CHURCH HEALTH
C
hurch Health is a significant portfolio of the National Executive that has been designated to Joel A’Bell in the past two year Conference period.
The health of any family is critical for all its members, and it is incumbent on every member to contribute to the health of the family. COVID has been the great revealer. It has magnified what has (potentially) been laying dormant inside of us. For those who have a confident hope in Jesus, this season has caused us to emerge relatively unscathed. For others of us, with an unhealthy expectation on others for our support and comfort, COVID has dealt a lethal blow. All in all, we cannot deny the stripping back of what we once held so dear, and an emergence of the new opportunities that lay ahead of us. Individuals across the earth have instinctively asked, “what is most important?” Is it any wonder that we are asking the same questions as faith communities? During my time on the National Executive, we have spent a decade measuring health by actual numbers. such as attendance, baptisms, salvations and volunteers etc. These make the most sense to us because they are easy to measure, and we can bench mark across the fellowship. We should continue counting. This next season will create appetites of new health conversations. Areas about atmosphere, posture, our tone in the community and our social responsibility. Whilst these are difficult to measure, the conversations will shape the way church is felt on our society. Mentoring has seen a huge spike in interest across the ACC (and other denominations) and will provide the necessary support to keep pastors healthy, which will in turn see health flow down the leadership ranks in to all our churches. With more than half of our churches in regional and rural Australia, I am excited about all the possibilities that await our future. It has been a privilege to serve you these last several years and I am more passionate about church health than ever before. Looking forward to keeping the conversation alive. JOEL A’BELL. National Executive Member
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