Workshop Speakers

Ecosystem Workshops

Belongs in Community

Speakers: Tim Clemens – Senior Pastor @ Grace City Church
& Tony Payne – Ministry Trainer and Writer-in-residence at Campus Bible Study (UNSW).

Workshop Description: Belonging in community’ is about more than newcomer integration and membership processes (although not less). In this seminar, we’ll look at the theological foundations of Christian community, and explore the practical implications of this not just for newcomers and new members, but for the ongoing life of our church communities.

Loving God

Speaker: Charles Cleworth – Director of Magnification @ Grace City Church
Trevor Hodge – Magnification Pastor @ EV Church
Andrew Heard – Senior Pastor @ EV Church

Workshop Description:To reach Australia for Christ, it will not be enough to have churches who just intellectually understand the Gospel. We will need churches whose love for God is uncontainable – that overflows in joy filled gatherings, compelling witness and humble service. But without deliberate care and attention, this aspect, or purpose, of our church’s life can easily grow cold. With Andrew Heard (EV Church) we will develop an understanding of the purpose area of loving God, its critical contributions to the church ecosystem, and discuss how to nurture healthy growth in our church and leadership teams. Then we will press into the practicalities of leading and developing this ministry area in churches of all different sizes and contexts with Charles Cleworth (Grace City Church).

On Mission

Speakers: Dave Roberston – Mission Pastor @ Hunter Bible Church
Josh Allen – Lead Pastor @ Laneway Church

Workshop Description: We all want our church to be ‘on mission’. But how exactly do we go about that? In this session we’ll begin to think about what it might look like for your church to keep being a part of Jesus’ great work in seeking and saving the lost. We’ll cover topics such as developing key mission outcomes, mobilising the flock for mission on a local and global scale, and building intentional pathways for people to become Christians.

Deep in the Word

Speakers: Jon Kwan – Lead Pastor @ St David’s Forestville
Kareena Seifert – EV Church pastoral @ EV Church team
Dev Blair – Maturity Pastor @ Coast Evangelical Church
Ben Broadfoot – Maturity Pastor @ EV Church

Workshop Description: Getting your Church Deep in the Word. God grows his church by his word, so how can we as pastors lead our churches deeper and deeper into knowing God through the scriptures? Which areas of church are critical for leading a whole church in this direction? What role should Bible study groups play? Where can we find leaders to make it all happen?”

Serve Workshops

Rosters to teams: transforming ministry across church

Speakers: Scott Curtis – Ministry Pastor @ Hunter Bible Church
Matt Lehmann – Senior Pastor @ Trinity Church, Colonel Light Gardens
Katy Annis – Ministry Leader @ Trinity Church, Colonel Light Gardens

Workshop Description: In this workshop Scott Curtis, Matt Lehman and Katy Annis will present the why the shift from rosters to teams in well worth considering. Matt and Katy will share their story of implementing teams at Trinity Church: Colonel Light Gardens. The workshop will breakdown some key principles for implementing the shift from rosters to teams. There will also be some time for interaction to help churches apply this across different contexts and sizes.

Build more leaders (developing people in ministry)

Speakers: Dan Ford – Maturity and Ministry Pastor @ EV Church

Workshop Description: We all know and feel the need to have more leaders in our churches. But the problem with a lack of leaders is actually a problem of leadership development. This workshop will wrestle with fostering a culture of leadership development in every area and at every layer of ministry in our churches.

Recruiting at every size

Speakers: Wayne Connor – Minister @ Dubbo Presbyterian Church

Workshop Description: In this workshop we will be thinking about the place of recruiting within the serve ecosystem. What does it mean to recruit to a vision and not just to a job? What makes a good ’serve’ conversation? Who does the recruiting? What else is involved in the recruiting process to land people in a team well? What are some tools that can help? What does this look like in a small church of under 50 people with 1 minister, a medium church with a serve team, and a large church with multiple staff working in a dedicated serve area?

Metrics: Measure what matters

Speakers: Peter Blanch – Director of Church Development @ Reach Australia
Tom Pattison – Resources + Consultant @ Reach Australia

Workshop Description: It’s not uncommon to feel a little wary of collecting data and using statistics in our Church setting. Perhaps we feel like we shouldn’t approach church like a business? Perhaps we have a healthy concern against pragmatics driving decisions rather than solid theology? But, metrics don’t turn a church into a business any more than measuring your heart rate turns you into a robot. And metrics never replace good theology, rather they complement it. Good theology will tell you what really matters, and then metrics can help you to determine the health of your church body in those matters. Churches can become dominated by their many activities and ministries that can assume they are healthy simply because they are so busy, or that church health is a guaranteed by-product of activity. But do you know if your church is actually healthy? What are the indicators of church health and growth?

Skills Workshops

Advanced ecosystem thinking: Using ecosystem thinking to identify blockages and opportunites

Speaker: Greg Lee – Lead Pastor @ Hunter Bible Church

Workshop Description: We hear a lot about the Ecosystem and maybe even know what it means! But how do we use Ecosystem thinking in normal church life? In this seminar we’ll look at a bunch of situations where Ecosystem thinking can be used practically to help us grow.

How to unleash 60% of your church

Speaker: Rev. Jo Gibbs

Workshop Description: 60% of the Australian church is female. As we seek to proclaim the gospel and see an increasing number of mature disciples, it is important to mobilise this 60% of the church effectively. This workshop is tailored for pastors and church teams wanting to equip and engage the women in their church, providing practical tools to be used in any ministry context.

Fixing the admin chaos in your church.

Speaker: Sam Jensen – Virtual Church Assist

Workshop Description: Whether you’re wanting to build (or improve) admin systems in your church, or if you’re looking to hire the right people to do so, this workshop will help you understand what’s needed and why. We’ll then provide suggestions and solutions to avoid chaotic admin and create a sense of joy and ministry-mindedness in your admin staff.

Growth Barriers

Speaker: Craig Tucker – Senior Minister @ Scots Presbyterian Church

Workshop Description: This workshop will help you think about dealing with growth barriers in church ministry and give you insights into how church size dynamics needs to change the way a churches operates and how leadership works at different sizes.

What's the point of Kids Ministry?

Speaker: Sarah Blanch – Kids Church volunteer @ Salt Church
Andrew Horsfield – Children’s & Youth Ministries Pastor @ Hunter Bible Church

Workshop Description: Every human that steps through your church door needs to become, grow and mature as a disciple of Jesus, to God’s glory. And… that includes kids! We often talk about the “ecosystem” of a church – but where do children and teens fit in? How can we apply the ecosystem to children’s ministry, and how can we include children’s ministry as part of the wider church ecosystem? What goals are we working towards and how do we recruit, train and develop the right people and find the right program to reach these goals? For many years, in different ministry settings, Andrew Horsfield and Sarah Blanch have been working to grow children and youth into mature disciples of Jesus. In this workshop they’ll provide a helpful picture of God’s goals for kids and work with you to develop some strategies to mature today’s kids and youth into fruitful followers of Jesus.

Regional Evangelism: what needs changing (and what doesn't) to share Jesus in the bush

Speaker: Gary Eastment – Strengthen Consultant @ Reaching Australia
Bruce Bennett – Regional Coach/Consult @ Reach Australia

Workshop Description: Not many of us would disagree that contextualisation is important for Gospel ministry. But what does this mean for regional ministry? Assumptions and stereotypes abound, which can lead to poor strategy or even be a barrier to missional activity. Bruce and Gary have long experience in a variety of regional contexts, with plenty of fruitful (and no so fruitful!) evangelism to draw wisdom from. This seminar will cover topics such as:

Why the regions are different (and why they’re really not)
Why thinking about the regions means more than, ‘not the city’.
How regional differences can nuance our ministry.

Gatherings for small churches

Speaker: Liv Chapman – Ministry Team Member @ Emu Music
Curtis Smith – Music & Gatherings Pastor @ The Bridge Church

Workshop Description: God has given us everything we need to hear from and respond to him, but sometimes it can feel like our small churches lack what’s necessary to put together an effective and engaging church service. From less-than-ideal meeting spaces to out-of-tune singers, how do we best use the resources we have in crafting a service?

At this workshop, we’ll look at ways to overcome the practical and pastoral challenges of putting together a gathering for a small church, as well as making space for God’s people to flourish in that environment. We’ll think about how to build a service that facilitates genuine engagement with and response to God and his word, and how to motivate and train a small team, including the practicalities of music, technology, and the building/meeting space. Bring your questions and wisdom, and come along to learn together.