24^th October 2009

1. Centralised institutions like the Synod will find it difficult to resource and span the diversity of local agencies nor will it be able to assume on the loyalty of people to any one system.
2. The Synod will only fund projects that are mission based...that can guarantee some growth or impact on the community.
3. The leadership, creative energy and ability of local people to define their mission and "go for it", with out waiting for it to come from a Minister or somewhere else will be important.
4. Many small aging Churches will become Pastoral Home Groups. Fewer local churches will lead to larger Regional Church Centres.
5. Training of Ministers will focus less on academic degrees and more on a combination of learning plus practical skills in administration, leadership, entrepreneurial and public relations areas.
6. Property and programmes will be less important......Relational skills will be important. People will no longer come to us; we will need to go to the market place and to the point where people experience human need.
7. The obligations of order in rosters, meetings, membership requirements, uniformity in doctrine, will be difficult. Flexibility to respond quickly, cross-culturally, will be important.
8. People will be less patient or capable of coping with lecture type learning/sermons, they will expect communication to be visual, entertaining, challenging.
9. The one thing we can be sure about when it comes to the future is that it will be messy. Old ways of thinking will encounter increasing frustration.
10. This big MEGA PICTURE of change already touches our local situations and must effect the way we think about the shape of church, our mission and our pastoral understanding towards one another.

Prepared by Rev Ted Curnow

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