Is 5% Enough?

Posted on August 7, 2025 
Filed under Australia, Evangelism

“There seems to be a change in the cultural atmosphere in much of the West.  It may be that people are more open to the Gospel.  The question is, how should we take advantage of that?  How do we use this cultural moment to bring the gospel to those who are lost?  We always need to humbly remember that ‘many are the plans in the heart of a man, but it is the Lord’s purpose that stands’ (Proverbs 19:21).

This year’s General Assembly of the NSW Presbyterians accepted a motion I put forward to reflect on how we do evangelism.  The Assembly ask the Mission Committee to evaluate the status of evangelism within the Presbyterian church of NSW and to report back to the 2026 GA with recommendations which will help the whole church work together to bring the Gospel to all the people of NSW.

The Assembly also heard a call for the Presbyterian church to double in 20 years.  Providentially the Gospel Coalition recently held a summit where the same doubling in 20 years was agreed.  They declared that this could be done by seeing 5% conversion growth in each church over a period of 20 years.

The Pastor’s Heart, a fascinating and helpful podcast presented by Dominic Steele, has recently had three podcasts focusing on this numerical target …”

– At AP, the online Presbyterian journal, David Robertson reckons we should ‘go for glory’.