Vision 2019

In the 1980s, God stirred a vision within the St Margaret’s and Trinity congregations to imagine a new way of doing church together.  In 2019 we are celebrating 25 years  since the Turramurra Uniting Church complex was opened - the result of these faithful people embracing this vision and bringing that vision to life. 

 As our community and society continue to change, it is important to regularly evaluate our church’s mission and explore creative ways of how we can best fulfill Jesus’ commands to “love God and love others” as well as “making disciples of all people”.  Our church invested considerable time, prayer and energy into formulating a Vision in which we believe God was leading us forward in our ministry and mission.  

In this era of ministry and mission at TUC, we discern that God is leading us to centre all that we do around the core of

• Faith and Discipleship - deepening our own faith and discipleship and growing faith and discipleship in others.

Around this core will be three foci which we will prioritize:

• Children, Youth and Families – building faith and discipleship in children, youth and family
• Generations – pastorally and spiritually supporting those who are moving through key transitional points in life, especially our seniors
• Community Engagement – building a sense of community and connection within both our church family and local community

In 2019 our Vision is to build upon our 2018 Vision by exploring it through the lens of growth pathways – to intentionally explore what it means for a person to grow in their discipleship of Jesus and their connection to the church from their first experience through to a deep sense of ownership and contribution.

CEOs talk about growing their business through analysing each step of the customer pathway – from the moment the customer walks through the door or clicks on the link through to them being a loyal customer who is advocating for your product. Although the church is not a business, we sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that a person’s journey into faith and belonging to the church family happens organically - it just happens. And while for some people it does, we believe that our church can experience more growth – both spiritually and numerically – if we are more intentional about these pathways.

In 2019 we are going to ask specific questions around First Impressions, Welcoming, Connecting/Belonging, Integrating, Ownership and Contributing/Sending.

First Impression / Welcoming

Our 2019 mission goal is to make new people welcome and to make our first impression count.

• When a person first goes to our website or walks into our building or asks faith question … what can we do to improve their first impression? How would we encourage them to explore more?
• Links to Evangelism, Property

Connecting / Belonging / Integrating

Our 2019 mission goal is to help people find a place to belong and feel connected to our church community.

• How do we move a person from feeling welcome to finding a connection and be integrated into our church community? How do we grow people in their faith?
• Links to Friendship, Pastoral Care, Social Events, Bible Studies

Ownership / Contributing / Sending

Our 2019 mission goal is to bring people to a point where they love our church community and want to contribute their time, skills and resources to it.

• Is there an easy process for identifying gifts, training, and providing opportunities for people to serve? How do we “send” people to the wider mission of God?
• Links to Empowerment, Missions