I landed in Launceston in 2017 to begin as Rector of St John’s and joined a Diocese that has an incredible vision ‘to be a Church for Tasmania making disciples of Jesus.’ My problem wasn’t ‘what’; it was ‘how’. How would we take that vision and, under God, attempt to see that come to pass in our little neck of the woods? It became clear we weren’t alone in that wondering. Nine other Anglican churches across greater Launceston were wrestling with the same. That’s right, ten Anglican churches across a regional city. Where I’m from, given the population, that sounded like a lot. And these other nine, like us, were largely struggling to reach people with the good news of Jesus. Faithful in worship. Absent (almost) in mission, Struggling with discipleship. I’m sure not an isolated story.

A year later, I’d been meeting with a small group of visionary, strategic Anglicans, representing several churches and an idea emerged. What if we came together? Our collective response was ‘Impossible!’ If there’s one thing true about Tasmania, it’s how parochial we are. But the idea wouldn’t go away. A nurse doing her PhD offered us the latest demographic data from her research, and the idea began to take shape. I met with all the local clergy, and together, choosing to put aside any differences for the sake of the Kingdom, we developed a strategic approach to future Anglican ministry in Launceston and surrounds.

This strategy rested on forming two multi-church networks centred around the two city churches – Holy Trinity and St John’s. Developing a strategy and implementing it are two very different propositions, and the journey of how it came to be, would be an article in its own right, but in October 2018, the Parish of St John’s and the Parish of St Peter’s merged together to form the All Saints Network, in 2019 a third parish joined and in 2020 a fourth and final parish joined the mix. In 2024, as of writing, the All Saints Network is a multi-church network comprising four churches and six congregations.

Multi-site churches and multi-church networks have been around for a long time. Anglicans are pretty late to the game – after all, we have our ecclesiastical structures, and they’ve served us well for centuries, except perhaps they’re not serving us so well anymore. What if the future flourishing of the Anglican church requires us to deliberately move beyond the traditional parish model, or at least intentionally make space for other forms? Again, even within Anglican circles, we see larger and established exemplars of this; Holy Trinity Network in South Australia and City on A Hill come to mind. What makes the All Saints Network a little different is that it has occurred in a regional/rural setting where it’s often tougher going for clergy and their congregations than those who live in the big cities. I think the future of the Anglican church must increasingly and deliberately encourage the forming of multi-church networks, from establishing networks of micro/house churches through to the coming together of established, viable parishes.

So, what have I learned from my experience? What do I wish I’d known before we started? What are some of the challenges and benefits that have emerged over the last five years?

This could be a long list, so let me summarise.

Firstly, the process is longer and more challenging than you think it will be. In 2019, I visited England to gain insights from those in similar rural contexts, and I returned with two truths from other team leaders. 1. Networks work, and 2. It takes about ten years. Five years into our journey, I can attest to both. We’ve transitioned from ‘formation’ to ‘consolidation,’ and we are still figuring out how to ‘work.’ This has included a change in our staffing structure, which was a difficult decision. We still have a way to go, and we have only begun to see the benefits in the last year and a half. I’m hopeful that we will shift into ‘flourishing’ over the next two or three years.

Change is always challenging, and we are not just talking about moving a pulpit. So, holding a long-term vision and being prepared to persevere through it is crucial. Secondly, it needs to emerge at a local level, not as an alien imposition. Bishops need to bless and support, not direct. Equally, the research would indicate that geographically and demographically discrete areas will be most amenable.

The old adage, ‘the right thing at the wrong time is the wrong thing,’ holds true. What might make sense strategically can still be practically and symbolically fraught, so patiently pray and wait for the opportunity to present.

Ongoing challenges include the push and pull of having a singular network vision and the need for individual expression and autonomy. This includes balancing the needs of every church against limited resources and being prepared to make tough decisions. The big heading would be ‘increased complexity.’ This challenges and stretches you and your team to grow as leaders, and not every leader will have the capacity to get there. For me personally, and our particular expression of multi-church, I have found consistent, clear communication to be an ongoing challenge. The other challenge for me has been flexibility.

We are not as nimble as a network as we were when we were just a single church, which can test your patience in the face of challenges. Also, I was so fixed on the ministry side that it was a bit of a shock to discover that our administrative systems no longer sufficed. That has taken time to redevelop and probably circles back around to the challenge of communication.

Ministry is tough. It was for the Apostle Paul, and it still is in 2024. In case it isn’t clear – multi-site churches/multichurch networks are not a silver bullet. They do not replace the faithful proclamation of the gospel, a commitment to discipleship and ‘Christian social liturgy’ (doing good as Christians in the public square). But they do offer some tangible benefits that make going the distance that little bit easier.

So why do it? What have been the benefits? The slogan we used for the first few years was simply ‘better together.’ And that’s the biggest benefit. There’s something about people and churches belonging to something bigger than ourselves, pointing us to the kingdom of God while facilitating a sense of belonging and co-participation that you don’t always feel at an ecumenical or diocesan level. At a strategic level, one of our core values for coming together as a network was that we might be able to enable ministry in gospel-poor areas. One of our churches is in a town of 4000 people, where no other Anglican church exists. This church is not financially viable and would struggle to exist on its own. As a network, we are able to resource this church and trust that the ongoing, faithful proclamation of the gospel will bear fruit. This principle works itself out in our other churches.

As a network, we employ a youth worker who runs a network-wide youth ministry. This means that any family with teenagers that turn up to one of our churches can connect straight in with a youth group. This wouldn’t be possible otherwise, and this kind of representation speaks to many of the benefits of churches coming together.

This also speaks to another advantage of multi-church networks, reserved usually only for the largest of churches, that of specialisation. Having people equipped and experienced in specific forms of ministry – whether youth or evangelism or discipleship or whatever your specific ministry needs are.

Personally, the biggest benefit is that I get to work in a team. I have colleagues and friends in the trenches with me, and we can (and do) support each other when we inevitably go through difficult seasons of life and ministry. Even though our theological colleges still tend to prepare ministers for solo ministry, the benefits of teamwork are well-documented, as are the dangers of isolation in ministry.

Would I do it all again? Well, we’re not there yet, but yes, I would. Our hope turned out to be a truth. We are better together. It’s been hard work, but the benefits for us have been clear. We celebrate the ‘wins’ together and mourn the losses. We cover for each other and are in it together. All the while engaging with worship and mission in ways that we couldn’t have dreamed of if we’d chosen to stay separate. I’m grateful for the vision and courage of both laity and clergy, who were willing to sacrifice and change in the face of significant challenges. It’s amazing what God can do when you don’t care who gets the credit. I look forward to seeing how it continues to unfold.

James Hornby is Lead Minister of the All Saints Network