How do you understand God’s sovereignty when your dad is murdered, your family is in poverty, you are living in the most awful slum and your extended family won’t help. 

Richmond Wandera's father murdered when he was just eight years old, leaving his family destitute in Uganda's Naguru slum. Initially he wanted revenge. But then he came to know Jesus Christ. 

We talk theological reflections on suffering, as well as a challe...

This week marks the 100th birthday of Dick Lucas, one of the most influential evangelical leaders of the 20th century. For nearly four decades as Rector of St Helen’s Bishopsgate in London, Dick shaped a generation of preachers and transformed a quiet city parish into a global centre of expository Bible ministry. The influence of his clear, fearless, and creative preaching continues to ripple out through pulpits around the world.

We...

Reaching the 70% of the population who are significantly underrepresented in our churches.

We’re talking about everyday Australians — people who’ve gone straight into the workforce rather than university. That includes hairdressers, plumbers, builders, business owners, factory workers, truck drivers, IT staff, and media creatives — as well as many in marginalised communities.

Within this group, there’s huge diversity:

• Some are win...

After a significant debate over two days, the Sydney Anglican Synod has voted unanimously to embark on a bold new five-year mission focus, praying and working towards five percent growth in church attendance through the conversion of the lost, each year.

The resolution, “in a spirit of humble dependence and pastoral flexibility,” invited every part of the diocesan fellowship to commit to the goal. 

Pete Stedman, Senior Minister of No...

The call to ministry is a call to lay down your life for others, but how do we create a well-thought-out roadmap toward pastoral perseverance - when there are external and/or internal difficulties? 

How do we approach congregational conflict, criticism, unrealistic expectations or personal health, financial and family stress? 

Why is pastoral friendship not optional, but essential? 

Today on The Pastor’s ...

Today our focus on The Pastor’s Heart is on how to preach for transformation for real changes in people’s lives. 

Two men with a lifetime’s passion for preaching — Robin Sydserff,  Director of the Proclamation Trust and David Cook, former principal of Sydney Missionary and Bible College and a long-time preaching mentor - now with the Expository Preaching Trust.

We start by looking at how Christian leaders the UK and Australia influen...

A training culture for the next generation:  Healthy Churches producing new ministers for the next generation.

Across the world, the number of candidates putting themselves forward for gospel ministry is in decline. Many churches are feeling the pinch—struggling to find leaders and often looking elsewhere to fill ministry gaps. 

Yet healthy churches don’t just maintain ministry; they reproduce it. They raise up and send out the next ...

In the past month, two of the most respected evangelical training institutions in the world have closed or announced closure of their campuses.

In July, Spurgeon’s College in London—a pillar of Baptist theological education for nearly 170 years—closed, citing financial strain and a dramatic decline in student numbers. 

A few weeks earlier, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) in Chicago —long regarded as a flagship seminary of ...

What change would a leader and church need to make for a congregation, denomination or movement to grow by five percent annual conversion growth. 

The Gospel Coalition pulled together a mini summit of evangelical movement leaders from across Australia in June.

That gathering set an aspirational goal of doubling the number of evangelicals over twenty years. 

They said a key way to do it is by pursuing a target of seeing five percent of...

It is an uncomfortable but important question: What place should numbers have in our thinking about ministry success?

We all want to be faithful. But what happens when the numbers are down? Do we need to change something? Or should we just continue in the same trajectory?

And should we be counting at all?

This is the tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. A tension between preaching the word and evaluating what’s...

We evangelicals, says Richard Coekin, have a problem—and it’s a preaching problem.

Richard Coekin says we are too often careless—his word—when it comes to application in preaching. 

We work hard on exegesis, we labour to understand the original context and the author’s intent—but then we stop short. We leave our congregations with sound doctrine, but little direction. 

Richard has just con...

We’re digging into the Bible’s teaching on sex and gender—inside and outside the Garden of Eden - relating to transgender. 

We’re asking foundational questions: Was humanity created androgynous? Does Genesis allow for more than two sexes? Is sexual difference a core part of the imago Dei? What does it mean that the man and woman were naked and felt no shame?

Dr Rob Smith lectures at Sydney Missionary and Bible College and serves with...

There are understandings/interpretations of the Bible that conflict with the conclusions of modern, empirical research - where science and the Bible are thought to be giving competing explanations of the same event or concept.

One way of reading the Bible leads to the conclusion that the Earth is 6000 years old while your local science department will tell you it is more like 4.5 billion years old.  

Were human beings created in an i...

In a bold move, a meeting of movement leaders from across Australian Reformed Evangelicalism has resolved to work together to see their numbers double over twenty years, through seeing sinners saved.

Leaders gathered for a mini summit organised by The Gospel Coalition Australia at Sydney’s Moore Theological College last week.

Gospel Coalition Australia Chair Rory Shiner says given the unparalleled theological and ...

Andrew Heard says ministries cannot be other than outcome-focused in their work - the question is will those outcomes be good or bad? Conscious or unconscious? Specific or vague?  

He addresses critics who confuse having Biblical goals with adopting secular business practices.

Andrew Heard leads the Reach Australia movement, and pastors the influential EV Church on the Central Coast. 

• All Christians are goal-driven whether conscious...

An apology and correction in regards to our episode of Tuesday 10 June 2025.

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How can we create gatherings that are both warm and deep? How can we avoid gatherings that are superficial or dry. 

How do we embed gospel culture in our church gatherings.

How do we emphasize grace, forgiveness and a welcoming atmosphere?

And how to encourage authenticity and emotional intelligence in gathering leaders. Plus how do we evaluate.

A Pastor’s Heart episode to watch with your staff team.   

Toby Neal is Senior pastor at Vin...

What happens when churches move beyond "pious passivity" to strategic intentionality in reaching the lost? 

Richard Coekin—founding pastor of Dundonald Church in London and pioneer of REACH UK—joins Dominic Steele to unpack the revolutionary approach transforming churches across Australia and the United Kingdom.

Following on from Reach UK and Reach Australia in May, Richard candidly shares his journey from skepticism about ...

Live from the sidelines at the Reach Australia Conference on the Central Coast of New South Wales, we sit down with Wade Burnett from McLean Bible Church in Washington DC and Derek Hanna, Reach Australia’s church planting and multisite specialist, for a fresh look at the multisite church model.

Multisite was a buzz seven years ago. Today, with thousands of campuses launched in the United States—and many hard lessons learned—the mood...