How to turn around evangelistic stagnation in your church — or how to start pursuing a 5% goal? Across Australian Evangelicalism there is a bold goal — growing our churches by 5% per year through conversion growth. But some pastors are asking: “We haven’t seen anyone become a Christian here in years… where do we even start?” We talk: • Should we even have an evangelism target? • What are the theological issues? • How do you start when conversions have been rare? • What cultural changes ...

Something is happening. In England the data shows a quiet revival. In France a new evangelical church is opening every ten days. But what about here in Australia? Among young adults we’re hearing stories of renewed interest in Jesus, fresh conversions and surprising openness. Is this a cultural phenomenon or is it something deeper? And how do we ride the wave? We talk about ground level experiences, the big picture, the influence of politics, and the five percent conversion growth goal ...

What does healthy, joyful, word-shaped congregational singing look like in a culture obsessed with self-expression? We are shaped more than we realise by the culture around us. And today one of the most powerful cultural forces pressing on our churches is expressive individualism — the idea that the authentic self must be expressed and affirmed. But what happens when this cultural air we breathe seeps into our church music? When sincerity becomes more important than truth, when the band is e...

Marcus Loane said no. The King said yes. For the first time in more than 800 years, an English monarch has prayed publicly with the Pope. King Charles III — the Supreme Governor of the Church of England — joined Pope Leo XIV in the Sistine Chapel in a highly choreographed moment of unity. But for many Protestants, this was not a moment to celebrate, but to grieve, The Reformation was born out of deep conviction that Rome had departed from the apostolic gospel — that salvation i...

“We are now the Global Anglican Communion,” says Archbishop Laurent Mbanda — the Chair of Gafcon, Primate of Rwanda, and leader of Global Anglicans. Bible-believing Anglicans around the world are praising God today. The Anglican Communion is being reordered — reset — with the Bible once again at its foundation. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the revisionists, and the so-called Canterbury Communion are out — they’ve repeatedly abandoned Cranmerian Anglicanism, and ultimately, Jesus himself. Thi...

How can we help those trapped in addiction? What about when we ourselves are the ones struggling? Addiction is often an elephant in the room for pastors — whether it’s alcohol, substances, pornography, or sex addiction. And Antony’s research is asking: “How does the gospel of Jesus Christ bring real hope into the deep brokenness of addiction?” Antony Dandato is Principal of Harare Theological College in Zimbabwe — a college that’s supported by our friends at Anglican Aid. Antony did a ministr...

The Church of England has confirmed that the Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, will take on the role of Archbishop of Canterbury — but instead of celebration, the global response has been marked by shock, disappointment, and unprecedented criticism. Once, the Archbishop of Canterbury was recognised as the spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion — the “first among equals” for Anglicans everywhere. But that authority has been dramatically eroded in recent years, especially aft...

Sinclair Ferguson on the Charlie Kirk controversy, John Macarthur, RC Sproul and preaching to the Queen. Sinclair Ferguson joins us to share wisdom that he wishes he’d been given when he started in pastoral ministry in Glasgow 54 years ago. Sinclair has served for decades as a pastor, preacher, theologian and author in Scotland and the United States. He’s the author of 50 books. The Church Cohttp://www.thechurchco.com is a website and app platform built specifically for churche...

How do you understand God’s sovereignty when your dad is murdered, your family is in poverty, you are living in the most awful slum and your extended family won’t help. Richmond Wandera's father murdered when he was just eight years old, leaving his family destitute in Uganda's Naguru slum. Initially he wanted revenge. But then he came to know Jesus Christ. We talk theological reflections on suffering, as well as a challenge for Western comfort-seeking Christianity, and a clear cr...

This week marks the 100th birthday of Dick Lucas, one of the most influential evangelical leaders of the 20th century. For nearly four decades as Rector of St Helen’s Bishopsgate in London, Dick shaped a generation of preachers and transformed a quiet city parish into a global centre of expository Bible ministry. The influence of his clear, fearless, and creative preaching continues to ripple out through pulpits around the world. We’re joined by Peter Jensen (former Archbishop of Sydney and P...

Reaching the 70% of the population who are significantly underrepresented in our churches. We’re talking about everyday Australians — people who’ve gone straight into the workforce rather than university. That includes hairdressers, plumbers, builders, business owners, factory workers, truck drivers, IT staff, and media creatives — as well as many in marginalised communities. Within this group, there’s huge diversity: Some are winners — financially successful builders and entrepreneurs.Others...

After a significant debate over two days, the Sydney Anglican Synod has voted unanimously to embark on a bold new five-year mission focus, praying and working towards five percent growth in church attendance through the conversion of the lost, each year. The resolution, “in a spirit of humble dependence and pastoral flexibility,” invited every part of the diocesan fellowship to commit to the goal. Pete Stedman, Senior Minister of Norwest Anglican, spoke of a turning point for his own pa...

The call to ministry is a call to lay down your life for others, but how do we create a well-thought-out roadmap toward pastoral perseverance - when there are external and/or internal difficulties? How do we approach congregational conflict, criticism, unrealistic expectations or personal health, financial and family stress? Why is pastoral friendship not optional, but essential? Today on The Pastor’s Heart, there’s advice for pastors who feel isolated and are feeling lik...

Today our focus on The Pastor’s Heart is on how to preach for transformation for real changes in people’s lives. Two men with a lifetime’s passion for preaching — Robin Sydserff, Director of the Proclamation Trust and David Cook, former principal of Sydney Missionary and Bible College and a long-time preaching mentor - now with the Expository Preaching Trust. We start by looking at how Christian leaders the UK and Australia influenced preaching patterns overseas. We look at ...

A training culture for the next generation: Healthy Churches producing new ministers for the next generation. Across the world, the number of candidates putting themselves forward for gospel ministry is in decline. Many churches are feeling the pinch—struggling to find leaders and often looking elsewhere to fill ministry gaps. Yet healthy churches don’t just maintain ministry; they reproduce it. They raise up and send out the next generation of gospel workers. This week in Sydney,...

In the past month, two of the most respected evangelical training institutions in the world have closed or announced closure of their campuses. In July, Spurgeon’s College in London—a pillar of Baptist theological education for nearly 170 years—closed, citing financial strain and a dramatic decline in student numbers. A few weeks earlier, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) in Chicago —long regarded as a flagship seminary of North American evangelicalism— said they would shut dow...

What change would a leader and church need to make for a congregation, denomination or movement to grow by five percent annual conversion growth. The Gospel Coalition pulled together a mini summit of evangelical movement leaders from across Australia in June. That gathering set an aspirational goal of doubling the number of evangelicals over twenty years. They said a key way to do it is by pursuing a target of seeing five percent of the average attendance saved each year. Da...

It is an uncomfortable but important question: What place should numbers have in our thinking about ministry success? We all want to be faithful. But what happens when the numbers are down? Do we need to change something? Or should we just continue in the same trajectory? And should we be counting at all? This is the tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. A tension between preaching the word and evaluating what’s actually working. Phil Colgan has been the long term senio...

We evangelicals, says Richard Coekin, have a problem—and it’s a preaching problem. Richard Coekin says we are too often careless—his word—when it comes to application in preaching. We work hard on exegesis, we labour to understand the original context and the author’s intent—but then we stop short. We leave our congregations with sound doctrine, but little direction. Richard has just concluded 29 years as senior pastor at Dundonald Church in London and as the founding leader of...

We’re digging into the Bible’s teaching on sex and gender—inside and outside the Garden of Eden - relating to transgender. We’re asking foundational questions: Was humanity created androgynous? Does Genesis allow for more than two sexes? Is sexual difference a core part of the imago Dei? What does it mean that the man and woman were naked and felt no shame? Dr Rob Smith lectures at Sydney Missionary and Bible College and serves with Living Faith, a pastoral ministry of the Sydney Anglic...