Connect09 will help us to find our 10%

Someone asked me recently to explain the relationship between Connect09 and the Diocesan Mission. I think he was concerned in case it looked as though we were abandoning the Mission for the sake of this new initiative. Of course nothing could be further than the truth. Connect09 is a key contribution to the Mission.

The Mission has asked us to work towards 10 per cent of the population of the diocese in Bible-based churches. One aim of this challenge was to get us to look beyond our churches and to think of the world around us, in our parishes. There is a certain responsibility which we have to see Christian work conducted not just in our churches but in the surrounding regions. We already do this, of course, in that we teach Scripture and engage in the communities in which we live. But it still remains a fact that many people living around us have no contact, no connection, with someone who can introduce them to personal faith in Jesus.

Friendship evangelism remains vital. Asking people we know to come to church or to join a group or a course is a really important strategy. But that is never going to be sufficient to reach 10 per cent since so many people are outside the range of our friendships. We must have an interest not just in our neighbours but in our neighbourhood. The Mission calls on us for neighbourhood evangelism, and Connect09 is one way of forwarding that.

The first policy of the Mission is preaching and prayer, especially prayer directed in a sacrificial way to ‘the lost in all the world’. It is, natural, therefore that prayer should be at the top of the Connect09 agenda. It starts with a call to prayer, a call that will be answered as we understand the gospel through the preaching of God’s word. The Connect09 campaign gives a special focus to and impetus toward prayer, and so helps fulfil the Mission.

The second policy of the Mission is ‘to enable the parish churches to expand numerically, equip and nurture their members, and become the mother- churches of as many fellowships and congregations as possible…’ We are still working towards new congregations and new fellowship groups. To some extent Connect09 can be conducted through such initiatives. But to do this work we need to contact more people than we do at the moment. That is why it is important to notice that Connect09 calls for more than simply distributing a portion of God’s word - it asks us to do so in a way which will enable us to connect with people, to draw them into our fellowship.

Recently I was reminded of the very first door-to-door Bible distribution held in Sydney. It was in 1807 and those with the Bibles were asked to make some enquiries. One of them was whether the recipient of the Bible could read and whether they would like someone to come and read with them. Here is an early version of Connect! If a person is open to such a suggestion, a small fellowship group has come into existence.

The third policy of the Mission concerns training for Christians. Our aim in Connect09 is for people to be prepared for Christian work by being involved. It is integral to the whole campaign that we use it as an opportunity for all of us to grow in our confidence in God and his word and to be more experienced in sharing the word of God with others. Our prayers train us to think about the world around us; our research of the neighbourhood sets us thinking about who lives near us, and helps us to pray; our contacting people makes us more aware of what forms of the word of God make sense to our neighbours. I am fully expecting that as the churches embrace this opportunity we will all be changed for the good and experience fresh delight in serving the Lord.
The fourth policy of the Mission calls on us to change in ways which enable us to fulfil the first three policies. Connect09 involves a personal and cultural shift towards our neighbours, a re-connection which we desperately need if we are going to be able to share the gospel with the real Australians amongst whom we live.

I am getting as fully involved in Connect09 as I can. I hope you are doing the same!

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