Churches who Share their Faith: A Case Study Survey of the Baptist Union of Victoria 1

Churches who Share their Faith: A Case Study Survey of the Baptist Union of Victoria 1 Darren Cronshaw, Ruth Powell, Nicole Hancock, Sam Sterland, Stacey Wilson and Ian Duncum Abstract: Australian National Church Life Survey (NCLS) findings reveal that a key characteristic of vitality in church life is willing and effective faith-sharing. Drawing from analysis of NCLS 2011 survey data of Victorian Baptists, and a small set of followup interviews, this article discusses where Victorian Baptist churches are at their best in faith-sharing practices among attenders readiness to share faith, inviting people to church and faith-sharing in families; and faith-sharing programs and activities as churches in local church activities, evangelism training and processes for inclusion. These results are presented alongside results for participating churches of all faith traditions. There is room for improvement in all these areas, and especially for Victorian Baptists in empowering families to share faith, fostering an invitational culture and providing evangelism training. But where faith-sharing, willingness to invite and processes for inclusion are present, churches are more likely to show health and vitality in a range of areas. Key Words: Church trends, evangelism, social inclusion, youth ministry, Baptist church, NCLS hristianity is strongly outward focussed. Jesus calls his people to go, and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19, 20). Willing and Effective Faith-sharing is one of the three outward focussed National Church Life Survey core qualities of healthy churches. This article examines faith-sharing among Baptist Union of Victoria attenders and churches, as well as across Australian churches of many denominations. This is the third in a series on church revitalisation in the Baptist Union of Victoria, following articles on vision and empowering leadership. The National Church Life Survey (NCLS) is a quantitative survey conducted every five years since 1991 of approximately 20 Australian denominations, 7,000 churches, 1 This article is part of a Baptist Union of Victoria Baptist local churches revitalization research project, parts of which were funded by a Collier Charitable Grant and a University of Divinity Small Faculty Grant. Human Research Ethical Clearance (HREC) for the 2011 National Church Life Survey data is approved through the Australian Catholic University HREC committee; and the qualitative interviews are approved as part of the BUV Revitalisation Project through the Sydney College of Divinity HREC committee. This is third in a series of articles, following: Darren Cronshaw, Ruth Powell, Nicole Hancock, Sam Sterland and Stacey Wilson, Churches with a Vision for the Future: a profile of the Baptist Union of Victoria, Australian ejournal of Theology 21/1 (2014) 63 81; and Darren Cronshaw, Ruth Powell, Glen Powell, Nicole Hancock and Stacey Wilson, Churches that Inspire and Empower: A Case Study Survey of the Baptist Union of Victoria, Australian ejournal of Theology 21/3 (2014): 212 33. 95

10,000 local church leaders and up to 300,000 church attenders. The survey covers a wide range of areas of religious faith and practice and social concern. This article discusses the statistical state-wide responses of Victorian Baptists who participated in the 2011 National Church Life Survey (2011 NCLS), together with interview responses from selected church leaders. The Victorian Baptist sample is from 8830 adult attender forms from across 79 churches. In 2011 the Baptist Union of Victoria (BUV) included 203 churches and an estimated total Baptist community of 27,240 participants. 2 Thus the 2011 NCLS BUV sample represents 39% of churches and 33% of participants, which, although not a majority, is a significant representative sample size. The broader national statistics are from the 2011 NCLS Attender Survey, which was completed by 216,063 attenders aged 15 years or over from over 20 Christian denominations. Unless otherwise specified, tests of statistical significance in this paper were carried out using the Pearson's chi-squared test. 3 A representative subsample of attenders answered additional questions about this topic. Further, a local representative from participating churches provided information about faith-sharing programs and activities through the NCLS Operations Survey (n = 2520). All data were weighted in order to be as representative as possible at a denominational and national level. To gain a deeper understanding of some of the challenges, opportunities and creative activities taking place within the BUV, Stacey Wilson conducted a series of semistructured interviews. We identified representative churches with a high proportion of respondents who agreed with questions that indicated: (a) Willingness to invite someone to church here (that they were Willing and invited someone in the last 12 months ); (b) Readiness to share faith with others (that they Feel at ease talking about their faith and look for opportunities ). These two questions were the best ones indicating actual behaviour rather than ideal aspirations. Eleven churches were selected based on their NCLS faith sharing profiles, of those eight responded agreeing to participate. The eight churches included country churches (Lakes Entrance and Granite), a small-sized innersuburban church (South Yarra), and suburban churches varying in size from small pastoral-size (Balwyn), to medium multi-staff churches (Waverley and Werribee), large (Syndal) and megachurch (Crossway). Two other people, Beth Barnett and Rob Nichols, with specific specialist knowledge in this area were also interviewed. Those interviewed were: (1) Dale Stephenson, Senior Pastor Crossway Baptist Church, 03/02/2014 (2) David O Brien, Senior Pastor Waverley Baptist Church, 15/05/2014 (3) Michael Carlisle, Pastor Lakes Entrance Baptist Church, 22/05/2014 (4) Mark Wilkinson, Senior Pastor Werribee Baptist Church, 28/05/2014 (5) Bill Brown, Senior Pastor Syndal Baptist Church, 29/05/2014 (6) Jono Ingram, Pastor Granite Baptist Church, 06/06/2014 2 Philip J Hughes and Darren Cronshaw, Baptists in Australia: A Church with a Heritage and a Future (Melbourne: Christian Research Association, 2013) 95. 3 A p value is the probability that the result being examined happened at random and not because of some association. Statistical convention holds that a p value of less than 0.05 (5%) is considered significant (i.e., there is less than a 5% chance that this result occurred at random) and less than 0.01 (1%) is highly significant. 96

(7) Alison Sampson, Associate Pastor South Yarra Community Baptist, 16/06/2014 (8) Angie Mok, Associate Pastor Balwyn Baptist Church, 16/06/2014 (9) Beth Barnett, Victorian Council for Christian Education, 15/05/2014 (10) Rob Nicholls, Church Engagement Coordinator, CBM Australia 28/05/2014 The interviews offered qualitative data of stories and principles of faith-sharing from local church leaders that complemented the broader NCLS quantitative data. INDIVIDUAL FAITH-SHARING Readiness to share faith In the 2011 National Church Life Survey, church attenders were asked about patterns of faith-sharing that covered both opinions and actual behaviour, including: Which of the following best describes your readiness to talk to others about your faith? I do not have faith, so the question is not applicable I do not like to talk about my faith; my life and actions are sufficient I find it hard to talk about my faith in ordinary language I mostly feel at ease talking about my faith and do so if it comes up I feel at ease talking about my faith and look for opportunities to do so Figure 1 shows BUV attender attitudes to sharing faith, in comparison with all of Australian attenders in the 2011 NCLS. Figure 1: BUV attender attitudes to sharing faith 4 At ease and look for opportunities 18 17 Mostly at ease if occasion arises 51 52 Hard to express in ordinary language 24 18 Life and actions sufficient 6 12 Lack faith so not applicable 1 1 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Percentage BUV in 2011 Australian attenders in 2011 In the decade from 2001 to 2011, across all denominations there was an increase in the proportion of attenders who feel at ease sharing their faith and look for opportunities, rising from 14% in 2001 to 17% in 2011. 4 2011 NCLS Attender Survey (n= 216063), BUV (n = 8830). 97

In 2011, 18% of BUV church attenders in Australia felt at ease talking about their faith and looked for opportunities to do so. A further 51% of church attenders mostly felt at ease, and talk about faith if it comes up (vs 52% overall). Statistical tests found that the Victorian Baptist distribution of results for this question was significantly different from that of all Australian attenders (p <.001). BUV attenders were more likely than all attenders to say they find it hard to talk about their faith (24% vs 18% overall), and less likely to believe that their life and actions are sufficient for faith sharing (6% vs 12% overall). For the purpose of this article we will examine the factors that can support or inhibit faith sharing in two parts. Firstly we will look at the characteristics of the individual believer who is at ease with sharing their faith and some of the factors that were identified as challenges when it comes to talking about faith and inviting people to church. Secondly we will look at the broader church context and consider the cultural dynamics and actions churches can take which may support their members to share their faith. Those at ease with sharing faith Attenders who are most likely to state that they feel at ease talking about their faith and look for opportunities to do so are, among other factors: experiencing personal growth in faith highly involved in church life helping people in practical ways younger. In the following discussion, the term at ease will refer to both those who look for opportunities and those at ease with sharing faith if it comes up. (a) At ease and growing in their faith Results from the 2011 NCLS also confirmed a previous finding that those who express a strong personal faith are more likely to be at ease sharing that faith with others. 5 Expressing much growth in personal faith in the last year is one of the strongest predictors of whether a person will be at ease sharing their faith. Among BUV church attenders who indicated they had experienced much growth in faith in the last year, 79% are at ease sharing their faith. This compares with 61% at ease among those who say they have experienced only some growth or no growth. When churches focus on growing the faith of attenders, other crucial areas of church life (such as faith-sharing) are also helped. One of the most powerful areas of growth identified by those interviewed was that of prayer, both corporate and personal. Acknowledging through prayer that God is active in drawing people to God helps us to partner with God. Balwyn Baptist Church has intentionally cultivated a culture of prayer. Associate Pastor Angie Mok explains: 5 Peter Kaldor, John Bellamy, Sandra Moore, Ruth Powell, Keith Castle, and Merilyn Correy, Mission under the Microscope: Keys to Effective Sustainable Mission (Sydney: Openbook, 1995). 98

Prayer underpins all of this activity when we pray, I think that takes away the fear that stops us from sharing our faith verbally. It takes away that fear because it s not us trying to convert people, it s the work of the Holy Spirit. Developing a close, deep, growing relationship with God enables people to become more sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit about when and how to share their faith. This can help people to avoid acting out of guilt or obligation and allow a more genuine sharing to take place. Mok continued: When people are growing in their faith they have more stories to share, they can see every little bit of the lives of people that surround them, the little stories and snippets of God at work. And when they can see that, there is lots to talk about. Links between growth, prayer and faith-sharing were echoed by other pastors. Mike Carlisle, at Lakes Entrance, is convinced that a church that is committed to prayer is where faith sharing begins: I think that praying in faith, believing that God is still in the business of saving people, still wants the church to be operating in a real level of sentness and making disciples, if the church across Australia would grasp that and grow in that, I think it would show itself ready for the Lord to add to their number daily those who have been saved. Another important element of prayer is the encouragement and support it provides through the journey of sharing faith. Granite pastor Jono Ingram reflects: Faith sharing takes time. It takes a long time sometimes for people. And it takes a commitment from a person to journey with a person for as long as that is I think faith sharing is a community activity because you need your Christian brothers and sisters to be encouraging and supporting and praying for you and your friends. Ingram observes that it is easy to become discouraged or disillusioned if faith sharing takes place in isolation. Granite hosts prayer groups to pray for each other s friends outside the church, and to encourage accountability about relationship-building. While faith sharing is often seen as an individual activity the encouragement and support provided by the wider church is vital. The recognition, through prayer, that individuals are joining in God s work nurtures a way of sharing faith that is more authentic and powerful. (b) At ease and highly involved in church life Previous NCLS research has established a clear link between church involvement and readiness to discuss matters of faith. 6 In the 2011 NCLS, BUV attenders in a ministry or leadership role were significantly more likely than those not in ministry to look for opportunities or be at ease with sharing faith (74% vs 65% not in a role; p <.001). Similarly, those who attend church more regularly, those who attend an additional group at church (either faith-based or social) and those who express a higher sense of belonging to their church all have significantly higher levels of faith-sharing. An individual s sense of 6 Ibid, 63 99

connection and belonging is strongest when they not only have the opportunity and desire to bring something to the group but also their gifts are valued. This allows people to move from a position of consumer to that of participant, or to use a biblical image, they become an active part of the body of Christ. (c) At ease and involved in practical service of others Church attenders who are more often helping others in informal ways are more commonly at ease in sharing their own faith. This highlights how faith-sharing as a core quality of church life is intertwined with Practical and Diverse Service another outward core quality of healthy churches. Being involved in practical acts of service, particularly if these occur outside the church context, can help members to develop links with the wider community. They can also be places where members can observe others who are at ease in sharing their faith; learning through modelling can be powerful. Many of the churches we spoke to intentionally use these settings as a training ground; not as a way of detracting from the attitude of service, rather to model natural everyday ways of discussing faith in ordinary language. Lakes Entrance Baptist Church have been intentional about creating spaces where their members can begin engaging with their community, as Carlisle comments: We have a number of opportunities that are fairly safe, for example playgroup where people come onto our turf [engaging in the community] is something we have sought to model and to say that we are called to go, so let s just go. We tell the stories of what that amounts to and people see the fruit of that and applaud that model [and] how beautifully simple it is. Beyond church-based activities, Carlisle explains they seek to support their members to use their skills, gifts and interests to make connections and serve their community. David O Brien at Waverley applauds his church for adopting a similar posture: Our church has a very high value of service, a large proportion of our people are out serving in different community organisations. So the church in a way is a bit of a top up, a petrol pump type situation.. We try to support them in all of those activities and encourage them to take Jesus with them wherever they go. This kind of incarnational posture is something Christians in urban centres may need encouragement to adopt. Regional and rural Christians, in contrast, often find this comes naturally to their experience of living rurally, as Ingram explains: There is a mentality in our small town of getting involved in the community, it doesn t matter who you are, church, non-church whatever. Everybody s involved the folk in our church are very hooked into the community because they play bowls, tennis, footy that s what is expected of you in the community as it is. Encouraging members to view what they are already doing in their communities as valuable ministries can reduce the sense of pressure to take on another commitment. If 100

faith sharing takes place in a context in which the person is already building relationships through a shared interest or commitment, then it can be a more natural process. (d) Age Differences Previous research across all denominations has shown that older attenders are less likely than young attenders to talk about their faith, believing their life example is sufficient. For the younger group the barrier is more often finding ordinary language to talk about their faith. 7 The churches that participated in the interviews had mixed responses to the issue of how age impacts willingness to share your faith. Overall the feeling was that each generation faces its own challenges and brings its own unique style and gifting to the process. Table 1 shows that generational differences among BUV attenders are slightly different to this overall profile. Table 1: BUV faith-sharing by age group 8 15-29 yrs in 2011 30-44 yrs in 2011 45-64 yrs in 2011 65+ yrs in 2011 % % % % Readiness to share faith with others Attenders who look for opportunities to share their faith 15 14 20 19 Mostly at ease and share faith if it comes up 51 52 52 52 Find it hard to share faith in ordinary language 28 28 23 21 Do not like to share faith, feel life and actions are sufficient 5 6 5 7 Do not have faith, so not applicable 1 1 1 1 Involvement in evangelistic or outreach activities Attenders involved regularly in outreach or evangelistic activity 19 18 22 26 Aspects of church most valued - outreach Attenders who consider reaching those not attending church as one of the features of their church they most value 18 14 16 15 Inviting others to church Invited someone in the last 12 months 34 35 36 33 Willing, but didn t invite someone 39 44 46 49 Probably or definitely wouldn t invite someone 8 7 7 8 Don t know 18 14 12 10 There is little evidence that older BUV attenders view their life and actions are sufficient. Indeed, those aged 45 and over are somewhat more likely to look for opportunities (19% to 20%) compared to younger attenders (14% to 15%). However, similar to the overall profile of church attenders, younger BUV attenders are more likely to find it hard to share faith in ordinary language. This suggests a need for training and 7 Ibid. 61 8 2011 NCLS Attender Survey, BUV (n = 8830) 101

modelling about how to communicate faith with confidence in everyday language. BUV attenders did significantly differ in their responses depending on their age group (p =.001), except for whether they see outreach as one of the features of their church they most value (p =.287). It appears that BUV attenders of all ages are equally likely to value and prioritise faith-sharing. Denominational differences Attenders in different denominations do vary in patterns of personal faith-sharing. This is shaped by differing theological heritages and outreach emphases (see Table 2). BUV attenders are very similar to all Baptist and Churches of Christ attenders in their approach to sharing faith with around 51-52% of regular attenders who share their faith if it comes up. A further 18% actively look for opportunities. Baptist/Churches of Christ (24%) and Lutheran (24%) attenders were more likely than average to agree they find it difficult to communicate their faith in everyday language (18% overall). In contrast, Pentecostal attenders were most likely to look for opportunities to share faith with others (27% vs 17% overall). They were also least likely to find their faith hard to talk about (15% vs 18% overall). There are areas of confidence and training that Victorian Baptists could learn from some other denominations. Table 2: Faith-sharing by denomination 9 Baptist/ Readiness to share Other faith with others BUV Anglican Churches of Catholic Lutheran Pentecostal Uniting Protestant Total Christ % % % % % % % % % Attenders who look for opportunities to share their faith Mostly at ease and share faith if it comes up Find it hard to share faith in ordinary language Do not like to share faith, feel life and actions are sufficient Do not have faith, so not applicable 18 15 18 15 13 27 10 21 17 51 51 52 52 55 55 50 51 52 24 22 24 15 24 15 23 21 18 6 11 5 17 8 3 16 6 12 0.8 0.7 0.5 1.1 0.4 0.3 0.9 0.8 0.8 Inviting People to Church The 2011 NCLS asked church attenders: Would you be prepared to invite to a church service here any of your friends and relatives who do not currently attend a church? When 9 2011 NCLS Attender Survey (n= 216063), BUV (n = 8830). p <.001. 102

comparing BUV and all Australian data, it was found that the two groups results for this question were significantly different (p <.001). 35% of BUV attenders had invited someone to church in the past year, as had all Australian attenders. A greater proportion of BUV attenders showed a willingness to invite others despite not doing so, with 45% of attenders compared to 37% of Australian attenders. This figure suggests Victorian Baptists are more committed to the idea of inviting people, even if not more active than average in doing so. However, BUV attenders were also less likely to indicate they would probably not be prepared to invite someone to their church than all Australian attenders (7% versus 12%), suggesting a greater confidence in their church. A further 13% of BUV attenders indicated they did not know, and only 1% said they definitely would not invite someone to their church. Figure 2: BUV attenders inviting others to church 10 Have invited in past year Would invite, but not in past year 35 35 37 45 Don't know Probably would not 7 13 15 12 Definitely would not 1 1 0 10 20 30 40 50 Percentage BUV in 2011 Australian attenders in 2011 New arrivals to church are more likely than long-term attenders to invite others. BUV attenders who are switchers (those who have changed denominations) and transfers (those who have changed churches but not denomination) are strong inviters (37%). They are followed by newcomers without a church background (35%). However, similar proportions of BUV attenders who have been at their church for over five years have invited someone in the last year (34%). It is interesting to note that the pastors interviewed all expressed an intentional shift away from the idea of inviting a person to church as the primary form of sharing faith. Carlisle articulates this shift in thinking: I ve encouraged people strongly to actually minister to their neighbours and friends in whatever context they are in and let the flow into the life of the church come in whatever way it will. It might come in through connection with our network groups, which is what we call our small groups, or it might come in through family days that we have. Connection into the life of the body might come in a number of ways. 10 Ibid. 103

Bill Brown, senior pastor of Syndal Baptist Church, emphasises the importance of building ministry and especially faith-sharing on relational engagement: Word and deed are entwined together. Evangelism is about loving people into taking Jesus seriously. Our message has no credibility apart from the visibility of transformed lives. Transformed lives, acts of love, service and care, provide a launch pad from which the good news of Jesus can be articulated. Brown is convinced that while building connections with the church is vital, it is people s own growth and transformation through Christ that will enable openings for authentic faith sharing. He suggests that people are more likely to respond positively to an invitation to attend church if it comes from someone whose life is obviously transformed and who expresses genuine caring interest. (a) Denominational differences in inviting BUV attenders are slightly less likely than all Baptist/Churches of Christ attenders to have invited someone to church in the past 12 months (35% vs 37%). While the majority of attenders in all denominations are willing to invite others to church, Pentecostal movements have the highest proportion of attenders who have invited others to church in the year (57%). Table 3: Attenders inviting others to church by denomination 11 Have invited in past year Would invite, but have not in past year % % BUV attenders 35 45 Anglican 38 40 Baptist/Churches of Christ 37 44 Catholic 27 34 Lutheran 30 44 Pentecostal 57 31 Uniting 32 44 Other Protestant 38 42 All Churches 35 37 (b) Reasons people don t invite others to church A common theme for not inviting someone to church is a lack of connection with people outside church life. When Australian church attenders indicated from a list the main two reasons they would not invite someone to church, the most common reason was Those I 11 Ibid. 104

could invite may not be interested, selected by 24%. (Not enough BUV attenders answered this question for responses to be statistically reliable.) Other results are shown in Table 4 and show that the disconnect between church and wider community is a real issue for many churches. Table 4: Reasons given by church attenders for not inviting others 12 What most discourages you from inviting people to this congregation/parish? (Mark up to TWO) All NCLS in 2011 I do not see the need to do so 10 I don t know many people from outside church 10 My friends and contacts live too far away 11 Lack of confidence in talking about my faith 11 Fear of rejection / damaging relationships 9 They may not like the style of worship here 10 They may not be made to feel welcome here 4 They may not be interested 24 Other 6 Don t know 8 % The shift away from an invitational approach towards relationship-based discipling warrants further examination. Dale Stephenson, senior pastor of Crossway Baptist Church, encourages his members to prioritise taking the message of Christ with them into their lives more than inviting people to the church building to hear the gospel. Churches have a lot of contact with people and they wonder why there is not some kind of evangelistic harvest, and it s because their contact is programmatic. There s a cause or reason why people are together. And it s not until there is actual genuine interest in people that will overflow into those third spaces, so it s non programmatic, it s food, it s home, wherever, where there is that sense that I actually like this person, and there is going to be an empathetic sharing of lives. That is the most powerful domain. Crossway has focused on training and equipping their people to make disciples rather than relying on the church to do that for them, as Stephenson explains they are empowering people to be good stewards of the gospel: What we are attempting to achieve is that we would be making a disciple who know how to make a disciple by equipping people with a simple model that they can actually do with other people. This does not detract from the importance of creating a church environment in which people are comfortable to invite the people they make these relational connections with: 12 Responses for I m generally happy to invite are not shown. Source: 2011 NCLS Attender Survey H (n = 1233) 105

If the language, if the style of teaching, the style of music, the style of worship and the general culture of the place feels like it would clang, be oil and water, for their friendship network, they are not going to bring their friend in there because they actually don t think it would help they are not going to endanger them or their relationships. Something inside of them has to say, I love coming here, I love being here. It is important to address blockages or reasons people don't invite others to church. Nevertheless, church leaders seem to be moving away from encouraging their members to use the church service as the primary means of faith sharing. Church attendance for some is betters seen as the result rather than the method of sharing our faith. Faith-sharing in families People do not just come to church because their friends invite them; often they start coming as children when their parents bring them. The results of various studies suggest that the influence of parents is the most powerful predictor from a person s childhood of their current religious involvement. 13 When asked, If you have school-age children living at home, have you spent time talking with them about aspects of the Christian faith in the past year? 29% of BUV church attenders responded with often, 11% occasionally, and 58% N/A (that is, they did not have school-age children living at home). Some 3% of BUV attenders said that they do not talk about their Christian beliefs with household members. The majority of households in Australia are family-based households (62% in the 2011 Census). As such faith-sharing within the family context is important. For the majority of Protestant attenders, first contact with the Christian faith is through their parents or family. 14 Churches that support parents in this role are more likely to retain youth. The issue of youth and young adult retention in church life requires great attention. Among church attenders in Australia who have children aged 15 and over still living at home, 40% of those children do not attend any church (2006 NCLS and 2011 NCLS). Factors leading to a higher level of young adult retention are: discussing faith at home, church programs oriented at youth, and a larger church size. 15 Other highly influential factors include parental patterns of church attendance, importance of their faith and whether both parents share the same religion. 16 Of the 2520 churches in Australia that returned an Operations Survey in the 2011 NCLS, 48% indicated there were children attending a youth group at their church. In relation to church programs oriented to young people, 69% of BUV attenders are satisfied with what is being offered for children under 12 years (significantly more than the 60% of Australian attenders; p <.001). Some 56% are satisfied with what is being offered for 13 John Bellamy, Alan Black, Keith Castle, Philip Hughes and Peter Kaldor, Why People Don't Go to Church (Adelaide: Open Book & NCLS, 2002) 27 14 Peter Kaldor, Robert Dixon and Ruth Powell. Taking Stock: A Profile of Australian Church Attenders (Sydney: Openbook, 1999) 60 15 Ruth Powell, John Bellamy, Sam Sterland, Kathy Jacka, Miriam Pepper, Michael Brady, Enriching Church Life: A Guide to Results from National Church Life Surveys for Local Churches (2 nd edition) (Sydney: Mirrabooka Press and NCLS Research, 2012) 111 16 Bellamy et. al., Why People Don t Go To Church 27 106

youth aged 12-18 years at their church (significantly more than the 44% of Australian attenders; p <.001). Some 40% of church attender s children no longer go to church at all by the time they reach 15 years of age. Yet overall the adults surveyed are satisfied with the programs being offered to their children by the church. This discrepancy highlights the need to examine the difference between teaching our children about God and discipling them. To be able to do this we must first acknowledge that there are competing forces at play most Sunday mornings. Beth Barnett, previously BUV Children and Families Ministry Coordinator and now Theological Engagement worker with Victorian Council for Christian Education, is a strong advocate for a church paradigm where children and youth are present, active and valued. She explains many parents and churches feel: I want my children educated in things of the faith but I don t feel equipped to do it. However they also believe that, I need to continue to be fed with adult teaching in order for my own faith to be sustained and the presence of children compromises the success of this. A church culture that delegates children and youth ministries to experts may unintentionally be reinforcing this lack of confidence regarding faith sharing within the family. If sharing faith with a child is something that is always done by a specialist team in a separate venue, and that parents and church members have little or no involvement in, it is not surprising that they lack confidence. Barnett offers an alternative: A more biblical response is to recognise that the nourishing of adult faith is directly linked to participating in the discipling of others an outward faith, and that children in the midst of the gathered community represent a natural opportunity for adults to exercise their disciple-making faith, and thus continue to grow in grace themselves. Teaching, encouraging and enabling the process of discipleship across generations can reconnect the people of God with their wider call to mission, as Barnett concludes: As the witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus, and people of the Spirit, we are called not to educate ourselves but to bring good-news in our community. Reconfiguring our life together around mission, rather than education offers restoration of our purpose, our call and our community. South Yarra Community Baptist Church found itself in a common situation as a small growing church with young families who wanted some children s ministry. It became obvious that if that ministry took place separately from the rest of the service with adequate adult supervision, there would hardly be anyone left in the service. They then began imagining a way that their church could become a place for everybody regardless of age or ability. Pastor Alison Sampson explains their motivation: We say that the body is made up of many parts and that God desires the worship of the whole body but then we say it s too hard to have that bit of the body involved. It s the question of priorities to some extent. Some churches don t actually see children as part of the body or they struggle to see that. My response is either kids are part of the body or they re not. And if they are part of the body of Christ then where do they belong in God s picture of our church? And if they are part of the body then surely God desires their worship and presence. 107

Their commitment to intergenerational worship led to the children becoming full participants in the formal liturgical service, which includes a ten minute time of silence. Children opt in and opt out as they need to, in ways that do not disturb those around them, but the leaders have sought to include more music, movement and roles to engage children. South Yarra gives higher priority to engaging and practising faith, and less to intellectually talking about or listening to talks about it. They want to make space for children, and people of all ages, to practice being a Christian and worshipping God rather than just talking about or listening to theological ideas. Sampson celebrates how this is better for faith formation anyway. James K A Smith argues that humans adult or children develop through what we do, not just by hearing cognitive content. He suggests that what we do liturgically shapes us theologically in terms of what we value. 17 South Yarra and other churches that adopt intergenerational formats are convinced that children learn best not from an academic environment (like traditional Sunday School), but from doing and practising faith alongside adults (as in intergenerational worship). Furthermore, by finding ways for the entire congregation to become active participants in the worship gathering, they saw a strong sense of ownership develop and a desire to share what is happening in their place of worship. Sampson explains some of the results: I have adults coming up to me in the school ground all the time saying one of your daughters was telling my daughter who told me that this is what you do for Easter, are you kidding! Tell me about it. When we really include the kids it is not about them being entertained, it is something they now own themselves. Then they become very effective witnesses in the world in terms of sharing the patterns of Kids can be full disciples just like adults can be; it s a different expression. They are not waiting in the wings until they are grown ups and then they can be one of Jesus disciples they already are now. FAITH-SHARING BY CHURCHES In the second part of this paper, the focus is on the local church, rather than individual actions. A representative from each church described the local church evangelistic activities in the NCLS Operations Survey as well as training opportunities for attenders. This profile is extended with information from attenders about their levels of involvement in evangelistic or outreach events, qualities associated with having an inviting culture and inclusive practices in local churches. All of the people interviewed affirmed that it is work of the Holy Spirit that brings people to faith. The church partners with God in this and must learn to rely on God s guidance. Mok comments: We just have to keep moving where the Holy Spirit is leading us, without saying it s either my way or the highway, but it is what is God saying to us? It s understanding that we are in the movement that in this neighbourhood we want to partner with God. 17 James K A Smith, Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview and Cultural Formation (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2009). 108

Let s listen, let s discern, then let s partner with God to do what he wants to do to bring the kingdom here. So we constantly think about kingdom work and say is this kingdom work? The expressions of this partnership are as varied as the people who undertake them. However, the Holy Spirit is the driving force empowering this work to be shared. Local church evangelistic activities Conducting activities such as evangelistic church services, events, Bible studies, doorknocking, outdoor evangelism, drop-in centres or other evangelistic activities is significant for a church in several ways. Apart from providing a means for spreading the faith, it also extends church attenders opportunity to be involved in evangelism. Research shows those involved are more likely to have invited someone to church in the past year and to be at ease sharing their faith. 18 While some churches appear to run few specific evangelistic events because they strive to ensure that their regular activities are geared to new people, the presence of evangelistic activities of some kind is usually a good indicator that the church has intentional outward focus. The 2011 NCLS Operations Survey outlining programs and activities asked: In the past 12 months, did this congregation/parish conduct any of the following outreach or evangelistic activities? Australian and BUV results from the 2011 NCLS can be seen in Table 5. None of these differences reached statistical significance (all p >.05). Some 6% of BUV churches in 2011 indicated they held evangelistic church services or events monthly or more often, and 54% of BUV churches have held evangelistic Bible studies at least occasionally. Only a small proportion of BUV churches have conducted street/shopping centre evangelism, door-knocking, or drop-in centres (9%). 18 Kaldor et.al., Mission Under The Microscope 48 109

Table 5: Evangelistic activities taking place in churches 19 In the past 12 months, did this congregation/parish conduct any of the following outreach or evangelistic activities? BUV in 2011 All NCLS in 2011 All Prot in 2011 % % % Evangelistic church services or events (eg guest services, crusades) Monthly or more often 6 10 9 Occasionally 55 51 51 Never 39 40 40 Evangelistic Bible studies (eg Christianity Explained, Alpha) Monthly or more often 17 15 15 Occasionally 37 33 34 Never 46 52 51 Street/shopping centre evangelism, door-knocking, or drop-in centres Monthly or more often 9 14 14 Occasionally 21 26 27 Never 70 60 59 Other evangelistic or outreach activities not mentioned above Monthly or more often 17 20 21 Occasionally 45 37 38 Never 38 43 40 Churches indicated at least one of the above Monthly or more often 36 39 40 Occasionally 49 44 44 Never 15 17 16 Based on Operations Surveys responses from the following number of locations: 69 2520 2137 These statistics were reinforced by the interview data and are indicative of the shift in thinking away from use of the church setting as a means of evangelising. Moreover, churches seem to view community engagement in a broader context than just as an evangelistic tool. This however does not reduce the evangelistic potential of these activities; in fact at times it seems to enhance them. When Werribee Baptist began the Kids Hope mentoring program at their local school it was an act of service. They wanted to build into their community without any agenda other than supporting kids and the school. What they didn t expect was the impact their actions would have on the school staff with a number of them joining the church and coming to faith. Senior pastor Mark Wilkinson states: It beautifully demonstrates how evangelism can be an outcome of serving, in a way that totally caught us by surprise. God was doing things and preparing people to hear the message. In the context of all this, we saw quite a significant evangelistic outcome. BUV churches were no more or slightly less likely than all Australian churches to have conducted at least one outreach or evangelistic activity, with 36% of BUV churches 19 2011 NCLS Operations Surveys (2520), BUV Operations Surveys (69) 110

doing so monthly or more often (vs 39% of all churches; p =.780). While it is encouraging that churches are engaging with their community in this way, it may be helpful for each church to evaluate how effective each of these outreach strategies are in their local context. For Australian churches it appears there is a greater sense of missional engagement by churches within the wider community rather than expecting people to come to evangelistic church services, and churches are finding this emphasis more fruitful. For BUV churches evangelistic Bible studies were the most common outreach activity, suggesting a relational and interactive aspect to the evangelism of BUV churches. Training in outreach/evangelism Churches that provide specific training for outreach and evangelism also have higher levels of sharing and inviting. Churches would do well to consider what forms of evangelism training would be helpful to their attenders, particularly in the light of what type of outreach they conduct. The 2011 NCLS Operations Survey asked: Has this congregation offered significant training for lay people in the following leadership or ministry roles in the past 2 years? Outreach/evangelism role was one of 12 options (any of which could be marked). Results for Australia, BUV and selected denominations can be seen in Table 6. Table 6: Local churches providing training in outreach/ evangelism in the previous 2 years by denomination 20 2011 NCLS Baptist Churches in Victoria 9 % Anglican 17 Baptist/Churches of Christ 15 Catholic 5 Lutheran 5 Pentecostal 10 Uniting 5 Other Protestant 26 All Churches 13 Of Baptist Churches in Victoria, 9% had offered significant training for leaders in evangelism; more than some denominations, but less than Anglicans nationally (17%) and also less than Baptists and Churches of Christ nationally (15%). Baptists (and Churches of Christ) in other states offer more training in evangelism than Victorian Baptist Churches, which Victorian Baptists might learn from. 20 Ibid. 111

Significantly, all the churches identified as strong in faith-sharing and that participated in the interviews had conducted regular and specific evangelism training with their members. They used a variety of training materials, some developing their own, others using existing material. For some, there was also a commitment to ongoing conversations regarding faith sharing. Waverley pastor David O Brien stated: It s really been an integrated approach through the sermons and the cell groups we raise the topic many times. Many of my sermons have an apologetic element so simply through the broader education process of the church I try to keep people aware of what sort of issues are out there and how they can approach some of those questions that people may have. Waverley has used role-playing as a way of practicing speaking about faith. Believers face an on-going challenge of being able to express deeply held beliefs and meaningful theological concepts in ordinary language. They ask questions like what is the best thing about faith as far as you re concerned, what is the thing that grips you that you would really love friends and others to have? and give people the opportunity to practice expressing their answers out loud. O Brien states this activity has been particularly useful as it provides a safe place to examine the type of language used: Many of those concepts, even if they mean so much to the people there, if they said that to a non-christian or a un-churched person, it would be like speaking a foreign language. Ingram echoes this challenge, emphasising the impact having a real and current experience of theological concepts can have on ability to express faith clearly: When I hear people talk about their faith, they can use the Christianised words but I don t think they actually know what those words mean. So they say redemption but they don t really know what redemption means, they just know they have been redeemed. But when they really, deep in their heart, know what that is, having truly experienced that, it becomes more than words and they can actually explain it a little bit more, in easier ways without having to use a particular Christian phrase. However Carlisle also issued the following challenge to churches not to get too caught up in the process of training to the detriment of actual discipleship: I think Christians have become conditioned to be tantalised by any level of complex bible teaching that will stimulate their minds but not actually impact their actions. I think we have become amused by deep teaching but we aren t able to practically apply what the message is about. This is an issue worth wrestling with. If a congregation embraces the role of consumer, the recipients of holy goods and services, then the desire to seek out the next new thing becomes the primary goal. It is easy to become distracted by the process of understanding and deepening experiences of faith and forget the calling to share this with others. The people of God are called to make disciples, not just entertain or feed themselves. 112

Attenders involved in local church evangelistic activities Attenders were asked about their involvement in any activities of their congregation that reach out to the wider community. Figure 3 shows the proportion of attenders who responded Yes, in evangelistic or outreach activities. In BUV churches 21% of attenders were involved regularly in evangelistic/outreach activities; significantly more than the 18% of all attenders (p <.001). Figure 3: BUV attender involvement in evangelistic outreach activities 21 Evangelistic/outreach 21 18 Community service 26 25 No activities 6 6 Not involved 55 58 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Percentage BUV attenders in 2011 Australian attenders in 2011 Attender involvement in evangelistic outreach activities differed significantly according to denomination (p <.001), as shown in Table 7. Table 7: Church attender involvement in evangelistic outreach activities by denomination 22 Per cent involved in evangelistic/outreach BUV attenders 21 % Anglican 25 Baptist/Churches of Christ 26 Catholic 7 Lutheran 16 Pentecostal 36 Uniting 20 Other Protestant 29 All Churches 18 21 2011 NCLS Attender Survey, (n= 216,063), BUV (8830). Attenders could choose more than one response, so percentages may not add up to 100%. 22 2011 NCLS Attender Survey, (n= 216,063), BUV (8830). 113

Levels of involvement were highest among Pentecostals (36%). Baptist and Church of Christ attenders, along with Anglican attenders have the next highest levels of involvement (25-26%). While such evangelistic activities have low levels of involvement among Catholics (7%) research suggests that family education as well as an emphasis on the Catholic school system contributes to Catholic parishes having fewer formal evangelistic programs than their Protestant counterparts. 23 As a complement to their home-grown resource Ask Anything, 24 Dale Stephenson and the Crossway team are encouraging members to embrace an as you go mindset when it comes to evangelism. Instead of adding another program or event for church members to the calendar, people are equipped to take their faith sharing into their everyday lives. Stephenson states that their objective was We are trying to empower you to have faith conversations with your friends. This shift in attitude has come about through a period of reflection, prayer and teaching, which focused on the great commission (Matthew 28:18-20). People hear the great commission and think it s a command go, but more literally from the text it is as you are going, the skill of learning as I am going I am commanded to make disciples it s not an additional thing that I do; it s as I go. Crossway began this process by training people in the Discovery bible methodology 25 and then asked them to take up a challenge. After prayer and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they were encouraged to identify someone and say I m looking for someone to read the bible with, would you be interested? If the person were receptive they would begin meeting together to read the bible. During that time they were asked to identify points of conviction and articulate possible actions to be made in response to these. They finish with a commitment to act on these. Modelled on the catalytic activities in China and India, this type of training provides a platform on which believers can build using their individual gifts and style. Churches with an inviting culture Some churches have developed a strong culture of inviting, where large percentages of attenders invite others to church. This culture is stronger within some theological traditions, though in all traditions an emphasis on reaching out is valued. The characteristic of having an inviting culture is one of nine Core Qualities used to measure a church s vitality, and this Core Quality has strong associations with many other Core Qualities. 26 As Figure 4 suggests, a strong culture of inviting and faith-sharing in a church is more likely to be found in churches where attenders feel that they are growing in their faith, and with a strong sense of community. Faith-sharing also goes together with having more church attenders who own the church vision, are empowered in the exercising of 23 Kaldor, et. al., Taking Stock 66 24 http://askanything.com.au; Dale Stephenson and Darren Cronshaw, Ask Anything: Developing a relational platform to mobilise Australian Christians to share their faith through exploring questions, Witness: The Journal of the Academy for Evangelism in Theological Education 28 (2014): 53-80. 25 David Watson http://igniteocp.com/discovery-bible-study-method/ 26 Powell et. al., Enriching Church Life 103 114

their gifts and know they are making a valued contribution. Further, it goes with an affirmation that worship is nurturing and enriching with intentional inclusion of those on the fringes both new arrivals and potential drift outs. If inviting and faith-sharing is to be strong, people need to believe their church is a good place to bring their friends. It is not determined only by personal commitment to faith, but also by confidence in church. Figure 4: Faith-sharing and strongest associations with other Core Qualities 27 Inclusion: an important part of the process One factor that will naturally affect people s willingness to invite is whether they think their friends will be treated well. If inviting and faith-sharing are to be strong, people need to believe their church is a good place to bring their friends. It is not determined only by personal commitment to faith, but also by confidence in church. A culture of inclusion is as important as a culture of inviting if new people are to stay, and eventually consider themselves belonging to the church. Does the church have procedures in place to ensure new people are not only welcomed well but integration over time is facilitated by, for example, visits, hospitality, programs or groups? Churches that provide ways to intentionally include new people have significantly more success in retaining them. 28 Crossway has given inclusion significant attention. After finding that newcomers had very varied experiences of first attending Crossway, they instituted a more formalised procedure of connection and follow up. Senior Pastor Dale Stephenson explained this includes clear signage of buildings, a simple process to find their way and being greeted multiple times. They also offer a newcomers area and a process to pass on contact details and follow up within 72 hours. Newcomers are invited, reminded and thanked for coming to a newcomers event; invited to join a life or home group and to share a meal with someone; and offered the opportunity to be paired with likely friends. This process is 27 Ibid. 28 Ibid. 62 115