churchgrowth-blog1 - Tumblr blog

churchgrowth-blog1 · 7 years

Text

Portsmouth: what does it take to set up a resource church?

A resource church is far more than a large successful church rebranded to justify the attention it attracts. Where successful, resource churches are fully integrated into a diocesan strategy to revitalise city-wide mission and growth. Archdeacon of Portsdown the Ven Joanne Grenfell talks about managing the diocesan side of launching Harbour Church in Portsmouth in September 2016

At the invitation of Bishop Christopher Foster, the Revd Alex Wood relocated from St Peter’s Brighton – itself a 2009 plant from Holy Trinity Brompton – to plant Harbour Church in Portsmouth city centre. He brought with him a new curate, and a team of mainly young lay people who were committed to growing a new church. The intention from the outset was for this to be a resource and a blessing to the whole city.

It is quite difficult to grow traditional church in the centre of Portsmouth, though our existing parish churches do a great job in serving the community and being there for all who need them. There’s lots of high density medium rise social housing blocks, much of it is not at all attractive. We have many multiple occupancy houses mixed in with small pockets of affluence. The population turnover is high with many people moving on each year.

New student accommodation had just been built and we needed to develop an Anglican offering that would be appropriate for them and for other young people who weren’t served well by traditional churches.

For the church to work as a resource church it has to be embedded in the structure of the diocese. My role has been to link the Bishop at the heart of the vision with the new team coming in.

The initial preparatory stages were not straightforward. It is easy to underestimate just how much time and effort it takes to get things off the ground.

I’ve never before launched something like this. The sense of risk is high, as is the fear of failure. For me personally, it took a measure of resolve to overcome the expected misunderstandings and fear. Only by sticking with a vision that you really believe in can take you through.

I discovered I needed to develop a certain determination in me in a way I had not needed in previous roles.

We got things wrong in the first instance by looking at grafting into an existing church. There were a lot of difficult issues that circled around questions of influence and control, and we could not reconcile these. Conversations with local clergy were sometimes quite difficult.

We had to draw back from that approach, and there was a lot of hurt and disappointment when we did so.

Being detailed and clear and structured in my approach helped greatly. I’ve learned that you’ve got to keep to the vision of growth: keep the eye on the prize, and remember that the prize is not the institution.

Knowing that others were ready to support and help was a great help. Having the confidence and backing of the bishop also really matters.

In the early stages my most important contacts were with the Area Dean, leaders of local churches, the diocesan secretary and with the cathedral. Identifying the right people from the Church Commissioners to help move things forward helped hugely.

We put requests out on the Diocesan Secretaries’ and Archdeacons’ networks and were able to borrow ideas and expertise from other dioceses with matters such as creating a Bishop’s Mission Order.

Our ecumenical contacts too were very helpful, and I found that leaders in other denominations were ready to be supportive.

The team from Brighton arrived in May 2016 – four months before the launch, and we tidied up some of the administration and structures during the course of the summer.

Harbour church has had a good start, developing relationships with the diocese. We are ready to bring in a second curate by the summer to work in partnership between Harbour and the Cathedral, and to develop new worshipping communities.

One of the joys has been watching them bring their church planting expertise. HTB’s model of church is a strong one and I have seen that adopting a proven model means that we don’t have to invent it all from scratch.

A very positive surprise to me was how deeply and how quickly the team established a culture of prayer. I have also been struck by the power of working as a team. We often appoint a single vicar and expect them to turn things around on their own.

Our local clergy have been very generous. Before the launch they reminded me often that they were praying for the new church.

In the first month after the launch, I went to Harbour every week with my children; we still attend regularly and they love the focus on their spiritual development and belonging. I have wanted over the last nine months to be with the team in prayer and also to keep an eye out for any early problems. My overwhelming impression is that Harbour is a good and wholesome place to be, for people of any age, and of any background.

#portsmouth diocese #Church Growth #resource church #church planting #portsmouth

0 notes

churchgrowth-blog1 · 7 years

Text

Vision champions

Blackburn diocese has its work cut out for next 10 years. Its Vision 2026: Healthy Churches Transforming Communities plan aims to turn around its long-term trend of gradually declining attendance. They have developed plans to meet ambitious goals such as two thirds of all parishes to have grown, to measure church health, and to establish 50 new or reinvigorated congregations

Such a sweeping programme of change needs people who can communicate the vision with credibility. Already 80% of parishes have appointed voluntary vision champions, most of them lay leaders.

Dave Champness, Blackburn Diocese’s vision coordinator, talks about the steps taken to get such a high proportion of people to commit to the vision. He began work with the diocese at the beginning of 2016. “The idea for vision champions in each parish came about before I joined the diocesan team,” he says. “Seeing it was one of the things that encouraged me to apply for the role.”

Some keys to success:

We were clear about our motivations and expectations

We modelled what we wanted to achieve

The senior team championed, but did not lead

We built on an experience of success

We gave people a framework and freedom

We were clear about our motivations and expectations

Late in 2015 the leadership team created a role description for vision champions and sent a request out for parish nominations. There are many things that a vision champion could do, but the key priority is to keep Vision 2026 on the agenda of their PCC for the next three years. That’s an achievable goal for most people.

All but a handful of vision champions are not stipendiary ministers

We made sure that incumbents were included in all our communication with vision champions so that they could be confident that this initiative is not about the diocese seeking an agent of change behind their backs.

Before Easter I wrote to all clergy who hadn’t recruited a vision champions in which. I made it clear that this would be the only time I would chase them for names – we want this to be seen and felt as an opportunity to take up rather than another task imposed top down from the diocese.

We decided not to give vision champions a badge or a certificate, as we wanted to encourage them to think of this not as an honorary role but as a task for a humble and committed group of people.

We modelled what we wanted to achieve

In Spring 2016 a small team visited open synod meetings in all 14 deaneries to talk about vision champions, as well as introducing the Crossroads Mission weekend. At these evenings, We made sure that we modelled a good welcome with a cafe-style room set and nice touches such as sweets on the table.

I am sending personalised Christmas cards to each of the vision champions for the same reason. We want to show them that they are individually valued and appreciated.

Earlier this year suffragan bishops invited the newly-recruited vision champions to one of six evening receptions in their homes. Around 18 people at a time were served with cheese and wine, given an opportunity to get to know each other, study the bible and pray together and to ask questions of myself and the bishop about their role.

Central to the success of the vision is the development of healthy, welcoming churches. Those receptions helped to establish some of the culture change that we want to see.

The senior team championed, but did not lead

Suffragan bishops received vision champions in their homes, but we made a decision not to hold receptions at the diocesan bishop’s palace as we wanted to deliberately make a statement that the Vision is not the Bishop’s vision, but a vision for us all.

We wanted the energy and movement for vision champions to come from the local rather than the leadership of the diocese. There is a risk that an initiative too closely associated with one person will never be owned by the whole group.

Nevertheless our bishops are consistent in their support. For example they make the effort to seek out vision champions when they visit parishes. A few words of encouragement makes a big difference.

We built on an experience of success

In September the Diocese of Blackburn ran a series of high profile and highly successful mission events – Crossroads – across Lancashire. Resources were mobilised centrally but most of planning was coordinated locally. Over 80% of parishes now have a recent positive experience that they can put on a good “do” in which someone can talk confidently about their faith, not just having a great social event.

As parishes have demonstrated that they can organise events, we are now suggesting that parishes follow the Mission Action Planning process to create/update a vision action plan, where parishes identify what they are going to do to make disciples, be witnesses, grow leaders and prioritise work with children, young people and schools.

We gave people a framework and freedom

The 235 parishes in Lancashire are a mix of rural, suburban and urban contexts (a third of parishes are in the bottom 20% for multiple indicators of deprivation). With the fundamentals in place we are giving local vision champions the freedom to take initiative in championing the vision in ways appropriate to their communities and parish leadership.

Some Champions said that they would like a means of keeping in touch with each other so we set up a closed facebook group for sharing ideas and for mutual support. It is very good to see that vision champions are taking ideas and inspiration from each other, operating across parish and deanery structures to work well in their own community.

Find out more about vision champions in Blackburn Diocese

#blackburndiocese #vision #strategy #lay leadership #culture change #communication

0 notes