That the Assembly:

22.1 approve the vision statement as the vision of this Assembly for the teaching ministry and mission of the Church's congregations:

"A vision -
(a) of members of all congregations of the Uniting Church in Australia being able to give with confidence an account of the hope that is in them, and to express their faith through word and action in ever-deepening discipleship;

(b) of enquirers being welcomed into a learning community in which faith is intentionally developed, doubts and questions are openly explored, and all ages grow in their commitment to Jesus Christ and his ministry in the world;

(c) of all congregations having an active process for identifying members' teaching gifts and for equipping and sustaining them in their teaching ministries, within and beyond the congregation; and of congregations being adequately resourced and supported in this ongoing work in education and resultant mission;

(d) of all those in the specified ministries of the Church, and all others teaching Religious Education in schools, being adequately equipped through foundational and continuing education for their teaching ministry responsibilities.";

22.2 name the teaching ministry as a core function of each council of the Church;

22.3 request the Standing Committee to arrange for the development and maintenance of a national website/chatroom, through which sound doctrinal teaching is accessible to those surfing the internet;

22.4 request the Standing Committee to set up a process, in consultation with the UAICC Executive Committee and the Multicultural Ministry Reference Committee, to discover how the teaching ministry being exercised in Aboriginal and Islander and migrant ethnic congregations of the Church may be strengthened;

Arising from part (a) of the vision:

22.5 commit ourselves, as members of the Uniting Church, to open and honest exploration of how the Word of God informs our daily living; steps in this commitment to include:
· regular reading and prayerful contemplation of the Bible;
· participating in at least one intentional programme of Bible study each year;
· seeking access through the local teaching ministry to 'the knowledge of God's ways with humanity which are open to an informed faith' (Basis of Union, paragraph 11), including listening to the wisdom:
- of the Reformation witnesses,
- of scholarly interpreters of Scripture,
- of the world-wide fellowship of churches in which the Uniting Church sharpens its understanding of the will and purpose of God,
- of interaction with contemporary societies through which to understand the church's nature and mission;
· encouraging fellow members of learning communities of which we are a part, including in our home congregations, to a similar commitment;

Arising from part (b) of the vision:

22.6 encourage all congregations:

(a) to become learning communities, always seeking 'the knowledge of God's ways with humanity which are open to an informed faith';

(b) to develop intentional, systematic and sustained teaching programmes, relevant to the ages and capacities of all members (infancy to old age), and in settings that make participation accessible and appealing (such as in home groups, mid-week lunchtime gatherings, peer work or age group discussions, nursing home Bible studies);

(c) to look for ways of linking members' daily living experiences with their faith understanding, and encouraging their articulation of those connections; such opportunities to include local initiatives within the local community as well as ready access to wider stimulation (such as Synod journals / other publications, encouragement/assistance to attend relevant seminars or conferences, website resources);

22.7 include specific reference to teaching responsibilities in the congregation's vows in Orders of Service for Baptism;

22.8 request Uniting Education to develop teaching materials, along with the 'Belonging' project, for creatively discipling new and continuing members of the UCA;

Arising from part (c) of the vision:

22.9 request synod and presbytery bodies responsible for Christian education:

(a) to encourage and resource congregations in their responsibility of intentionally targetting, equipping and nurturing leaders who have a teaching ministry within and beyond the congregation;

(b) to draw on the expertise available through Uniting Education to develop planning, analysis and appraisal tools relevant to the congregations within their bounds;

22.10 request Standing Committee, on the advice of the Legal Reference Committee, to amend the Regulations so that a proportion of elders in each congregation is designated specifically as teaching elders with responsibility, along with the ordained minister, for the teaching ministry of that congregation; this responsibility to include identifying and developing gifts for teaching, and ensuring people are prepared and sustained in their teaching responsibilities within and beyond the congregation;

22.11 encourage synods and presbyteries, as well as congregations themselves, as a matter of urgency to budget specifically and adequately for the necessary resources that will enable congregations to be equipped for the teaching ministry, which is foundational to the health and growth of congregational life and mission;

22.12 request Standing Committee urgently to address the question of a higher funding priority for the national networking and co-ordination necessary for the Uniting Church's teaching ministry to be integrated and effective;

Arising from part (d) of the vision:

22.13 "If a word is lost, that which it symbolizes soon disappears" - in the hope that the opposite is also true, request the Ministerial Education Commission to ensure:

(a) that the naming of, and equipping in, the ministry of teaching all ages (children, youth and adults) is an integral part of all theological training;

(b) that sound teaching methods, appropriate to how adults best learn, are modelled by those teaching all courses during training for the specified ministries;

(c) that the upgrading of competency in teaching methods which reflect how adults best learn, is required as part of the continuing education programme of all theological college staff;

22.14 request the Ministerial Education Commission to require all candidates for the specified ministries to demonstrate teaching competencies prior to ordination/ commissioning; and that at least two compulsory semester units are directed specifically to achieving this end;

22.15 request presbyteries to ensure that continuing education opportunities for those in the specified ministries include those appropriate to the development and enhancement of their teaching ministry task;
22.16 request synods to ensure school and tertiary chaplains, and chaplains in other sector ministries who have teaching responsibilities, are appropriately trained for their ministries, including a requirement for qualifications in at least 4 semester units in Religious Education; and that presbyteries, synods, theological colleges, Uniting Church schools and chaplaincy co-ordinators are alerted to this requirement;

22.17 request Uniting Education to ensure that, in order to be adequately equipped for their work, all those who teach Religious Education in Uniting Church schools hold qualifications in at least four semester units in Religious Education; and that Uniting Church schools are alerted to this expectation.

Rationale:
See report C28.