It is now almost ten years sonce God gave us the Values, Priorities and Vision to set the course for us to follow as one of His churches in Northbridge. These are set out in the blue leaflet on the table at the back. In particular we had an eight-fold vision of what God wanted St Mark's to become.

Looking back over those eight points it would seem that we have fulfilled all of them to some extent, although in some we have achieved far less than we expected.

However, much has changed in the past ten years, Northbridge is a very different place from what it was then, and the world itself has changed greatly. As many has said over the past few weeks, in the summing up of the past year, the events of September 11th have changed the world forever.

As the British prophet Graham Cooke reminded us several months ago, a church's vision needs to be re-examined at least every 7-10 years to ensure that we are still where God wants us to be, and doing what God wants done. One of the reasons, I believe, that much of the Church is thought of as irrelevant in today's society is that it is still living in the past, doing the same things it did 20-30 years ago, while the world has passed it by.

God never changes, and the foundation of our faith in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit stands firm forever. But the Bible itself tells us that the way the Gospel is communicated varies according to the capacities of those to whom it is brought. For example, Jesus spoke to the Pharasees very differently to the way he communicated with the prostitutes and tax collectors. Paul's preaching to the pagan Greeks in Athens was very different to his synagogue sermon in Antioch.

There is a different generation in Northbridge now from what was here when I came over 20 years ago. We need to understand both the nature of the community where we have been planted and the plans of God for reaching that community with the message of God's love. We need to discover whether, in fact, God still has a role for us to fulfil, or whether it is time to shut the doors and focus on areas of greater need. After all, Jesus did tell his disciples as he sent them out that, if they were not welcome in a particular town, they were to move on.

Personally, I don't believe that God's work is finished here yet, but we need to check that out with Him. And we need to check whether He wants things done differently. The old Church of England adage "as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be" related to God's truth, not to Church structures and programs! As the Archbishop indicated in his Synod address, there are a number of churches around Sydney that are having great success with radically different Service times and Service structures.

About 15 years ago we had been experiencing a period of serious decline in congregation numbers and offertory. We were facing the real possibility of having to surrender our identity as a Parish and amalgamate with one of our neighbours. We called a day of prayer and fasting on that occasion and God met with us in a very special way.

God spoke to me at the time and said that, even though we are geographically one of the smallest parishes in Sydney, He had a purpose for us that stretched well beyond our Parish boundaries. Because of our openness to the work of the Hold Spirit we were very different from other churches in the area, and had a ministry to offer that was not available elsewhere.

That ministry has had its ebbs and flows in the intervening years. During the time of the Father's Blessing we estimated that we had ministered to over 10,000 visitors. Those days are past, and even though the Father's blessing is still with us, we only see a small trickle of visitors to our Friday Fire.

It is time to renew our Vision and re-plot our course. We need to ask afresh what God's plans are for our future. Do we keep doing the same old things, or should we drop some activities that are no longer relevant and try new directions? How do we prepare for the time when the ship will need a new captain? Now it is time to ask "What is God's Word for us at the beginning of 2002?"

Some may see these questions as threatening because they challenge the status quo. I find them exciting, because they open up the possibility of walking more closely with God in the joy of His presence. The prophets have said this is the year of God's favour, but we will only know that favour, if we are obedient to His will.

Please pray with me that we will hear God's voice clearly.

Rev. John Davies
20 January 2002