Vertical Villages Project
Faith and the path to a better quality of City Life
Rapid Global Urbanisation
Sydney’s population is forecast to increase by 1 million in 10 years
Building flourishing cities
“Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
A prophetic … imagined … preferred future
“For he (Abraham) was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God”
The Fantasy
Selling the dream at Melrose Park (Ermington)
The Reality
The true result of many new developments
An opportunity exists now in Macquarie Park
Ivanhoe Estate Redevelopment
Corner of Herring and Epping Roads
What role does the church have to play in our growing City?
Incarnational Living
Local faith community
Couple or housemates to be commissioned or sent as ‘professional neighbours’
An Open Door for The Church
Mission Australia has the role of creating community in the new Ivanhoe Estate.
Mission Australia has approached the Together For Ryde team and asked us to help create this community. That could mean many things, but the door is open for us to run community-building programs.
With our unified presence, we have been invited to assist in building community in this new Vertical Village. Initiatives under consideration include, but are not limited to:
- Playgroups
- Music groups
- Parenting groups
- Marriage groups
- or anything else that would foster a sense of belonging and community
Of course the pastors/ministers/clergy have said, “YES”, but we don’t yet know how best to do this, so we have been on a journey to research where this has been done and how to best do it. The research includes working with students undertaking post graduate studies at Macquarie University, students with a focus on functional community.
We have received a grant from the Salvation Army of $20,000 for the research in this project.
Macquarie University has also given $20,000 towards this project.
BaptistCare has also given $20,000 to this project.
If this works, research will demonstrate that inviting the local church into future developments is best practice.
This initiative could change how people live in Vertical Villages all over the world.
Vertical Villages Project Prayer Points
- Pray for the ongoing unity of the church
- Pray for the research teams
- Pray for the relationship between Mission Australia and the church
- Pray for insight and guidance from the Holy Spirit which you can feed back to the team
“Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
