Exlporing New Mission Fields in the North

Exploring New Mission-Fields in the North

by The Right Rev’d Dr Tim Harris

It is a well-established axiom in approaching missional ministry that adapting to a range of contexts (social, cultural, demographic, religious and spiritual) is essential if we are to be truly incarnational. I have certainly been conscious of this as we embark on a new season of ministry working in, through and alongside the church community at Elizabeth, and the City of Playford more broadly.

In offering some initial reflections, I am all-too-aware that I have a lot of listening and learning to do from people who are far more aware and experienced about life in the north. One of my early observations is how resourceful, resilient and capable northerners are, very much best placed to prayerfully consider and create avenues of ministry most appropriate to the diverse and distinctive neighbourhoods and developments in this part of Adelaide.

If I had to sum up my first impressions, it would be in terms of ‘real people, in the midst of real life, witnessing to real hope’. There is no room for pretence here, and an expectation that we will be up front and say it like it is–and even more, for me to hear it like it is! Yet the talk is backed up by action, and especially a willingness to accept people as they are, regardless of background or social status.

It is a reflection of this that has led me to believe that one of the most valuable dimensions to being a church in the north is to be a community that offers sanctuary and refuge, whether in social or spiritual terms, or just in the midst of the busyness and challenges of life. The church as community, looking out for one another and with a generosity of spirit, is true to our calling to ‘be church’ as much as we ‘do’ church.

So as a missionary seeks to observe and engage with the identity and character of each mission field, what do I see as some of the notable attributes of mission and ministry in the north?

For a start, mission is in the DNA of the Anglican presence in Elizabeth, with a ‘pioneering spirit’ rightly describing the approach to ministry from day one. The vision of the St. Peter’s College Mission 60 years ago enabled the establishment of facilities and (even more importantly) a Missioner to engage and serve the newly created neighbourhoods and town centre at Elizabeth. When the first Mission was relocated from Moore Street, Adelaide to Elizabeth Way in

1957, the Mission Hall was a significant feature of the emerging community, located literally in the surrounding open fields and paddocks.

The founding Missioner was the energetic Rev’d Howell Witt (later Bishop of North West Australia, 1965- 81). Witt left a lasting legacy, not least in his example of innovation and imagination, and a willingness to have a go and learn from the experience (if nothing else, it supplied many a good yarn for which he is rightly remembered!) I feel privileged to follow in his footsteps, as well as those who continued ministry in this context.

We need to be reminded that Anglicanism at its best is pioneering and missional, and was so from the outset. Being Anglican in the 21st century may well learn from pioneering expressions of Anglican mission from the past.

Secondly, not only is mission in the Elizabeth Anglican DNA, but the City of Playford owes much to the entrepreneurial spirit of its namesake, SA Premier Sir Thomas Playford (1938- 65). Playford oversaw a period of rapid change and growth, bringing his trademark pragmatism to transform ideas and possibilities into action and tangible projects. The City of Playford today continues in that entrepreneurial spirit of adaptation and re-invention as the region moves from being a manufacturing centre to a hub for innovation and green field development. Holy Cross Elizabeth, together with the Anglican Mission, is well-located to take its place in contributing to the community enrichment (both social and spiritual) of the new City of Playford (‘SA’s Next Great City’!)

So where do we go with this in terms of adapting and innovating new approaches to our Anglican presence and ministry? Well, in a very real sense, we can go back to the future. Before the parish-village model of church, the mission and ministry of the church was advanced and supported by strategic churches in market towns who provided a home-base and support for ministry beyond their immediate location. Mission cells and pioneering ministry was enabled and encouraged through the ministry of ‘Minster’ churches (think of York Minster and the like).

There is a growing recognition of the strategic missional value of such churches (sometimes call Resource Churches in the Church of England), so that partnerships between churches located in city centres (such as Elizabeth) serve to facilitate missional ministry further afield.

And developing partnerships is critical! Stand-alone ministry is both vulnerable and stressful to sustain, whereas partnership (otherwise known as fellowship) is an integral feature of growing as disciples and living into our calling within the one holy catholic and apostolic Church of Christ. In our own context, our partnership with AnglicareSA is one of shared vision and an outworking of our recognition that we will serve gospel ministry well when we both give expression to being church in word, sacrament and action.

More could be said, but let me finish with one final reflection: I’m not convinced that in this part of Adelaide that church planting is the place to start, especially if it assumes a more suburban expression of church. Many missional leaders argue (rightly, in my view) that building relationships and establishing some form of community should be the priority in innovative expressions of being church, before considering growing into being a worshipping community.

Not only is it more cost efficient and sustainable to establish ‘gospel communities’ in various neighbourhoods and networks (communities that meet locally to encourage one another to grow as disciples and look outward to love and serve the neighbourhood), it is also more missionally adaptive and organic. Sometimes known as the ‘slow church’ approach to missional ministry, I believe more of this organic ‘ground cover’ approach to church growth may well be a fruitful and adaptive model to explore in our context in the north. We’ll keep you posted as God leads us in our journey into new mission and ministry territory, and would love to have others join us!