Mission Network News

Church House at Elizabeth House

The Archbishops' Council staff have moved from Church House to Elizabeth House, York Road, London SE1, next door to Waterloo station. We'll be there for about fifteen months while Church House is made ready for open-plan working.

• If you're phoning or writing to us, our email addresses, phone numbers and postal addresses will be the same as before.
• If you're visiting, a map of the new location is available here.

Fresh Expressions - Associate Missioners

Steve Croft at Fresh Expressions writes:

"Fresh Expressions are currently recruiting around 20 Associate Missioners (mainly younger practioners) to lead training days and other events across the country.  The core team are spending 48 hours together with the Associate Missioners as a training and orientation period. I would like to issue an open invitation to up to five members of the missioners network to come to this conference if it would be a help and support to your own work. You will need to cover the basic residence costs at Hothorpe Hall.  The dates are from 4.00 pm on 31st January ending with lunch on 2nd February.  Places allocated on a first come, first served basis.  If you are interested please email rachel.westall@freshexpressions.org.uk

 

Enquiries about booking the team for events should be directed to norman.ivison@freshexpressions.org.uk"

BBC research - "Faith Day"

Some interesting research for BBC News 24's "Faith Day" available here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4434096.stm

Books available for review

Jayne writes:
These books are available free in exchange for your review - first come, first served. Email me at [email protected].

1. The Books the Church Suppressed

Dr Michael Green
Dan Brown's bestseller The Da Vinci Code argues that the church has suppressed the truth - that the story of Jesus, dying on the Cross for the sins of the world, is utterly false: a fiction perpetrated by a male, power-hungry hierarchy.  Brown's novel - based, he insists, on fact - suggests that Jesus survived to marry Mary Magdalene and that their descendants live to this day in France.  Is this part of the truth the church has striven to conceal?  Brown implies that the Bible is a late, distorted selection of documents chosen, from among more reliable alternatives, by a clergy bent on selling a particular myth.  Dr Michael Green goes back to the original sources to check these assertions.  Did the church suppress the truth?  It certainly denounced many 'gospels' and other purported revelations.  Why?  What did it fear?

...

2. After the Locusts
Meg Guillebaud
Wilberforce was out of the country when the 1994 genocide started.  He returned to discover the grave where his family is buried.  "All the Tutsi in this neighbourhood were pushed in here," he explained, standing beside the burnt-out skeleton of a house.  "Then they set fire to some rubber tyres and pushed them inside.  They choked to death.  The awful thing is that those who did it were our neighbours, and we knew them well."  Rwanda is full of such stories.  What happens when a man is released from prison and returns to live in the community where once he killed?  Or a woman sees those who raped her, walking freely about the town?  Yet, with divine help, ordinary human beings are able to forgive the most appalling acts.  Meg  tells story after story of extraordinary grace and reconciliation.  "A growing body of people have discovered healing for their pain at the cross of Christ.  They are forgiving those who caused them unbelievable harm.  Only in such changed hearts is there hope."

Irresistible church marketing strategy

If you've been watching "Priest Idol" you'll know what wonders marketing can do for the church. Here's a slightly different take on the same theme from the excellent Cartoon Church website:
http://www.cartoonchurch.com/content/cc/church-marketing/

LICC "Imagine" project - "Let my people grow"

Tracey Cottrell sends news of the latest stage in LICC's whole-life discipleship project.

Click on the picture for a slightly larger version.

Speaking Up for Jesus

John Twisleton of Chichester diocese, and Cindy Kent at Premier Radio, have produced this CD resource in Christian apologetics. We have a review copy available free in exchange for your review: email Jayne at [email protected] for your copy. A flyer is available here.

John writes:

"Christianity has always provoked controversy. Today it is perceived in some quarters as blind faith. Speaking up for Jesus attempts to raise the voice of reason in the face of such objections faithful to the invitation in 1 Peter 3v5: Always be ready to make your defence to anyone who demands from you an account of the hope that is in you.

In this audio resource six prominent Christian thinkers engage with moral, historical, intellectual and psychological objections to Christian believing in six 15-20 minute sessions suitable for individual or group listening.

They are:

David Winter

Amy Orr-Ewing

Nicholas King

Steve Chalke

Michelle Moran

Lindsay Urwin

Questions are provided for ongoing discussion. A range of current objections to Christian faith are explored including perceptions of the misuse of power by Christians through the centuries, kill-joy attitudes to sex and the claims that Christianity has no sure historical basis.

Charges that Christianity is emotionally manipulative, fails to answer the problem of evil and has no answer to the existence of other religions are also debated.

The CD resource prepared by the Diocese of Chichester and Premier Christian Radio at the invitation of the Christian Evidence Society provides wisdom from across the whole church."

CPAS resource - "Growing leaders for growing churches"

James Lawrence at CPAS writes:

CPAS is about to publish its latest resource pack - Growing Leaders. The resource offers ten sessions over a year to help you develop leaders and leadership at every level in your church. Its is aimed at growing 'lay'/volunteer leaders. Our ten pilot churches have already shown how God uses the material not just for developing skills in leadership, but as an opportunity for changed lives and spiritual growth. Here is what the blurb says:

Growing leaders for growing churches

Imagine. Effective leadership at  every level of your church. Leaders growing in Christlike character. Leaders confident about God's call on their lives. Leaders equipped to   lead.

Leadership is a proven factor in growing, healthy churches. Yet so many churches struggle to find leaders. And   many in leadership feel ill-equipped in a changing church and world.  

Growing Leaders is designed to meet these challenges head on. This is more than just another course. Over a   year, its comprehensive approach focuses on:

• Leadership rooted in Christ    
• Essential skills for the task    
• Deepening commitment to long-term service

Through teaching, mentoring, and   practical projects Growing Leaders helps churches find and develop leaders passionate for God's work.

The materials are in a hardwearing plastic box with three separate files for each part of the programme. The materials include:

• Full leaders notes and resources  
• Photocopiable participants' handouts  
• A free copy of the book Growing Leaders by James Lawrence  
• A CD-ROM with brief training videos, text, PowerPoint presentations, other media, software and handouts.

...in short everything you need to run Growing Leaders.

We're running a series of Training Days around the country from January to July 2006 to equip people to run Growing Leaders. Each day will focus on how we grow leaders in local churches, and introduce the Growing Leaders pack. The days will offer quality training for those who might lead the course. We hope it will be an attractive opportunity for you and other key leaders to come together.

Here's a copy of the CPAS flyer for the training days.

 And here are the dates.

Group for Evangelisation - residential review

Jim Currin is the new Executive Secretary of Churches Together in England's co-ordinating Group for Evangelisation. He sends this brief digest of the Group's recent residential meeting.

Archbishop's Presidential Address to Synod

In his Presidential Address the Archbishop of Canterbury emphasised the need for Anglicans to keep talking and listening in these fractious times. In the second of his four priorities for the coming five years Archbishop Rowan said this:

We have already made commitments to encourage new expressions of the Church’s local life, and what has been done in a short space of time by Steve Croft and others is immensely encouraging (we already know of some 300 new initiatives, and calculate that about 20,000 people have been contacted through these initiatives; and this is only a small part of a picture whose details are being further uncovered every day). 

In this area, I suggest that Synod reminds itself annually about what is happening here, by some sort of report or, better, celebratory event, so that it may measure its work against the background of these new signs of what God is doing.  Some of our legislative programme is about what could be called a principled and careful loosening of structures to assist the process. 

For this to be effective and to have integrity, we need opportunities to be clear about the difference between some of the basic principles of order in the Church and the fairly varied ways in which they are worked out.  There are solid theological reasons for holding to our threefold ministerial order.  But I suspect that we shall need a good deal of imagination to find appropriate ways of incarnating this order in new settings.  A deacon is a great deal more than an apprentice priest, a sort of ministerial probationer.  A priest is someone gifted by God with the authority to gather and give voice to the common prayer of God’s people – not a leader or manager on a secular model, not even just a teacher.  A bishop is not simply a territorial co-ordinator or even just a sacramental focus, but the person who makes a community of ordained and lay ministers of the gospel work effectively in mission. 

So if this Synod is going to give the support it should to the continuance of the Mission-Shaped Church agenda, let it be willing to use its imagination about ordained ministry.

For the full text of the address go to http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/presidentialaddress.html

"expressions" - the new Fresh Expressions newspaper

Steve Croft writes:

Fresh Expressions have produced the first edition of a tabloid style newspaper - Expressions - telling stories of what's happening across the country.  50 copies will be sent to each diocese via the Bishop's office next week.  To order more for your own use just email [email protected] and give your address and the quantity in multiples of 50.  Parishes can do the same.   A DVD is now in production for release in February.

New Bob Jackson book - "The Road to Growth"

Packed with the results of three years’ intensive research and consultancy with churches and dioceses, Bob's new book offers a blueprint for how the Church can grow nationally.

CHP write:

"It identifies key action points that can lead to a sustained boost in congregation numbers and a renewed church life for those already in the worshipping community.

Bob Jackson’s research highlighted these eight themes:

• Planting new congregations with fresh formats or targeted at specific groups;
• Less formal worship services with modern music, offered alongside more traditional formats;
• Better provision for children and young people;
• Improving welcome and integration for new comers;
• More focus on small groups and pastoral care;
• Use of evangelism courses as part of a wider mission strategy;
• More lay involvement in leadership;
• Improvements in buildings.

The book – a sequel to the acclaimed 2002 book, Hope for the Church – is part of the Explorations series, a growing library of books which aim to stimulate debate within the church. Jackson examines recent trends in church management, drawing on a rich seam of research on topics including the recruitment age of clergy, the length of vacancies, and the timings of church services. Addressing these with a incisive mix of new approaches to financial and human resource management, he offers what he describes as “a practical tool rather than an academic talking point.” The Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Reading, explains: “The Road to Growth confronts us with some truths about ourselves. Sometimes uncomfortable, always provocative, and ultimately helpful, this is a book that helps us imagine a new future.”

The Ven Bob Jackson, Archdeacon of Walsall and Growth Officer for the Diocese of Lichfield, has written his book at an important time for the Church of England. While some observers are predicting further decline, others are pointing to statistics showing growth and the significant expansion of Fresh Expressions projects and other less traditional forms of Church life. This shifting landscape creates an even greater need for quality material to support church leaders, from informing national strategy to encouraging new local initiatives.

The Rt Revd Dominic Walker, Bishop of Monmouth (Church in Wales), describes Bob Jackson’s approach as “straightforward – he studies the evidence, analyses it and then shows what we can do about it.  Challenging and inspiring – this should be essential reading for every bishop, priest and lay person who wants the Church to grow.”

The Road to Growth is published by Church House Publishing, priced £12.99, and is available from all Christian bookshops and Church House Bookshop, 31 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BN, tel. 020-7898 1300, e mail [email protected], or on the web at: www.chbookshop.co.uk (mail order available)."

Latest "Encounters on the Edge" - Rural Church

Church Army press release:

Rural churches are down but not out, and able to develop fresh expressions of church, according to George Lings, Director of Church Army’s Research Unit. In this month’s Encounters on the Edge twin publications (27 The Village and Fresh Expressions & 28 Rural Cell Church). Lings explores what life is like for our rural churches.  He concludes the rural church is “down but not out” but  in some places is "greying to an alarming extent.”

Just last week in Birmingham, Lings addressed  members of the Rural Evangelism Network (REN), the UK’s national and ecumenical forum focussed on the challenge of reaching the  19 million people living in the smallest communities in the country.Barry Osborne, Executive Secretary of REN commented, “George was able to point the way forward while standing firmly within today’s rural reality.Inspiring, informative, encouraging, helpful, affirming – it was all of that and more.”

Lings notes the reality of diminishing clergy resources and a stagnant mission field still tussling with post-Christendom realities as a warning signal that a more creative approach to mission is needed if rural churches are to have a promising future.  Lings' findings challenge convention thinking that fresh expressions of church, thought by many to be only an urban or suburban phenomena, can flourish even in very isolated rural areas , often with the help of flourishing local lay ministry.

In Encounters on the Edge 27 The Village and Fresh Expressions, Lings’ investigations take him to an alternative worship style fresh expression of church (Sunday 4.6) in the depths of rural north Devon run by Church Army Evangelist Mandy Wright. Mandy adds; "my dream is to have different types of worshipping communities all over the area. If ever the traditional churches die, there will then be a continuing Christian presence in the Holds worthy Deanery. It's early days, but so far, God is with us." Nine months on from its launch Sunday 4.6 has a sizable group attending on a regular basis, including a significant number who were not previously churchgoers.

In Encounters on the Edge 28 Rural Cell Church, Lings tells the story of a flourishing cell church in the Norfolk countryside.  This small group sized expression of church was ideal for continuing the process of discipleship for Alpha converts (who couldn’t feel at home in the congregational worship) and is gently coaxing more mature Christians into lay leadership.  Team Rector, Sally Gaze has developed an approach where cells groups were recognised as containing the DNA of what it means to be church. It was here that the vast majority of the new Christians in the benefice are growing in faith.

In a field where there are very few useful short summaries of the rural context Lings' research stresses the importance of  the church planting process identifying  how a culture works.  He describes the very different types of villagers (along with their different attitudes to life, community and church) and concludes “it is almost impossible to imagine that one expression of church (even a traditional model) will alone be able to connect with the different groups now found in a village.”

He concludes with the challenge that the church’s influence in the rural context will have to be through quality not power.  Beautiful but burdensome church buildings face an uncertain future as some small local churches will be crushed by the weight of financial responsibility of their upkeep.  Lings leaves readers with the suggestion that rural cells could be a key player, growing now what will become a kind of underground rural church of the future. This approach could deliver the small rural church from the impossible burden of trying to be all things to all people- cell is a a natural progression for those who become Christian from connections in networks and by active participation. A staple crop in a mixed rural economy.

To order Encounters on the Edge no 27 The Village and Fresh Expressions or Encounters on the Edge no 28 Rural Cell Church contact Laurence Keith 0114 272 7451 or log onto www.encountersontheedge.org.uk or email [email protected]

Rural resource book - Seeds in Holy Ground

C of E communications office write:

Seeds in Holy Ground, a new resource launched this week by the Church of England, aims to help England’s 10,000 churches in the countryside meet the needs of the 78.8% of the rural population who classify themselves as Christian – as well as the remaining 21% who do not.

The workbook explains how rural churches face distinct challenges in meeting the expectations of their communities, while attracting the human and financial resources needed for their ministry. Problems in the rural community, too, directly impact on the work of churches in the countryside: huge changes within the agriculture industry, soaring house prices turning some villages into dormitory settlements and poor public transport links all affect the ministry of local Christian communities.

Recognising these unique challenges and opportunities, the workbook is “not about encouraging rural churches to try to do even more…but to do whatever is done really well,” and is packed with case studies from across the country to encourage and assist churches in doing just that.

Split into colourful spreads packed with up-to-date photography, each section of the workbook is dedicated to a topic of importance to rural churches, such as engagement with the wider community, working with church buildings or running mid-week activites. Each section contains questions for group discussion and activities linked to worship, mission, the surrounding community and celebrating rural life.

Activities suggested by Seeds in Holy Ground include identifying local visitor amenities and how the church can help encourage local tourism, using the church building as a exhibition space for local history, and considering how activities that take place in church already can be opened up to the wider community.

In his introduction to the workbook, the Rt Revd Michael Langrish, Bishop of Exeter and Chairman of the Church of England’s Rural Affairs Committee, says: “A network of churches relates to every inch of a nation’s life. It speaks of God who, in Christ, commits himself to specific local communities and contexts.”

The Church’s National Rural Officer, Jill Hopkinson, adds: “Rural churches face many complex challenges, typically connected to the upkeep of their buildings for the benefit of the local community and to sharing tasks and responsibilities between relatively few people.

“These churches need to be cherished and encouraged, but should not be seen as some kind of poor relative worthy of sympathy – there is some amazing work going on in every corner of the country, and much that urban churches could learn from their rural brothers and sisters when reflecting on subjects such as the format of worship, ecumenical partnerships, and the use of church buildings.

“We hope that this workbook will serve to provide a stimulus to discussion and prayer on different options open to rural churches when they are planning how to engage in mission,” concludes Jill.

Copies are available from Jill Hopkinson c/o Arthur Rank Centre, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, CV8 2LZ
024 7669 6460 email [email protected]
Cost 1-4 copies £3.99 each plus £1.50 p&p
5 copies £3 each plus £4 p&p
10 copies £3 each plus £7 p&p
20-100 copies £3 each plus £10 p&p

Narnia is coming...

Paul Rush (Leicester) sends this:

The first film in the Narnia series, the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, based very closely on CS Lewis' masterful children's story, is due for UK release on 8th December.
This is a film made by Disney in close consultation with the Lewis family. Special effects and CG graphics are being done by the same companies involved in the "LORD of the RINGS" and the series of films is being shot in New Zealand with the same stunning scenery.
Find out more for yourself at www.narnia.co.uk
It is, of course, a golden opportunity on the run-up to Christmas todo some Narnia-related events for children and their parents. Advent is a season of 'always winter, but never Christmas' - the only difference being that Christmas does come and that waiting is over.

RESOURCES
There are various resources available free on the internet. www.narniaresources.com is a wonderful website that has oodles of free ideas.
Look especially at their free downloads section, which has the following pdf brochures:

• * Leader Guide - Contains a variety of materials to help spur discussion among adults in both large and small group settings.
• * Event Guide - Everything you need to plan a turnkey Narnia event including games, crafts, activities and snack ideas
• * Youth Leader Guide - Contains a variety of materials to help get youth involved with the film personally and as part of a larger group
• * Children's Leader Guide - Contains a variety of materials to conduct children's activities and discussions around the film
• * Teacher's Guide - Contains a variety of materials to spur discussion with students at school and to share with their families at home
• * Parent's Guide - Contains a variety of materials to help parentsplan Narnia related activities with their children + games, downloadable publicity leaflets for your own event, Reading Group discussion starters etc. etc.

New Anglican-Methodist Covenant website

Check it out at www.anglican-methodist.org.uk

New website from Church Army

From Dave Coleman at Church Army communications:

 

Church Army has this week launched a dynamic new web site (www.churcharmy.org.uk) aimed at supporting the mission and evangelism resource needs of the church and providing access to and information about its work.

 

Special features include:

•   A searchable database of evangelists and projects    
•   On-line polls and forums  
•   Dowloadable resources for mission and evangelism  
•   Automatic updates on evangelists and projects  
•   News and features  for parish and diocese publications  
•   Information on courses and research for mission and evangelism

FLAME Conference 2006 - Rediscovering Fatherhood

Here's a flyer for this conference (June 16-18), which will pay close attention to the mission/evangelism dimension of its theme, with seminars on "Involving fathers in the life of the church" and "fresh expressions and fatherhood" among other things.
The keynote addresses will be given by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Bishop David Atkinson, and Tom Beardshaw of Fathers Direct.
More info here:

Christmas DVD ‘More to Life’

Viz-A-Viz Media 2003 repackaged for Christmas 2005 13 minutes £2 plus P&P

John Twisleton (Chichester) reviews this resource:

This attractive evangelistic resource sponsored by Christian Enquiry Agency and other national bodies includes some powerful stories on video for distribution to seekers, telling of how Our Lord changes people’s lives. In its new Christmas seasonal packaging the original DVD is detached from the fuller evangelistic More to Life resource which includes a training video and manual ideal for forming up an outreach strategy backed by prayer. Lending or giving the DVD to enquirers is a brilliant way of connecting them in the comfort of their homes with evidence of the reality of Jesus Christ and the way he deepens people’s lives and turns them inside out at times. Christmas is the season when the church has most visitors or engagement with the local community. Within those who so engage with us there is always a small proportion open to go deeper with God and the More to Life DVD could be a godsend from us and for them.

Order from Viz-A-Viz, Freepost, Basildon, Essex, SS14 3BR  Tel 01268 530531 or via www.vizaviz.org.

Ordained Pioneer Minister Guidelines

Guidelines for the identification, training and deployment of Ordained Pioneer Ministers

After a good deal of consultation and redrafting, and an enormous amount of work by Steve Croft and others, these formal guidelines for Ordained Pioneer Ministry have been released for publication as a working document by the Bishops' Committee on Ministry. Download them here.
In my judgement they provide a really solid base for the development of ordained ministry in the mixed economy church.
Making this process work is essential and it's central to the follow-up to "Mission-Shaped Church". Please read these guidelines and discuss them with the selection and training people in your diocese.