SYDNEY PRESBYTERY - UNITING CHURCH
Church Planting
& New Initiatives
Resources to help you along the way
Do you feel that church could be done differently?
Sometimes, do you feel like you don’t really fit in with church culture?
Do you wonder why we are not connecting better with our broader community?
Would you like to see new expressions of church or missional initiatives given a go in your context?
If these questions resonated with you, or have brought up questions of your own - you are in the right place.
Meet Rev. Dr. Karina Kreminski
Rev Dr Karina Kreminski has been employed as a consultant one day a week at Sydney Presbytery to support leaders and ministers in the missional development of their churches. Karina’s focus is to support ministers and leaders to start up new initiatives that will help churches connect with the broader community. Karina is a UCA minister. She has been a minister in a church as well as a lecturer in missional studies. She and her husband Armen currently facilitate and engage in community in Surry Hills and this adventure is connected to Newtown Mission.
"Today we need to continue to move away from the view that our goal is to bring people into church and that the way to do this is to do church as usual and perhaps improve aspects of the service. More and more people are realising that what is required is trying something new and they are shifting their focus to move out into the community. This is about meeting people where they are and not expecting new folks to come to us. It is exciting and encouraging that there is a lot of movement in this area within Sydney Presbytery." - Karina
Karina is currently working with churches to:
- Help them grow a missional culture.
- Start up new activities in the neighbourhood that are missional.
- Create spaces where those who do not identify as Christian have the opportunity to engage in conversations about life, faith, spirituality and God.
- Help churches start up creative expressions of church (Micro-church, faith community, church plant, missional communities).
- Identify pioneers.
- Engage with their communities better and see that "place" is important.
- Encourage churches in a "go to them" rather than "come to us" approach.
We have also started a “community of practice” for Sydney Presbytery ministers and leaders that want to engage in creative expressions of church and missional initiatives. This is a support network and also a space where we can impact the culture of the Presbytery to nurture the start up of missional initiatives.
If you would like to start up something new in your church or neighbourhood be it a micro-church, faith community, social enterprise, missional initiative or creative expression of church I’d love to talk with you.
Email Karina HERE.
In the meantime, here are some resources that might help you along to way.
"As traditional churches decline and age, community research shows that the community remains open to engaging around spirituality and purpose. The conversations in Sydney Presbytery facilitated by Karina Kreminski allow explorations of alternative approaches to organising the church. These are important and hopeful opportunities for organising around God’s mission in a way that builds the organisation to carry out the mission into an uncertain future." - Dr. Glen Powell
Resources
Articles & Blogs - Reading if you want a different take on the church.
You might not think my church is a church, but here’s why we could use more like it - Will Small
MISSIONAL LEADERSHIP
HUB 2024
The Missional Leadership Hub is an opportunity to explore how you might enter more fully into God’s Mission in the world. The next intake will be February 2024. Join the waiting list below.
“Karina came along just at the right time for us at St David's as we were reimagining who God wants us to be and what God wants us to do in and with our broader community. She has been and continues to be such a helpful resource and experienced presence to have support us on this journey. Karina has helped us rethink what mission is and realise that we are already doing it and that it doesn't need to be onerous or add extra work. It's about being light in the world and looking for those people and places where deeper conversations and connections can be made to invite people into the Jesus story. We have included our individual missions in our overall mission and now have 'mission conversations' in church so that we can hear and support each other. It is an exciting journey as we continue being open to the Spirit and being surprised by God.”
- Rev Joy Steele-Perkins
