On Sunday, 29 June, Ferntree Gully Congregation held its final Business Meeting, where members moved and fully supported a motion to formally close as a “congregation” and transition into a small group format.
Over the past 3–4 years, Ferntree Gully has been on a long discernment journey. Throughout that time, it became clear that selling our building was the most appropriate next step for our community. The cost of maintaining the building was something we simply couldn’t sustain, and it had become a heavy burden for our small group to carry.
This decision was not an easy one. The process was difficult and emotional, but once it was finalised, the burden lifted. It felt like a weight had come off our shoulders, and we could finally find the energy and focus to look towards what’s next. Because although we could no longer maintain a building, we were absolutely not ready to stop gathering and worshipping together.
We moved to a mobile house church model, alternating between members’ homes for the past two years. While this brought new challenges, like bringing our own hymn books and IT equipment, it also opened up new and exciting ways of being a church together.
During this time of gathering in homes, our next conversation was about whether we really needed to remain an organised congregation, with AGMs, bank accounts, and formal congregational status. Our officers were finding the administrative duties increasingly difficult to maintain, especially when our ministry group no longer had many expenses.
After six months of prayerful consideration, we decided we no longer needed congregational status to continue the ministry we were called to. One of the blessings of this transition is knowing that Ferntree Gully’s inheritance and years of stewardship will now be used to support new ways of being a church, rather than being tied up in maintaining a building or administrative structures. It feels like we can finally let go of what was weighing us down and release those resources to nurture life-giving ministry, both within our group and in the wider faith community.
One of the most comforting parts of this journey is knowing that from the beginning of discernment to where we are now, not one person left our core group. Through all the changes, we stayed and journeyed through the hard decisions together.
So, while Ferntree Gully Congregation is no longer officially operating as a congregation, we remain spiritually alive as a ministry group. We are excited to be part of exploring and experimenting with new forms and formats for ministry groups in the future.
This is our good news story.
Charles Davies
