The passing of the Recognised Churches Ordinance has shown that the parish system is our servant and not our master. The new law will promote churches that have a ministry to a distinctive group of people beyond the reach of the local parish church. Often the distinctive factor will be race, but it may also be on socio-economic, occupation, age or some other ground. Niche-targeted churches have been a proven way to grow churches as people prefer to become Christians without crossing barriers, such as race or age.
People are more likely to move into a church of people like themselves.
However we need to explore the theological issues in more depth. Others have raised these concerns. In its submission, the South Sydney Regional Council noted that This appears to be a different model of church from the New Testament where diversity seems to be characteristic. Another submission offered a stronger statement, that, While distinctiveness may be a good basis for evangelism, it is a denial of the nature of the church. As the world becomes increasingly tribal, the church must be counter-cultural at exactly this point.