Plans to establish one of the Sydney Diocese latest church plants in the city’s southwest mark a growing trend in Australian church planting.

“I’ve got a trades background and I’m really passionate about reaching tradies for Christ,” church planter Gavin Oram says, even as he contemplates the tough soil in front of him.

Rev. Oram is currently the assistant minister at Harrington Park, however his last six months have been spent planning to break new ground in the nearby suburb of Gregory Hills.

Key to Rev. Oram’s preparation for his church plant has been the location of a professional ministry coach.

Geneva Push, Australia’s largest church planting network, is supporting Rev. Oram by matching him with church planting coach Rev. Clayton Fopp from Trinity Mount Barker in the outer suburbs of Adelaide.

“We have similar personalities and ‘click’ really well,” Rev. Oram says.

“He’s given me a step by step process of what I need to do pre-launch to be as well prepared as I possibly can. I wouldn’t have really known where to start with those things and it’s been really helpful to have a leg up.”

Geneva Push Director of Coaching Craig Tucker says church planters who are coached are statistically more likely to grow more resilient, evangelistically focussed congregations.

But he says Geneva Push is working with departments like Evangelism and New Churches to lift the bar on Australian coaching.

“If we are going to do church planting well in Australia we need coaches who understand and connect with Australian culture as well,” says Mr Tucker.

Australian church planters currently have the opportunity to partner with a number of church planting organisations but only Geneva Push offers exclusively Australian coaches with tried and tested planting experience.

“The whole genius of church planting is you get to think about, ‘How do I reach people in this particular cultural context in this quarter of the city, state or this part of Australia?’” Craig says.

Rev. Oram says his coach’s direct insight into his Australian context has helped him develop ways forward that he wouldn’t have thought of on his own.

“We’ve got very similar contexts that we’re in, young families with a similar context,” Rev. Oram says.

“Australians are different to the English and different to Americans and so it’s been handy to have an Aussie to do things really well.”

Mr Tucker says Geneva Push has spent the last five years developing a team of 55 Australian church planter coaches and plans to share its experience with the wider Christian community.

“So on February 25 we’ll be running a Sydney clinic at Church by the Bridge to help ministers unpack the theology of gospel coaching, apply this to ministry issues, and review and practice core coaching skills.”

The public launch date for Rev. Oram’s Gregory Hills church won’t be till October 2015, but in the meantime he says he’ll be soaking up any wisdom his coach can offer.

“Clayton gives me tips about how to best move forward, throws ideas my way that I probably hadn’t thought of – I think Geneva’s really done their homework.”

Registrations for the one-day coaching clinic can be made on the Geneva Push website.