The future of the Anglican Church in Sydney.  

We engage in a ‘Stockdale Paradox’ discussion, confronting the brutal facts about attendance, finances and National Church Life Survey data about mission, newcomers and maturity. 

Plus we review the recent Sydney Anglican Synod debate where leader after leader poured out their heart. 

The gap is widening between the diocese’s declining attendance and Sydney’s growing population.

• While there are COVID factors, the National Church Life Survey trends are clearly observable and are worrying.

• There’s a difference between having a heart for evangelism and knowing how to engage effectively. 

• While gross giving has increased, real giving (adjusted for inflation) seems to be down. 

• There’s a clear difficulty with strategic planning and implementation. 

• What to do about the accelerating trend of people moving to larger churches. 

We look at the hard facts and attempt to chart a way forward. 

Zac Veron is the senior minister of Bayside Anglican Church, Sydney.

Raj Gupta is the senior minister of Carlingford Anglican Church, Sydney.

References: 
Slides used in this discussion
How to increase your newcomers - 2019 study
Raw data on Attendance (Zac Veron’s questions)
Raw data on Giving (Raj Gupta’s questions)
Raw data on National Church Life Survey (Dominic Steele’s questions)
Sydney Mission 2020 Goals (set in 2014)