Today was my first day as the Vision for Mission Advocate for the Queensland Synod, Uniting Church in Australia. I’ve moved out of the role of general mission consultant to take on a three year process of resourcing new missional communities.

I’ve developed a web site dedicated to the Vision for Mission, at www.visionformission.org.au. There’s a nice little article on my new position in Journey which can be read as a pdf file.

Today was spent catching up on some work for the Seeds of Hope missional church network, which has been somewhat neglected recently. I met with the Synod Leadership Team after lunch to talk about how I’ll start the new role. We focused mainly on how the Seeds of Hope network will tie in with the Vision for Mission. I had coffee this afternoon with Terry Ayling, ‘creative director’ of Spirited Communities.

The ‘Vision for Mission’ is clearly about investing in missional church at a local level. The good thing is that there’s a budget of one million dollars a year set aside to resource that. I don’t get a pay rise unfortunately! But I do get to work with a facilitation team who can allocate funding to help missional communities get off the ground in their initiatives.

From the ‘Vision for Mission’:

We commit ourselves as a church to the establishment, development and nurture of new ventures in ministry and mission that clearly demonstrate a commitment to the values and objectives of the Vision, with particular regard to:

• developing initiatives in ministry and mission with a focus on cultural or common-purpose groups
• using relational approaches to evangelism that equip people to actively share their faith in Christ in appropriate and intentional ways
• providing opportunities specifically designed to help people grow in their faith and become active disciples of Christ
• making significant connections, and intentionally building relationships, with individuals and groups in the wider community in a variety of settings
• establishing new congregations or faith communities and supporting them in whatever ways are necessary to ensure their continuing growth and effectiveness
• encouraging and supporting new and innovative approaches to ministry and mission, particularly where these are undertaken collaboratively, ecumenically, or by groups and teams of people
• maximising the use of owned properties, including shared use by congregations/faith communities, other agencies of the church, community groups and other Christian denominations.
• exploring the potential advantages of renting property. considering creative alternatives to the employment of fulltime persons.
• continuing to develop and support initiatives in community service that pursue justice for, and enhance the quality of life of, the aged, the poor, the homeless, the refugee, those with a disability, and other disadvantaged people in our society.
• offering continuing training, formation and support for those evidencing the personal qualities, skills, maturity and spiritual gifts for leadership that are essential for the realisation of the Vision.
• attending to generational differences and allowing for youth and early adults to embrace, and participate in the realisation of, the Vision in ways appropriate to their experience, giftedness, and preferences for the manner in which things are done.