New Communities Missionally Engaging in your Local Community

New Communities Training

Missionally Engaging in your Local Community

Exploring theology, practice and transformation

4 March, 10:00-13:00 in person

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7, 14, 21 March, 19:00-21:00 on zoom

18, 25 April, 2 May, 19.00-21.00 on Zoom
 

Saturday 13 May – 10.00-13.00 in person

We have booked Ali Boulton to run this eight-session course – aimed primarily at helping churches develop effective ways of engaging with new housing communities.

Ali Boulton is a Baptist minister who has developed church in a new housing community on the edge of Swindon. She is also a member of the Archbishop’s Commission on New Housing Communities. She is widely recognised as a leading practitioner and thinker on this topic, and this is a real opportunity to reflect with someone who is influencing the national picture.

Please contact Doug Chaplin (doug.chaplin@cofe-worcester.org.uk) to register your interest, saying whether you (and other members of your parish) would like to book a place or places on this course of eight sessions split over two terms.  

An indicative outline of the contents from a previous version of this course are:

1 – Introduction Why Underlying Principles? A Character First, Values Led Approach. Putting the why before the what.

2 – Blessing Unconditionally ‘I will bless you… and you will be a blessing’ Exploring a theology of blessing and mediating God’s blessing

3 – Living Incarnationally ‘The Word became Flesh’ Embodying Christ practically and spiritually in our community

4 – Listening to God and the Community How can we find out what the Spirt is doing and join in?

5 – Being Friends ‘Jesus said I call you friends’ - Having the posture of a servant not a master

6 – Laying Down our Lives ‘Whoever want to be my disciple must...take up their cross.’ 

Embracing the call to discipleship, and disciple making. Living it out authentically

7 – Laying Down our Agenda for Church What might a contextually relevant church be like?

8 – Keeping on Going Personal/Team resilience and sustainability, On-going spiritual sustainability, succession planning

This course is not about being given all the answers! Neither is it a simple blueprint for community engagement and making disciples/birthing church.  It is about unpacking some theology and exploring what God might be leading you to do and be in your context. It is about having an openness to be transformed by God ourselves as we pray for God’s kingdom to come in our communities.