Church Growth: Its Promise and Problems for Australian Pentecostalism

As we approach the end of the twentieth century, the Pentecostal movement holds enormous promise. The National Census of 1996 indicates that 174,720 Australians identified themselves with a Pentecostal denomination, of whom 53.3% were women. This total represented 1.3% of Australian Christians and 2.2% of all Protestants. The percentages are still small. The total identified Pentecostals in 1976 were 29,400. The numbers have increased as follows:

1981    71,148     142.0%

1986    107,007     50.4%

1991    150,619     40.8%

1996    174,720     16.0%

What is so concerning is the steady decline in the growth rate. The average annual growth rate of 3.2% between 1991 and 1996, though better than the annual national growth rate of 1.2%, means that though the numbers of Pentecostals has increased dramatically over 20 years, we are still less than one percent (0.97) of the population.

According to the National Church Life Survey results of 1996, despite the decline in growth of Pentecostalism, we are doing significantly better than any other form of Protestantism, except the Sydney evangelicals. This indicates the sorry state of the church at large. In Sydney, for example, Pentecostalism is rapidly catching the Anglican church if the criterion used is weekly service attendance. Once the figures change to monthly attendance, we fall quickly behind.

The temptation is to compare ourselves with others, and thus feel encouraged, whereas I believe we are wiser to compare ourselves with ourselves (2 Cor. 10.12-13) which is not so encouraging a picture. My focus is not the past, but the future. What I have sought to do is identify factors which offer promise and those which present possible problems.

Since the Whitlam years (1972-1975), the culture of our nation has undergone a considerable upheaval based on the slogan, 'It's time for change'. University education for all, a universal health scheme and allowing the Australian dollar to float are just three of the changes to our nation.

Another change, which has gone largely unnoticed by the media, is the fact that it is now socially acceptable to change one's religion. This has lead to Australian churchgoers shopping around for a church to attend. Peter Kaldor comments on this phenomenon:

Denominational barriers are becoming increasingly permeable. Some attenders, in particular younger ones, see the Protestant church as a supermarket-they shop around for the right congregation in which they can feel comfortable.¹

Without this change, the growth of Pentecostalism would have been severely restricted, evidenced by the slow growth up until 1976. If anything, the pace of change in our culture is accelerating, and Pentecostalism, in the religious context, stands to be the greatest beneficiary.

In his book Evangelical Christianity in Australia, Stuart Piggin makes the observation that evangelicalism in Sydney was always clergy driven, through the influence of the presiding Anglican Archbishop; conversely, evangelicalism in Melbourne was led by laymen due to the Anglican diocese being a combination of different schools of opinion.² While the Anglican diocese of Sydney is still predominantly evangelical, there are now strong divisions within the diocese, restricting the capacity of the present Archbishop to give the same kind of leadership to the city which occurred in past events, such as the 1959 Billy Graham crusade.

Following the formation of the Uniting Church in 1972, enormous energy has been dissipated by conflict between liberals and evangelicals on issues such as the status of homosexuals and lesbians in the church. Congregations have begun to leave the denomination with this trend likely to accelerate.

Neither of these situations should give rise to any sense of joy. It is a tragedy for the Kingdom. However, both situations are causing longterm Anglicans and Uniting Church members to shop elsewhere, and again, Pentecostals are the chief beneficiaries.

It is generally accepted that scientific modernism has failed to meet the perceived needs of our culture as this century comes to an end. It has left us with a heritage of hedonistic materialism, but the acquisition of more and more possessions-and spouses-has not satisfied the human heart. In this dissatisfaction there has occurred the rebirthing (excuse the pun) of pagan spirituality under the generalised term 'the new age'. In many ways the church has become a competitor in the same marketplace- whether it wants to compete or not. Reason based religion and ritual based religion are least able to compete against the postmodern spirituality offered by the new age. People are looking for more than abstract truth (which working class Australians have never embraced). They are looking for some form of spiritual reality. Again, Pentecostalism is likely to be the beneficiary of this search.

A number of renewal movements have impacted Pentecostalism since 1976. The result has been the refreshing of a tired movement and a new sense of optimism.

The charismatic movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s brought significant renewal to the Pentecostal movement, as it did the mainstream church. When those churches rejected structural and doctrinal renewal, members exited in large numbers into Pentecostalism. This numerical influx brought new hope to struggling Pentecostal churches around the country, but many Pentecostal members also experienced a fresh baptism of the Spirit with positive consequences.

The movement associated with John Wimber-now called 'the Third Wave'-followed on the heels of the charismatic movement and received the same kind of welcome. It was embraced by the laity but rejected by the institutional structures. Though less influential than the charismatic movement, its effects were beneficial until the Vineyard Movement (which is neither charismatic nor Pentecostal) began an aggressive church planting program.³

The Church Growth Movement first significantly impacted Australian Pentecostalism by the visits of Dr David (Paul) Yonggi Cho in 1977 (Brisbane), 1979 (Adelaide) and 1982 (Sydney). The effect was the impartation of a vision for large churches. At the time, the 30,000 or so Pentecostals were scattered across the length and breadth of Australia, with only a handful of churches with in excess of 100 members. There is little doubt the Korean model has been a positive influence on the Australian Pentecostal church. However, during the five years from 1991 to 1996, the growth in Pentecostalism was only 24,101-an average of only 4,800 a year. If you excluded the growth of the 50 largest churches, I suspect the other 1,000 plus churches may in fact have declined. In other words, the Church Growth Movement may have benefited fewer than 5% of our churches.

A number of more recent renewals should be mentioned.

1. 'The Toronto Blessing'. Whether one looks at the ministry of the Arnotts or that of Rodney Howard-Brown, there is ample evidence of personal renewal occurring in both pastors and people. Many would testify to a deep work of healing and refreshing, leading to a fresh commitment to the task ahead. Congregationally, the Toronto Blessing seems to have only impacted, in a positive sense, a handful of churches, with almost as many having experienced conflict and division. Again, it has seen people shifting sideways out of the traditional church but, in a numerical sense, seems to have had less impact than either the charismatic movement or the Third Wave.

2. Brownsville Assembly, Pensacola, FL. Of all the movements since 1976, this phenomenon is most like the revivals of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. However, Steve Hill, unlike Whitfield and Moody, has not begun to travel internationally. Australian pastors going to Pensacola are not finding the message easy to translate into the Australian context. Either Hill, like Moody, will begin to travel and be used under the sovereign hand of God, or God must raise up an evangelist in Australia with the same anointing. Unless this happens, this movement is likely to have little impact on Australia.

2. The Alpha Group Phenomenon. This 'movement' needs to be mentioned, even though many shall see it as a program, not a movement. It is sweeping around the world at an incredible rate; not dissimilar to the charismatic movement. It is now being used by all denominations, including the Roman Catholic Church. In the United Kingdom, it is reaching revival proportions with hundreds attending single gatherings with little or no church backgrounds. Houses are being rented all over northern England, purely to be meeting places for the groups. Whether it will catch fire in Australia in the same way remains to be seen. While the converts will be looking for new churches, the old churches are writing their own Alpha program, removing the emphasis on the Holy Spirit.

It seems fair to say that all the major Pentecostal movements since 1976 have had a common focus: aggressive church planting. However, the attrition rate may also have been high.⁴ As a result, all the movements are learning ways of improving the likely success rates. There are now courses specifically designed to train church planters, both in the training colleges and by video.

This new approach reflects a developing flexibility in the models being adopted. No longer is the bible college the primary sending agency. The larger churches (250+) have also adopted church planting as a priority with little evidence that, in the long term, sending people hinders their own growth. For example, Christian City Church Oxford Falls grew from a handful of people in 1979 to a membership of 2,750 in 1996, and at the same time was involved in planting 32 congregations! This positive example, modelled by a number of churches around the country, shows that growth is possible, even in apathetic Australia.

Since 1976, the resources for church growth in Australia have multiplied significantly. These resources include:

• training colleges in all states;

• music seminars (e.g. Hillsong) and gifted song writers;

• a diversity of church planting models and churches hosting seminars to discuss these models;

• the National Church Life Survey (NCLS) data-base keeping track of the changing attitudes of church attenders,⁵ and the work of researchers like Philip Hughes observing changing attitudes within the unchurched culture.⁶

• access through the internet to international information which obviates the need for time-consuming and expensive travel.

Recent publications by the NCLS team have acknowledged the growth of Pentecostalism, a growth that has also been observed by the media. This seems to signify that Pentecostal churches-though still labelled 'fundamentalist' and often linked to American televangelists-have emerged from the status of cult or sect in public perception. Increasingly, Pentecostal leaders are being interviewed by the media as Australian church leaders, and are portrayed as keys to the future of the Australian church, not just representatives of a fringe group. Statistically, this is not a status we have yet earned, but the trend towards growth has been recognised by others. Again, the decline of our growth rate is a warning that our press may be better than we deserve. It seems to me that the few outstanding large growing churches are masking the struggles experienced by the Pentecostal movement as a whole.

This leads us to the problems we are already facing, or have yet to fully encounter.

I have chosen to collect my thoughts under eight broad headings. Under each of these headings are related, but separate, issues. The breadth of the issues is a clear indication that continued growth is not guaranteed and will not be easy.

Theologically, Pentecostalism has a heritage which predates Azusa Street. Among others, Pentecostalism has roots in Wesleyan Methodism.⁷ While examinations of these roots are gaining sophistication elsewhere,⁸ it is unfortunate that few Australian Pentecostals are willing to accept, or even research, this possibility.⁹

It is easy to deny we have any real theology, so that we don't have to wrestle with the theological presuppositions underpinning our ministry philosophies. However, the tentacles of our roots reach deeply into the praxis of the local church, and our denial of those roots sadly leave us isolated from the rest of the body of Christ to whom we owe so much. We are seemingly not secure enough in our beliefs to be willing to critically examine and redefine them.

Two examples must suffice.

The language of the 'Baptism in the Spirit' in most of our doctrinal statements is still linked to debates conducted in the 20s and 30s. Furthermore, it is often misunderstood by other Christians as implying, 'If you don't speak in tongues, you are not saved'. The logic runs something like this: If tongues are the evidence of 'receiving the Spirit', and the presence of the Spirit is a seal of our salvation (Eph. 1.13-14), does not that mean all who are saved speak in tongues? While I do not know of any Pentecostal movement which is affiliated with the Australian Pentecostal Ministers Fellowship (APMF) that holds to that doctrine, many of the statements of belief of fellowships which are linked to the APMF could be understood as implying it.

Secondly, statements about healing being in the atonement-which it is-imply that healing is the result of human faith, rather than God's sovereignty, mercy and grace.¹⁰ Praxis teaches us that whether'mustard seed faith' or 'mountain moving faith' is present, people still don't always get healed. The challenge is for us to re-express the healing message without drawing back from its power. Pastors are fearful that change will lead to compromise. Historically, these fears are well founded, but, then, so is the confusion and hurt caused by our lack of clarity!

The difficulty with an ill-defined or shallow theological foundation is that it makes it difficult for a movement to relate to new issues. For example, whether or not a Christian can be demonised and where psychological and psychiatric disorders fit in are primarily theological questions, and should be answered before praxis takes over.

Thirdly, what is our understanding of the 'Gospel'. With an increasing emphasis on faith and the altar call, there is little to compare us with our Methodist roots. And yet, we do not want a 'Gospel of legalism' and an over-emphasis on 'hell and damnation', do we? One wonder if-with Abraham Maslow's observation that the hierarchy of needs has shifted from survival to meaning in life-we have changed our Gospel so that it has lost its power to free people from the power of sin? Has a seeker-sensitive Gospel lost its sting? Could we slip into a liberal 'methodism' while retaining a biblical fundamentalism?

With the modernisation of Christian music and the construction of newstyle sanctuaries, we have moved a long way from the European roots of Protestantism. Pastors no longer normally preach from six feet above contradiction. However, with the increased use of new technologies (multi-media, computerised screens, etc.), we are now projecting an increasingly American image, an image we share with the arts and sport. The question remains whether Australians want it in their religion and to what extent.

A related issue is the role of the minister within his local community. He or she has always been perceived by the community to be one of its leaders. Are we now being marginalised? Were we represented at the Thredbo ecumenical services in Canberra or services mourning the death of Princess Diana? All these are issues of image which have to be addressed.

Pentecostalism could be described more as nation of tribes and families than a denomination. We are not an hierarchical religious system-and I hope we never become one-but this lack of structure has had unfortunate results both on the national and local levels. For instance, we have no one to represent our views, either nationally or in the large cities. The Catholic Church appoints a media liaison priest, but we are still timid with the media due to past experience. This may be yet another reflection of our smallness.

On the local level, churches have organisational structures which are either:

• Flexible, powerful and dynamic,

• Anachronistic, or

• Functionally non-existent.

Church planters need thorough training in the variety of options available, otherwise good starts will falter due to the lack of proper supporting structures.

I have already mentioned the attrition rate of church plants. The rate at which Pentecostal pastors are leaving the ministry is difficult to track down. John Mark Ministries, which works closely with ministers of all denominations, believes that the degree of self-confidence or ability of Pentecostal pastors in 1995 was only 24%.¹¹ What is contributing to this failure and burnout? It seems to me that there are three contributing factors

1. Unrealistic Expectations of Growth. According to the NCLS data, the typical profile of all Australian congregations, including Pentecostalism, shows more than half have a Sunday morning congregation of fewer than 50 people.l2 It is positively harmful to send church planters out with the expectation of building a church of hundreds. The Christian City Church movement has started approximately 60 churches since 1984, with a strong emphasis on a vision for church growth. However, of those 60 churches, despite all the encouragement and support provided, only 8 or 9 have broken through what the church growth writers call the'200'barrier. Somewhere between 10% and 15% of the number of churches which will grow beyond about 300 in worship is a realistic expectation.

2. Ministry vs. Leadership. Traditionally, training was more oriented towards ministry skills (Bible study, preaching, prayer and fasting, evangelism, etc) than leadership skills. The distinction between leadership and management is gradually being realised, and hence the quality of leadership training has improved and will continue to do so.

However, identifying people with leadership skills is proving more difficult than finding people with ministry skills. The large Pentecostal churches are attracting more and more professionally trained people who can become potential leaders, whereas smaller churches are more likely to have a pastor who feels threatened when a senior manager or executive joins the church. Traditional churches have not faced this dilemma because their clergy were primarily ministers, and not leaders.

3. Failure to Train Leaders. Another issue is our method of training pastors capable of leading large churches. Again, this is an issue reflecting the size of our movement as a whole. Increasingly we are likely to find it difficult to locate people capable of leading our large churches. In some cases the transition has been from father to son. But in the case of, say, Garden City at Mt Gravatt in Brisbane, there was no son to take over. The search committee had to look as far as New Zealand to find a suitable candidate.

Internationalised training programs, and a system of inter-city and/or international internships, may be needed to provide a stream whereby the present large churches (500+) can find leaders capable of building on the work of the present senior pastors. To this end, one can only hope that study programs like the DMin offered by American seminaries, will be offered within Australia by those understanding the Australian context.

While we think of Australia as a 'country', it is, in reality, a continent only 40 square miles smaller than the United States. We have a population approaching 18 million people, whereas the population of the United States is more than ten times that figure. This leaves many Pentecostal pastors isolated geographically from a strong supporting network of other Pentecostal pastors. Fortunately, new post-denominational networks are forming in many of the smaller cities of our nation, but this isolation has the capacity to take a strong toll, particularly on pastors' families.

The various Pentecostal movements may need to rethink the value of speaking of others as the 'competition'. They may be better off actually collaborating in a program whereby two or three different churches are planted at the same time, in the same way as the major stores all move in together to a shopping mall in a new housing development.

A cursory reading of church history suggests that the problems facing the church are not always exterior to it. The persecution of the church, for example, seems to have had long-term benefits rather than the reverse, despite short-term apostasy. The development of bureaucratic structures, heresy and back-slidden clergy, have probably done more damage than any Roman madman bearing the title 'Caesar'. What are the internal challenges facing Pentecostalism?

1. Theological. I would like to suggest that the greatest challenge is the influence of what has become known as 'the Third Wave'. The charismatic movement taught the baptism in/of the Holy Spirit as a prerequisite of power for service; with tongues as the normal initial evidence. The Third Wave acknowledges the gifts of the Spirit (including tongues) without the need for a baptism in the Holy Spirit. The assumption is made that all the gifts are received at one's conversion and remain latent until released through teaching. If Pentecostal churches allow 'Third Wavers' to penetrate their leadership structures, then the emphasis on the need for a baptism in the Spirit will be subtly undermined, and the spiritual gifts are likely to disappear gradually, as they did in many sectors of the early church.13

2. Methodological. The temptation exists for our churches to become more and more dependent on American corporate organisational methods and strategies and less dependent on prayer and God's grace. It is a difficult course to chart, but in my opinion the most obvious common factor in large churches is the existence of leadership teams. How these teams are built and sustained is something which can be studied and taught. Good sources to study were traditionally American, but are increasingly Asian. However, when these helpful concepts are enshrined in church constitutions, they have the capacity to be restrictive in the longer term. Will Pentecostalism be willing to renew its organisational structures in a way that other Christian traditions have often resisted to their own detriment?

3. Experiential. An obvious strength of our movement is its offer of what I prefer to call 'a divine encounter'. Most Pentecostal leaders long to see their people encounter the power of God in their services. In some ways, this has shifted the high point of the service from the sermon (the Protestant pinnacle), and communion (the Catholic pinnacle), to the altar call. If this results in less preaching which is Christ-centred and doctrinally sound, then the nature of our converts may prove less stable in the long term. The danger is to shift from an emphasis on sound preaching with signs following to shallow preaching with signs preceding! None of us want a sterile form of cerebral and ritualistic Christianity. But postmodernism is asking for an experience-based spirituality without the constraints of solid commitment to evangelical truth. To succumb to this request may offer short-term results, but will leave us with churches full of unregenerate and unconverted people.

4. Government Obstruction and Building Programs. Local government building codes relating to parking, noise, fire escapes, etc. are increasingly intrusive in the life of the local church. Of course, we cannot be blind to the sound reasons for many of these building codes, and should be less inconsiderate of the impact of our presence on neighbours. However, these codes, in the wrong hands, become instruments of obstruction of those wanting to oppose the work of the Gospel. As we develop new building designs and situational contexts (e.g. warehouses), we need to share what we have learned with each other and not fight unnecessary battles.

It seems that the amount of money going towards building programs accelerated and the taking on of large mortgages became a part of many churches' way of life during the 80s. Banks seem to be willing to grant churches access to overdraft facilities in much the same way that individuals have access to credit card facilities.

While buildings give us a physical presence within our communities, more traditional denominations are finding that they are expensive to maintain and become potential sources of conflict when it is time for the church to move. Buildings are a tremendous benefit, but there are also many pitfalls tied up with them. Hopefully, we will learn from the mistakes of others.

5. Financial Resources. Closely related to the above is the question of the limited financial resources within our movement. Unlike our forefathers, the government rarely grants us land, and, unlike the situation in the United States, there are still only a handful of foundations with money to give away.

Institutions such as Bible colleges, to be established soundly, require millions for land and buildings and substantial support to meet staff salaries. Annual running costs can normally only be supported by student fees up to about 60% of costs. The remaining 40% must be raised by way of donations. This is achievable, provided the number of colleges does not multiply beyond what is really needed.

Let me illustrate. In Sydney, at the end of 1996, Pentecostal churches had an estimated membership of approximately 60,000. In contrast, the Anglican monthly attendance was probably 150,000.14 There was one Anglican training college and one alternative college to train would-be ministers and missionaries. Conversely, there were five Pentecostal colleges that I know of, including three schools of creative arts. Whether this is sustainable, in the long term, without misusing the lecturers or accepting lower standards, is questionable.

6. Busyness. A final concern is the problem of busyness both of pastors and people. A quote from Mission under the Microscope illustrates the problem: '...Christians are friendly people who are too busy to be your friends'.15 Just what is taking up all our time? The answer is simple: meetings! Conferences, seminars, home groups, prayer meetings, services, part-time Bible colleges, training sessions, Alpha groups, missionary meetings-the list is endless. It is not exaggerating to say that a week does not go by without my mail containing a brochure to an event of some kind. In most instances they are meetings I would like to attend. However, I (and all Pentecostal believers) have got to learn to ask some basic questions about all such meetings. Questions such as, Have I applied yet what I thought I learnt at the last seminar? Who suffers if I go- my stress level, my family, or my church? What is really motivating me to go? I, for one, am increasingly wondering whether busyness may be one of the greatest problems facing many of our churches.

As Pentecostals, we are aware that we are engaged in a spiritual battle against a spiritual opponent and are in need of spiritual weapons. One wonders, though, how we should approach the aforementioned challenges. To over-spiritualise our problems is to be naive, simplistic and stereotypically fundamentalist. However, to limit our problems to leadership and management is to be simply deceived. I pray the Lord will open our eyes to understand all the spiritual resources which are ours in Christ, and never to believe we have become adequate in our own strength.

1. P. Kaldor et al., Winds of Change: The Experience of Church in a Changing Australia (Homebush West: Anzea, 1994), p. 225.

2. S. Piggin, Evangelical Christianity in Australia: Spirit, Word and World (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1996), pp. 37-38.

3. I shall discuss the negative impact of 'the Third Wave' later in this article.

4. Information supplied by the Assemblies of God indicates that between 1991 and 1997, 40 churches were closed, representing 10.5% of churches planted in the same period. However, included in the 40 churches closed were churches existing in 1991, but struggling, indicating a strong retention of newer church plants.

5. E.g. P. Kaldor et al., First Look in the Mirror: Initial Findings of the 1991 National Church Life Survey (Homebush West: Lancer, 1991); Winds of Change; Views from the Pews: Australian Church Attenders Speak Out (Adelaide: Openbook Publishers, 1995); Shaping a Future: Characteristics of Vital Congregations (Adelaide: Openbook Publishers, 1997).

6. E.g. P. Bentley, T. Blombery and P. Hughes, Faith Without the Church? Nominalism in Australian Christianity (Kew: Christian Research Association, 1992); P.J. Hughes, Religion: A View from the Australian Census (Kew: Christian Research Association, 1993); idem, 'The Changing Face of Religion in Australia', in P. Bentley, T. Blombery and P. Hughes, A Yearbook for Australian Churches 1994 (Kew: Christian Research Association, 1993), pp. 139-46; idem, The Pentecostals in Australia (Religious Community Profiles; Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service, 1996).

7. See V. Synan, Aspects of Pentecostal-Charismatic Origins (Plainfield, NJ; Logos, 1975); D.W. Dayton, Theological Roots of Pentecostalism (Studies in Evangelicalism, 5; Metuchen, NJ: the Scarecrow Press, 1987).

8. The revisioning of Pentecostalism through the lenses of 'classical Pentecostalism' (i.e. Wesleyan Methodism) is one of the major projects of the Church of God School of Theology, Cleveland, TN and the Journal of Pentecostal Theology and its supplement series, both edited at the school. Some of the more important or influential titles are S.T. Land, Pentecostal Spirituality: A Passion for the Kingdom (JPTSup, 1; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993); C. Bridges-Johns, Pentecostal Formation: A Pedagogy among the Oppressed JPTSup, 2; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993); D.W. Faupel, The Everlasting Gospel: The Significance of Eschatology in the Development of Pentecostal Thought JPTSup, 10; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1996).

9. A significant exception is Barry Chant. See his 'The Australian Career of John Alexander Dowie' (CSAC Working Papers, 1/10; North Ryde: CSAC, 1993); 'Charismatic Spirituality', Lucas: An Evangelical History Review, 16 (1993), pp. 55-74; 'The Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Origins of the Australian Pentecostal Movement', in M. Hutchinson and S. Piggin (eds.), Reviving Australia: Essays on the History and Experience of Revival and Revivalism in Australian Christianity (Sydney: CSAC, 1994), pp. 97-122.

10. The teaching that healing is in the atonement is also part of our Wesleyan heritage. Sec Dayton, Theological Roots, pp.127-30

11. Supplied to the author by Les Scarborough.

12. Kaldor et al., Winds of Change, p. ix.

13. The Third Wave objection to a possible baptism in the Holy Spirit, subsequent to conversion lies in its suspicion of the Wesleyan roots of Pentecostalism and the fear of a re-emergence of the teaching of entire sanctification, which caused so much damage earlier this century (Piggin, Evangelical Christianity, pp.105-25).

14. See Kaldor et al., Winds of Change, p. 260 for support of these estimates. In 1991, national Anglican attendance varied from 190,916 weekly to 318, 407 monthly, whereas Pentecostal weekly attendance only varied from 151,247 to 177,908 monthly. Figures for 1996 are not yet available. Sydney is the strongest diocese and is growing at a rate comparable with Pentecostalism.

15. P. Kaldor et al., Mission under the Microscope: Keys to Effective and Sustainable Mission (Adelaide: Openbook Publishers, 1995), p. 116.