Raising issues with your leader or your team can be tough—too many ideas may overwhelm, confuse or burden them unnecessarily, or it might intimidate you. Russ Smidt from MTS created a tool to help you present problems to your leader or team effectively.

1. What's the issue? How do you get this down to a sentence
2. What's the options? why are options important?
3. What's your recommendation?
4. What's the concrete next step?

• How do you get the issue down to a sentence?
• Why are the options important?
• Why does it need to be a paper and not merely a conversation?
• The potential dangers
• Who needs to be one who writes it
• What is the difference between this and coaching tools?

Russ is the Director of Training with the Ministry Training Strategy

TOOLBOX:

The Ministry Training Strategy

Reach Australia Coaching

Example Work Paper (to come)

CREDITS:
This episode was brought to you by ChurchSuite

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠.

For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

To support the Reach Australia Online Library head ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

As Christians, we want everyone to understand our message about God, but language barriers can hinder fellowship. Sunflower, an AI tool, helps churches bridge this gap by enabling non-native English speakers to follow services and conferences with ease.

Chuhoa Liu is one of the co-founders of Sunflower.

• What does it do?
• How fast is it?
• What do you need to set it up?
• Dealing with theological and specialist terms

TOOL BOX:

Sunflowerai website

The Culture Map by Erin Meyer

CREDITS:

This episode was brought to you by the VCA

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠.

For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

To support the Reach Australia Online Library head ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

Lighthouse Church, located on the mid-central coast of NSW, has significantly increased its mission effectiveness.

A key measure of this success is the ratio of individuals professing faith as a percentage of average weekly attendance.

In just three years, Lighthouse has doubled this figure, rising from 4% to 8%.

• What are they measuring?
• What are they focussed on?
• How do they manage distractions?
• How are they keeping their church fired up for evangelism?

Jeremy Kidd has done an apprenticeship at Lighthouse Church. He's currently the mission pastor as he continues theological study.

TOOL BOX:

Lighthouse Church

TOT 394 Social Media for Church Teams Who Don’t Like Social Media (Liz Fong)

TOT 395 Gaps and Missed Opportunities: Mission Planning Fails (Dave Jensen)

TOT 396 Mapping out Mission: How to Plan your Church’s Mission Calendar (Dave Jensen)

Mission ebook

CREDITS:

This episode was brought to you by the Leadership Development Program

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠.

For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

To support the Reach Australia Online Library head ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

Building an effective church mission calendar is like conducting an orchestra—it requires careful coordination, intentional rhythm, and a deep understanding of both the individual instruments and the overall symphony of church life. The calendar is not just a logistical tool, but a strategic roadmap that keeps the main thing of mission the main thing.

There are important points and principles you need to keep in mind, including:

• Starting with the end in mind
• Identifying your two pathways and "conversions"
• What needs to be the priority?
• How to learn from others around you
• The importance of term 4 (and what to do in the other terms)
• When you know you have mission heat

Dave Jensen is the Assistant Director of ⁠Evangelism and New Churches⁠ (ENC), with a specific focus on the ‘E’ of ENC: Evangelism. His aim is to assist churches in their endeavours to see lost people find life and hope in Jesus.

TOOL BOX:
Now, Where, How diagram

Now, Where, How tool

Mission calendar example

Mission ebook

Reach Australia National Conference

CREDITS:

This episode was brought to you by EA Insurance

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠.

For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

To support the Reach Australia Online Library head ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

'A failure to plan is a plan to fail' – an adage that rings especially true when planning for mission. In this episode, Dave Jensen explores common pitfalls churches encounter when planning for mission.

• Why having a plan helps you with reactivity and commitment
• The importance of the right goals guiding the plan
• Knowing you really need two mission plans
• A plan to create and keep 'mission heat'
• When and how to ask for help for a mission plan
  

Dave Jensen is the Assistant Director of Evangelism and New Churches (ENC), with a specific focus on the ‘E’ of ENC: Evangelism. His aim is to assist churches in their endeavours to see lost people find life and hope in Jesus.

CHAPTERS:

01:00 The Importance of Mission Planning

03:48 Understanding Goals in Mission

08:09 Maintaining Mission Heat for Christians

12:09 Common Mistakes in Mission Planning

18:09 Evaluating Mission Effectiveness

24:04 Key Takeaway: Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing

TOOL BOX:
Now, Where, How diagram

Now, Where, How tool

Mission Calendar Example

Mission ebook

Reach Australia National Conference

CREDITS:

This episode was brought to you by Compassion

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠.

For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

To support the Reach Australia Online Library head ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

Lots of gospel workers intentionally don't use social media (often for wise reasons!). But lots of churches in our network are seeing more people through their doors and engaging with the gospel through their social media presence.

Liz Fong is in charge of marketing at Reach Australia and runs the social media pages. She regularly has gospel workers asking what they should post on their church's accounts - and often they don't even use the platforms themselves! 

This episode is for church teams who want to work out what their 'minimum effective dose' on social media could look like.

Liz shares her thoughts on:

• What platforms to use to maximise time and minimise effort
• The easiest and most effective content to post 
• How often to post
• Why it's worth having doing, even for people who aren't personally a fan of social media

TOOL BOX:

Ten Churches on Social Media: A Glimpse into their Church Communities

TOT 271 Crossbeam: Connect, illustrate, and educate content.

CPA 24 Social Media, Newsletters and Communication

Liz's suggestions of churches that do well on socials:

Liz's suggestions of churches that do well on socials:

Vine Church
Instagram: (@vinesydney)
Facebook: Vine Church 

MBM Church:
Instagram: (@mbmchurch)Youth Instagram: (@mbmyouth)
TikTok: (@mbmchurch)

Facebook: Multicultural Bible Ministry

Lighthouse Church
Instagram: (@lighthousechurch_cc)

Youth Instagram: (@lighthouseyouth_cc)

Kids Instagram: (@lighthousekids_cc)

Plus Reach Australia’s socials:

Facebook

Instagram

TikTok

LinkedIn

CREDITS:

This episode was brought to you by Safe Ministry Check

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠.

For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

To support the Reach Australia Online Library head ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

Healthy churches need teams with capable and skilled leaders. Like any ministry skill, leading a team takes growth and development. Dave Moore is the Executive Pastor from Hunter Bible Church, Newcastle and is responsible for overseeing over 550 volunteers.

• Do your teams not "work" because you don't have have trained leaders?
• Are volunteer team leaders the way Australian Christianity is transformed?
• The changes that need to happen to move from a team member to a leader  Including the shift of from "doing" ministry to "seeing" ministry
• How should staff hand on responsibility to non-staff leaders?
• The importance of delegation and love in leadership

Dave's just released a new book for team leaders called The Team Leader’s Handbook. It's got practical guidance for building and leading teams that serve Jesus together.

TOOL BOX:

Team Leaders Handbook

Ep 343 The Great Name Tag Debate

The Leadership Pipeline ebook

Reach Australia National Conference

CREDITS:

This episode was brought to you by Youthworks

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠.

For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

To support the Reach Australia Online Library head ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

Term 2 isn’t just Term 1 on repeat - it brings new opportunities and challenges. It’s easy to lose focus and drift, both personally and in ministry, without being intentional. Taking time to reflect and adjust now can help set up the rest of the year well.

In this episode, we’ll explore ways to stay engaged and focused, including:

• Keeping the main thing the main thing: making disciples
• Taking a moment to pause and reflect on how things are going
• Investing in leaders—it's never too early to recruit and develop them
• Keeping a heart for mission by continuing to invite others in
• Supporting small group leaders as they help others go deeper in God's Word
• Helping newcomers from Term 1 feel rooted in community
• Thinking ahead about new staff - starting conversations early gives you time to be thoughtful in the process

Join us as we chat through these ideas and share ways to stay intentional in Term 2!

TOOL BOX:

Leadership Pipeline ebook

Ministry Framework ebook

NB both these ebooks are FREE!

Reach Australia National Conference

CREDITS:

This episode was brought to you by the Ministry Training Strategy

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠.

For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

To support the Reach Australia Online Library head ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

The Reach Australia network needs to evaluate our own performance. Every year we survey the churches in our network to get a picture of our collective health. How are we progressing in reaching our goals? What's going well? What areas require improvement? What do we need to do differently?

• Churches in our network weren't great in mission, but now they're doing much better. Why did things change?
• Church plants reach more, albeit different, people
• Small groups in our churches are not as well attended as we hoped

TOOLBOX:

Register for the Reach Australia National Conference

Some of the Network Learning Slides

TOT 378 What Should Your Church be Tracking?
TOT 176 7 Things About Inputs and Outputs for Church

CREDITS:

This episode was brought to you by The Reach Australia Team Development Program

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠.

For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

To support the Reach Australia Online Library head ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

In the middle of Sydney’s Muslim Ramadan street party—where food trucks line the streets and thousands celebrate—there’s a surprising presence: The Peace Tent. A Christian outreach, this space invites seekers to discover the peace of Jesus in the heart of the festival. If you want to grow in confidence sharing Jesus across cultures, this episode is for you.

TOOLBOX:

Connecting Muslims: A Guide to Communicating Effectively by Fouad Masri

Telling the Gospel Through Story by Christine Dillon

Where to Start with Islam by Samuel Green

Reaching Australian Muslims with Samuel Green (Reach Australia Podcast)

Faraj has more coming in a future episode in the Reach Australia Podcast

CREDITS:

This episode was brought to you by Youthworks

The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠

To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠.

For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

To support the Reach Australia Online Library head ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.