The Pastor's Heart

10/09/2025

"A scaffold to pray and plan within."

https://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/bounceback-clear-mission-goal

09/09/2025

What approach are you taking at your church?

This year Halloween is on a Friday. There will be thousands of kids walking through our suburb and past our church between 5-7pm on that Friday evening.

Our weekly kids club will be on at the same time and then wrapping up. And our youth group is scheduled to start at 6pm.

But how can we make the most of Halloween as a connection point with our community?

This is a flashback to The Pastor's Heart episode on the topic that our youth and kids leaders are listening to this week to help us think about what to do.

How should Christians respond to customs, traditions, and stories that have associations with false religions, demonic powers, and evil? Could a church building be covered in cobwebs and used as an invitation to come inside? Would you run a Halloween event for the kids of your church so they don’t

09/09/2025

Reaching the missing 70% - Coz Crosscombe, Andrew Beddoe and Simon Gillham

Reaching the 70% of the population who are significantly underrepresented in our churches.

We’re talking about everyday Australians — people who’ve gone straight into the workforce rather than university. That includes hairdressers, plumbers, builders, business owners, factory workers, truck drivers, IT staff, and media creatives — as well as many in marginalised communities.

Within this group, there’s huge diversity:
* Some are winners — financially successful builders and entrepreneurs.
* Others are respectables — valuing hard work, morals, and family.
* Some are survivors — juggling multiple jobs and doing it tough.
* And there are those living in hard places — facing struggles with welfare, addiction, and family stress.

Yet while this group represents the majority of Australians, they make up only a small minority in our churches. Why is that? And how can we do better?

Andrew Beddoe — principal trainer at the Vocational Bible College, equipping gospel workers for everyday Australians.

Coz Crosscombe — director of The Well Training Program at Mount Druitt, focused on training leaders from marginalised communities.

Simon Gillham — vice principal at Moore Theological College, working on cross-cultural and literacy challenges in ministry.

We discuss why this group is missing from many of our congregations, the cultural and learning barriers they face, and how we can shape ministry, training, and preaching to better reach them with the good news of Jesus.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/the-missing-70-crosscombe-beddo-gillham

06/09/2025

Peter Hughes - a ministry dad for ministry dads - on Fathers Day.

Fatherhood is improv. Ministry fatherhood? That’s improv on stage, with the lights on, the mic live, and the whole church watching. We’re all trying to do a bit better than our own dads — or a lot …

02/09/2025

A Bounceback in Attendance – and a clear mission goal - with Pete Stedman, Jon Kwan, and Jo Gibbs.

Twelve months ago we heard the sobering news of a significant attendance drop in Sydney Anglican Churches. Over the decade from 2013 to 2023, weekly attendance fell by 7% – and when you factor in population growth, attendance was 14% behind.

At last year’s Sydney Anglican Synod, the mood was serious. A resolution was passed calling for confession and humble repentance – acknowledging that their hadn’t been sufficient priority, attention, reflection, or resources to seeing the lost saved by Jesus. Synod called for a five-year focus to reverse the decline – putting prayer, evangelism, church health, and leadership development at the very centre of priorities.

Ahead of this year’s Synod, there is a response. The Standing Committee appointed a subcommittee, led by the Archbishop, to bring forward concrete proposals. And what they have come back with is significant:

* A galvanising target – to pursue 5% annual growth through conversion for the next five years.

* A range of initiatives and actions designed to support churches, leaders, and congregations in this mission.

Our guests are Pete Stedman, senior minister at Norwest Anglican Church, and a member of the Archbishop’s subcommittee that has proposed the new goal, Jon Kwan, lead pastor at St. David's Forestville and Jo Gibbs, senior consultant with Reach Australia.

http://thepastorsheart.net/podcast/bounceback-clear-mission-goal

01/09/2025

Tuesday afternoon Pete Stedman joins us to put the case for a 5% conversion growth goal for each of the next five years.

Pete is senior minister of Norwest Anglican Church.

What questions would you like us to put to Pete?

26/08/2025

The call to ministry is a call to lay down your life for others, but how do we create a well-thought-out roadmap toward pastoral perseverance - when there are external and/or internal difficulties?

How do we approach congregational conflict, criticism, unrealistic expectations or personal health, financial and family stress?

Why is pastoral friendship not optional, but essential?

How to keep going when the knives are out at church? - with Brian Croft and Matthew Spander Davison

Today on The Pastor’s Heart, there’s advice for pastors who feel isolated and are feeling like quitting.

Brian Croft leads Practical Shepherding in Louisville Kentucky.

Matthew Spandler Davison also lives in Louisville, serves with Practical Shepherding, and as an executive director of 20 Schemes, Church in Hard Places in Scotland as well as the preaching pastor for Redeemer Fellowship in Bardstown, Kentucky.

http://thepastorsheart.net/podcast/persevering-when-the-knives-are-out-croft-davison

26/08/2025

How to keep going when the knives are out at church? - Brian Croft and Matthew Spander Davison
The call to ministry is a call to lay down your life for others, but how do we create a well-thought-out roadmap toward pastoral perseverance - when there are external and/or internal difficulties?

How do we approach congregational conflict, criticism, unrealistic expectations or personal health, financial and family stress?

Why is pastoral friendship not optional, but essential?

Today on The Pastor’s Heart, there’s advice for pastors who feel isolated and are feeling like quitting.

Brian Croft leads Practical Shepherding in Louisville Kentucky (https://practicalshepherding.com/).

Matthew Spandler Davison also lives in Louisville, serves with Practical Shepherding, and as an executive director of 20 Schemes, Church in Hard Places in Scotland as well as the preaching pastor for Redeemer Fellowship in Bardstown, Kentucky.

http://http://thepastorsheart.net/podcast/persevering-when-the-knives-are-out-croft-davison

22/08/2025

"The Gospel Coalition Australia got together about forty people to give a day to thinking and praying about what, if anything, we might be able to achieve by working together that would not be possible apart. It was a stimulating day and the ideas that have begun to emerge are, I believe, exciting."
—Rory Shiner

A summary of a vision that emerged from the TGCA leaders mini-summit in June 2025.

22/08/2025

Preaching raises up gospel workers.

Watch the full episode at: https://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/how-to-improve-our-preaching-sydserff-cook

21/08/2025

Congratulations to Stephen Driscoll on his well-deserved win at the 2025 Australian Christian Book of the Year awards tonight!

Here’s the conversation that Stephen and I had about his book on AI a couple of months ago.

-Dominic Steele

Artificial Intelligence is an oncoming tsunami that will catch all of humanity off guard. It is a change more like a wheel than a typewriter. But what will this do to our sense of self? Stephen Driscoll, in ‘ Made in our Image - God, artificial intelligence and you’ says artificial intelligence