This article was originally part of a paper prepared for The Gospel Coalition Australia’s National Christian Leaders Mini-Summit on the topic ‘The Future of the Gospel in Australia’ held at Moore Theological College on 19th June 2025.
What would it take to reach all of Australia with the gospel? What would our churches look like if it reflected all of Australia with its incredible cultural, ethnic, racial, and social diversity? The last NCLS survey indicates that our churches reflect a greater proportion of people born overseas than the wider Australian population (37% rather than 28%). But we should be concerned with more than simple attendance. What about spiritual formation, mission, and leadership? To tackle these deeper concerns, we must humbly recognise that we have cultural blind spots. We must open to making changes, both in our churches and in the broader Christian culture, if we are to disciple and mobilise all Australians.
I’m a second-generation Australian-born Cambodian Chinese, born to refugee parents who came to Australia in the 1980s. I grew up speaking Mandarin in a Christian refugee community in the South-Eastern suburbs of Melbourne. But I’m not representative of the 9 million Australian people born overseas. I can relate more to the almost 46 000 people born in Cambodia (and other South-East Asian peoples) than the 700 000 people born in mainland China. I will be able to see some cultural issues clearly, while also having my own cultural blind spots.
Removing Obstacles
In Acts 15, we see the early church wrestle with growing diversity. One of the matters they debated was how to differentiate the gospel from their own Jewish heritage, James concluded:
Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues. (Acts 15:19–21)
And in so the apostles and elders wrote in their letter to the Gentile congregations:
For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. (Acts 15:28–29).
Are we willing to let go of our own culture and our own traditions? Not to do away with them completely, but rather so as to “not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God”, to lay “no greater burden than” those required by God in Christ?
Case Study
For example, one of the challenges of gospel ministry in an Asian context is our theology of grace. We affirm with Paul that God in his mercy, made us alive with Christ, saved by grace through faith, not a result of works (Eph 2:4–9). Yet, there is a perception among Western-trained gospel workers (that I shared, for many years) that Asian Christians do not understand grace, but instead live within a theology of salvation based on works. As a result, we insist on a clear exposition of a theology of grace before we permit Asian Christians to engage in ministry.
It is right to insist on a clear understanding of grace, but what we miss when we only see things through a single cultural lens are the cultural influences on theology, discipleship, spiritual formation, fellowship, communication styles, and attitudes towards knowledge and education. As a result, we might dismiss individuals or groups because they do not meet the criteria or fit the frameworks we are so accustomed to using. Asian Christians might communicate in a way that sounds legalistic to Western-trained Christians, with a vocabulary and emphasis that seems to focus on obedience and holiness, with a propensity to describe personal failings and weaknesses critically. This communication difference means Western-trained Christians can miss the nuanced but genuine Asian Christian response to grace.
Diversifying Training Pathways
We are incredible blessed in the resources, training pathways, and leaders in the Australian church. However, we aren’t equally effective for every cultural group. Gospel workers from diverse backgrounds, and in most cases where English is a second language, graciously persevere through our Westernised pathways and institutions, making allowance for cultural and language differences.
If we are to reach all Australians we need to do more than consider how we share the gospel with the diverse cultures around us. We also need to consider how we disciple them, how we create pathways to identify and invest in leaders, and how we learn from them as members of Christ’s body. The Well Training, is one such attempt to provide an alternate training pathway, especially focused on developing leaders in marginalised communities.
Christ continues to build his church in Australia. Those who come from across the seas continue to be won for Christ and established in the faith. Some open churches to reach and disciple still more people. If we are to reckon with the future of the gospel in Australia we must also reckon with its growing cultural diversity. We must consider and explore how we might create ministry pathways that serve this increasing diversity, whether it be better resourcing our training institutions, creating new ones, or partnering with the global church. We must learn and discern what is truly central to the gospel and what are obstacles we introduce through our own cultural heritage, so we can be more flexible for the sake of reaching all of Australia with the gospel.
