A number of thought experiments are designed to help us to think about the future. One is to nominate a moment many years from today: “What would you like to see in fifty years?” In fifty years I’d be ninety-nine years old if I’m still alive. More, assuming I’m no longer alive, forces me to think beyond my own lifespan. To quote Samuel Johnson’s reflection on mortality, it “wonderfully concentrates the mind”.
Another thought experiment is “What would you do with a billion dollars?” A billion dollars is such a ludicrous number (West Australian mining magnates notwithstanding). If it was a hundred thousand dollars, the answer would be a version of “more of the same”. A billion makes you think outside the box.
Or there’s the old classic, “What if you had three wishes?” I want to propose a version of that third one here. Let’s think on a fifty-year horizon. And let’s think about the future of the gospel in Australia. Ready? Let’s go!
The Future and the Gospel in Australia
A bunch of us in The Gospel Coalition Australia are thinking and praying about this. The logic is not hard. Our mission statement is
We exist to commend and contend for the gospel in Australia, fostering connections to advance its reach in our country.
We want to see more glory go to Jesus. More glory goes to Jesus when people turn to him in repentance and faith. Repentance and faith come from hearing the word of God. So we long to see that word going out more and more, leading to more and more repentance and faith, bringing more and more glory to Jesus. Good goal, right? What would it take to see more of that?
The Status Quo Is Not Satisfactory
One assumption we are bringing to this vision exercise is that the status quo is not satisfactory. We are asking, as Oliver Twist once asked at dinner time, for more please. We want to see more churches. We want to see those churches filled to overflowing, pulsating with health and vitality. We long to see them filled with people coming to Jesus as the result of evangelistic mission. We also want to see children raised in Jesus-loving Christian homes, ready and resilient disciples. At every stage of life—from primary school to high school, from university to working life, and from retirement villages to hospital bedside—we want to see people coming to Christ. We want to see people from all cultures, backgrounds, and circumstances finding life in Jesus.
We want to see people who know Christ stationed at schools and universities, hospitals and homes, rural and remote places, ready and eager to share about him.
In all this we are convinced that we are asking a God who delights to give us more that all we ask or imagine (Eph 3:20–21).
We Could Do Better
Another assumption we bring is that, all things being equal, we could do better. God in his grace and kindness entrusts us not just with errands to run, but with resources to invest (Matt 25:14–30). God wants us to think creatively, ambitiously, and laterally about the work of the kingdom. Some things are better than others. In a world of finite resources we should think about where our time, energy, and attention goes.
There’s a tension here. We are all aware of situations in which faithful plodding effort in unpromising soil is exactly what God requires. We are finite and fallen and frail and can’t always see what good our efforts are doing. There’s a tonne of mystery, grace, and hiddenness in how God does his work. All true. Let’s not get caught up in the kind of dreaming that leads to hubris. But the opposite does not follow. We are not called to put on a blindfold and shoot gospel arrows in the dark. Our part is to work intelligently and skilfully, even as we trust God for the results.
We’re Better Together
The third assumption is that we’re better together. Inherent in the vision of TGCA is that we can do more, and do it more sustainably and effectively, when we think together, pray together, and share together in the work.
“What If You Had Three Wishes?”
With all that throat clearing done, here’s the thought experiment:
If you could choose two or three areas of focus to make a difference to the cause of the gospel in Australia, what would they be?
Think fifty years ahead. Think big. Think outside the box. Think outside your own particular areas of ministry and mission. Think strategically. Think generously. What would they be?
Is it church planting? New churches reach new people. Maybe that’s where most of our energy should go. Is it church revitalisation? Should our priority be the revitalisation and reformation of existing churches and denominations? Is it leadership development? Would better trained church leaders make a difference?
Who should we focus on? Should we throw everything we’ve got at reaching the next generation? The vast majority of people who turn to Christ do so before they are twenty-one. Is that where a disproportionate amount of time and energy should go?
What about doubling down on things that are going well? Australia has some real bright spots in its gospel landscape, not least in theological colleges and student ministry. Previous generations of Australian evangelicals came to the conclusion that excellent theological education and excellent student ministry were worth throwing significant resources at. Do we double down there?
Let’s go a bit more outside the box. Do some Christians need to build the businesses that can make the money to support the work of the gospel? Do we need to own more property useful for ministry, to hedge against losing access to schools and community venues? What about birth rates? Should Australian Christians be shooting for larger families? Do we need to rethink Christian education to make sure those who are born into Christian families have a fighting chance to stay Christian?
How should migration patterns affect our efforts? Should there be a coordinated wealth transfer, where asset-rich but people-poor institutions give over their buildings and assets to people-rich but asset-poor movements? How about remote and rural ministry? Ministry in hard places?
This is where we’d love your help!
The Future of the Gospel in Australia Survey
Over the next few years we want to do some concerted thinking and praying in this area. Since we’re better together, let me ask you: where do you think we should be focussed? What would make a substantive difference to the cause of Christ in Australia? What might make a difference?
We’d love to hear from you! We’ve set up a form here where you can give us your thoughts. We will read each and every submission.
We at TGCA don’t have prefab answers. Nor do we presume to be the organisation that will directly oversee the implementation of every good proposal that does come our way. But we are passionate about seeing Australian Christians forming coalitions around the gospel for the sake of Jesus and his glory. And we feel the time is right to pose this big picture question, We believe we are in a position to host a national conversation that might lead to significant strategic action. So we are sending up a flare to see who responds. And what might come from that. Stay tuned.
