More than 100 leaders, administrators, academics, and ministry practitioners from across Australia gathered recently at Foothills Convention Centre in Melbourne to explore the future of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in a post-Christian cultural context.

The Church Next consultation, held over three days, was a joint initiative of the Australian Union Conference (AUC) Ministerial Association and the Center for Secular and Post-Christian Mission. The event provided space for participants to examine current societal, economic, and political trends and evaluate existing missional strategies within the Church in Australia.

The program featured table discussions, Q&A sessions, presentations, and design-thinking workshops. Guest presenters included University of Divinity Reverend Professor Philip Hughes, Exponential National Leader Tim O’Neill, Design Thinking Facilitator Stephen Chan, Trans-European Division Adventist Mission Director Anthony WagenerSmith, Sanitarium Senior Business Leader Rachel Glasbergen, and Center for Secular and Post-Christian Mission Associate Director Jonathan Contero.

According to the organizers, the consultation's outcomes will inform new strategies for local and conference-level ministry. A plan for funding and implementation will be developed to support ministry teams in trialling and testing innovative approaches to engaging with post-Christian Australian culture.

“Church Next was just the beginning of a conversation and ongoing process to look at how we might better reach secular Australia,” said AUC Ministerial Secretary Lyndelle Peterson. “We, the Ministerial Association and the Adventist Mission Center for Secular and Post-Christian Mission, are looking forward to guiding, resourcing, and supporting these innovative conversations and outcomes.”

Director of the Center for Secular and Post-Christian Mission and Associate AUC Ministerial Secretary Brendan Pratt added, “It was inspiring to see our conference, AUC and SPD leadership teams working on what it means to take seriously the challenge of ministry in the context of the 84 per cent of Australians who don’t connect with a faith community.”

He added, “The Church Next conversation and process is only just starting—at each level of our church life, we need to think through the implications, including local church leadership and personal discipleship.”

The original article was published on the South Pacific Division news site, Adventist Record. Join the ANN WhatsApp Channel for the latest Adventist news.