THRIVE: RENEWING THE CHURCH'S MISSION TO GROW LIFELONG DISCIPLES

We have all faced huge challenges over the past couple of years and the church has too. As we have gingerly returned to gathering inperson at church, I have often wondered why I am there. Not in a negative sense, but more a pondering about why we gather. I am often drawn to a friend's analogy of a tuning fork. These are used to get instruments in tune with each other, and the idea is that we gather as Christians to get in tune with God and in tune with each other. When I attend church, I am there to engage with God and to engage with others. Connecting with others has really suffered as a result of the pandemic. It has been and still is a huge challenge for churches. Although much momentum has been lost, this task is not insurmountable. Our desire at Scripture Union is to see healthy churches across Aotearoa New Zealand. Churches where people of all ages can connect with each other. Churches where people help each other’s faith to thrive. Church is about individuals and their faith, and church is about the corporate faith of our church communities. “Thrive” means to grow or develop well and vigorously and to flourish. The word conjures up images of growing children, animals, and plants. This visual is exactly what we wanted when we chose the name THRIVE for our mission of helping churches to grow lifelong disciples. The image of a healthy tree is used throughout the Bible to describe individuals, families, and communities. We see in Psalm 1 the comparison between a healthy tree and an unhealthy one. A tree needs certain things to thrive, just like how faith needs certain things to thrive. The Children and Families team have devised a year-long programme where we will journey with you and your church to help address this challenge. Through a process of consultation, facilitation, planning and ongoing support, we commit to journeying with your church to help address the issues of disconnection, not just for our children and young people, but for all of us. To join us in this mission, or just to find out more, please email us at thrive@sunz.org.nz.