Mobilizing Australian Churches for Mission: The Role of Interface and other SM Products

Geof GuntonMay 2023

For many years now Australia has been running Kairos courses, and the impact on individuals has been great. The worldviews of many people have been challenged, and many have found great ways to reach the unreached in nearby parts of the country, and in other countries. However, while we have had some great stories, these are in the context of other stories which echo of heartache or floundering. Some of our graduates sometimes do not receive the support and encouragement they experienced during the program when they return to their own churches. At the same time, only a few of our Head Facilitators (HFs) have been able to form teams within their church, with the majority of their ministry being perceived as external to the local church, like para-church ministries.

We launched the 2023 year with an on-line HF upskilling day last February 25. During that time, we explored some aspects of the Interface seminar, and ran its Procedural Training. This gave each of our HFs who attended the opportunity to begin running Interface seminars in their own local church, but feedback indicated that our Mobilizers need to set aside more time to run the seminar with groups of pastors, not just within the context of our own local church. An online Interface seminar, Mobi 101, and Training of Mobilizers for Interface were held on different dates in April, which necessitated setting aside almost every Saturday afternoon for the whole month. Everyone who joined the online events are now able to run the Interface seminar in their local church or with groups of pastors.