Start The Week

Steven Croft

Today (Sunday 25th) Steve is ordained Bishop in York Minster. All our prayers are with him as he prepares to take up his ministry as Bishop of Sheffield in a few weeks.

Steve writes:

To all Missioners and Evangelism Enablers

Dear Colleague

As I prepare for my ordination as bishop today and for our move to Sheffield in March I want to say a heartfelt thanks to all missioners and Evangelism Enablers for your support for and partnership in the Fresh Expressions initiative over the last four and a half years.

One of the real delights of the role has been travelling to and working with the majority of Dioceses and Districts and rejoicing at the variety and diversity of new forms of church.  My work would not have been possible without your own fellowship and support.  It has been very good to be part of the wider mission community across the two churches and a particular delight to work closely with Paul Bayes and Graham Horsley from the beginning of the journey to the end.   

I will be continuing to do a small amount of work behind the scenes for Fresh Expressions until we move from Oxford to Sheffield in March.  Norman Ivison has been appointed Acting Team Leader in the weeks before Bishop Graham Cray takes up the role as Team Leader on 1^st May.

I am very conscious that I leave Fresh Expressions in the hands of a very strong team and a gifted and experienced successor.  Thank you again for your partnership in the gospel which I hope will continue in new ways.

With kind regards

Yours sincerely

The Revd. Dr. Steven Croft

Leading Your Church into Growth 2009

Here's the latest LYCiG brochure for download; the LYCiG office will have sent hard copies to dicoesan mission staff. Feel free to distribute widely.

Download Booking Form 2009 

"Now in its fifteenth year, this highly popular course is specifically designed for clergy and lay leaders from across different traditions and denominations who are looking for help and encouragement in leading their churches into growth.

The course takes the form of an open seminar with interactive talks, practical exercises, workshops and time and space for personal reflection. Times of informal conversation provides opportunity for our team members to answer questions and to explore the profile of individual churches represented by the course"

Church Growth modelling

Check this out - from the University of Glamorgan.

http://www.churchmodel.org.uk/index.html

They write: 

Introduction

Church growth modelling is a research project that attempts to understand the numerical growth and decline of the Christian Church using mathematics and system dynamics. 

The models give valuable insights into the way the churches grow or decline at either a congregational, denominational, national or international level. They are particularly helpful in describing the dynamics of growth in times of revival.

The research is based in the Division of Mathematics & Statistics at theUniversity of Glamorgan, Wales UK. A condensed version of this work, aimed at the academic audience, is accessible from the division's church growth research page.

This web site is aimed at those in the Christian church interested in the insights such models give on the numerical and spiritual growth of the church. Some important results are summarised below and on theResults Summary page.

An article explaining the principles and results using tipping points is a useful introduction to the work.

Contact: John Hayward

or via the Church Growth Modelling web page at Glamorgan

The story in sand

From Willow Creek. I like this.

 

Breakout conference April 6-8 - "the meeting place for pioneers"

From Dave Male - news of this conference and future network for pioneer ministers. Download the info here: Download Breakout

People moving on: Sue Hope, John Twisleton, John Leach

New year news of some changes in our network:

Sue Hope has this to share:

Happy New Year, everyone! I've got a new job. Part-time Priest in charge of St Paul's Shipley and part-time Adviser in Evangelism for the Bradford Diocese. A GREAT job! Robin Gamble and I are hoping to work together. Moving sometime in February, starting in March.

 

Needless to say I am thrilled and delighted.

 

Hope all's well with you and yours... Sue

John Twisleton writes:

Dear Friends

This is to let you know of some changes in the mission and renewal department at Chichester Diocese.

I will be inducted as Rector of Horsted Keynes just outside Haywards Heath Monday 30th March 7.30pm so I can start Holy Week as parish priest once again. The idea is that I continue to contribute part time to the diocese and nationally in promoting Christian apologetics whilst serving a small yet vibrant rural church and community.

As one of the longest serving missioners I’ve done two really enjoyable terms lasting more than 12 years. I left St Luke, Coventry in 1996 to serve as Edmonton Area Missioner where I organised Millennium celebrations including the Edmonton Walk and focused on healing and youth. In Chichester I have managed a team of seven serving renewal, church growth and evangelistic outreach. Main achievements have been promoting Growing Healthy Churches, organising last year’s Diocesan Eucharist with the pledging of MAPs by the majority of churches and forming the first diocesan online community www.face2faith.co.uk with evangelism, apologetics and Christian spirituality threads. Though anglocatholicism is still on the Cross I have been comforted in recent years to see spiritual direction take its place nationally as a cutting edge of evangelism, the catholic reasoning tradition enriching apologetics, and fresh expressions making headway in sacramental traditions.

I have enjoyed my periods of diocesan work both as missioner and as college principal in Guyana. These have helped refresh my priestly ministry. The ongoing apologetics work will keep me in touch with the missioners’ network that I’ve appreciated being part of over the last 12 years with all its creativity. As a champion of the ministerial priesthood as main instrument for building up Christ’s body it made sense to return to the coal face of mission especially now I’m sixty. The Lord wants something more from Anne and I and Horsted Keynes seems to be the place to give it. The village, 4 miles from Haywards Heath, is extremely beautiful. Population is 1500 but there are 40 organisations including the Bluebell Railway. The church is eucharistic with good fabric and appreciable leadership potential. Harold MacMillan lies in the churchyard as evidence!

We hope to advertise my post within the month so watch the church press if you know of anyone wanting to serve in what is literally and in other ways a great diocese for mission and renewal. Meanwhile my friend and colleague Captain Gordon Banks CA will keep Chichester represented nationally.

Please let me know if you want a formal invitation with directions etc. for my induction. 

Yours in Our Lord

John Twisleton

And John Leach sends his news:

Hi all – in case you haven’t caught up with the news I shall be going back to a parish – St John the Baptist Folkestone – after Easter and so will sadly no longer be a Dio Missioner.

Thanks for all you’re doing, and for some very stimulating conferences. Do wave on your way to France – the tunnel entrance is just outside my new parish.

Pob bendith,

John

Enquirers' Courses in Church of England parishes

Here are the statistics from Lynda Barley's unit, drawn from the annual parochial returns in 2006, asking every parish in the church of England this question:

"During 2006, has your parish/church provided an enquirers' course or group for those seeking to know more of the Christian faith?"

10,999 churches replied. And the top-line answer is that 43% of those churches do provide one. 

That's really good, and can be even better.

Missioners can download a pdf here that gives a detailed breakdown of which courses and combinations of courses are being used, diocese by diocese, to help you focus your work in enabling this figure to grow.

Download Nurture Course figures 

Warm thanks to Lynda and her team for this detailed analysis.

Fresh Expressions update

Norman Ivison writes:

 1.         Did you see the major report on Fresh Expressions in the Financial Times in mid-December?  If you missed it go to: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d8f3d2e2-c718-11dd-97a5-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

 

2.         If you haven’t caught up with the monthly Fresh Expressions podcast, don’t miss it in January.  It features an interview with the President and Vice President of the Methodist Conference and a report on the Fresh Expressions pilgrimage to Coventry Cathedral which included a keynote address by the Archbishop of Canterbury.  www.freshexpressions.org.uk/podcast

Fresh Expressions pioneers' retreat: March 16-20

From Rachel and from Colin Brown:

Fresh Expressions Pioneers' Retreat

Lee Abbey, Devon

March 16^th – 20^th  2009

Time & space especially for individuals and teams pioneering fresh expressions of church

A vital opportunity for those pioneering fresh expressions of church, from whatever tradition of the wider church, to come together for spiritual refreshment and Bible study and to share their experiences of the journey. The pioneers retreat will be led by Rachel Jordan and Colin Brown from the National Fresh Expressions Team, Tom Stuckey from the Methodist Church, and Angela Brown.

Many pioneers feel the burden of being ‘on the edge’ and are naturally very active in their ministry. This retreat offers the space to follow Jesus’ example – of rest and prayer in a remote and beautiful place. ‘Come away to a quiet place…’ Mark 6.31

What to expect:

A special, prayerful place to stop for a few days

Space to reflect, pray, worship and listen

Time to be recharged, refreshed, reinvigorated, encouraged…by giving space and time to God and to yourself

Scriptural reflection from Tom Stuckey and Rachel Jordan relevant to pioneering ministries

Creative approaches to prayer and reflection

Opportunity for one-to-one accompaniment with a member of the team.

Engagement with Lee Abbey community’s ministry

Please note that this is a retreat for those already engaged in pioneering fresh expressions of church, and not a training event. Should you require information on teaching and training in relation to developing mission and fresh expressions of church, please visit our website atwww.freshexpressions.org.uk and follow the link to training.

Please book through Lee Abbey. Their online booking system address is

http://www.leeabbey.org.uk/devon/book.

Alternatively telephone 01598 752621

Charity Commission: evangelisation can be a 'public benefit'

You need to know about this if you're involved with any church-growth-based charity work, or if you're exploring legal foundations for fresh expressions of church. Thanks to Jim Currin for this one. He writes:

New guidelines produced by the Charity Commission this week last month say that, with parameters, evangelisation can be a public benefit:

http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/publicbenefit/pbreligion.asp