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The 2026-31 Strategy: Second Strategic Goal explained

As the Assembly launches its new five-year strategy, General Secretary Andrew Johnson introduces the Strategic Goals – in this article, the second called Thriving Communities

 
 

February 3, 2026

by Andrew Johnson, Assembly General Secretary

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

This article is the second in a series of articles about the new Assembly Strategy. To read the first article on the first Strategic Goal, Flourishing Faith, click here.

The second Strategic Goal is Thriving Communities. It says, “We work together so that we can be a truly national Church and local communities can thrive”. As a Uniting Church we believe that the local congregation is the heart of our Church. We believe we are called to serve our local communities as we bear witness to God’s love and grace. This Goal is particularly focused on the role the Assembly can play within its responsibilities to encourage thriving communities.

We are particularly implementing changes to Regulations on how local communities of faith are governed so we can be more flexible and make it easier to focus on the core mandate of communities to be places of worship, growth, loving and serving. We are also working hard on our wider structures so that they better serve our local communities and collaborate across boundaries. We are looking carefully again at the Code of Ethics so we can have healthy and effective ministry leaders.

We also want to close the gap between the global, national and local Church. We want to build the next generation of church leaders engaged with the concerns, experiences and passions of the global church. We also want to strengthen our communication so that national and local work of the Church are closer together

 

“As a Church we want to have thriving communities where we are living out our calling at its best...”

 

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We do not want structural, systemic and regulatory change simply to be driven by the demands of the society or of economics. However, we do want to ensure that we can free up resources of people and money to orient towards mission and discipleship which is at the heart of thriving communities.

As a Church we want to have thriving communities where we are living out our calling at its best. Across the life of our Church people are seeking life-giving communities, big and small, old and new, diverse and committed to meet regularly to hear God’s Word, to celebrate the sacraments, to build one another up in love, to share in the wider responsibilities of the Church, and to serve the world. We also know that as we grow new thriving communities the life of some of our communities will come to an end. How the legacy of those communities can nourish the soil for a new generation of communities will be vital.

VIEW THE 2026-31 STRATEGY SUMMARY

We stand in a 2,000-year tradition of communities gathering just as those Acts 2 communities gathered:

“All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.”

To be a truly national Church we want to be a church where we can find communities like this all across the breadth of our country. Whether in a church building, a hall, a lounge room or online we look with hope to what God will do in constituting and renewing our communities so they can thrive.

Andrew Johnson
Assembly General Secretary
Uniting Church in Australia

Andrew johnson 011025
 
 

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