The Centre for Ministry Development (CMD) was created in 2012 as a Centre of Moore College to help churches and ministers strengthen and grow their ministries.
Every minister needs on-going practical and emotional support, encouragement and advice for the task of shepherding God’s people.
The CMD aims to enhance life-long reflective, theologically-shaped and evidence-based best practice in ministry. One of CMD’s core activities is to facilitate Ministry Growth Clusters throughout the Sydney diocese, overseen by qualified CMD coaches.
The service provided by CMD Ministry Growth Clusters focuses on developing an accountable peer culture, where ministers give and receive personal support, ecouragement and advice in an environment of mutual trust and confidentiality.
The coach provides a structured learning program for effective ministry, with an evidence-based approach, to assist ministers in implementing best-practice in their ministries and developing skills in areas of need in their particular context.
Participants have found that CMD Ministry Growth Clusters provide:
- Personal support in a safe, caring environment. In peer groups, participants are encouraged to deepen their vulnerability to peers in a safe, trusted environment. The peer group provides practical and emotional support through prayer, and by sharing experiences of success and failure in similar situations and considering how best to deal with challenges.
- Accountability for personal faith. Statistics demonstrate that the personal commitment of ministers has a high correlation with church growth. Ministry Growth Clusters build high peer accountability for personal faith and a commitment to personal devotion.
- Learning in effective ministry. Ministers are given access to best-practice methodologies for effective ministry and will typically focus on implementing one of these in every church in the cluster. In addition, coaches provide skills training covering areas such as coaching, delegation, finances etc.
- Access to new ideas. Implementation of best-practice is often best understood by hearing stories and experiences of how other churches have tackled a particular challenge or opportunity. Ministry Growth Clusters enable peers to share experiences and learn from one another’s successes and challenges.
- Accountability for effective ministry. Participants are expected to track and report goals for their ministry and discuss the implications of these goals. This maintains a focus on the important activities in ministry and a level of personal accountability for ministers. Ministers are also held accountable for improvement in the specific area of effective ministry the group is focussing on.
The fee for this service is $1,600 per annum.
