In 2022, the College of Bishops met with district and churchwide leaders to address the LCANZ’s church worker supply shortage. Victorian Bishop Emeritus Greg Pietsch was appointed to oversee the resulting Ministry Future project.

The Ministry Future project was established by the College of Bishops, with the support of the General Church Board, to consider and develop a coordinated response to the decreasing number of pastors in the LCANZ and the changing nature of our communities.

The current situation and future projections of pastoral supply have been investigated and a coordinated response developed. A report on the project’s progress was released to the church in May 2023 and the final project summary report was received with approval by the General Church Board in May 2024. Detailed reports, data analysis, consultation papers, proposals and end-user documents have been presented to the College of Bishops along the way and shared with others in consultation and collaboration as well. The purpose and progress of the project have also been shared with various District and churchwide pastors conferences and conventions, with invitations for feedback and input.

The May 2023 progress report included substantial data regarding pastoral ministry positions in Districts and church agencies, revealing the range and number of different ministry positions across the church, the way they were being served and the extent of pastoral vacancies. Data from early 2023 showed a pastoral vacancy rate of 23 per cent, which is expected to increase.

The LCANZ’s large cohort of Baby Boomer pastors is retiring and only a very small number of pastoral ministry students are graduating. This reflects demographic change across the church, with smaller families and fewer people taking up vocational service in the church.

The Ministry Future project aims to help the church respond to these changes in ways that, according to Bishop Emeritus Pietsch, ‘still lets the word of the Lord flourish among us today, for it is the word of God that brings us Christ and all his benefits’. ‘We face both a personal call – to grow in God’s word and promises ourselves – and a collective one – to walk together in faith and action’, he says. ‘To that end, the project has helped raise awareness of our situation, foster collaboration in exploring responses together, and begin some balls rolling – that is, specific directions and actions.’

• a regional rather than solely congregation or parish approach to organising pastoral ministry,
• suitable pathways into general and specialised service – both lay and ordained, paid and voluntary, and
• a regular way of ordering the service of lay people involved in word and/or sacrament ministry. This is in addition to the existing preparation and call of Specific Ministry Pastors.

Regionalisation envisages a zone or region of congregations and parishes being served with the full range of word and sacrament ministry collectively, using a team approach led by an overseeing GMP with the possibility of other GMPs or SMPs in the team as well. Each congregation/worshipping community will continue with its own lay leadership and volunteer ministry roles of the traditional kind, supplemented where possible by a local SMP or designated layperson with a pastoral leadership role.

Understanding, appreciating and advancing the service of lay and ordained alike with education and training to match – pathways both into service and for service development.

This is the term used to describe the way the church understands and delineates the different ministry roles. The most essential ‘ordering’ is the distinction between lay and ordained vocations or callings.

One of the outcomes of the report is that a Congregational Life website designed to support LCANZ congregations and agencies in areas including worship, pastoral care, discipleship and faith teaching, outreach and church planting, and community service is being developed by the church. This will offer accessible and relevant resources and raise awareness of learning pathways that are currently available or being developed. The project has also prepared a ‘Guide to Regional Ministry’ and a model agreement, which are available for local communities from their District Bishops.