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The 2026-31 Strategy: First Strategic Goal explained

As the Assembly launches its new five-year strategy, General Secretary Andrew Johnson introduces the first of the Strategic Goals – Flourishing Faith

January 28, 2026

by Andrew Johnson, Assembly General Secretary

In 2026, the National Assembly commences its new strategy for the period 2026–31, centred on the vision Uniting in Christ: Flourishing Faith – Thriving Communities – Liberating Justice.

Over the next three weeks, as the Assembly’s General Secretary, I will introduce the three Strategic Goals which are at the heart of the strategy and a flavour of what this will mean for the Assembly’s working in the coming years.

The first Strategic Goal is Flourishing Faith. It says, “We extend the table to everyone, inviting them to follow Jesus with courageous faith”. As a Uniting Church, over the past nearly 50 years we have worked hard to extend the table to all within our communities. We have entered into a Covenant with Congress, declared ourselves a Multicultural Church, extended ministry to the most remote parts of the country through Frontier Services, welcomed children to the Lord’s table and extended welcome to people regardless of their identity or background.

This image of the table is so central to our faith. In baptism, we invite all to join us at the table of our Lord. It is central to our life also, as week after week we come to be nourished and renewed at the table. It is the scandal of our divisions as a universal church that we cannot all sit at the one table and share of the one cup which drives our ecumenical endeavours. It is our longing as a Christian that we can share the life-giving, grace-filled story of the gospel so that more people may join us at the table.

“As a Church uniting in Christ at its foundation, we need to be a Church that proclaims the gospel, telling again the story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and the grace that abounds in our courageously following Jesus.”

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We are heeding the call of Congress to both revive and redesign the Covenant so that we can give full expression of our words in our law and our life. This will require careful listening and, at times, some hard conversations. However, if we are to be an Australian church living on stolen land then it is essential our Covenant is more than words.

We also continue to struggle with the task of inviting people to follow Jesus. As an Assembly we want to deepen our conversation as a Church on what it means to be about discipleship and evangelism. The Assembly has a unique role to play in cultivating those collective conversations.

We have also struggled to fully come to grips with the places in our Church that are expressing the diaconal ministry of the Church through offering service to the Australian community. We want to explore the fullness of what mission means in our life in all its forms.

VIEW THE 2026-31 STRATEGY SUMMARY

We are also working to renew our worship life through the renewal of our liturgical resources. The Assembly has this particular role in doctrine and worship, about what we say we believe and how we pray. Twenty years on from Uniting in Worship 2 it is time for us to look again at our liturgical resources and understand how being a diverse, covenanting, multicultural and intercultural Church shapes how we pray and worship.

As a Church uniting in Christ at its foundation, we need to be a Church that proclaims the gospel, telling again the story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and the grace that abounds in our courageously following Jesus. In every age we are called to proclaim that faith in fresh words and deeds. As an Assembly, beyond the specific initiatives and programs, we want to contribute to finding distinctively Uniting Church ways of telling this timeless and universal story.

Andrew Johnson
Assembly General Secretary
Uniting Church in Australia

Andrew johnson 011025

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