The One Thing

SPECIAL BONUS EPISODE!!! Nancy Guthrie's will be coming to Australia in June 2024 to run workshops for women to understand biblical theology. Nancy is an author, speaker and podcaster who has spent her life encouraging women in the Bible. TOOL BOX: Book in for Nancy's Workshops around the country. Dates: Adelaide, Australia • Grace Conference • May 25, 2024 [SOLD OUT] Melbourne, Australia • Holy Trinity Doncaster • May 27, 2024 [SOLD OUT] Canberra, Australia • Westminster Presbyterian • May 29, 2024 Sydney, Australia • Scots Church • June 1, 2024 Townsville, Australia • Willows Presbyterian • June 4, 2024 Brisbane, Australia • City Tabernacle Church • June 8, 2024 More on Nancy: Nancy's websiteHelp me Teach The Bible Podcastbooks on biblical theology CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by Reach Australia. For ideas or questions please email resources@reachaustralia.com.au To support the Reach Australia Online Library head here.

A building is more than just a rain shelter! How people see the building and how it's used can be a great asset to gospel work. Vine Church has gone through the process of renovating and rebuilding an inner city church. Kate Stace is the Director of Ministry Operations. She shares: TOOL BOX: Building Project resources Kate has made available Advice on during and after builds from Andrew Robson Kate's email if you have questions Scott Sander's if you need more details on fundraising CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by Reach Australia. For ideas or questions please email resources@reachaustralia.com.au To support the Reach Australia Online Library head here.

When you have a church building and people who don't attend your church want to use it, what questions should you think through first? Kate Stace from Vine Church is the Ministry Operations Director at Vine Church in Sydney. She shares: TOOL BOX: Building Management Resources Kate has made available. CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by Reach Australia. For ideas or questions please email resources@reachaustralia.com.au To support the Reach Australia Online Library head here.

Have you ever noticed the bits of writing at the end of the song you are singing? It should include the acronym CCLI. Christian Copyright Licensing International does not police the law in copyright, but is there to serve the church in making sure we adhere to the laws well and serve our musician brothers and sisters. Bhavani Marks visits us to talk about: What you need to pay copyright licensing for and who do you need to pay it to. TOOL BOX: CCLI Australia Song Select Reach Australia National Conference CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠Reach Australia⁠. For ideas or questions please email ⁠resources@reachaustralia.com.au⁠ To support the Reach Australia Online Library head ⁠here⁠.

Australia has seen a number of church management platforms. Do we need another one? ChurchSuite (an online management system built in the UK) is coming to Australia this year. Scott Sanders asks Gavin and Paul from ChurchSuite about how their platform will benefit Australian churches: and TOOL BOX: churchsuite.com. CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by Reach Australia. For ideas or questions please email resources@reachaustralia.com.au To support the Reach Australia Online Library head here.

Vine Church uses name tags, Hunter Bible Church does not. In this episode Toby Neal (Vine Church) and Dave Moore (Hunter Bible Church) face off in a debate about whether name tags are helpful in church. Arguments for: Arguments against: TOOL BOX: 177: Better Welcoming 1 178: Better Welcoming 2 Gospel Growth and Community ebook

Are Christian books still a powerful tool for evangelism? Rory Baxter has been publishing books as cheap as he can, to get them into the hands of as many non- Christians as possible. Here's his take on how they've been effective in churches.  Scott and Rory talk about: What is it about books? You can take it are your own pace, it is easier to give people a book, it sits with people and you can give it away easily Shorter books allows all types of people to engage with the gospel and they get to the point quickly Books are a supplement or an addition to evangelistic work within the church. If everyone leaves with a book, they have access to the gospel whenever they want and can return to it anytime. Different books will work for different people so we need lots of different books but books about Jesus are the most effective in evangelism Get good books and give them out widely, don’t let cost get in the way because people will read them  TOOLBOX: 10 Of Those Wandering Bookseller Matthias Media Word 1 to 1 12 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Easter.  CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by Reach Australia. For ideas or questions please email resources@reachaustralia.com.au To support the Reach Australia Online Library head here.

Andrew Heard has a new book out, Growth and Change. Over the coming weeks we'll be posting conversations that Jo and Scott had with Andrew about the book and its background on the Reach Australia Podcast (our longform podcast). In this episode of The One Thing, Jo and Scott reflect on their conversation with Andrew. Here are some of the things that they loved: He works through these struggles biblically and practically He doesn’t rush to the pragmatics, rather focuses on how the hearts of church leaders need to be in the same place as God’s heart This then flows into everything - principles of ministry, focus, pragmatics He challenges ‘what is it we are focusing on?’ - more clarity and directs our energy into the right things. He challenges the desire in our world to want to measure - why numbers matter, how to use them to assess ministry. TOOL BOX: Watch for the 4 Episodes with Andrew Heard on the Reach Australia Podcast (usually comes out on Wednesdays) ‘Growth and Change’ by Andrew Heard Reach Australia Ministry Framework ebook CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by Reach Australia. For ideas or questions please email resources@reachaustralia.com.au To support the Reach Australia Online Library head here.

St Faith's Anglican Church in Sydney's Northern Beaches has made significant changes to how they think about mission as they pray to see more people saved. We talk with Marcus Druitt from the church about what he has found to be the effective elements of evangelistic courses. In this episode we discuss: That more effective gospel presentations are often home grown or adapted for their context There are some great presentations out there: Alpha, Christianity Explored, Olive Tree Media, Nua (a Scripture Union course) Using something that is already there to keep the ball rolling. To write your own homegrown course, start with one presentation and then alter it according to what worked and what didn’t work The teacher teaches, the Spirit convicts, the Christian witnesses around the table Understand the underlying principles and convictions of the gospel, and adapt that into your context

God has made us all different. We need to keep this mind when we do the whole thing of feedback: experience, personality, gender, cultural background and their role. We need to be: TOOL BOX: ⁠Radical Candor⁠ by Kim Scott ⁠6 Steps⁠ to Radical Candor ⁠One Page Summary⁠ of Radical Candor ⁠What women in ministry really want from their senior pastor⁠ by Clare Deeves ⁠The Culture Map⁠ by Ern Meyer ⁠Leadership and the Culture Map⁠ ⁠Level 1 Coaching⁠ with Reach Australia. CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠Reach Australia⁠. For ideas or questions please email ⁠resources@reachaustralia.com.au⁠ To support the Reach Australia Online Library head ⁠here⁠.

Feedback needs to be something that is a regular thing, but it also needs some formal rhythms of review. TOOL BOX: ⁠335: Silent Congregations: Exploring the Unspoken Barriers to Providing Feedback⁠⁠ ⁠⁠336: How to Give Effective Feedback⁠ 337: Put it in your calendar!

It's one thing getting feedback, but what about receiving and looking for feedback. We continue our series on feedback. In this episode we look at TOOL BOX: Previous Episodes: ⁠335: Silent Congregations: Exploring the Unspoken Barriers to Providing Feedback⁠ ⁠336: How to Give Effective Feedback⁠ Ask for some feedback "Can I get some Feedback on this?" Three questions for sermon feedback: 1. "What was the most memorable point (or part) of my sermon?" 2. "What action are you supposed to take?" 3. "What, if anything, made you tune out?" CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by Reach Australia. For ideas or questions please email resources@reachaustralia.com.au To support the Reach Australia Online Library head here.

Feedback is an essential part of developing people in ministry. We need to know how to do it well. Here are some tips for giving good, effective feedback: TOOL BOX: SBI Tool: Remember: Situation, Behaviour, Impact Wisdom in Leadership by Craig Hamilton (See especially, Chapters 39 & 77) Craig Hamilton on the Reach Australia Podcast Previous Episode of Exploring the Unspoken Barriers to Providing Feedback

Feedback is such an important part of the culture of a growing church. Why don't we do it? Recently, we received some feedback in the Reach Australia resource library that we needed some new tools on feedback so welcome to the next few weeks as we look at the idea of feedback. Why do we not give feedback? How do I stop Personal Preferences Coming In? When should we not give feedback? Importance in training TOOL BOX: Harvard Business Review book on Feedback. Manager Tools Website (Including One on One Forms) "Can I just give you some feedback?" CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by Reach Australia. For ideas or questions please email resources@reachaustralia.com.au To support the Reach Australia Online Library head here.

We continue our exploration into how AI can help us in ministry. In this episode we go beyond CHATGPT to look at marketing, writing and other uses for AI in ministry. SHOW NOTES CHATGPT the generic AI engine Copy.ai for writing Jasper.ai for marketing Opus Pro for making reels from sermons. CHATGPT Store signup for more options Firefly for text to image resources Email us to let us know how you are using AI CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by Reach Australia. For ideas or questions please email resources@reachaustralia.com.au To support the Reach Australia Online Library head here.

AI has become an phenomena in the world. We're exploring how something like CHATGPT can be useful for ministry and where it cannot be substituted for person-to-person ministry. SHOW NOTES: CHATGPT CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by Reach Australia. For ideas or questions please email resources@reachaustralia.com.au To support the Reach Australia Online Library head here.

Term 1 is on the way. What do I need to think about? SHOW NOTES: Episode 279: Thinking about Term 1 2023 Episode 280: Joining A New Staff Team Episode 166: Refreshing Your Staff Meetings Part 1 Episode 167: Refreshing Your Staff Meetings Part 2 Episode 315: Organising My Preaching Program Email Scott@reachaustralia.com.au for a page on training development CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by Reach Australia. For ideas or questions please email resources@reachaustralia.com.au To support the Reach Australia Online Library head here.

Dr Patricia Weerakoon discusses why our churches need to have clarity about gender, orientation and identity from pastoral, theological and medical perspectives.   SHOW NOTES: The Gender Revolution By Patricia Weerakoon with Robert Smith and Kamal Weerakoon Tree Diagram CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠Reach Australia⁠. For ideas or questions please email ⁠resources@reachaustralia.com.au⁠ To support the Reach Australia Online Library head ⁠here⁠.

Rory Shiner would love to make "Christianity weird again" and so has written a book on the cross. His third book in his backwards trilogy, Forgiven Forever, is practical and accessible. In this chat he and Jo talk about: SHOW NOTES: Books by Rory: Forgiven Forever Raised Forever One Forever The World Next Door written with Peter Orr CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by Reach Australia. For ideas or questions please email resources@reachaustralia.com.au To support the Reach Australia Online Library head here.

Merry Christmas from Reach Australia and The One Thing Crew! SHOW NOTES: Follow us on socials ⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠Facebook⁠ ⁠TikTok