Dear friends,

The Australia Mission Centre has arrived at an important threshold.

We carry a rich and sacred story shaped by generations of disciples, congregations, ministers, leaders, families, and communities who have offered their gifts in service to Christ’s mission. We give thanks for that faithfulness and for the relationships, ministries, and places through which people have encountered belonging, meaning, healing, and hope.

At the same time, the religious and social landscape around us is shifting. Our communities are changing. The ways people seek connection, explore faith, offer their gifts, and participate in ministry are changing. Some familiar expressions of church have become difficult to sustain, while new possibilities are emerging in congregations, homes, online spaces, camps, retreats, and groups forming around shared questions, passions, and needs.

In such a moment, we are not given a complete map. We are called to remember who we are, pay attention to where God is calling us, and take the next faithful step together.

Following the Spirit into a Shared Future offers direction for the Australia Mission Centre over the next four years. It is not an attempt to predict or control everything that lies ahead. It provides a framework through which we can listen, discern, make responsible choices, and bring our people, resources, systems, and structures into greater coherence in service of mission.

As you read this plan, I invite you to consider not only what it asks of our organisation, but what possibilities it may open for you and your community.

Where is the Spirit stirring?
What opportunities are waiting to be recognised?
What relationships need to be strengthened?
What might become possible if responsibility, resources, and leadership were shared more widely?

I believe God is already at work among us. I have seen that movement in faithful congregations, emerging ministries, courageous conversations, acts of generosity, new friendships, deep questions, and people willing to imagine what could come next.

We are not being asked simply to preserve what has been. We are being invited to participate in a living future, a future in which communities of joy, hope, love, and peace may grow in many places, through many people, and in many forms.

May we listen deeply, discern faithfully, and follow the Spirit into that shared future together.

With gratitude and hope,

Meredith Carr
Australia Mission Centre President
Community of Christ