The St Barnabas Centre for Missional Research and Praxis is an initiative of St Barnabas College in Adelaide, South Australia, and is intended to be a gathering point for practitioners and researchers alike. There is much to be learned from either approach and the value of bringing both spheres into constructive dialogue is too often underestimated. Our Centre is shaped to bridge that gap!

For a start, that’s a pretty long name, so we’re recommending we use ‘The St Barnabas Centre’ for short!

It is no secret that we live in challenging times as a church and that newer, more flexible and varied approaches to our mission and ministry are needed if we are to adapt to rapidly changing contexts for ministry.

We are not suggesting that everything needs to change. Our approach is more akin to the leader described by Jesus in Matthew 13:52 ‘who brings out of their storeroom treasures old and new’.

At times it feels like we just seem to be getting started in our conversations about the mission of the church when that opportunity ends. How often do we conclude having read a helpful discussion paper by saying ‘we really need to explore this further!’ – and then so rarely find the time or opportunity to do so?

The St Barnabas Centre is an invitation to all who are interested (the whole people of God) in joining this conversation. What are others learning? How can we support each other in understanding our changing context better and exploring possibilities to think outside the square?

The St Barnabas Centre does not claim to have all the answers – we simply want to facilitate the conversation and encourage creative and ‘under the radar’ approaches to being church.