Stewarding and future proofing at Oceanside Anglican

Oceanside Anglican Church, formerly St Mark’s Anglican Church, Malabar, stands today as the consolidation of six churches since its beginning in 1908. 

The church’s current position is largely the result of the merging of these six churches. The culture, people, and assets of each have combined to produce a well-resourced church with strong disciples, eager to grow in God’s grace and share that with others. 

However, the arrival of Rev. Gavin Poole as the Senior Minister in early-2021 ushered in a new, exciting era for Oceanside. Rev. Poole is an experienced minister with a passion for helping his church to be good stewards of the assets that have been passed down to them through many generations, not only as a blessing to them, but the wider Diocese too.

“The current generation should support the local ministry through generous giving, enabling a significant proportion of the property income to be used for other ministries in the Diocese.”

With this strong belief, Rev. Poole, his parish councillors, and wardens, along with keen members of his congregation sought to explore opportunities for them to improve their property not only for themselves, but for the generations to come.

‘New Directions’ for Oceanside

With Rev. Poole’s arrival, there was a strong sense that a new direction for ministry and priorities were needed at the church. So, Rev. Poole set to work with his wardens and parish council on a strategic plan in a document called, ‘New Directions’. 

The ‘New Directions’ strategic plan is all about moving from consolidation growth, to expansion growth. In other words, moving from relying on the growth of bringing together the six churches, to expanding their ministry more intentionally into the seven surrounding suburbs. 

One part of this plan is the rejuvenation of the church building.

“We want to be good stewards of the assets that have been given to us, and make our contribution. It’s not just about resting on the laurels of the past, but ensuring that we contribute to our assets and effectively maintain them. The main church building is in need of repair and so rather than just patch it up and do band aid measures we’re going to do a proper job of it.

“Furthermore, the ministry needs over the years have changed and although we’ve got a great foundation here, it’s about really improving the site for today’s needs.”

The biggest presenting issue for the church building is the need to make it more welcoming. At present, the church building has no clear entryway and inadequate accessibility features for people with disabilities. 

This led Rev. Poole to reach out to the team at Sydney Anglican Property (SAP), who were able to clearly outline the steps which need to be undertaken for building works to happen, and in particular the role of the Diocese in the process.

Future proofing

“It has been great working with Scott and Kenneth from SAP on this so far. They have been able to provide us with checks and balances along the way, and were a big part in helping us make sure that the development application (DA) was presented exactly how it needed to be, with their final signature on it too,” Rev. Poole shares.

After many meetings, proposals, and consultations, the DA was submitted and has recently been approved! SAP also helped find a project manager to assist the parish with the next steps to deliver the required ministry facilities. The community at Oceanside is very excited to see it all start to come together.

This project is really significant in the life of the church community at Oceanside as they seek to future proof their property. With the approval of this DA they will be able to:

• Construct a new roofed entry foyer
• Improve the amenities with accessible car parking and pedestrian accessible path of travel
• Create shared access to the courtyard area and church building
• Install air conditioning in the main hall
• Provide a new accessible toilet and ambulant toilet
• Make internal alterations for a more functional auditorium and office space
• Enclose an existing porch to make it safer
• Build a new roof structure
• Extend the rear terrace with new doors

In the words of Rev. Poole, “We’re going to make it really obvious and really easy for everyone to walk into church – and want to stay at church!”

To other churches considering changes to their property, Rev. Poole says, “You need patience, a whole lot of it, particularly as you help your congregation to catch a vision for something that they can’t yet see.

“But you will eventually start to see things come together, keep praying and committing these new ministry opportunities to God.”