Ministry in remote parts of Australia
BCA has a vibrant ministry in remote and regional Australia, including Roxby Downs.
Some 560kms north of Adelaide, Roxby Downs is a delightful modern town of the outback. Known as the 'oasis in the desert', it is the ultimate starting point for a journey of discovery into the outback.. The population has now grown to over 5000 people and still enjoys an average age of 27 years. The average rainfall for RD should be around 6 to 8 inches per annum.
In 1977 the Roxby Downs Christian Fellowship under the direction of a senior geologist at Western Mining Corporation met at Olympic Dam Village in a kindergarten building.
The Roxby Downs Christian Community Church currently consists of Anglican, Uniting, Catholic, Church of Christ, Baptist and new Christian. They are a young congregation that enjoys good music, good fun and a real commitment to the Great Commission of Jesus.
Find out more about BCA and Roxby Downs
The Church in rural Australia - some quick statistics
The Australian population is moving towards capital cities - only 36% of Australians now live outside the capitals and 11% live in a non-capital city of over 100,000 people.
Primarily, the farming areas are declining, but coastal and mining areas are growing.
44% of all NCLS churches are rural - i.e., in a town of less than 20,000.
65% of rural Tasmanians identify as Christian (very close to the Hobart figure). Australia wide, this figure is higher in farming areas and lower in mining areas.
Over the past 10 years, across Australia, the numbers of rural people identifying as Christian stayed about the same. However, in Tasmania, this figure declined by 10% - one of the largest declines in rural Australia. This seems to be related to the virtually static population growth.
The population in rural areas is aging significantly.
Lay people are taking more responsibility for the religious life of rural communities, with more team ministry, and sharing of ministers with multiple congregations.
The past barriers between denominations are falling away with many small ecumenical initiatives taking place.
Knowing our community helps us to respond as a Church. How can we as a Diocese and rural parishes respond to these trends?
NB: These figures are drawn from a November 2007 National Church Life Survey Paper - The Christian Faith in Rural Australia. Read the full article here.