Dapto Mission Plan 2023-2025

Revised October 2024.

1. Mission Statement:

Dapto Uniting Church … seeking to be recognised as followers of Jesus Christ working in and for the community.

2. Vision:

Dapto Uniting Church is to participate in God’s Mission so that the congregation is:

Intergenerational and intercultural.
Strong in service.

3. Values:

Dapto Uniting Church has the following values:

Welcoming.
Hospitable.
Always willing to consider new ideas, concepts and ways of doing mission.
Multicultural.
Caring, with emphasis on the lonely and marginalised.
Flexible – open to modifications.
Relationship orientated.
Relying on and offering the hope and encouragement that God is to life.

4. Culture:

Dapto Uniting Church is a welcoming, inclusive community, to people of all nationalities and cultures.

5. Innovation:

1. New Gathering Activity.

Goal:
To establish an alternate group activity as a new experience, separate to the Sunday morning congregation. The intention would be to mission to younger people and families at an informal gathering on the third Friday evening each month, including a meal. It is intended to be an intercultural and intergenerational space.

As we develop relationships with the younger people and families, we will look to respond with loving service to all who attend.

The gathering aims to offer a new approach to strengthening the church’s future and creating outreach opportunity. Members feel happy to have social gatherings for both church and community members in addition to worship services and committee meetings. These monthly social gatherings are opportunities to get to know each other better, as well as an outreach to new people.

Strategies:

Approved by Church Council, Elders, and Congregation.
Establish a committed group to pray, plan and set up such a venture, including representatives of the Youth Group, Elders, Church Council and newer members.
Hold a monthly gathering with a meal and informal activities, with time and space to talk and mix.
Invite baptismal families, Messy Church families and other families who haven’t been involved for a while.
Promote the gathering at our Op Shop, Market and other church activities, encouraging Op Shop volunteers and customers, as well as other community members to become a part of this community gathering.
Advertise – social media and personal invitations. Increase the effectiveness of our online presence. We received assistance in updating our website from Synod media group.
Listen to the needs and requests of those for whom this activity will operate.
Continuous modifications, evaluations, and invitations.
Build the leadership team to include people who are involved in the activity.

Personnel/Resources:

Minister in placement with a team of five or more people committed to this mission, as well as a catering team for preparing the meal.

Timeline:

A team of six members of the Congregation who were interested in planning this mission was formed in February 2023.
Initial planning was carried out throughout 2023 by this small mission planning team.
Emails were sent and flyers distributed to baptismal families, to group activities that are run at the church, at the Op Shop and Market Day and at our fund-raising events. This promotion of the gathering continues.
The first gathering was held 16 February 2024. This was attended by 31 adults and 8 people under the age of 18, including 5 adults and 2 children who were not regular church attenders at Dapto UC. This first gathering was a learning experience, and slight adjustments have been made to the program over time. The second gathering in March 2024 had an attendance of 30 adults and 5 under 18s, with some different people attending.
The gathering has been held on the third Friday of the month for every month since then. The average attendance has been 26 adults and 5 under 18s, with some lower attendance over the winter months.
The gathering continues to be advertised on our website and in our newsletter, and by email and flyers handed out at various activities.
The group running this mission now consists of a few people organising the activities and a few organising the food, setup and clean up. Various people who attend the gathering are donating items for the meal. A few people are organising advertising and promotion.
A new member of the church was influenced to become a member because we have this community gathering. This new member has recently joined the team to help operate the gathering.
There will be further development by the people attending. We are allowing the gathering to develop organically as needs and ideas evolve. We need to continue to seek further ways to promote the gathering and encourage people to attend.
There will be continual evaluation of the gathering, and its promotion.

2. Growth of Existing Missions – building bridges.

Goal:

To enhance spiritual engagement within our existing community programs (e.g., Op Shop, Craft Group, Markets, and other Fellowship Groups) by integrating faith-based elements thoughtfully. Our objective is to cultivate deeper relationships and promote discipleship through meaningful conversations that address participants’ needs and questions from a Christian perspective.

This will involve telling the good news of God’s Kingdom. This often raises many questions regarding the Christian faith. Building trust, friendship and relationships will be important within each group, which may require listening and some service activities. This will also empower participants who feel called to serve to take active roles and allow them to grow in faith and gifts through their involvement.

Strategies:

Establish a committed group to pray and plan.
Invite people attending the Op Shop, Markets, Craft, and Fellowship Groups to special occasions at our church, including the community gathering outlined above.
A contact list is developing and being used to invite people who don’t attend Dapto UC and who have agreed to be on the list, to come along to the next activity that the church is holding. This invitation is mainly done by email, with a possibility of texting or phoning if email is not appropriate.
Continue to ask the congregation to invite people from these groups and the general community to any of our church activities and worship services, because word of mouth is the most effective way to encourage people to come along.
Suggest the group activities include a prayer and/or a message, or some type of Christian input at their meeting. The message may take the form of an appropriate discussion based on a need, or question that brings in a Christian perspective.
Look at ways to sustain the vitality of our current membership.
We have obtained assistance from Synod to maximise the impact of our website, and will ask for their help with other promotional material, including adding a donation facility on our website.
Develop methods to maximise the effectiveness of our Facebook page.

Personnel/Resources:

Church members currently doing promotions and invitations.
Folks to develop strategies.
Ask UME for help with ways to connect the congregation with groups using the church and the community.
Ask Synod to assist with website and promotional material.

Timeline:

A community Church Service was held in November 2023 where invitations were extended to all the groups that use our Church Hall. This service was followed with a light morning tea where the congregation was given the chance to meet the people who are using our hall.
Contact UME and others in Synod to ask for assistance.
Continue to look for ways we can connect with groups using the church for all other activities.
Ongoing activity.

3. Op Shop Maximisation of Activity.

Goal:

To build on the ministry of the current Op Shop and investigate the viability of options to maximise the activity and missional impact of the Op Shop, by building up our missional interactions with the community i.e. volunteer workers, customers and church people. Such options may include the construction of purpose-built premises on the church property, and/or other options as investigation and discussion ensues.

Through our ongoing development of op shop ministry, we will explore ways to provide essential resources to better serve vulnerable people of the community.

Dapto Uniting Church’s Op Shop is a beneficial place in that it:

Serves the community by providing cheap goods for those with limited means and provides excess donations to other charities.
Connects with the community.
Provides a space for interaction while shopping, or a space for customers to just chat with volunteer workers.
Offers a place for people from the community and congregation to volunteer and use their time in a meaningful way.
Provides income for the ministry of the congregation and to give to other missions.
Networks with other charities and welfare providers to serve the needs of the local community by mutual referrals.
Reuses or repurposes goods, which is beneficial to the environment and lowers the impact on landfill.
Provides a limited source of welfare.
Supports people as needs arise by being a place of pastoral engagement.
May in the future provide other engagement that could connect relationally with people.

The benefits to Dapto Uniting Church of being able to build the Op Shop on our current church property include:

Primarily, if we can stop paying rent, more of our funds raised can be used for mission.
The current location of the shop is almost hidden by the pub building on Princes Highway. Our new shop location would have a visible street frontage on Marshall St which is a busy business district itself. Many people going past or going to the Marshall St businesses will see our shop, and we will only be a short walk from nearby shops and the medical centre next door. There’ll be a lot more visibility for the shop in the new location.
The Op Shop’s association with the church will be enhanced by being on the church grounds. The shop’s identity as a mission of the church will be more recognisable, possibly bringing more people to our other church activities and worship services.
Currently donated stock has to be transported from the shop to the church for sorting and pricing and then back to the shop for sale. This is a difficult way to operate and would be improved greatly by having the shop adjacent to the church.
The current shop now has vacant land next door in preparation for construction of a multistorey building sometime in the future. Although we don’t know when this will happen, during the construction, which may be lengthy, access and amenity for our Op Shop would be greatly affected and we may need to suspend shop operations for an indefinite time. If we can proceed with our new shop project as soon as possible, we will sidestep any effect of this adjacent construction work by moving into the new shop before it occurs.
Our current shop only has one door in and out of the shop, which is quite unsafe. The new shop will have at least two doors in its final design. This will improve safety for workers and patrons of the shop.
The current shop does not have a toilet, and volunteers must go into the pub or the café for toilets. This is very inconvenient and means that one worker is alone in the shop premises at times, which is a security risk. This new shop will have its own accessible toilet facility as required by regulations.
Our current location behind the pub can be a security issue for workers, as sometimes people who have been drinking, enter the shop and intimidate workers. Although anyone can be intimidating at times, our new location will be an improvement simply by getting away from the pub.
The new shop can be designed and laid out internally, fit for purpose, whereas the current shop was originally a kitchen or laundry for the heritage building it is attached to and therefore not designed in the best way for a shop.
The new shop will bring added interest for new people from the community to volunteer, as well as bringing new excitement for the existing volunteer workers and new opportunities for missional activity.
The new Op Shop building will be an extra asset for the church. Should the church in the future decide not to continue with the Op Shop mission for any reason, the building could still be used for church missional activities or for regular or occasional hire to other people. Rent is wasted spending, and Dapto Uniting Church will have nothing to show for it later, whereas the outlay to construct this project will provide Dapto Uniting Church with a long-term asset with income and mission opportunities from the Op Shop, or in other ways.
Signage for the Op Shop can be placed at the Princes Hwy and Marshall St boundaries of our property, improving our ability to reach more people with this mission.
Income of the shop assists the congregation finances and mission. The Op Shop mission specifically resources the congregation’s mission by supplementing monetary resources for local missions of the church and giving to other missions outside the church.

It is the aim of this venture to maximise the opportunity for the Op Shop ministry to tend the needs of the customers and volunteer workers, and to build relationships with the community, particularly those in need. This is part of our missional interaction with the Op Shop volunteers and customers.

We recognise the vital role the Op Shop plays in supporting our congregation’s missional activities. Designing the shop from scratch can enhance sales and make the shop more accessible, allowing us to better serve Christ’s mission and ministry. By eliminating the current rent payments, we will enhance the Op Shop’s ability to contribute to our mission, freeing up resources to further our missional goals.

Strategies:

A time of prayer and discernment by the members of Church Council.
Network with other community charities and service providers, including joining the Zoom meetings held with other Uniting Church Op Shops of the Illawarra Presbytery.
Develop policies and processes to support customers where there are particular needs.
Look at maximisation of the retail nature of the shop, which will have a double aspect, attracting more customers and more engagement, as well as maximising income.
Proceed with the design process towards submitting a Development Application to Wollongong Council to gain further information about Council’s intentions for our site.
Discuss options for finance with Uniting Financial Services and others.
Investigate funding options/opportunities, including applying for grants to assist with funding.
Liaise with the Presbytery Finance and Property Committee.
• Liaise with Synod Property Services.
Do specific fundraising for the project.
• Keep the Congregation informed as the project progresses at meetings of the Congregation and at other pertinent times.
Consider options as the process develops.

Personnel/Resources:

Church Council.
Congregation.
Finance and Property Committee.
Presbytery Finance and Property Committee.
Uniting Financial Services.
Synod Property Services.
UME.
Janet Hyam as coordinator/driver of the project with assistance from Cliff Hughes DUC Chair, Les Smith DUC Secretary and Rev Keun-il Ko DUC Minister.
Tasman Design, Jim Nixon (DUC property secretary/manager), and Janet Hyam (DUC treasurer) to manage construction of the project.
All 10 members of the Op Shop committee to oversee the operations of the Op Shop.
Carole Burns – Merchandising and Volunteering Manager.
43 Volunteers are involved in serving in the Shop and sorting goods for the Shop, 13 of whom do not attend our church services.

Timeline:

A time of prayer and discernment by the members of Church Council as well as investigations into various options for the Op Shop was had over a period from about May 2022.
We continued to investigate options and a feasibility study for the Op Shop.
After prayer and discernment, the decision was made to go ahead with the Development Application (DA) process at a special Church Council Meeting on 26 October 2022. Congregation was then informed and updated from time to time after that.
We instructed consultants to prepare the necessary paperwork, plans, etc to submit a DA which was submitted to Wollongong Council 24 October 2023.
We secured Development Approval from Wollongong Council to construct a shop on our own grounds behind the hall 21 March 2024.
We optimised the layout of the current Op Shop, as well as rationalised our pricing structure from April 2024, and have found great improvements in the operation of and returns from the shop.
We met with our local Federal and State Members to request their assistance with obtaining grant/s in May 2024.
We requested and obtained support for continuance with the project from the congregation at the Annual General Meeting in September 2024.
We instructed consultants to prepare construction plans on 30 September 2024.
We have requested assistance from Presbytery minister, who requested assistance on our behalf from PPFC and PSMC in October 2024.
We will request possible assistance from other congregations in due course.
We will continue to build up finance for the project through fundraising, investments and requests for donations and advances ongoing.
We will prepare a Business Plan for the Op Shop around November 2024, to be approved by Op Shop Committee and Church Council in January 2025 (and revise ongoing).
We will apply for suitable government grants as they become available from December 2024, with assistance of the offices of our local federal and state members of parliament.
Aim to have plans approved by Certifier April 2025.
Request Synod approval of the construction at the appropriate time.
Put the project to tender with suitable builders around May 2025.
Consider tenders and consult with designer to choose builder July 2025.
Determine financial needs and sources July 2025.
Pray, discuss, and discern further as more information comes to hand.
Consider all options, ongoing. Next steps will depend on outcomes of further developments and progress as well as ability to obtain funds.

6. Review.

This Mission Plan is a living document that will be reviewed on a regular basis and modified as needed.

7. Approval.

This Mission Plan update was approved by Church Council at its meeting on 30 October 2024.