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 | in love for him |
| in love for one another |
| in love for the local community and the wider world. |
We aim to serve God corporately as a church, sharing the Good News of Jesus in this locality. We also aim to encourage, strengthen and equip our members for their individual Christian lives, in all their different settings.
We acknowledge that the Gospel is unchanging, and that we are
called to persevere with the tasks God has given us. At the same
time we recognize the need for forward-looking vision in the life
of our church, and for us to embrace the changes such a vision
will bring.
| continue |
In particular we have identified a number of priorities, the three most important being:-
| Outreach to young adults, i.e. those aged approximately 20-40 |
| Developing work with children, including those from non-church-going families |
| Raising the profile of the church within the area |
We anticipate that these priorities should affect many areas
of church life over the next two years as described in the
paragraphs that follow. Specific targets are shown in italics.
| forward to list of areas |
The areas considered in this statement are:-
For details of our aims for each area, please click on one of the above links.
Our worship is to reflect a Christ-centred intimacy and a sense of adoration. It should allow the Holy Spirit to move among us as he wants and should also enable us to express our spiritual gifts for the building up of the body.
We shall continue to explore how we can best develop aspects of our worship in order to make our church services as helpful as possible to young adults and children, (while still being mindful of the needs of other groups).
We shall seek to make imaginative use of the new Common Worship services.
We value the special nature of the evening service, but are
aware of the need for growth.
| Forward to our learning together |
| Back to list of areas |
| Back to start of mission statement |
Our learning together through preaching, small groups, etc, is to equip us to live for Christ in our homes, work places, communities and in wider society, expressing the goals, values and standards of the Kingdom of God.
We will provide the resources to train and equip those who are in positions of leadership in the church, and will encourage leaders to take up suitable opportunities for training.
We will seek to encourage the role of the small groups within
our church, and will ensure all new members of the church are
given the opportunity to join a group.
| Forward to our work among children and young people |
| Back to list of areas |
| Back to start of mission statement |
Children and young people are to be valued for who they are. We wish to see them taught the faith and challenged to a whole-hearted, sacrificial, life-long commitment to Christ. We will listen to their questions and concerns.
We commit ourselves to exploring ways of reaching those from families who do not regularly attend church, while also supporting the existing Sunday groups and their leaders. In particular will will look at the possibility of holding group activities at times other than the usual Sunday church times.
We recognize that future availability of leadership is a major concern.
We will encourage our older young people to a deep sense of
Christian vocation, including the possibility of involvement in
various areas of specifically Christian service.
| Forward to our witness, service and profile in the local community |
| Back to list of areas |
| Back to start of mission statement |
We commit ourselves anew to evangelism in its various forms, with a fresh concern for the people of our neighbourhood and an emphasis upon finding new and imaginative ways to build relationships. We acknowledge that we must find ways of going out to people, rather than seeking to pull them in to our buildings and our services. We will aim to be an active presence in the local community, involved in local issues and local needs. By good attractive publicity we will make known the work we are doing.
We will seek for ways of making effective contact with young adults.
We will continue to explore the best ways of using the
Emmaus course, the "So, who is this Jesus?"
video and the Christianity Explained course.
| Forward to our support for the world church and involvement in wider world issues |
| Back to list of areas |
| Back to start of mission statement |
We are world Christians, linked with other churches and other Christians world-wide through our support for mission societies at home and abroad. We value these links and wish to foster and develop them. We believe mission also embraces wider issues of care for those in need, of justice, and of concern for the environment. Where possible we shall seek to be involved in such issues, working on the basis of faith in God, adherence to the truths of his word, and compassion for those in need.
We will encourage all members of our congregation to be on the mailing list of a mission agency.
We will encourage our mission agency reps in their work, including where appropriate giving support to enable them to attend events run by their society.
We will continue support of the Make Poverty History Campaign.
| Forward to our organizational structures |
| Back to list of areas |
| Back to start of mission statement |
We want to travel as light as possible, but we acknowledge the need for good administration and internal communication.
We shall seek to ensure our committee structures etc are
geared to the fulfilment of the targets in this mission statement.
| Forward to our prayer, undergirding all the areas above |
| Back to list of areas |
| Back to start of mission statement |
In all these things we are totally reliant upon God's strength. We therefore commit ourselves to seek through heartfelt prayer for his blessing upon all we do, trusting that as we delight ourselves in the Lord, he will give us the desires of our hearts. This will involve our intercessions in services, other opportunities for prayer together, and our prayer as individual Christians.
We commit ourselves to build on progress made in our corporate prayer life through the "Prayer Vine" and prayer meetings on 3 or 4 Saturday mornings each year. We will seek to encourage further growth and development in this area of our church life.
We will support the whole life of the church in prayer,
including particularly the three major priorities and the other
targets as set out above.
| Forward to conclusion |
| Back to list of areas |
| Back to start of mission statement |
It is intended that this Mission Statement, launched at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting in the Spring of 1999, should be reconsidered at subsequent APCMs. This version was slightly amended after the 2000 APCM (with some later adaptations and updates).
The following areas of church life, which are not included in this statement, may subsequently be given targets and be brought into a revised Mission Statement:
| fellowship and care for one another |
| support for our members in daily work and witness |
| involvement with other churches locally |
| and use of our material resources, i.e. money and buildings. |
