Mandate - to propose a vision and strategies for rekindling and strengthening the teaching ministry and mission of the Church’s congregations.

1. 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;
2. 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;
3. 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;
4. 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.

• Committing members of the Uniting Church in Australia (as enjoined in the Basis of Union) to open and honest exploration of how the Word of God informs our daily living, through:

• regular reading 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);
• encouraging fellow members of learning communities of which we are part, including in our home congregations, to a similar commitment.

• Encouraging all congregations to become learning communities and to develop intentional, systematic and sustained teaching programmes, relevant to the ages and capacities of all members and in settings that make participation accessible and appealing.
• Encouraging members to explore a Christian world view, and to grow in confidence in their capacity to link faith with daily living and their ability to articulate the connections.
• Naming teaching responsibilities in the congregation’s vow in Orders of Service for Baptism.
• Providing teaching materials for creatively discipling new and continuing members of the Church.

• Assisting congregations in intentionally targetting, equipping and nurturing leaders with a teaching ministry both within and beyond the congregation.
• Designating teaching elders with responsibility, along with the ordained minister, for the teaching ministry of the congregation.
• Affirming Uniting Education’s role as national co-ordinator of resources for the Church’s teaching ministry, including print, visual and electronic means of equipping and networking.
• Encouraging 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.
• Addressing the urgent need for a higher funding priority for the national networking and co-ordination necessary for the Uniting Church’s teaching ministry to be integrated and effective.

• "If a word is lost, that which it symbolizes soon disappears". In the hope that the opposite is also true, ensuring:

• 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;
• that sound teaching methods, appropriate to how adults best learn, are modelled by those teaching all courses during training for the specified ministries;
• 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 hall staff.

• Requiring candidates for the specified ministries to demonstrate teaching competencies prior to ordination / induction / commissioning.
• Requesting 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.
• Ensuring all chaplains, and lay teachers in other sector ministries, are appropriately trained for their ministries, including a Ministerial Education Commission requirement for school and tertiary chaplains to hold qualifications in at least four semester units in Religious Education.

The teaching ministry has been one of the central ministries of the church since New Testament times, following the commandment and example of Jesus. Through the early centuries teaching had a central and honoured role; and during the Reformation era, Luther believed teaching was of the esse of the church, Calvin’s preferred title for the church was ‘teacher’, and Wesley set up schools and urged Methodists to lifelong study.

The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) stands in the Biblical tradition and is committed to the same pattern of fulfilling the teaching responsibility of the church. However, over the past decade or so, intentional Christian education programmes for all ages have not retained a high priority in budgeted aspects of congregational life. In many places, the proper emphasis on pastoral care and local mission initiatives seems to have swamped another urgent requirement: to equip new and continuing members to be able to give an account of the faith that is in them, and to grow into greater discipleship as they participate in the ministry of Jesus Christ in the world around them.

The Eighth Assembly (1997) established this Task Group on the Teaching Ministry and Mission of the Church ‘to report with recommendations to the Ninth Assembly proposing a vision and strategies for rekindling and strengthening the teaching ministry and mission of the Church’s congregations’.

The Assembly Standing Committee appointed the members of the Task Group, fulfilling the need for the broadly representative range of skills and experience envisaged in the resolution to set the work in progress. The composition of the team has been: Susan Burt, Philip Creed, Denham Grierson, Margaret Griffiths, John Hooper, Tom Kerr, Kellie Lohrey, Eseta Meneilly, Robin Pryor, Raoul Spackman-Williams, Jill Tabart, Doug Turnbull; and Jennifer Byrnes was also a valued contributor in the initial stages of the Task Group’s work.

The Task Group recognizes that learning occurs through all aspects of congregational life, but found it necessary to limit the scope of our deliberations to formal teaching patterns – those intentional, systematic and sustainable processes that are put in place by a congregation to enable learning to occur. Hence we worked within the parameters of the following definitions of terms:

Weekend meetings were held at the Otira Conference Centre in Melbourne on six occasions over the three-year period, with considerable follow-up work being done by sub-committees and individuals between meetings. Where possible, experts in various fields met with the Task Group to resource deliberations and expand horizons. Many others contributed most generously in written and verbal responses to our enquiries and surveys. In particular, we record appreciation of assistance from John Emmett, Philip Hughes, Michael Norman, Peter Horsfield, Peter Harris, Pam Grant, National Christian Educators’ Network, executive staff of Assembly agencies, theological hall principals.

Research areas explored include:

• milieu from which the UCA arises - the witness to the faith once delivered to the Apostles;
• mention in official documents - the status of the teaching ministry in the UCA;
• millennium 3: the context;
• modern Christian education philosophy;
• mainstream churches: trends elsewhere - within and beyond Australia;
• mosaic: what’s happening in the UCA - the results of our enquiries;
• measurement of effectiveness: needs analysis, performance indicators;
• ministry of teaching: developing the gifts of those in specified ministries and in lay leaders.

The Gospels portray Jesus in the Deuteronomic tradition of honouring the teaching task. He was undoubtedly a teacher of extraordinary power and skill, as the numerous references to his teaching attest. To list some:

He taught them as one having authority Mark 6:2

He began to teach them many things in parables Mark 4:1-2

The crowd was amazed at the way he taught. Matthew 7:28

As my Father has taught me, so I teach you. John 8:28

Rabbi, we know . . that you are a teacher sent from God. John 3:2

It seems Jesus took every available opportunity to teach. He taught by the lakeside from Simon’s boat, in the streets, in synagogues of Galilee, Nazareth and Capernaum, in the Temple in Jerusalem, on the hillside and at home. He was constantly teaching his disciples, interpreting for them the meaning of his actions. Those he taught included crowds, religious leaders, disciples (both male and female) and individuals who sought his counsel like the rich young ruler. This teaching aspect of his ministry was in the fully developed pattern of the rabbinical tradition.

The New Testament letters to young churches, struggling to live out their faith in hostile surroundings, refer again and again to the vital ministry of teaching in which the apostles were engaged. There was always the temptation for isolated groups of new Christians to slip into accommodating the local culture, when the radical Way of Jesus could lead to vicious persecution. So (amongst many other examples) in the letter to Titus we find Paul’s requirement that church leaders must be able not only to teach sound doctrine, but also to refute those who contradict it;and Timothy is urged to focus his teaching gift with persistence, convincing, rebuking and encouraging with the utmost patience.

So central to the proclamation and spread of the faith was the commitment to faithful teaching, the shape of the developing church organisation through the early centuries was largely influenced by this ministry. Regular gathering for worship was the only opportunity for hearing the Scriptures (this of course before the printing press); the church became the focus for educating the masses by spoken and visual Bible teachings. Fifth century mosaic remnants still visible today (for example at Ravenna, Italy) indicate how meticulous Christian teaching was, using the pre-print media. Icons and Stations of the Cross still bear testimony to the rich heritage of teaching communicated through art from those early centuries.

Teaching orders were established in the Catholic tradition as a particular instrument for those called to the teaching task. Schools were built alongside Catholic church buildings as the means by which the congregation could fulfil its baptismal vows to guide the child into full maturity in Christ. There has been an unwavering commitment to education in the Catholic tradition, as Catholic universities and school systems of today attest.

The Reformed tradition turned away from the form of Catholic teaching but not its substance, although there were distinct differences of emphasis. What was NOT rejected was the profound commitment to teaching. Equally, those particularly strong in the Evangelical tradition have devoted themselves to the establishment of Christian schools, in order to fulfil the commission from Jesus to ‘teach them to obey everything that I have commanded you’.

The UCA is called into being in the tradition of the one true church that confesses and bears the name of Jesus Christ. It seeks to display the three characteristics of catholic, reformed and evangelical in order to give full expression to the substance of the faith once delivered to the apostles. We honour the Reformation call of semper reformanda - the church is constantly being reformed in order to undertake its ministry more completely.

As the Basis of Union makes plain, there are to be those in the UCA who remind us of the catholic substance of the faith by teaching the Creeds and recalling our heritage from the early church. Equally we are to recognise that we have come in recent centuries from a Protestant tradition which gives primacy to the Holy Spirit as the interpreter of Scripture rather than a teaching elite (the magesterium, as it is known in the Catholic tradition).

For Martin Luther, teaching was of the esse of the church - the church exists by teaching. Its task was to test its proclamation against the Gospel and to hand on a tradition of interpretation to guard the church from error. Even more crucially, the teachers of the church would guide the church not only in an understanding of Scripture but also in how the Gospel itself was to be understood. Because of his commitment to the priesthood of all believers, Luther saw this teaching responsibility as belonging to the whole congregation. This presumes that every congregation is a learning community, seeking always to discern anew God’s will by carefully and regularly exploring the Scriptures and undertaking those processes which enable its people to give reason for the hope that is in them.

John Calvin used the word ‘Teacher’ to denote the Spirit of God who as Jesus promised leads us into all truth. God, Calvin argued, chose to teach through human means for this is the testimony of the incarnation. Calvin saw the church primarily as a teacher. Words and phrases to do with learning and teaching occur again and again in the Institutes of the Christian Religion.

John Wesley urged his preachers to lifelong learning, founded a school (as did many Methodists after him) and through the class meeting set up an effective instrument for the continuing education of those who came to faith and sought its maturing. His preachers were ordained to preach and to devote themselves to ‘the edifying of the people’. Part of their responsibility was to instruct the people and with faithful diligence to drive away all erroneous and strange doctrine contrary to God’s Word.

Those who came into the UCA from the Congregational heritage brought with them a distinctive understanding of the Reformed tradition. Congregationalists had approved of the reformed perspective of the Westminster Assembly of 1647, but developed a different form of church assembly. They gave responsibility for the care and nurture of people to the local assembly of the faithful; they had accepted the Reformers’ position in rejecting a hierarchically established line of authority, and sought to equip all the people by instruction and guidance at the point where faith was lived out.

There is every reason for the UCA, which affirms in its Basis of Union that it is one with this long educational tradition, to make specific and unqualified its continuing commitment to the teaching ministry of the church.

7. MENTION IN UCA DOCUMENTS

Since its inception, the UCA has not made it as clear as it could have that teaching is one of its foundational ministries. This is curious since the Reformed tradition is unequivocal on this matter, and in the Presbyterian stream of UCA heritage, the ordained person was designated the teaching elder in the congregation. Education and teaching are assumed in the ordering of the Church; but it is time for the UCA to recover once more this crucial dimension of ministry, by explicit use of precise language and by direction to the quite particular responsibility of the church to teach.

When the Basis of Union was written, the work of Christ was depicted through the threefold office of prophet, priest and king. This framework left no room for identifying teaching as a central ministry of the Church. So in paragraph 14 we read that Ministers of the Word are ordained to ‘preach the gospel, administer the sacraments and exercise pastoral care so that all may be equipped for their particular ministries’. Teaching is not named as a fundamental task of the clergy, despite the expectation that the people of God will be Biblically equipped.

Throughout the Basis of Union, unintentional obscuring of teaching can be detected in the imprecise language used. Paragraph 5 states: ‘The Uniting Church lays upon its members the serious duty of reading the Scriptures, commits its ministers to preach from these and to administer the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper as effective signs of the Gospel set forth in the Scriptures’. The teaching of the Scriptures and of the meaning of the sacraments is not specifically mentioned. Paragraph 9 draws attention to the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds and ‘their use for instruction in the faith’. It does commit ministers and instructors to the ‘discipline of interpreting their teaching in a later age’ - but the context is of a specific task rather than as an essential part of a sustained, systematic and intentional process of education in all aspects of the faith. In Paragraph 15, various phrases are used to signify the nurturing of members in the faith, but it falls short of overtly naming teaching as a ministry essential to any particular council or leadership function.

For 20 years, the regulations of the UCA implied, but did not specifically name, the significance of the congregation as a learning community. The amended regulations on congregations and church councils (1999 edition) (following the careful work of the Task Group on Church Structures) are more intentional, but the language still lacks precision. Reg. 3.1.1 includes the congregation’s responsibility to ‘nurture members and adherents in their growth in faith’ and to ‘equip members and adherents for engagement in worship, witness and service in the world as they participate in the mission of Christ’. The Task Group heard of congregations where pastoral visitation is in place to meet these requirements yet no intentional teaching programmes are considered necessary.

The regulations on elders are more specific. Reg. 3.1.10(a) describes the ministry of Elder as ‘one of spiritual oversight, and may also be exercised in pastoral visitation, teaching, encouraging members of the Congregation to share in mission, …’. There is a vague sense that teaching is non-essential in both congregational and elder responsibilities. The urgency of the early church’s approach, and the foundational place teaching had in Reformation times, seems to have faded to just an optional extra in the expectations the Church has of its congregations.

Reg. 2.3.10, in detailing the duties of a Minister, is much less ambiguous. The call of Jesus Christ ‘is exercised by … preaching … presiding … witnessing … guiding and instructing the members of the church and equipping them for their ministry in the community …’.

In the Orders of Service for the baptism of adults and children, the central verb refers to growth in faith without specific reference to any learning, instruction or guidance. The parental vow states: ‘Will you encourage your child to grow within the fellowship of the Church so that he/she may come to faith?’. In similar fashion, the charge to the congregation in both orders is ‘to maintain the life of worship and service, that … may grow in the grace ...’. The congregation response: ‘With God’s help we will live out our baptism ... nurturing one another in faith …’ does not overtly commit the congregation to any defined or specific responsibility to teach those committed to its care.

As in the Catholic and Anglican ordination services, where teaching is explicitly declared as a responsibility of the ordained person, the ordination services for Minister of the Word and for Deacon in the UCA are quite specific (since amendments were made following the 1997 Assembly!). There is now a vow about teaching linked to the heritage of the church and the basics of the Reformed faith: ‘Learning from the Confessional Documents of the UCA, will you diligently teach Christ’s people, reminding them of the centrality of the person and work of Jesus Christ and the grace which justifies them through faith?’.

The induction service is even more precise: ‘… you will teach, inspire and encourage both by word and example ..’. Yet in that same service, the quoted commandment of Jesus to ‘go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation’ is from Mark’s gospel. Matthew’s version has the subsequent phrase: ‘teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you’ - surely more apt, as the following question is: ‘Will you study and proclaim these Scriptures, being a faithful teacher in this parish and a prophet of God to the world?’

Commissioning services for Community Minister, Lay Pastor and Youth Worker refer only obliquely to any teaching expectation, using the verb ‘proclaim’, and for Lay Preacher the verb ‘preach’; whereas an elder may be commissioned with no reference at all to teaching responsibilities!

Enormous changes at all levels of human life threaten to engulf us as the third millennium dawns. A recent survey reported high expectations in the next fifty years of natural disasters accompanying major weather changes, a world energy crisis, global warming, nuclear war and terrorist attacks using biological or chemical weapons. On the other hand, there was evidence of hope in the expectation that a cure for cancer would be found and that race relations will improve in the next twenty years. Overall it seems Australian 12-year olds have a much more positive outlook than teenagers and young adults, who face the stark realities of drugs, suicide and under- or un-employment.

Perhaps the most dramatic change in the past century has been the growth of world population from 1.6 billion (1900) to 6 billion (late 1999), with the sixth billion added in twelve years and a likely projection to 8.9 billion by 2050. Devastating and escalating poverty, disease and illiteracy on the one hand – seemingly boundless scientific and affluent lifestyle possibilities on the other!

The revolution in information technology is another vast area of dramatic change in the western world, and Australia is in the forefront in adopting new technological artifacts such as mobile phones, computers, the World Wide Web and the use of e-mail.

Changing patterns of workforce participation by males/females and by different age groups, and the impact of changing national and regional levels of employment/unemployment, also affect the well-being of all our communities - rural, urban and metropolitan.

Similarly, the changing patterns of immigrants’ countries of origin over recent decades have had a major impact on Australia’s pluralism in language, culture, diet and religion. 50 years ago, ‘inter-faith dialogue’ might have meant interaction between Catholic and Protestant; now it means bilateral or multilateral dialogue between Christians, Jews and Muslims, and increasingly Buddhists and Hindus as well. These social and demographic changes are reflected in the religious landscape and hence in the enormous challenges for the teaching ministry and mission of the church.

In light of the impact of these and many other social, cultural and economic changes on the world church, it is little wonder that our present cultural reality is bewildering and destabilizing to many. The Alban Institute, among the most sophisticated of church agencies trying to plot the changes in and around the church, speaks of a veritable ‘paradigm shift’ in the nature and place of the church, whether the focus is worship, teaching / learning, witness or service.

Nearly a decade ago in The Once and Future Church, Loren Mead identified three broad shifts in church life and mission throughout Christian history:

• The Apostolic paradigm - was the era when the early church was conscious of itself as existing in a hostile environment of persecution. Christians understood themselves to be called away from such antagonism, called to live a life of very different values and behaviour in the community. Mission meant each one witnessing to God’s love in a hostile world, and the congregation’s role was to fortify its members with the necessary courage, strength and skills.

• The Christendom paradigm - emerged as Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Here the environment was not hostile, so the lines between church and world were blurred. Mission meant sending missionaries beyond the Empire’s borders to convert heathen tribes. The congregation became a parish (a geographical area) with the priest acting as chaplain to the community. To be a good Christian was to be a good citizen, because the law was seen as prescribing and enforcing Christian values. Mead argues persuasively that many Christians in contemporary western society have grown up in the Christendom paradigm or tradition, and the understanding of mission (something that happens at the Empire’s edge) and the structures of denominational life basically remain oriented to this tradition.

• The ‘emerging’ paradigm - is a way of speaking about the ferment of change experienced as we find the Christendom paradigm is no longer working, that the environment is no longer ‘the church’ and it can no longer be assumed that most people are Christian. As in the Apostolic era, the congregation once again gathers out of the wider community to worship and finds its mission at its front door - not in distant foreign lands. Inevitably the role of the clergy changes too, no longer with high status roles as chaplains to the whole community, but as managers and leaders of a shrinking institution under threat from without. Role conflict emerges when there is a necessary emphasis on calling the laity to take responsibility for mission in the community, workplace and home - the result for the clergy too often is loss of authority and role clarity, then frustration, anger, depression, stress and burnout.

Another perspective on these changes contrasts the New Testament world with its essentially oral communication, the Modernist world with its rational print-dominated patterns of communication and the so-called Post-modern world, an audio-visual oriented and highly eclectic environment. These patterns are not separate and discrete historically, but rather they co-exist and interleave with each other, depending on the particular theme or focus and the specific cultural context. ‘We are part of all that we have met.’

In this rapidly changing scene, members are called not just to be good citizens and regular givers to church budgets; they are called to ministry beyond the congregation and increasingly to leadership teams within the congregation. There is much leadership fatigue already, coupled with uncertainty as to direction, purpose and programme. Even worship has to change - but how and in what direction? The teaching ministry of the church was never more needed, but there was never less clarity about just what is needed to move to positive, Spirit-inspired change.

The emerging church must be far more intentional about Christian education to equip lay members for new and different roles - and far more accepting of lowered dependence on clergy for the diverse tasks of ministry. ‘Lifetime’ Christians need access to the fruits of modern Biblical studies and theology, and new Christians need induction to the basics of a faith they have encountered but not inherited.

Theology must be oriented to neighbourhood mission, and to discernment and decision-making in the family, workplace and church council. Not all churches will be able (or will choose) to address these changes at the same time, so Mead suggests the identification of those at ‘learning points’ of change or crisis, so that timely opportunities may be grasped for experiment and innovation.

Philip Hughes is an Australian researcher with the Christian Research Association (CRA). In an article on trends in the Australian church, Hughes draws on data from the National Church Life Surveys (NCLS) of 1991 and 1996 to identify local congregational factors, which influence churches’ thriving or declining in the midst of the changes and paradigm engulfing them.

The ten things that have been found to make a difference are:

• discovering a sense of vision or direction;

• focussing on those beyond church life - those on the fringes, those drifting out of church life;
• becoming an inviting congregation, taking the opportunities offered by rites-of-passage events or special occasions, and contacting potential newcomers on neutral territory;
• empowering attenders to participate in the activity of church life;
• looking after the young through sustainable children’s and youth ministry;
• introducing contemporary worship;
• building community through a strong sense of belonging;
• encouraging growth in faith;
• helping people move towards commitment;
• building new congregations and services.

A teaching ministry which addresses basic and practical issues will make a difference in congregations. Out of such courageous ministry arises a sense of modest confidence that we are moving in the right direction and discerning appropriate priorities, in the midst of global change, paradigm shifts in church/society relationships and the uncertainties which beset clergy and laity alike.

There are many ways through which people learn - but gone are the days when the only model for formal teaching assumed one person held the knowledge, another sat and absorbed what was poured out, and the longer the lecture the greater the volume of knowledge imparted. Where once learning was seen as acquiring facts and knowledge that enabled one to understand the world, now the emphasis is more on providing tools, skills and resources, and the understanding of how to access them when needed to meet the immediate demands of one’s situation.

Jack Seymour, in his 1997 book Mapping Christian Education: Approaches to Congregational Learning speaks of different ways in which people are enabled to learn. His four approaches (Transformation, Faith Community, Spiritual Growth, Religious Instruction) are not mutually exclusive, and many congregations will recognize elements of each in their Christian education practices.

Knowledge of these four approaches helps us see that theological reflection occurs in many settings, not necessarily labelled ‘education’. Seymour suggests that relating faith to life, worship to work, prayer to action, proclamation to protest, is the work of theology and education in the church.

So the teaching ministry must be more about making learning options readily accessible than providing integrated curriculum materials. A steadily progressive programme may not be relevant to immediate needs most of the time. We are finding already that people in the community gather the resources they need from wherever they can find them, to meet the particular situation of the moment.

A range of ‘entry points’ (such as activities, events, personal contacts, weddings, funerals, infant baptism requests) for people to come into the life of a congregations can be identified and developed. But it is the next step - of intentional encouragement to explore faith issues, the meaning of commitment, preparation for church membership, on-going development of the faith journey, linking faith to life issues - where congregations tend to lose the plot, and teaching opportunities can flounder. What is equally clear is that for most UCA congregations, the only way genuinely to explore faith (and to demonstrate it) is through becoming part of the community beyond the congregation. That is a real challenge to most members of the Church, whose equipping to be disciples of Christ is shown to be rather thin at this point!

The Task Group found that other churches are facing similar dilemmas. We have little to report on trends in the UK, and virtually nothing on the situation throughout Europe, Asia, Africa or South America. Most of our contacts and literature searching has been with sister churches in Australia and North America. Trends in other mainstream churches in those countries show similar patterns to the situation in the UCA. Some brief generalizations follow, drawn from information generously shared in response to questions about:

places where learning is happening, hindrances to learning, current trends, effectiveness of current resources, emerging effective models.

Generally within Protestant churches, people recognise that change is necessary and are willing to work towards it, but feel ill-equipped to make change happen. Reliance is still being placed by many on Sunday school as the main form of Christian education, yet attendance at the traditional Sunday morning programme for children is decreasing. There is a growing recognition that teaching may best be focussed on the ‘learning moments’ of the church’s life together, and within an understanding that we are all on a journey together - everyone a learner, everyone a teacher.

Across Protestant denominations, learning is often hindered by mis-matches between intentions and actual practice, by lack of recognition or affirmation of ministries with young people, by lack of training and support for teachers, by absence of educational support people and by limited appropriate resources. Cultural, socio-economic and generational diversity is often overlooked, and busy lifestyles and changing family structures contribute to under-involvement in Christian formation activities. Lack of clarity in the aims of teaching, negative past experiences of Christian education and lack of commitment by adult learners also impact on effective teaching ministry. The Adult Religious Literacy Survey found that only about 1 in 5 Australian congregations ever become involved in Christian education activities.

Trends in Christian education detectable in all churches today include a significant drop-out rate between youth group and adult church membership, lack of integrated programmes for the nurture of young people from cradle to adult membership, and limited ministry to pre-school aged children. There is a trend towards short cuts in lesson preparation, limited denominational presence in secondary schools and neglect of adult education.

Christian educators are seeking resources that will help families share their faith with their children at home, as well as material that is easy to understand, provides learning through activities, and encourages relationships and interactions between all learners. A survey of forms of ministry in the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne revealed Alpha groups being widely and successfully used in bringing people into congregations.. In the growing churches of that Diocese, this is followed by a course on Christian maturity, leading to one on Christian ministry. A major insight from across the churches is that people do not want to be trained to serve an institution; rather, they want to know how to live as Christians, with practical skills in living informed by a Christian perspective on life.

It is apparent that young people and those of lower middle-class need a well-structured teaching format, which in general is not what professional, well-educated people are seeking. Many people not attending church regularly indicate they would respond to the right kind of Christian education offered in appropriate ways. There are many with a great interest in spirituality, but who believe the institutional structures of the churches are stultifying. In 1998, for instance, more than 10% of Australian adults had tried more than one religion within the previous twelve month period, including Eastern meditation, New Age crystals, psychic healing AND going to church.

Emerging models for nurture in the faith are many and varied. Some churches express the desire to build genuine communities of faith and are looking for ways to link worship with teaching and to encourage children in worship. In response to community needs, many Protestant congregations are looking to weekday programmes, multi-age settings and small group models (prayer, Bible study, social gatherings - short and long term). Around 25% of Catholic attendees are regularly involved in small groups compared with 55% of Anglicans, 61% of UCA and over 70% in some other denominations. In the Anglican church, it was reported there are emerging trends towards an increased interest in eco-spirituality, personal spirituality and one-to-one spiritual direction.

Religious Education has always had an important place within Catholic schools, usually linked to the local parish church. The Catholic church in South Australia currently is looking at ways to integrate Christian education into the mainstream secular curriculum. There is a small trend towards right wing Catholic parents preferring home schooling, as is an emerging trend also within Pentecostal church families.

It is interesting to compare Christian education with trends in Jewish religious education. In Jewish congregations, teaching takes place in designated learning settings (formal classes for adults and children) as well as through other less structured times (prayer services, short study prior to a meeting, newsletter articles). Adult classes are usually short series on a relevant subject. Children’s classes are mainly supplemental to school education, perhaps weekend or after school. There is a trend towards more creative teaching methods that include movement, discussion, art projects and other experiences enabling engagement at all levels - intellectual, spiritual, emotional and physical. The Jewish family is not the same institution it was once in regard to education of children in the faith, so religious institutions have taken on the role of educating the family as a whole about different religious issues. Many Jews are only vaguely familiar with the basics of their religion - hence this must be the main emphasis at educational times.

Changing lifestyles and family structures, cultural and societal diversity, irrelevance of old models and loss of ability to educate in the faith - both within the home and in community settings - are changing the nature and needs in Christian education in other mainstream churches and with Jewish religious education. Amongst the grassroots there is recognition of the need for new ways forward, but institutional change is always unwieldy, and attitudinal change is always complicated by emotional and personal factors. The UCA does not embark alone on this journey of rekindling and strengthening the teaching ministry!

The Task Group early in its work discovered that the prescriptive approach detailed in clauses 1(e), 1(f) and 1(g) of the Mandate would involve time and finances beyond the capacities of the members and the resources available. In consultation with Uniting Education, it was agreed that agency would work with CRA to conduct a detailed survey of congregations in the UCA. Out of that broad investigation is emerging a picture of the activities and practices of the teaching ministry and mission of congregations across Australia, which will inform the work of resourcing the teaching ministry throughout the Church in the years ahead.

A small pilot study, devised and trialled by the Task Group, supports anecdotal evidence that short-term learning groups are more likely to retain their membership and appeal than those programmes requiring long-term commitment. Growing in popularity are:

• the Alpha Course - essentially a 10-week evangelistic tool from the UK, but being used more and more within congregations for discipling members; there are some calling for an Australian version of Alpha, based more clearly on UCA doctrine and heritage;
• the Emmaus Walk - a long weekend retreat focussed on teaching and re-commitment of Christian leaders;
• annual Lenten studies, from various sources, increasingly used by small groups in the weeks leading up to Easter.

However, amongst a plethora of resources, some congregations are using the more concentrated Kerygma and Disciple Bible study material recommended by Uniting Education because of sound doctrine and appropriate educational style. Increasingly (particularly in NSW) the Belonging Kit is being used to prepare people for baptism and confirmation. Many congregations of the UCA use the Whole People of God (MediaCom, Adelaide) lectionary-based materials as a resource for weekly worship and Christian education sessions. Many individuals within the UCA use personal Bible study aids regularly, including the UCA-produced (Sydney) With Love to the World (daily commentaries and prayers based on the lectionary readings for the week).

A growing interest in personal spiritual direction opens up the possibility that more intentional support needs to be available for this aspect of people’s growth and nurture in the faith. While retreat and spiritual direction ministries are not new to the UCA, they have tended to be small specialty areas rather than intentionally encouraged and made widely accessible.

The UCA National Network for Distance Theological Education (Coolamon College) has established an excellent reputation in offering academic teaching in theology and Bible subjects at diploma and post-graduate levels. Through this avenue, and through Synod Lay Education Centres in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia, more and more lay people are delving deeper into understanding their faith. Distance education is opening up windows of opportunity for some who would otherwise be cut off from continuing education possibilities. However, it seems that where individuals pursue further studies beyond the local scene, it is less likely the congregation will be involved in intentional community learning (or might this ‘cause and effect’ be the other way round?!).

It is estimated that the total number of lay people currently studying as private students in theological colleges, with Coolamon College and through Lay Education Centres, is about five times as many as those training for the specified ministries. What a rich resource for the future of the Church! What might be the implications for the Church in years to come?

The Task Group drew on the knowledge and experience of networks of people across the life of the Church to develop an understanding of how this ministry is perceived now, and how patterns have changed over recent years. In particular, the National Christian Educators Network and the staff of Assembly agencies kindly provided insights into the scope of this ministry in the life of the Church, and offered helpful analysis of the current situation. CRA and NCLS publications have been valuable resources in clarifying up-to-date trends.

Focus groups from a variety of categories of people willingly shared their memories, experiences and hopes for the teaching ministry and mission of the Church. These included young adults, older people, teenage students, tertiary chaplains, UCAF groups, multicultural groups, parents of young children, those who have recently returned to or just started attending the Church, participants in the National Children’s Ministry Summit, Aboriginal people, and other mixed groups or individuals in a range of settings - including some from the fringes of association with the Church.

We used a simple tool to engage people in the exercise. The ‘Keeping, Changing, Trying’ triad consists of 3 questions, best explored in a group setting where members can agree on prioritizing the outcomes:

• What helpful learning opportunities have you experienced during your time in the church, which you believe are worth KEEPING in the life of the church?
• Which learning or teaching occasions that you’ve experienced in the church need CHANGING?
• What different learning opportunities could you suggest that might be worth TRYING in the church’s nurture of its members?

Not surprisingly, the responses were many and varied! But some common threads and interesting suggestions emerge:

• mentors and role models - many referred to the influence of a particular admired individual who took an interest in them, accepted them, stuck by them through periods of troubled ideas / attitudes / behaviour, encouraged their early tentative leadership steps, prayed for them;
• church camps of various kinds have been highly significant for many people still in the church today: where there has been time to focus on topics relevant to the concerns of participants, time to build relationships and fellowship while exploring issues, the stimulation of worship / learning / recreation all linked together over a continuous period of time;
• learning opportunities through worship which is intergenerational and participatory, yet retaining a sense of awe without being too ritualistic;
• formal learning settings have been important to people in the past (Sunday school, Bible study groups, Christian Endeavour meetings, KUCA groups) - that they remain memorable for some seems to be because of inspiring leadership, or a sense of fellowship in the group, as much as any retained knowledge;
• attitudes that encourage learning - feeling welcomed, accepted in spite of different ideas, listened to with respect.

• assuming theological concepts are understood – we need specific teaching about doctrine;
• teaching often uses religious jargon – we need language that is ‘user-friendly’;
• ‘jug to mug’ teaching – we need access to multi-media teaching aids and different settings, as in secular learning;
• the expectation that everybody should pray verbally in a group – we need specific teaching on prayer;

• the assumption that all who are theologically trained are good teachers – we need more focus on gifts for teaching and their development, both in initial training and in continuing education;

• the assumption that the minister is the best teacher in the congregation – we need recognition of lay people’s theological education and teaching skills;
• the ‘closed shop’ attitude: become a church member, become consumed with church meetings every night of the week! We need members actually equipped to live as Christians in the community;
• the guilt trip that lays blame on me for not knowing more about the Bible / the church / Christian responses to big issues – my congregation needs to take some responsibility for that!

• better use of the electronic media as a means of teaching;
• access to a website with interactive opportunities for exploration of faith matters, and up-to-date information about UCA issues;
• basics of the faith in song - deliberately commissioning the writing of new material, equivalent to the sound doctrinal affirmations in Charles Wesley’s or Isaac Watts’s hymns of another era;
• experiential learning – opportunities like exposure tours to areas of Frontier Services ministry, youth group night-out in a shanty warehouse to learn about homelessness and reflect on Jesus’ origins and teachings, small group live-in at a local monastery to learn about contemplative prayer;
• congregation sponsors a series of community gatherings to address life issues from a faith perspective – such as work and faith, ethics in the workplace, parenting, nurturing spirituality in a busy life, faith and money, family rituals and celebrations, dealing with grief after suicide.

Task Group acknowledges that most of its work and resultant proposals apply to the formal councils and associated bodies of the mainstream UCA. While we hope the vision is a universal one, we know we have failed to address meaningfully the particular situations and needs of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress, and of the various migrant ethnic congregations that are part of the UCA. Task Group membership has been enriched by participation from both those sectors of UCA life; and some limited survey responses have given a glimpse of how important it is for more quality work to be done. The results of such analysis could profoundly inform much of the UCA’s self-understanding and future direction

Enquiries in every synod reveal that very few congregations use any formal approach to analysis of teaching methods, or to assessment of the effectiveness of any teaching ministry in which the congregation is engaged. In some, planning days for the following year’s Christian education include reflection on previous experience - this is mostly the product of astute leadership rather than the use of any particular self-analysis or performance indicating tool. Workbook resources are used in a few places to help in the selection of teaching materials and methods; those named include John Emmett’s Choices, Denham Grierson’s The Teaching Ministry of the Church, David Merritt’s Helping Your Church Teach, Kennon Callahan’s 12 Keys.

In the Queensland Synod, theological training includes a segment on ways to evaluate the educational ministry of a congregation - but practical experience indicates these techniques are not always carried through into congregational ministry.

The Task Group investigated a variety of resources, mostly from North American churches, which provide a range of self-analytical and performance indicating tools. We are not convinced it would be helpful to the UCA to prescribe a particular model for use across the country. However, we want to emphasize the importance of congregations taking seriously the planning for their teaching ministry programmes, which will of necessity involve an appraisal of the success or otherwise of what has been offered in the previous period and an analysis of the needs for the next. Synod bodies responsible for Christian education are urged to draw on the expertise available through Uniting Education, to develop ways of assisting congregations in this vital step.

We found that, whereas most Ministers of the Word see themselves as gifted and trained for the ministry of teaching, many lay people feel bereft of opportunities in the congregational setting for intentional learning about the Bible, about the doctrines of the Church, about spiritual formation as an individual and as a community of faith, about theological links with life experiences. There is no doubt there are places where a sound teaching ministry is being exercised by effectively trained leaders, ordained and lay. But there is equally no doubt that in other places, there is an urgent need for more intentional foundational training for clergy as well as continuing education opportunities for developing and expanding teaching skills.

Where the traditional Sunday school is provided for Christian education, too often the leaders for teaching the children of the church are either young people who (it is assumed) have ‘grown out of’ eligibility for learning themselves, or concerned parents with or without teaching skills. More emphasis in most congregations could be given by the elders to intentional identification of those with gifts for teaching, and on equipping and supporting them in this crucial ministry.

The Task Group considered the work of chaplains in sector ministries such as schools, tertiary institutions, prisons, Defence Forces, hospitals and other care agencies. The work of these agents of the Church is ‘cutting edge’ ministry, providing - for many of the people with whom they deal - the first (and perhaps the only) opportunity for an awareness of a God who cares, and a link with the Church. And for many members within our congregations, hearing about this chaplaincy work may provide their only link with the cries of the world. We heard the plea from these ministers (both ordained and lay) for being better equipped for their teaching ministry responsibilities, and for on-going support and training in what is often a very isolated, challenging and at times lonely sphere of ministry.

The recently completed work of the Task Group on Baptism and Related Matters raised the important issues of improving the understanding and practice of baptism throughout the Church, and of more adequate preparation of individuals (or parents) for the sacrament of baptism. Standing Committee in March 1999 supported the proposal that a series of resources be prepared. These are to include:

• a booklet to help members understand the significance of baptism in the Christian life;
• a simple statement for parents, in accessible language, of what the church believes baptism signifies, what consequences follow after the sacrament and the procedures the UCA recommends before a person is baptized;
• for elders, a clear statement of the responsibilities of elders in baptism;
• a suggested reading list and study guide on the Church’s understanding of baptism.

Standing Committee commended the formation of a ‘catechumenate’ as a mission strategy, and Theology and Discipleship is overseeing its development. This is a period of preparation for baptism, or discipling, with the revival of the ancient name linking it with processes of preparation for membership in Catholic and Anglican churches. The catechumenate is an opportunity for teaching the fundamentals of the faith, for the person to grow in understanding of what it means to belong to Christ. Units in the Belonging Kit will be used to guide the steps in this learning process.

The Task Group on the Understanding and Use of the Bible was established at the 1997 Assembly, out of a particular situation of polarisation in the life of the Church. But its focus and outcomes clearly hold a much deeper relevance to the heart of the faith, and our proposals will reinforce the central place of the Scriptures and the urgent need for more intentional teaching of the Bible and its application to daily living.

Standing Committee appointed a Task Group on Youth Ministry in 1998, to consider the role of the Assembly in this important area of the Church’s life. While its work is (at the time of writing) incomplete, the initial report raised among other things the idea of an interactive website for linking youth ministry nationally. Our Task Group hopes the proposal we bring, for a website as a medium for teaching and exploring faith issues, will not be seen as competing with that suggestion but underscoring how essential it is that action be taken NOW. What might have been a novel idea even 12 months ago is now an urgent necessity, so rapid is change in communications and access to resources.

As staff of national agencies contributed their insights to our deliberations, we realised how broad the scope of this topic actually is. A strength of the UCA is that it is a national church; congregations can be aware of, and participate in, the life of the Church beyond the local scene through specialist agencies and staff working on our behalf.

As we consider how congregations are best equipped for their life as a faith community in the setting in which they are placed, the teaching ministry must include in its scope matters from the Assembly’s area of responsibility – the doctrines and teachings of the Church, the rationale for decisions taken in the name of the Church, covenanting and multicultural ministry, issues of justice in church and society, relations with other faiths, why involvement in mission within and beyond Australia is changing in nature, where we’re up to in steps towards the wider unity of the church – and so the list could go on. Big issues were raised by each of the agencies contributing to our work. There is urgent need for more integrated communication about the work of the Assembly throughout the Church.

After nearly three years of work exploring this huge topic through multiple facets, the Task Group encapsulates its hopes for the teaching ministry and mission of congregations of the UCA in the following vision, and invites the Assembly to claim it as its own:

To achieve this vision, each of us - who take our membership of the UCA seriously - is encouraged to grasp again the urgency of us all being able to give account of the hope that is in us. We need to work for our congregations to be places where teaching deepens our faith and equips us all to live out the Gospel faithfully and fearlessly in word and action, in the course of our daily lives and interactions. Hence the proposals include an invitation to members of the Ninth Assembly to make a personal commitment towards those ends.

Where the Church is engaged in organized ministry beyond the congregation (in such settings as schools, tertiary institutions, Defence Forces, hospitals, care facilities, prisons, mental health chaplaincies), the necessity for adequate and ongoing training for those exercising teaching ministry in these contexts must be much more intentional, not just an optional extra for those who happen to seek it out.

The Task Group offers for consideration by the Assembly, matters which address some areas in need of change or renewed emphasis for the vision to become a reality. Beyond that, the Task Group hopes that the boxed ‘vignettes’ scattered throughout this report will give glimpses of creative possibilities from around the Church - which themselves may act as catalysts for inspiring local action relevant in other areas of the Church’s life.

• the relative significance / importance of the teaching ministry and mission practices;
• hurts about unfulfilled hopes for past teaching ministry and mission practices;
• hopes for a different future for the Church through its teaching ministry and mission;
• purposes and desired outcomes;
• performance measures and indicators;
• motivations relevant to persons participating as either learners or teachers;
• preferred participation styles and options;
• settings in which the ministry operates;

1. to develop a set of performance indicators able to be used by congregations in assessing their teaching ministry and mission and to plan accordingly.

to request the Standing Committee to appoint a Task Group of up to 12 people based in Victoria, with the membership to include:

• Christian education personnel
• a theologian in a theological hall teaching settlement
• a presbytery minister / officer
• a Minister of the Word and a Deacon currently in parish / vocational settlement
• the chairperson of the National Education Committee
• lay persons with Christian education expertise and experience
• a Youth Worker.

The Task Group will consult with the Commission for Christian Education and synods’ commissions with responsibility for Christian education in congregations, including Uniting Church schools with ‘congregations’ of regular worshippers. Such consultation may include:

• developing a panel of ‘expert’ advisers and contributors drawn from various fields of education and Christian education;
• working in liaison with Uniting Education on matters of research;
• consultation with Uniting Church schools and their various synod and national committees;
• liaison with other national commissions and / or task groups whose mandate and / or projects carry Christian education implications for congregations.

to request the Standing Committee to arrange funding for the task group, sufficient to enable the quality of research, consultancy and publication.

• Woods, C. Jeff: We’ve never done it like this before: 10 creative approaches to the same old church tasks Alban Institute, 1994