How do you understand God’s sovereignty when your dad is murdered, your family is in poverty, you are living in the most awful slum and your extended family won’t help. 

Richmond Wandera's father murdered when he was just eight years old, leaving his family destitute in Uganda's Naguru slum. Initially he wanted revenge. But then he came to know Jesus Christ. 

We talk theological reflections on suffering, as well as a challenge for Western comfort-seeking Christianity, and a clear critique of the Prosperity Gospel.

This week marks the 100th birthday of Dick Lucas, one of the most influential evangelical leaders of the 20th century. For nearly four decades as Rector of St Helen’s Bishopsgate in London, Dick shaped a generation of preachers and transformed a quiet city parish into a global centre of expository Bible ministry. The influence of his clear, fearless, and creative preaching continues to ripple out through pulpits around the world.

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.

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.

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. 

Today our focus on The Pastor’s Heart is on how to preach for transformation for real changes in people’s lives. 

Two men with a lifetime’s passion for preaching — Robin Sydserff,  Director of the Proclamation Trust and David Cook, former principal of Sydney Missionary and Bible College and a long-time preaching mentor - now with the Expository Preaching Trust.

We start by looking at how Christian leaders the UK and Australia influenced preaching patterns overseas. 

We look at preaching that has led to record enrolments at Bible Colleges, the purpose of preaching, the life and relationships of the preacher, training preachers and what patience is needed in preaching growth. 

A training culture for the next generation:  Healthy Churches producing new ministers for the next generation.

Across the world, the number of candidates putting themselves forward for gospel ministry is in decline. Many churches are feeling the pinch—struggling to find leaders and often looking elsewhere to fill ministry gaps. 

Yet healthy churches don’t just maintain ministry; they reproduce it. They raise up and send out the next generation of gospel workers.

n the past month, two of the most respected evangelical training institutions in the world have closed or announced closure of their campuses.

In July, Spurgeon’s College in London—a pillar of Baptist theological education for nearly 170 years—closed, citing financial strain and a dramatic decline in student numbers. 

A few weeks earlier, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) in Chicago —long regarded as a flagship seminary of North American evangelicalism— said they would shut down its Illinois campus and relocate to Canada, merging with Trinity Western University in British Columbia.

TEDS student numbers have dropped from 750 to 400 fulltime equivalents. 

These are not isolated incidents. Across the UK, Australia, and globally, churches are asking:

Where will the next generation of gospel workers come from?

What change would a leader and church need to make for a congregation, denomination or movement to grow by five percent annual conversion growth. 

The Gospel Coalition pulled together a mini summit of evangelical movement leaders from across Australia in June.

That gathering set an aspirational goal of doubling the number of evangelicals over twenty years. 

They said a key way to do it is by pursuing a target of seeing five percent of the average attendance saved each year. 

It is an uncomfortable but important question: What place should numbers have in our thinking about ministry success?

We all want to be faithful. But what happens when the numbers are down? Do we need to change something? Or should we just be faithful?

And should we be counting at all?

We evangelicals, says Richard Coekin, have a problem—and it’s a preaching problem.

Richard Coekin says we are too often careless—his word—when it comes to application in preaching. 

We work hard on exegesis, we labour to understand the original context and the author’s intent—but then we stop short. We leave our congregations with sound doctrine, but little direction. 

We’re digging deep into the Bible’s teaching on sex and gender—inside and outside the Garden of Eden. 

We’re asking foundational questions: Was humanity created androgynous? Does Genesis allow for more than two sexes? Is sexual difference a core part of the imago Dei? What does it mean that the man and woman were naked and felt no shame?

There are understandings/interpretations of the Bible that conflict with the conclusions of modern, empirical research - where science and the Bible are thought to be giving competing explanations of the same event or concept.

One way of reading the Bible leads to the conclusion that the Earth is 6000 years old while your local science department will tell you it is more like 4.5 billion years old.  

Were human beings created in an instant from dust, or over billions of years through a gradual, meandering evolutionary process?  

In a bold move, a meeting of movement leaders from across Australian Reformed Evangelicalism has resolved to work together to see their numbers double over twenty years, through seeing sinners saved.

Leaders gathered for a mini summit organised by The Gospel Coalition Australia at Sydney’s Moore Theological College last week.

Andrew Heard says ministries cannot be other than outcome-focused in their work - the question is will those outcomes be good or bad? Conscious or unconscious? Specific or vague?  

He addresses critics who confuse having Biblical goals with adopting secular business practices.

An apology and correction in regards to our episode of Tuesday 10 June 2025.

How can we create gatherings that are both warm and deep? How can we avoid gatherings that are superficial or dry.

How do we embed gospel culture in our church gatherings.

How do we emphasize grace, forgiveness and a welcoming atmosphere?

And how to encourage authenticity and emotional intelligence in gathering leaders. Plus how do we evaluate.

A Pastor’s Heart episode to watch with your staff team.

What happens when churches move beyond "pious passivity" to strategic intentionality in reaching the lost?

Richard Coekin—founding pastor of Dundonald Church in London and director of Reach UK — joins Dominic Steele to unpack the revolutionary approach transforming churches across Australia and the United Kingdom.

Today, with thousands of multisite campuses launched in the United States—and many hard lessons learned—the mood is more measured. What’s changed? What’s endured? And what can church leaders here learn today from the American experience?

Live from the sidelines at the Reach Australia Conference on the Central Coast of New South Wales, we sit down with Wade Burnett from McLean Bible Church in Washington DC and Deryck Hanna, Reach Australia’s church planting and multisite specialist, for a fresh look at the multisite church model.

We explore the personnel, strategic, and pastoral complexities of multisite ministry. From varied governance models to launch strategies, leadership fit to congregational model.

This week on The Pastor’s Heart, we’re live from the Reach Australia conference at Erina on the Central Coast of New South Wales.