The One Thing

Public bible reading is something people often take for granted. But hearing God speak to our community is the highlight of our church gatherings. How do we practically speaking, read the bible well?  Backyard Bard, Simon Camilleri gives us some pointers: Historically, when the people of God stop reading the bible, they go off the tracks.  The sermon is not just the ministry of the word and the bible reading is not the tick box at the start. When people expect less from the bible reading, the harder it is for the preacher. Like practising music, the bible reading is something that takes work and needs feedback.   The keys to a good bible reading is clarity done through how you read. The relationship between the preacher and bible reader is important. All bible passages, even genealogies can be read well. TOOLBOX: More resources can be found at Public Bible Reading. You could also join the Facebook Group Or watch more on the YouTube Channel CREDITS: 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.

St Faith's Anglican Church in Sydney's Northern Beaches has made significant changes to how they think about mission as they pray to see more people saved. We talk with Marcus Druitt from the church about what he has found to be the effective elements of evangelistic courses. In this episode we discuss: The important contexts of an evangelistic course, including thinking about your mission funnel and the wider ministry ecosystem. That more effective gospel presentations are often home grown or adapted for their context There are some great presentations out there: Alpha, Christianity Explored, Olive Tree Media, Nua (a Scripture Union course) Using something that is already there to keep the ball rolling. To write your own homegrown course, start with one presentation and then alter it according to what worked and what didn’t work The teacher teaches, the Spirit convicts, the Christian witnesses around the table Understand the underlying principles and convictions of the gospel, and adapt that into your context

How do we know if people in our churches are truly growing?In this episode, Paul Grimmond joins Gus McCowatt to explore what it means to pursue pastoral transformation in the messiness of life.What to guard against to not become pastorally passiveWhy information alone doesn’t transform usHow to pastor people through the complexity of real lifeHow to cultivate a culture of godliness in your churchImportance of personal reflectionSigns of healthy maturityPaul Grimmond is the Vice Principal and Head of the Ministry Department at Moore Theological College. Before joining the faculty as Dean of Students he served as Senior Assistant Minister at Unichurch (UNSW), having previously been an editor for Matthias Media, Rector of Unichurch, and author.Toolbox: Paul presented a full workshop on this content at the Reach Annual Conference this year so if you missed getting along to that or want a refresher make sure to check it out.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtKkv-yp_58&t=5sDangerous Calling by Paul David TrippGetting Over Yourself by Caroline Spencer with intentional reflection insideGrowing Yourself Up by Jenny BrownCredits: This episode was brought to you by MTSThe One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠Support Reach Australia's online library

Al Stewart shares 28 of the craziest, most counterintuitive lessons he has learnt from his time in ministry.There are gems of wisdom for all stages of ministry life. You won't hear this stuff in a textbook!Sadly, this is Scott’s final episode on The One Thing whilst being Executive Director before he moves to the US!Al Stewart has worked with FIEC, City Bible Forum, Geneva Push and Katoomba Christian Convention, as well as serving as a bishop and director within the Sydney Diocese of the Anglican Church.Toolbox: Scott Sanders and Al Stewart did two more great episodes before this one:Ep 464: What 15 years of church planting taught Al StewartEp 465: Vital things a senior minister needs to knowCredits: This episode was brought to you by MTSThe One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠Support Reach Australia's online library

A senior minister has an enormous influence on whether their team is healthy. After more than 40 years of ministry leadership, Al Stewart has learnt a few things the hard way.In this episode, Scott Sanders sits down with Al to unpack the lessons, mistakes and wisdom that only come from decades of leading people.They talk about the tensions every ministry leader navigates: caring for people while still having hard conversations, building trust without avoiding conflict, knowing when someone needs to move on, and what to do when you realise you’ve got it wrong.The competing tensions in building a teamWorking for the people who work for youWhy senior ministers set the culture of their teamsWhy bosses are the biggest single factor in whether staff enjoy their jobAl Stewart has worked with FIEC, City Bible Forum, Geneva Push and Katoomba Christian Convention, as well as serving as a bishop and director within the Sydney Diocese of the Anglican Church.Toolbox: Growth and Change by Andrew Heard Who’s Holding The Umbrella by Bill Jaegar (this book is unfortunately out of print so we could not provide a link, but have a look on places like Ebay and Facebook marketplace - if you are really desperate for a copy Gus McCowatt in the Reach office has a copy)Credits: This episode was brought to you by MTSThe One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠To pray for Reach Australia, join our ⁠⁠WhatsApp Group⁠⁠For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠Support Reach Australia's online library