Mission-Shaped Church

This is the name of a book, published by Church House Publishing last year with foreword by Archbishop Rowan Williams. The book looks at how churches can respond to the changing cultural context through seeking to create 'fresh expressions of church'. One of the criticisms of the book has been its focus on ministry with adults and although there are moves afoot to address this at a national level we thought it might be helpful to look at the whole issue at a more local level too.

•  Have you moved your 'Sunday School' away from Sunday morning?

•  Do you offer a mid week church or school based group?

•  Do you offer a toddler praise service during the week?

•  Have you tried any other way of reaching out to children, other than through your regular Sunday morning Eucharist?

If you have then we would like to hear from you. We are hoping to compile a booklet of examples of 'Mission-Shaped Church', specifically relating to children within the diocese. This information will then be available to others in the diocese who are seeking ideas, help or support. Clearly anything produced should not be limited to roaring successes and we will be just as interested in projects which have been tried and not continued - they can offer equally valuable insights for others.

Please get in touch if you have something to share and we will send you a short proforma to complete with details of your Mission Shaped Church.