Signs of Life

I am now nearing the end of my work as the North Lincoln Circuit Mission Enabler and there  is very little I can practically do in the remaining week. However the report I created for the circuit is available for members of the circuit and each respective Church and as such I am available to answer questions and discuss the issues raised in the report. So far I have heard positive feedback but I know that not all are happy with it.  The choices that each Church makes regarding its life and ministry is up to each Church to work out, the report is there to stimulate thinking and discussion on the way each Church is going about its mission; use it for that purpose. You don’t have to agree with all of it (or any of it) to use it.

There are a number of ways the report can be used.

It can serve as a discussion starter for Church councils looking at the way forward for the Church and its mission. In this case I recommend reading the whole report and the notes of my presentation (available on this site) and seeing what you can learn from each of  the Church sections and the ideas and recommendations made to the Circuit. It is worth revisiting probably for the next 18 months, initially to see what changes can be made and later the format can be used as a guide to repeat the review to see what has changed.

It can be used for praying for the Circuit and each Church in the Circuit.

It can be used to consider potential Fresh Expressions  in the area.

My contract ends at the end of the month but I don’t start my Diaconal Training at the Wesley Study Centre until the end of September so I will be available to answer questions on the report up until then.

I recently found an interesting Christian TV website and of great interest was this one particular interview with Steve Chalk answering a question on appropriate Bible study content for a house group. He answers by showing how the question is part of an even bigger question in how the Church addresses the Gospel to the needs of people in answering the questions and situations they face in everyday life. He points out that this sort of thing needs to be discussed and planned at a Church leadership level if the Church wants to be effective at ministering to both the established church members and to people who are on the edge.

Go here to visit the website and see the interview

The Circuit Mission Enabler’s report has been issued to the circuit and on Tuesday 8th at Nettleham Methodist Church  I presented an overview of the report to the circuit leadership team and others present.We had a lively, encouraging and stimulating evening of discussion based around the presentation and the report.

To download a pdf of the presentation click  the link below.

Reporting back

This Tuesday I will be presenting my report to the Circuit at Nettleham Methodist Church, 7:30pm.I understand that the meeting is open to anyone in the circuit to come along and participate. I hope to circulate the report this evening (Monday) so that folk will have a chance to read it before coming to the meeting.

My presentation will not attempt to go through the whole report  but rather present an overview of my observations, investigations, reflections, recommendations and ideas on the current life of the Circuit and potential mission opportunities.

My hope is that individuals and Churches may gain some inspiration as to how they can engage in mission more effectively and that the Circuit leadership team can use the report to begin the process of forming a new Circuit mission strategy.