Why not take advantage of our experience and expertise in guiding churches through an interactive process to explore your available mission resources and local mission opportunities. We use a proven process that is tailored to fit and suit each church and its tradition. It typically takes about six hours and could be held on or off church premises. With smaller groups it can even be run in a home. It can be run in one day, over a weekend around your usual services, or as a series of online sessions.
How much does it cost?
Thanks to the support of our generous partners we are able to run our tailor-made process for free, although we would love you to consider if your church may be able to make a missional gift towards our ministry.
What kind of churches are appropriate?
It is designed to help village churches. The process is suitable for any church of any denomination regardless of its tradition. It works well with a single village church but can work similarly with a part or whole of a benefice, circuit, association or even churches together.
What level of commitment is required?
The processes we use are carefully designed to adapt to what is possible. We always encourage a participating church to encourage maximum engagement, and we promise to make it enjoyable. However, not every church is able to obtain 100% involvement. Actual numbers are not important.
What is the format?
The following is only indicative of what the event might look like.
Our time together will start with a short devotion, and opening prayer, and we will end within a similar manner with a short period prayerfully reflecting on what has been learned.
You talk and we listen. A time where the participants introduce themselves and say something about their church and their role within it.
Our introduction. The individual or team members leading the process introduce themselves and provide an outline for the day. Questions welcomed.
Who you are. This interactive session includes individual reflection and working in small groups with feedback. Together we explore the life experiences and skills that we all bring. We should be able to begin to see potential.
What you have. Beside the people who, together, make up the church, almost all churches have other resources available. This is sometimes surprising and encouraging.
Where you are. Another interactive session mapping the geography, culture and life of the wider community you serve. What are the needs and opportunities presented by the context? We might already begin to see how who you are and what you have might match needs and opportunities.
Planning strategy. More interactivity and probably several sessions as, together we begin to see what is realistically possible. We explore rural missional culture. We capture the dreams and visions of those who make up the church. We will look for simple steps that start from who you are and what you have. We will learn about prioritising and focusing. We will help you draw up an action plan, carefully resourced and timed. Importantly, we will discuss how we might discern what we believe God is saying and doing, and where he might be leading.
Reflection. We will reflect on what we have learned and how this can be carried forward personally and together as the local church. If the process has worked well and the participants have formed and are ready to implement an appropriate strategy, there will inevitably be change. We explore the implications of change and management of change.
