Oceania Regional Report

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Region Overview

The Oceania region covers a geographical area spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres and includes over 10,000 Pacific islands. There are fifteen independent states (Australia, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu), and thirteen associated or non-sovereign territories (American Samoa, Christmas Island, Cocos Keeling Islands, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Guam, New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Niue, Pitcairn Islands, Tokelau, and Wallis and Futuna). There are four sub-regions in Oceania: Australasia, Melanesia and Micronesia, and Polynesia. The four most populous nations are Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and Fiji. Due to the region’s distance from the rest of the world, it has unique challenges and opportunities when it comes to the state of the Great Commission.

The State of the Church in Oceania 

Recent statistics of the region as a whole indicate that Oceania is predominantly Christian. The gospel was brought by missionaries from Europe and the United States to the Pacific Islands, creating a variety of ‘historic’ or ‘mainline’ churches that are still dominant in the various islands of the region. The success of this missionary activity across the 20^th century is unprecedented. In the span of 75 years, the vast majority of the Pacific Islands became dominated by Christian faith.¹ 

However, the picture of Christianity in Australia and New Zealand is quite different. These countries have half the number of people identifying with Christianity, and church attendance is declining. Results from the most recent census and church surveys can classify Australian (Protestant) churches using the terms ‘growing’, ‘reproducing’, and ‘multiplying’ as follows:

• Growing: About 20 percent of churches grew by at least 10 percent in weekly attendance from 2017 to 2021.
• Reproducing: Less than 1 percent of churches ‘reproduced’ by planting a church in Australia, in 2019 (the year before the pandemic occurred) but didn’t plant in other years.
• Multiplying: About only 0.25 percent of churches, which is one-quarter of the planting churches, planted in Australia in 2019, and are planting repeatedly.

Church Growth and Decline

In Australia, about 20 percent of Protestant churches are estimated to have grown by 10 percent or more from 2016 to 2021, while almost 70 percent are estimated to be declining by 10 percent or more. This does not compare well against the years 2011 to 2016 where over 30 percent of churches were estimated to be growing, while 50 percent were estimated to be declining.

There is little distinction to observe between different locality types in regard to church growth and decline from 2016 to 2021, except for smaller rural towns (towns with less than 2,000 people). Churches in the smaller towns have lower levels of declining churches. Growth is also higher in smaller towns and may reflect the ‘sea-change’ or ‘tree-change’ many urban dwellers sought during and post-pandemic.

Broadly across Oceania, there is clear evidence that the establishment and growth of new churches is taking place at the expense of the historic mainline churches. There has been an emergence of increasingly complex networks of transnational Pentecostal, charismatic, and evangelical groups and churches. These networks have formed together as a movement where flows of people, money, and ideas spread with growing speed and intensity. There is no doubt this form of church resonates with the people, particularly in the island States.

If the current trend of change in religious affiliation continues, by 2050 the majority of Christians will not belong to the Protestant and Roman Catholic churches that at one point represented a staggering 90 percent of the population.

The historical mainline churches in the Pacific Islands still cooperate at a regional level through the Pacific Conference of Churches, and internationally via the World Council of Churches. However, commitment and contribution to the ecumenical movement is dramatically decreasing. There is a growing tendency to nationalism at the expense of ecumenical cooperation, putting the member churches of ecumenical bodies in a vulnerable position with regard to future developments. 

Church Planting

While the differences in growth or decline between denominational groups are fairly small, there are marked differences when it comes to church planting. Mainstream churches record the lowest level of church planting, with 2.8 percent planting a church in the past 5 years (see Table below). This means the annual planting rate for mainstream denomination churches is now less than 1 percent.

Other non-Pentecostal church denominations recorded a slightly higher figure, with 3.8 percent of their churches planting another church and about 1.2 percent of churches from these denominations planting a church each year. 

Pentecostal denominations recorded a far higher figure, with 14.5 percent of churches indicating they had planted a church in the past 5 years, or about 4.6 percent of Pentecostal churches planting another church annually.

The rate of Australian church planting appears to have been in very slight decline over the past decade or so. A large proportion (perhaps over 40 percent) of church plants by Pentecostal churches were overseas.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on church life, with a large majority of churches experiencing decline, and a significant interruption to church planting efforts. However, before the pandemic occurred there were already significant challenges to the church in Australia.

Between Now and 2050: Key Trends Shaping the Great Commission

What are the Emerging Demographics?

The demographics of Oceania are showcasing a more multicultural and urbanized region, with an aging population. In recent years, the region has seen an increase in immigration, resulting in far greater diversity in an increasingly multicultural society. 

One of the significant shifts is the increasing number of immigrants from Asian countries. Asian immigration, particularly from China and India, has been steadily rising, driven by economic opportunities and educational prospects. As a result, cities like Sydney, Melbourne, and Auckland have become vibrant multicultural hubs. This trend has not only brought diversity to the region but also influenced various aspects of society, including food, fashion, language, and religion.

Moreover, Oceania is experiencing a gradual increase in life expectancy and a significant decline in fertility rates. This combination has resulted in an aging population. The impact of an aging population can already be seen in the changing workforce dynamics and the strain it places on healthcare systems. Governments in the region are increasingly looking for strategies to support the aging population and faith-based health and aged care will continue to provide many opportunities for gospel proclamation.

What is the Foundation of Trust?

Perhaps inevitably or perhaps due to the speed of adoption, technology and digital life is eroding trust. Technology, the rise in AI, global data breaches, influencers, click bait, chat bots and fake news have contaminated some of the region’s fundamental trust indicators. 

In Australia, misinformation is considered the biggest issue for society, with 94 percent of Australians naming it as the number one issue—over cost of living, mental health, international affairs and climate change².

The rapid rise in AI technology which has absorbed much of Oceania’s interest and attention over the last 12–18 months³ can be destabilizing. We can no longer use voice, images, conversation, or video as a reliable source of truth, because Artificial Intelligence is able to closely mimic humanness. 

Those in Oceania are also skeptical of celebrities and influencers—not trusting their opinions, data or thoughts and they also don’t have much trust of religious leaders either, with 74 percent of Australians indicating that they don’t trust them⁴. 

What is Fair and Just?

Men and women in partnership

Across Oceania, Christian congregations are majority female but are largely led by men⁵. In contexts across Oceania gender norms are often influenced by certain readings of Scripture. The countries with the greatest gender equality include Papua New Guinea in Melanesia⁶. Across the Pacific Islands the relational framework creates an environment for abuse and exploitation⁷. Silent suffering, spiritual and physical abuse often happen in these contexts⁸. In Australia and New Zealand society in general, gender equality is a social endeavor, but amongst Indigenous, Māori, and Pacifica cultures (as well as the rapidly growing migrant communities across Australia, including those who migrate from Pacific Islands), gender equality can be experienced as an imported western ideology and incompatible or even undesired within local social structures.⁹ Across Indigenous, Māori, and Pacifica cultures, gender is understood and expressed differently from Western frameworks and is often defined by community and social relations and local cultural practices.¹⁰ 

While a cultural intelligence that appreciates the diversity of family systems and structures across the region must be further developed¹¹, there is significant need across Oceania to address and end gender-based violence,¹² improve access for women and girls to education and livelihoods, and develop the opportunities for women in leadership in their communities, professions, and churches.

What is Sustainable?

Mental health

Mental health conditions are increasingly impacting countries throughout Oceania, with the hypothesized causes of this increase to be wide and varied.¹³ In some regions of Oceania, the significant increase in mental health conditions has not yet been researched or understood. Given this gap, accurate statistics of the prevalence of mental health conditions in the region cannot be accurately established. Of the statistics available, Australia and New Zealand have some of the highest prevalence rates of mental health conditions globally.¹⁴ 

Across the board in Oceania, children, youth and adults are experiencing depression and anxiety. A significant increase of mental health conditions in youth (depression, anxiety, substance use and suicide) are having key sociological outworkings, such as the prevalence of youth crime, and the devastating impact of suicide. Psychiatric conditions are also more prevalent, and substance use disorders more significantly affecting indigenous populations across Oceania.¹⁵

Factors driving the increasing prevalence of mental health conditions are complex and varied. Across Oceania, COVID-19, conflict, lower socioeconomic status, increasing cost of living, domestic and family violence, childhood trauma, and loneliness have been identified. The impact of climate change has been another significant driver especially across Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia.¹⁶

Increasingly those affected and the most vulnerable with limited access to equitable services include women, and the indigenous population.¹⁷ Given the increased demand, mental health services across public, private and NGO sectors are struggling to meet the mental health needs across the region. A World Mental Health Report on mental health states that ‘across the globe, mental health conditions are widespread, undertreated and under-resourced’. It is estimated in Oceania that more than 90 percent of people with a mental health condition don’t have access to psychological treatment.¹⁸

With this increasing need in mental health, there is an opportunity for the Christian church. While mental health conditions are prevalent in the church community, there is limited understanding or training amongst church leaders and community. WHO noted that ‘mental health is everyone’s business’, and identified the need for promoting connection for mental wellbeing and recovery. With loneliness considered a pandemic, and its impacts on mental health and recovery, the church can educate and equip to reduce the stigma around mental health conditions, and create a space for prevention, connection and healing.¹⁹

There is a burning need to adequately train mental health clinicians to provide culturally competent as well as integrated psychological treatment with faith; and to collaborate with the church community²⁰.

Creation care

The year 2023 was officially the warmest on record. Several climate centres include January 2024 in their datasets to show that we have now exceeded the limit of 1.5°C warming above pre-industrial levels.²¹ Atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations also continue to rise, with atmospheric carbon dioxide levels at 422.80 parts per million in January 2024, up from 418.13 parts per million in January 2022. 

A 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report²² projected that the 1.5°C threshold would likely be crossed between 2030 and 2050. The early crossing of this threshold has serious consequences for the health, well-being, and way of life of people in Oceania. While this threshold allows for greater opportunities for adapting than a 2°C threshold, there are still wide reaching impacts such as increased precipitation due to tropical cyclones and sea level rise, greatly impacting low lying coastal areas and deltas.²³

In addition to land-based temperature impacts, the early passing of the 1.5°C threshold has impacts on the oceans. Warming seas, together with increased acidity and reduced oxygen levels will impact marine biodiversity, fisheries, and ecosystems (IPCC, 2018). This in turn impacts ecosystem services and tourism in the region. 

Migration will become an increasingly used strategy²⁴ but increased migration risks impacting cultures and values, producing a reticence to leave.²⁵ While theology remains a barrier to acceptance of climate change science and a readiness to adapt, the church will continue to play a key role in the region. New theological framings such as the Exodus will be required to counteract narratives around Noah’s Flood or inadequate eschatological schemes.²⁶ 

What is Ministry in a Digital Age? 

Another issue for this region is the impact of geographical distance and therefore the great effect of digital acceleration. 

Globally, COVID-19 disrupted and accelerated social changes that may have taken decades or even generations to come about.²⁷ The transition to digital and the adoption of technology in faith and spiritual life is one significant example. 

Nicky Gumbel referred to this as ‘the greatest evangelistic opportunity of our lifetime’.²⁸

For Oceania, the adoption and acceptance of digital technology when it comes to church forms, discipleship and proclamation has meant:

• More people can explore faith in a format that is non-confrontational. Alpha Australia found that exploring the topic of faith online is actually preferable to people.²⁹
• Resources are able to be shared and scaled in a way never possible before. This means we can have a greater reach and greater impact with less strain on finite resources.³⁰ 
• On-demand content is bigger than ever, and people are used to consuming content in their own time. Digital Church opens the opportunity for people to explore faith, be discipled and worship in a way that is accessible. This is significant for groups such as: shift workers, parents with young children, those traveling, those unwell or immunocompromised, or those unable to be at a church gathering due to accessibility issues or mental health.³¹

Regional Considerations for the Great Commission 

First Nations Voice

In Australia and New Zealand, a significant wound exists in the story of First Nations people and the church. Of course, much good has come with the missionaries of previous generations in gospel sharing and discipleship, health, education, social support, and more. But the story also carries pain and generational consequences including loss of cultural lore and identity, forced family separations, language, and land.³² In the Pacific Islands, the majority Christian cultures have found a way to live out culture and faith. 

Evangelism attitudes among younger generations 

The emerging generations of those living in Oceania are more open to discussing spirituality and are turning to media (social media and mainstream media) to participate in dialogues about faith and belief.

The state of the Great Commission will be greatly impacted in Oceania if attitudes toward evangelism remain in the emerging adult generations: Gen Y and Gen Z. Not only do these generations affiliate less with Christianity than other regions of the world,³³ but they are dropping out of church at a faster rate than the global average.³⁴ 

Adding to this, Barna’s research based out of the United States demonstrates that Millennials are more opposed to the idea of evangelism with 47 percent believing it to be ‘wrong’ ³⁵ and the majority of Australian parents don’t believe it’s important to pass on faith to their children.³⁶

On a positive note, 36 percent of Australians are open to changing their views on faith and their trust and positive associations toward Christian people remains steady. If invited personally to church, 68 percent of Australians said they would be likely to attend.³⁷ 

The emerging generations of those living in Oceania are more open to discussing spirituality and are turning to media (social media and mainstream media) to participate in dialogues about faith and belief. Sixty-four percent of Australians believe the media is the most appropriate space for religious and spiritual discussions. 

Oceania’s geopolitical climate 

Oceania is and will be impacted by the interest and ambitions of China for the foreseeable future. China’s growing population and expanding industries require a stable and sustainable supply of natural resources, which Oceania is able to support. Additionally, China views this region as an untapped market for its goods and services, given the region’s increasing disposable income and growing consumer market. By investing in infrastructure projects and fostering trade relationships with Oceania countries, China aims to deepen its economic presence and perhaps benefit from the region’s tactical potential in a military sense.

This area is considered a key element in the ‘first island chain’ strategy pursued by China, which seeks to establish a defensive perimeter along its maritime borders. By strengthening its ties with Oceania countries, China aims to ensure their support in regional disputes and potentially gain strategic access to military facilities in the Pacific. 

It should be expected that over the next three decades, Chinese immigration throughout the region will remain at significant levels and this will have an equally significant impact on evangelistic and pastoral ministries.

Opportunities and Challenges for the Great Commission

As growing mental health challenges, climate change, issues in leadership, generational shifts and rapid digital adoption impact Oceania, there is a challenge for the church to reflect its relevance and be able to authentically participate in the Great Commission. Christians will need to address these challenges and embrace the opportunities so we can see more disciples made and retained toward 2050. 

Challenges

Eroded Trust

This will be a great challenge to the validity of the gospel and the momentum of the Great Commission. We will need to work out what makes the message trustworthy, reliable and relevant to a community that is growing in distrust.

Mediated Message

The distance between the new convert and the front door of a church building will likely grow, with more Christians potentially existing outside of traditional church settings.

If evangelism and faith conversations are primarily migrating to a digital and mediated environment, proclamation will take a different form and so too will the opportunity for response. The distance between the new convert and the front door of a church building will likely grow, with more Christians potentially existing outside of traditional church settings. 

Opportunities 

Relevance

The church needs to show relevance by being authentic and transparent, to learn how to engage and connect Christians across difference; and specifically, how to relate to and empower the emerging generation. There is a growing call for the church to step into spaces of social concern to lead, model change and champion advocacy in crucial issues impacting Oceania such as mental health, climate, gender violence, Indigenous reconciliation and transparency. 

Indigenous Leadership

The future of the Great Commission in Oceania requires further developing of cultural intelligence and a shift within dominant western frameworks to learn from and make room for Indigenous, Māori, and Pacifica cultural systems and ideas.

The future of the Great Commission requires a generative imagination of following the lead and voice of Indigenous, Māori and Pacifica Christian leaders. With patience, a generational horizon, and a generous posture of sharing the significant resources that exist, particularly in Australia and New Zealand, we can see a future church shaped by the voices and presence of diverse indigenous peoples across Oceania.

The future of the Great Commission in Oceania requires further developing of cultural intelligence and a shift within dominant western frameworks to learn from and make room for Indigenous, Māori, and Pacifica cultural systems and ideas. This includes a theology that interconnects God, worship, all of life, ecology, economy, community, and land. Australia and New Zealand have strong theological education institutions that are well funded and critical for equipping the next generation of leaders. This development must include the voices of women and Indigenous, Māori and Pacifica Christian leaders to shape a future that embraces and even grounds the Oceanic church in a way of discipleship and life that is significantly shaped by Oceanic culture and practices. 

Gender Equality

This is one of the ongoing themes in the Pacific and the future of the Great Commission requires churches across Oceania to engage with gender in light of biblical teaching. This will include empowering women regardless of our particular theological leaning; addressing social constructs, harmful practices, and unjust social norms and ending gender-based discrimination and violence. For churches across Oceania, and with culturally appropriate adjustments, this means intentionally shifting the culture of our churches and institutions to continue the long work of making room for women, and addressing second generation gender bias that still exists, even in women-friendly spaces. 

The church has an opportunity to equip, train and empower men and women in the church and community context to break down the existing sociological and implicit structures that drive gender-based discrimination in Oceania. There is an opportunity for the church to confront the theological and social beliefs that disempower women and lead true inclusion and empowerment. Across Oceania, a movement of women worshiping in and leading safe and empowering churches and the marketplace are an integral part of any future movement of the Spirit. 

Sustainability

With mental health conditions on the rise, churches have a crucial role in supporting those with mental health conditions, to reduce the stigma around mental health and create inclusive spaces for authentic connection and inclusion. To do so, there is an opportunity for churches from an organizational to congregational level to create safety; be equipped in mental health; and to meaningfully create community. With the prevalence of mental health conditions across Oceania, the future of the Great Commission is to embrace those with a mental health condition, so that the church is a place of inclusion, healing, and social connection. 

Emerging Generations

If younger Christians can revive their passion for the gospel and the Great Commission, and if they can leverage the gift of technology and media—there may yet be more evangelization to come. Younger people want to discuss faith and they want to do it in a mediated format. This exponentially expands the opportunity to preach the gospel ‘to the ends of the earth’.

Endnotes

1. C.W. Forman, The Island Churches of the South Pacific: Emergence in the Twentieth Century (Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2022), 227. https://books.google.com.au/books?id=zyKcEAAAQBAJ.
2. ‘Australia Talks’, ABC, n.d, accessed 1 December, 2023, https://australiatalks.abc.net.au/.
3. ‘Google Trends’, Google, accessed 1 December 2023, https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%205-y&geo=AU&q=AI,Jesus&hl=en.
4. “Australia Talks data shows we don’t trust Instagram influencers, but advertisers rely on them increasingly,” ABC, 2021, accessed 16 January 2024, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-27/australians-say-they-do-not-trust-influencers-but-do-they-really/100164654.
5. Gina A. Zurlo, “Christianity in Oceania,” in Women in World Christianity (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., 2023), 141.
6. Zurlo, “Christianity and Gender-based Violence,” 269.
7. Randall A. Prior, “Vanuatu,” in Christianity in Oceania (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2021), 100-07.
8. Zurlo, “Christianity and Gender-based Violence,” 265-83.
9. Zurlo, “Christianity in Oceania,” 138.
10. Victoria Kavafolau, “Gender,” in Christianity in Oceania, ed. Katalina Tahaafe-Williams Kenneth R. Ross, and Todd M. Johnson (Edinburgh: Edinbugh University Press, 2021), 275-91.
11. Loïs Bastide and Denis Regnier, ed., Family, Violence, and social change in the Pacific Islands (New York: Routledge, 2023), 1-7, 179.
12. Claudia Garcia-Moreno and LynnMarie Sadinha, Violence Against Women Prevalence Estimates, 2018 (World Health Organisation, 2021), 13.
13. Fiona J Charlson and Holly E Erskine, “Burden of mental and substance use disorders in Indigenous Australians and Oceania,” Australasian Psychiatry 23, no. 6_suppl (2015), https://doi.org/10.1177/1039856215608295, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26634661/.
14. “Mental Health,” Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, 2019, accessed 22 May 2024, https://www.healthdata.org/research-analysis/health-risks-issues/mental-health.
15. Mental Disorders – Level 2 Cause, (Global Health Metrics, 17 October 2020), https://www.thelancet.com/pb-assets/Lancet/gbd/summaries/diseases/mental-disorders.pdf.; “Mental Health Atlas 2020 Country profile: Micronesia (Federated States Of),” World Health Organization (WHO), 2020, accessed 24 May 2024, https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/mental-health-atlas-fsm-2020-country-profile. ; Charlson and Erskine, “Burden of mental and substance use disorders in Indigenous Australians and Oceania.”; “Australia’s mental health system – Mental health – AIHW,” Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2024, accessed 24 May 2024, https://www.aihw.gov.au/mental-health/overview/australias-mental-health-services. ; World Mental Health Report: Transforming Mental Health for All, (Geneva: World Health Organisation (WHO), 2022).
16. Charlson and Erskine, “Burden of mental and substance use disorders in Indigenous Australians and Oceania.” ; “Federated States of Micronesia 2020 Mental Health National Outcome Measures (NOMS).”, SAMHSA, 2020, accessed 22 May 2024, http://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/rpt35290/FederatedStatesofMicronesia.pdf. ; World Mental Health Report: Transforming Mental Health for All. ; “Summary – Mental health – AIHW,” Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2024, accessed 22 May 2024, https://www.aihw.gov.au/mental-health/topic-areas/summary. ; “The loneliness epidemic,” University of Sydney, 2023, accessed 22 May 2024, https://www.sydney.edu.au/engage/events-sponsorships/sydney-ideas/2023/loneliness-epidemic.html.
17. World Mental Health Report: Transforming Mental Health for All.
18. World Mental Health Report: Transforming Mental Health for All. ; Charlson and Erskine, “Burden of mental and substance use disorders in Indigenous Australians and Oceania.”
19. Tamara White, Flourishing Spaces, 2023. ; World Mental Health Report: Transforming Mental Health for All.
20. Mark McCrindle and Shannon Wherret, The Future of the Church in Australia (Norwest: McCrindle Research, 2020), https://mccrindle.com.au/app/uploads/reports/Future-of-the-Church-in-Australia-Report-2020.pdf. ; White, Flourishing Spaces.
21. “Press Release: 2023 Was Warmest Year Since 1850,” news release, 12 January 2024, https://berkeleyearth.org/press-release-2023-was-the-warmest-year-on-recordpress-release/. ; “Copernicus: In 2024, the world experienced the warmest January on record,” news release, 8 February 2024, https://climate.copernicus.eu/copernicus-2024-world-experienced-warmest-january-record.
22. Valérie Masson-Delmotte et al., eds., Global Warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty (IPCC, 2018).
23. “Summary for Policy Makers,” in Global Warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty, ed. Valérie Masson-Delmotte et al. (IPCC, 2018).
24. Robyn Battles, Evading High Tides: Analyzing the Challenges of Climate-Induced Migration in Oceania (Pearl Harbor: Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance: Texas A&M University, 2021).
25. Stephanie Long and Janice Wormworth, “Tuvalu,” in Climate Change: Voices from Communities Affected by Climate Change ( Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Friends of the Earth, 2007), 34.
26. T.A.J White, “Christianity and Climate Change Adaption: Sea-level Rise and Ritualising Village Relocation in Fiji,” Sites: A Journal of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies 16, no. 1 (2019), https://doi.org/10.11157/sites-id431.
27. McCrindle and Wherret, The Future of the Church in Australia.
28. “Evangelism Finds a Way,” Alpha Australia, n.d., accessed 1 December 2023, 2023, https://www.alpha.org.au/post/evangelisation-finds-a-way.
29. McCrindle and Wherret, The Future of the Church in Australia, 10.; Alpha Australia, “Evangelism Finds a Way.”
30. McCrindle and Wherret, The Future of the Church in Australia, 28.
31. McCrindle and Wherret, The Future of the Church in Australia, 27.
32. ‘Productivity Commission, Closing the Gap Annual Data Compilation Report July 2023’, (Australian Government Productivity Commission, 2023), 25.
33. ‘The Connected Generation: Australia/New Zealand Report’ Barna Group (Barna: 2019), 19.
34. ‘The Connected Generation’, 22.
35. “Reviving Evangelism,” Barna, 2019, accessed 15 April 2023, https://barna.gloo.us/reports/reviving-evangelism.
36. ‘The Impact of Faith on Australian Society’, Mccrindle Research (Olive Tree Media, n.d.), 34.
37. Mark McCrindle, Sophie Renton, and Jason Authers, The Changing Faith Landscape of Australia (Norwest: McCrindle Research, 2022), 19, 30, 45.