Reaching Kids and Families – Online Workshop

Around 80% of Australian churches prioritise families with kids as a primary mission focus.  There are solid missiological reasons why this can be fruitful and lead to sustained growth.  In some churches, programs like mainly music and playgroups form the centrepiece of effective mission pathways.  In other churches, these programs provide a useful service to the surrounding community, but play no part in helping people becomes followers of Jesus.

How can ministry to families be a practical way of loving our neighbours and the basis of a fruitful discipleship pathway?

This short workshop helps you understand the simple missiological principles that you can put to work in your kids and families’ ministry, improving your potential to make disciples among families with kids.

Online Tuesday February 25th, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Australian Eastern Daylight Time.

Cost $38.50 per participant

Hit the button below to sign up and we’ll send you a Zoom meeting URL and password.

 Working with Gatekeepers – Online Workshop

“This is my church.”  The emphasis on that word ‘my’ tells us more about the speaker than about the church.  They’ve been at the church longer than most – sometimes their family association with the church stretches back generations.  They know everyone in the congregation and everyone in the congregation knows them.  Like rockstars, they need no surname.  The mention of their first name brings to mind not only the person but also the influence they wield.

They’re invested.  They’ve served on every board and committee (perhaps they still do) and they work tirelessly.  They give financially, sometimes to the point where the church is dependent on them.  They’re on the rosters – sometimes they manage the rosters. They turn up to weekly worship, and to fetes, fundraisers and fellowship nights.

They’re a gatekeeper.

Gatekeepers have a reputation for being the bane of the minister’s life. In my work with over a hundred local churches, gatekeepers have impeded the progress of renewal and revitalisation in more than 60% of them – sometimes by subterfuge, sometimes by sabotage, and occasionally by overt hostility.

What makes a gatekeeper tick, and how can clergy work productively with them?

This 90-minute workshop will help you understand the predictable patterns of gatekeeper behaviour and equip you with strategies to manage the challenges they bring your way.

Online Thursday March 27th 2025  10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Australian Daylight Eastern Time.

Once you’ve registered we’ll send you a Zoom meeting URL and password.

Survive and Thrive in Ministry – Online Workshop

Rowland Crowcher observed that there are at least as many ordained ministers out of ministry as there are ministers currently serving.  That was more than twenty years ago.  Since then there has been a growing awareness of clergy burnout and increased emphasis on self-care.  Yet significant numbers of Christian ministers leave ministry each year citing burnout and disillusionment as their reason.

How can clergy develop a posture and practice that allow them to not only stay in ministry, but find satisfaction and fulfilment?

This short workshop helps you think through the sustainability of your own ministry practice and some ways to build your personal resilience.

Online Thursday May 15th 2025, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Australian Eastern Time.

Cost $38.50 per participant

Hit the button below to sign up and we’ll send you a Zoom meeting URL and password.

The Discipling Minister – Online Workshop

“Go and make disciples” instructed Jesus.  It’s not a complex statement.  Yet most churches will reach end 2025 with very few or perhaps even no new disciples in their congregation.  Meanwhile, many churches are characterised by congregations of churchgoers rather than disciples of Jesus.

Churches frequently turn to programs and curriculum, while the crucial role of the minister as a disciple maker is frequently overlooked when churches seek to become more effective as disciple-making communities.

This short workshop helps you think through the highly relational nature of discipleship and how you as a ministry leader can improve your effectiveness in making disciples.

Online Tuesday August 5th 2025, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Australian Eastern Time.

Cost $38.50 per participant

Hit the button below to sign up and we’ll send you a Zoom meeting URL and password.

Church Size and Lifecycle – Online Workshop

Ministers who take on a church of 35 and lead as it grows to 70 don’t get to keynote conferences.  Those that lead churches in their thousands do.  Yet the leadership skills and structures of the mega church simply don’t translate to the context of the small to medium-sized church. 

Thankfully there’s a body of literature that helps us navigate the size and stage dynamics of churches, enabling the minister to understand how to lead at each stage and thoughtfully transition to the next.

This three-hour online workshop introduces you to the characteristics and needs of churches in each size and lifecycle category, and explores the leadership style and structure best-suited for each. 

Online Thursday August 28th, 9:30 AM – 12:30 AM Australian Eastern Time.

Cost $78.50 per participant

Hit the button below to sign up and we’ll send you a Zoom meeting URL and password.

The Family Sized Church – Online Workshop

Churches with an average weekend attendance under 50 are both great places to belong and notoriously resistant to change.  Family sized churches often have long collective memories and seem to operate like a tribal group – complete with chiefs and medicine men (and women).

In the 21st century, many family-sized congregations are growing older with decreasing attendance.  How can clergy work with the quirks and qualities of small churches to bring renewal without being done-in?

This short workshop helps you understand the internal logic of the family-sized group and provides some guiding principles for clergy seeking to engage in revitalisation.

Online Tuesday October 7th 2025, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Australian Eastern  Daylight Time.

Hit the button below to sign up and we’ll send you a Zoom meeting URL and password.