Christian Ministry Advancement Ltd (incorporating Christian Management Australia) is a not-for-profit charity, seeking to help the Christian sector in Australia become more effective.
CMA was founded because of a belief that the spiritual gifts of administration (including governance, leadership and management) had been neglected in much of the Christian sector, and that therefore, the front-line mission of the church was suffering. We saw fine ministries die not because of a lack of prayer, or passion, or spirituality - but because of elementary management failures: poor succession planning, mission drift, board dysfunction, well-intentioned but terrible HR practices.
We often heard explanations like, "We're a church, not a business - so don't talk to me about [strategy, or risk, or HR, or performance, or governance]". And yes, the church is vastly different than a business. In fact the church is MORE than a business - it is both an organism, with spiritual life, and an organisation, with organisational challenges. An effective Christian organisation needs to function well both spiritually, and organisationally. A prayerful, God-centred ministry that is governed well, manages finances prudently, is diligent about its legal & civic obligations, and treats staff both lovingly and professionally, will produce more fruit than a prayerful, God-centred ministry that is poorly governed, financially irresponsible, legally naive, and who treats staff lovingly but without proper process.
More people will experience the love and mercy of God in this world, and more people will enter into a relationship with God for all of eternity, if our churches, schools and organisations can lead, govern and manage more effectively.
CMA is all about advancing ministry. Whatever sphere of ministry God has called you to, we want you to be more effective! We do this by offering resources, training, and networking across a range of areas such as:
- Governance
- Fund-raising
- Staff & volunteer management
- Financial management
- Leadership
- Marketplace ministry
- Mission & strategy
- Legal & compliance
- Risk management
CMA is not tied to any church, denomination or organisation. We are completely interdenominational, and our community represents the wide spread of the Christian faith in Australia. We are not underwritten by any business, foundation or organisation - we earn our income from subscription fees, donations, sponsorship, event revenue, and resource sales. We have been around for over ten years, and each year thousands of church, ministry and business leaders attend CMA events, or request CMA resources, or engage with us in some manner.
If you're not already involved with CMA - it's easy and inexpensive to do so. Please consider joining us or becoming a CMA Supporter to assist as we seek to advance the cause of the Gospel in Australia!