Getting Out & About
In the last 12 months the Church Worker Support Officers have visited almost 90 congregations across Australia and into New Zealand. From Darwin to Christchurch, from Canberra to Perth a lot of ground has been covered.
The team have meet with over 500 people in our church in that time in individual meetings with pastors and employees and/or in groups with volunteer leaders.
We have been listening to you and learning. We have heard your joys and your laments.
We have seen wonderful people serving with joy as they bring the gospel to their community. We know that ministry can be joyful but it can also be hard work sometimes. Some communities are examining their mission and ministry and seeking a clearer vision for their congregation. We encourage you to work with your district mission and ministry directors (they might be called something different) and the LCA’s Local Mission teams who are well placed to support you.
We heard how challenging it has been for many congregations to navigate through the requirements of the PSD training. The Ethical Standards of Behaviour and SP3 training helps us as a church come to a common understanding of how we should conduct ourselves and how we live out our commitment for the safety of children and young people as we seek to bring love to life in our communities. The PSD training has recently been simplified and more flexible options for delivery are currently being explored. Visit the PSD training website.
We also heard from many congregations that you struggle with keeping up with the changing landscape of compliance. From Workplace Health & Safety, employment legislation, food handling, copyright to working with children checks we know it’s hard to keep up with everything. Your Churchwide and District Offices are working hard to support you keep up to date and to develop and provide resources to make compliance matters less stressful. Please use the resources available to you within the church and from outside. If you have found or developed helpful resources please consider sharing them with others. We are working on making a space available on the LCA Portal to make our own and other shared resources easily accessible.
To paraphrase Paul for his letter to the Ephesians…
For this reason, ever since we heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, we have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in our prayers. (Ephesians 1:15-16)
