work with large churches in regional areas that are planting congregations in unchurched suburbs, smaller simple churches that are establishing networks of churches throughout Sydney, and neighbourhood churches that are reaching out into their communities. From resource churches with a broad impact to simple churches engaging those on the margins, each plays a vital role in the movement of God’s kingdom.
Working within the Baptist Association’s regional and network structures, we partner with local churches discerning a call to multiplication, as well as individuals sensing a call to plant. Through our discernment process, we help clarify calling, shape mission strategies, and provide the necessary structural and operational support for sustainable church planting.
Despite the challenges and shifting landscape of ministry, multiplication continues to thrive. This year, we have seen:
- new congregations approved by the New Start Advisory Group, reflecting a season of growth and new expressions of faith across our movement.
- Two Resource Church covenants established.
- Form Conference – 160 people from every generation and diverse cultural backgrounds gathered to be inspired and encouraged towards multiplication of disciples and churches.
Church Witness & Intercultural Ministries
Marbuen Diaz / Team Leader - Church Witness & Intercultural Lead
Quick stats:
- Over 500 strategic cultural engagements, with around 115 CALD leaders in NSW, across 1st, 1.5 and 2nd generations – covering over 50 CALD churches (currently 90 CALD churches in our database).
- Norther Rivers ‘resilience’ phase embarked on a pioneering Narrative Therapy Project called ‘Strong Together’, which produced a book that addresses trauma and mental health. The direct impact of the project was over 100 individuals and indirect impact of over 300,000 individuals.
Church Witness
Transforming Stories
In February 2022, the Northern Rivers – particularly in the Lismore area – was hit with a historic record high flood. Our Baptist churches responded generously, financially and on the ground, as the hands and feet of Jesus. Consequently, we had enough funds to plan a longer-term approach with our Disaster Recovery Framework – relief, recover and resilience. In 2024, two years after the flood, we progressed our initial ‘relief’ and ‘recovery’ phase to the ‘resilience’ phase (our final phase). This is new ground for us as an Association of churches and, through prayer, community-based assessments, and multiple projects, it was discerned that addressing the mental health component would be a primary focus of the resilience phase. The Narrative Therapy project, that was called ‘Strong Together’, was a pioneer project facilitated by our Church Witness team and a narrative therapist. Over 20 individuals directly participated in co-authoring the book but there are thousands of people who were directly and indirectly impacted. The impact is multiplied as it is now made accessible nationally and internationally through narrative therapy centres and symposiums. This project is paving the way for other mental health focused initiatives in the future and as we transition out for sustainability.
(Read more about this story here or watch a video report on it here.)
Church Witness network
Our community engagement workers are some of the busiest members in our churches. They are practice-discerning, high empaths and strong activists. That is why forming a network was always going to be challenging and so we had to focus on why we are forming a network. After a listening workshop in 2023, we experimented with running workshops for 2024 that are common needs amongst our network with a regional-relational approach. An example of this was a ‘cultural intelligence’ workshop that was facilitated by Baptist Mission Australia. Cultural Intelligence was an identified subject area for collective exploration and growth during the 2023 listening exercises. The feedback was positive and we hope to continue with this collaborative approach.
Intercultural Ministry:
Be Fruitful and Multiply.
We launched the P’RU (be fruitful) program in the latter half of 2024, which was a close collaboration with Morling College and Baptist Mission Australia (BMA). The heart behind it is to provide a culturally safe and culturally relevant approach to leadership development with our First Nations and CALD leaders. After spending time researching and surveying nationally, we launched a pilot cohort in semester two. We had 10 participants, representing 8 cultural groups and 8 churches. There was linguistic fluency of over 18 languages between the participants and the facilitators themselves, which illustrated the communication complexities and beauty. This is why P’RU is a 3-phased approach, with the pilot cohort doing only the first phase, because it aims to break down formational needs into clear and culturally-paced phases.
This developmental approach integrates the realities of our current limited systems with the growing cultural diversity of our churches. From our limited database alone and my on-the-ground data collection, it shows a growth from 2023 to 2024 in the following areas: number of strategic cultural engagements (around 300 to 500) number of CALD churches (76 to 90), number of CALD leaders (85 to 115), percentage of CALD representation in new church plants (over 50% conservatively), increase in financial contributions, increase in denominational event participation and increase in accessing our leadership resources. P’RU program isn’t just a brand new “project”, instead P’RU seeks to integrate current viable systems we already have into a flourishing formational-developmental pathway for CALD leaders, for the future of our churches.
In essence, P’RU provides a lens through which migrant experiences can be understood, processed, and transformed into impactful ministry that both uplifts individuals and fosters community resilience. This reflection does not only enhance personal growth but also cultivate a more responsive and compassionate approach in ministry.
Jonah (2024 P’RU Participant – Karenni people group)
A Circle of Trust.
On 15 February 2024 we launched our first Intercultural Circle (IC) gathering. The purpose of this ‘circle’ of CALD leaders is to provide a strongly relational network where prayer, collaboration, mutual learning and future ideation are cultivated. Though 2024 focused primarily on Sydney, the strategic goal is to localise these circles across different regions – particularly in high CALD density Local Government Areas. Over the six IC gatherings, we had a regular of 30 participants with the highest attendance being over 40. These CALD leaders primarily come from three Sydney regions – Transform Southern Sydney, Greater West for Christ and the Ryde City area. Apart from breaking bread and prayer, we also explored mutual growth areas by having presentations and discussions around subject matters that are highly needed in CALD contexts. For example: emerging generations in CALD churches, war and conflict (newly arrived Palestinians from Gaza shared their testimony), educational-formational needs, etc. This ‘circle’ allows us to sit together equally, as we welcome each other, pray for our highest needs and build each other’s confidence as we imagine a God-sized dream for our churches.
Global Mission
Andrew Duncan / Team Leader - Global Mission and Baptist Mission Australia State Director NSW & ACT
As we reflect on the past year, it is with immense gratitude that we acknowledge the faithful support and partnership of Baptist churches across NSW and the ACT. Together, we have embraced Spirit-led opportunities to share the transforming love and hope of Jesus, both locally, across the street and globally, around the world.
A Year of Discernment and Direction
This year marked a pivotal moment in our journey as we undertook an intentional process of prayer, listening, and discernment. In response to a rapidly changing world and church landscape, we sought to answer key questions about our role in God’s mission. How can we better serve in a world where Christianity’s centre of gravity has shifted to the Global South? How can we strengthen partnerships and equip churches for intercultural ministry in Australia’s diverse communities? What role does God want us to play in the future of global mission. These questions shaped our Future Directions framework, setting a strategic course for our movement.
Key Achievements and Initiatives
- Integral Mission:This year, we redoubled our focus on integral mission, addressing physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Our teams around the world have developed a rich tapestry of initiatives to support vulnerable communities, engage in creation care, and advocate for justice.
- Global South Partnerships:We expanded our collaborations with rapidly growing Global South churches, fostering leadership development, while amplifying local voices and innovations. We also have acknowledged the rich knowledge that our migrant churches here in Australia bring in shaping the future of mission.
- Intercultural Engagement:Recognizing the increasing cultural and religious diversity of Australia, we embraced new opportunities to equip Baptist churches for local intercultural ministry. We started the Australian Intercultural Team and have developed workshops and resources to help churches creatively cross cultural and religious barriers to share the Gospel.
- Leadership Development:Investing in the next generation of missional leaders remains at the heart of our mission. Through training programs and mentorships, such as missions coaching, exploring missions and mission exposure trips we are seeking to identify, train and equip the next generation of intercultural workers.
Gratitude and Vision for the Future
None of this would have been possible without the faithful prayers, generosity, and active engagement of our church communities. Your support has not only sustained our work but has propelled us to dream bigger and trust deeper in God’s guidance.
As we look to the future, we remain steadfast in our vision: “As God restores the world, we see more people experiencing and expressing the transforming love and hope of Jesus.” In this new season, we are committed to fostering flourishing faith communities, deepening partnerships, and responding with agility to the challenges and opportunities before us.
A Call to Continue Together
We invite you to journey with us as we seize Spirit-led opportunities. Together, we can participate in God’s mission, writing a new chapter of faith, hope, and service that reflects the diversity and beauty of God’s Kingdom.
Thank you for your unwavering partnership in this shared mission. We eagerly anticipate what God will accomplish in the coming year.
