What you’re reading isn’t your typical annual report. It’s a celebration – a look at the incredible ways God has been at work in churches all across Australia. We’re calling it the Growth & Change Report because that’s exactly what this is about: lives being changed and churches growing as we step out in faith together.
At our National Conference in May 2024, we were drawn back to Jesus’ words in Matthew 22:37: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This commandment fuels our mission to pursue the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19 – ‘Go and make disciples of all nations.’ Together, we were reminded that loving our gracious, generous Father comes first – and it’s his love that drives everything we do.
We’re praying for 300 new churches to be planted by 2030. Can you imagine that? Already, over 150 churches have been planted, and we’re seeing healthy change in more than 350 churches across the network. This report celebrates the ways God is working – through planters being raised, leaders being shaped, churches being strengthened & people coming to follow Jesus for the first time.
As you read these stories and reflect on the numbers, we pray you’ll see the bigger picture: God is growing his kingdom, and we get to be part of it. Let’s give thanks for what he’s done and look forward with bold faith to what’s ahead.
In gospel partnership,
Scott Sanders
We pray that transformative leadership development will lead to doubling the number of Reformed evangelical Christians in Australia by 2035. That looks like churches growing by 5% a year. This is an urgent and important shared task given Australian churches are currently declining by 1.2% p.a*. To paint the picture – in a church of 100, instead of losing one person a year, five people invite a friend to join them.
New churches are five times more effective at drawing people in who either have no history with church or who haven’t been to church in a very long time.
We want to help start 300 new churches by 2030.
We can’t start new churches unless our existing churches are healthy. We need evangelistically urgent, spiritually vibrant, theologically driven and practically skilled church leaders to make mature disciples in ever-increasing number.
We want to develop 750 church leaders by 2030.
"At the start of 2024, a group of us started to gather together with the desire to see many—from the sea of houses in Box Hill and beyond—knowing Jesus.
We prayed to establish a new community compelled by Christ’s love to make disciples, plant churches, and reach out to the nations—all for God’s glory.
During our launch service, we looked at the parable of the prodigal son, and we were reminded that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Together, we prayed that Cornerstone would be a place where we see people who are lost ‘come home’ to Jesus.
We handed out Connect Cards at the end of the service, and there were lots of people who asked to be followed up. They said they were interested in doing our Meet Jesus course, joining the church, or meeting up with someone. We’re so excited to see those people come back.
After the service, we welcomed everyone to join us for morning tea out on the lawn. We had a coffee van as well, and many people stayed around to chat for a long time. Our launch team of fifty were buzzing with energy and stayed around till the very end to pack up and pray together."
Chris Mann
Church Planter
"We had a distinct lack of mission heat across church. We had five non-church people come to evangelistic courses in the past few years, nowhere near as many as we ought to be getting. I think the underlying issue was no sense of urgency about the realities of heaven and hell.
The Leadership Development Program helped stop us from doing the same thing over and over again and not getting good results. It pushed us to change the way our church did things so that, under God, we were seeing fruit.
What changes did we need to make at church so that people know Jesus, know the gospel, and know that God loves them?
We’re driving towards seeing change in the hearts of our people by preaching about the realities of heaven and hell and by praying for Canberra. We’re planning our evangelistic calendar and driving towards people being active in mission. And praise God, we are starting to see that change, both in the urgency of our people and in what God is doing through us, to reach the lost.
Last year, we were really excited to see four adults become Christians. In 2025 we’re praying and working towards seeing eight people come to faith. And there is a sense of excitement around this year."
Paul Owens
Senior Pastor
"I had gone to the Leadership Development Program and come back with all these ideas and new terminology, and the staff team just sort of looks at me a little blankly. The program has helped the wider team understand things that I’ve tried to explain to them poorly. It’s helped us get on the same page.
One of the most helpful sessions was getting out of the rut of the seven day cycle. As a result, we’ve been investing time on those important non-urgent things that always seem to get left by the wayside week in week out.
We’ve been working hard on our calendars, working hard on our priorities and what we need to do to get those long term priorities done. It’s helped us to be sharper, together, and more focused. It’s been a real joy to start to see those things happen amongst the team."
Dave Keun
Senior Minister
"The Wives Network has helped me learn a lot about myself. I’ve had some very helpful discussions about issues unique to pastors wives.
It was fantastic to have the unique opportunity of being away with and getting to know other women in the same position as me.
I appreciated having older women who have been pastors wives longer than I have and gleaning wisdom from them.
The retreats have been big highlights for me over the last two years in my growth as a Christian, growth in my role at church, and also in supporting my husband.”
Mel Shoemark
City on a Hill, Wellington New Zealand
25 potential planters went through a rigorous assessment process to confirm if they’re suitable to start a new church.
Praying for 30 assessments this year.
27 people preparing to plant went through Planter Bootcamp to help them launch well.
In 2025 we want to see 30 get trained.
49 senior church leaders started our two-year program so they can better lead and grow their church.
We’re on our way to reach our goal of 50 senior leaders developed in 2025.
56 gospel workers from 23 churches got equipped to be effective and collaborative church leaders.
This year another 93 gospel workers across 19 churches will be getting trained up.
We facilitated 45 churches to help them ask the hard questions about how their church is going.
50 is the aim for 2025.
191 senior leaders, team members and pastor's wives were coached by a peer in our network.
Let's pray for 325 coaching relationships in 2025.
24 Bible college students met quarterly with a church planter to assess their suitability for planting and get a clear vision on how they can support plants.
Pray for an increase to 30 people this year.
48 ministry apprentices and church volunteers received masterclasses to develop skills and habits for a lifetime of gospel ministry.
We have 42+ participants this year.
1,100 attendees met to encourage each other and get equipped to courageously seek to reach the lost across Australia.
In 2025 we hope to pack out the venue with 1,400 church leaders.
460 women are getting updates, plus a national working group and networking lunches.
In 2025 we're kickstarting workshops and a podcast series called Team Conversations.
We had 51 spouses of pastors come away with us to be trained and encouraged to serve God in their unique role.
In 2025 we’re aiming to see 60 pastors’ wives join us for these getaways.
We produced 78 podcasts, 2 ebooks and many articles to help church leaders grow mature disciples biblically, faithfully and practically.
In 2025 we plan on producing over 250 new resources.
We supported 114 churches in their local mission by doing some heavy lifting for them with their branding, website design and databases.
We're excited to be working with 100+ churches in 2025.
We've been working with 44 church leaders from 31 churches to help build a continuous flow of healthy, gospel-centred leaders.
Our goal for 2025 is work with those same churches, plus 42 new leaders.
204 people completed online questionnaires to start a conversation about their strengths and growth areas for gospel work and church planting.
This year we want to see 150 people start a conversation about their future plans.
We connected church leaders with $557,250 of seed capital from donors to help churches implement gospel projects that become self-funding.
We provided a platform for 28 Christian projects to raise support, funds and awareness about their work.
We simplified leadership training for 68 churches so that they can easily empower willing volunteers to be effective leaders.
This year we're aiming to make these resources free to the network.
25 potential planters went through a rigorous assessment process to confirm if they’re suitable to start a new church.
Praying for 30 assessments this year.
27 people preparing to plant went through Planter Bootcamp to help them launch well.
In 2025 we want to see 30 get trained.
49 senior church leaders started our two-year program so they can better lead and grow their church.
We’re on our way to reach our goal of 50 senior leaders developed in 2025.
56 gospel workers from 23 churches got equipped to be effective and collaborative church leaders.
This year another 93 gospel workers across 19 churches will be getting trained up.
We facilitated 45 churches to help them ask the hard questions about how their church is going.
50 is the aim for 2025.
191 senior leaders, team members and pastor's wives got coached by a peer in our network.
Let's pray for 325 coaching relationships in 2025.
26 Bible college students met quarterly with a church planter to assess their suitability for planting and get a clear vision on how they can support plants.
Pray for an increase to 60 people this year.
48 ministry apprentices and church volunteers received masterclasses to develop skills and habits for a lifetime of gospel ministry.
We have 41 participants this year.
1,100 attendees met to encourage each other and get equipped to courageously seek to reach the lost across Australia.
In 2025 we hope to pack out the venue with 1,400 church leaders.
460 women are getting updates, plus a national working group and networking lunches.
In 2025 we're kickstarting workshops and a podcast series called Team Conversations.
We had 51 spouses of pastors come away with us to be trained and encouraged to serve God in their unique role.
In 2025 we’re aiming to see 60 pastors’ wives join us for these getaways.
We produced 78 podcasts, 2 ebooks and many articles to help church leaders grow mature disciples biblically, faithfully and practically.
In 2025 we plan on producing over 250 new resources.
We supported 114 churches in their local mission by doing some heavy lifting for them with their branding, website design and databases.
We're excited to be working with 100+ churches in 2025.
We've been working with 44 church leaders from 31 churches to help build a continuous flow of healthy, gospel-centred leaders.
Our goal for 2025 is work with those same churches, plus 42 new leaders.
204 people completed online questionnaires to start a conversation about their strengths and growth areas for gospel work and church planting.
This year we want to see 150 people start a conversation about their future plans.
We connected church leaders with $557,250 of seed capital from donors to help churches implement gospel projects that become self-funding.
We provided a platform for 28 Christian projects to raise support, funds and awareness about their work.
We simplified leadership training for 68 churches so that they can easily empower willing volunteers to be effective leaders.
This year we're aiming to make these resources free to the network.
God uses his people to provide for his ministry, and we’re so thankful for the 526 people and churches who gave to Reach Australia last year. You know who you are.
We also praise God for the 222 people who pray regularly with us each week.
In 2025, we want to see another 15 churches planted and another 50 senior pastors equipped to lead their church better so more people hear the gospel.
Behind every number in this report are people who need Jesus.
We need healthy churches because we don’t want anyone to perish.
If you’d like to be a part of what God is doing through Reach Australia this year, give below.
We spend 100% of what we’re given to help pastors be equipped to love, care and grow their members. We pray it’ll lead to people coming to know Christ and God being glorified.
Imagine the power of generosity in the Australian church as we share our wisdom and resources. Picture churches growing, new churches launching and people praising God in the most challenging circumstances.
If you would like to be a part of what Reach Australia is doing in a more significant way, email Steph at [email protected] to talk about where there is the most need. We’re so thankful to God for all those who support us.
ABN: 92 139 724 806
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