Overlapping Ministries

I have just started blogging occasional articles for the Church Growth Research and Development website.

My first article on the way that overlapping ministries can help churches to grow has just been published: http://www.churchgrowthrd.org.uk/blog/churchgrowth/overlapping_ministries

The Church Growth R&D is a relatively new initiative to look at how the church of England can foster growth. As they say on their website

The Church Growth Research Programme is an 18 month research project exploring some of the factors that might explain church growth in the Church of England. The site includes examples of growing churches, existing literature on church growth and a discussion forum for users to share their experiences and opinions on church growth.

Well worth a general look at for ideas

Change and Continuity at Canterbury…

So, it is going to be Justin Welby for Archbishop of Canterbury. In many ways the media are signalling a big change in the leadership of the Church of England.

Change in Southwark Diocese…

I was presenting a proposal last night to the Southwark Bishop’s Council to run a Mission Shaped Ministry Course in Southwark.

A mission shaped future…

Last year I came across a project that was being launched by the Church of England to give funding to churches that might be able to show how the Church could grow on estates.

Getting to grips with the Church of England….

As some of you who read our weekly newsletter or attend Springfield will know is that we, along with St Paul’s Brixton and the Diocese of Southwark, recently won a bid from the Church Commissioners for developing estate based mission in South London.

We have a new Church Office…..

We have been without a Church Centre since April when we left Ross Parade. Ross Parade was a great Church Centre for us albeit with some significant limitations. These included the fact that it was too small for most ministries and many meetings (e.g. PCC and Cell Leaders meetings).

Staff Away Days

Well we’re back! Did you miss us??!! Seriously though, we had a really productive time away, looking at some of the areas that we believe that God is calling to grow as a church.

building for the next stage

Well after all the excitement of Sue and Donna’s ordination at the weekend it is back to work with lots to do. I and the staff team are away for three days working on the next stage of Springfield.

The Big Jubilee Lunch and the importance of overlapping ministries

This gallery contains 15 photos.

One of the great events each year is our Feast in the Field that we normally hold at the end of Flaming June. Well this year we timed it with the Big Jubilee Lunch.

Church Growth and the state

There is a very much travelled narrative in the UK that the Church is in a nosedive decline to marginalisation and irrelevance. The case for this is the falling church numbers in the Church of England and other mainstream churches.