Building a Heart For God: Vision for Community Growth

1. Vision Sunday 2019 17 March 2019

2. HEART FOR GOD

3. We are holding regular and special prayer and worship events for the wider Christian community and ourselves. • Build a foundation of prayer, including re-instating pre-service prayer and running a prayer ministry training course. • Hold 2 or 3 special prayer and/or worship events. • Hold occasional worship practice events, where any musician can come along, with a view to encouraging others to join in. (These may become more regular over time).

4. We are working in relationship with gift ministries (i.e. those mentioned in Ephesians 4:11), and others, which we currently (2019) do not have within the church and will have seen those gifts and a wider range of others also emerge within the church • Seek to identify gift ministries with whom we can link • Set up a notice board for Christian events/activities/service opportunities*

5. Our congregation is largely all baptised in the Holy Spirit. • Teaching on the baptism in the Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts. • Build specific opportunities for baptism/infilling/re-filling/topping-up by the Spirit into a few services. • Create other opportunities e.g. special receiving meetings and one-to-one appointments. • Invite someone with a clear gift at leading people into the Holy Spirit as a visiting preacher.

6. We are regularly seeing people coming to faith, being baptised in water and the spirit, and being nurtured as disciples • Continue with mentoring system but in addition will create or purchase a new believers nurture course. • Supply of material and Bibles for new converts. • Seek to run marriage/parenting courses if possible in the next 12 month but if not in “year 2”. • Rerun personal evangelism course.

7. Encourage inviting people to church. • Do some street evangelism from time to time, possibly making use of a market stall* • Continue to regularly make Gospel appeal in our services

9. HEART FOR each other

10. There has been growth in the number of house-groups in line with the growth and needs of the church, and their role will have been developed to effectively meet the needs of the church and its members. • Termly house group leaders meetings • Identify those not in a house group who wish to be, stressing that house groups are a key part of pastoral care. • New house groups as necessary. • Each house group encouraged to identify a deputy if possible.

11. We have achieved a sharing and spreading of the load, appointment of new workers or change in programme so that key individuals are not overstretched. • Build a foundation of identifying  people’s gifts and encouraging them to exercise those gifts , including a.... teaching series on Sundays and a SHAPE or equivalent exercise....  • Scheduled discussions with key workers re. help and duty of care.

12. We have a secure and supported youth programme involving young people currently have and others from the community. • Separate groups primary and secondary in Explore on a Sunday morning. • Seek to  identify individual(s ) who would be prepared to take on a youth leader role.

13. Set up a regular/ semi regular additional youth event if possible. The frequency of this will be determined by our success in finding volunteers and it may be necessary to achieve b) before we can achieve this.* • Explore whether there is another church that can support us? • Occasional extras e.g. invite to homes, sleepovers at church, etc.

14. We have increased the number of members aged 40 and under with particular reference to families. • Invite families of children who attend our activities to specific planned and targeted services. Examples could be family services connected to kids club weekends, calendar events, etc. • Produce a new welcome pack including a simple “how to” guide* to our service, which can be given to newcomers. • Produce additional youth and children’s welcome packs for visiting kids. • Investigate running particular projects in a local school.

15. Seek to enhance Explore as an ‘event’– This could be in terms of visuals and displays, resources and equipment, etc. • Run 2-3 kids club weekends • Redesign and develop our website and ongoing social media presence including a new church blog* • Consult with existing members aged 40 and under about what further goals should be added. 

16. We have clear leadership and ministry training programmes in place. • Role out of development plans which will identify succession and training needs • Leadership Training course videoed so can be used “in house” in other contexts (or buy a package if a better and affordable one is out there).

17. We have a functioning and robust pastoral care system in place. • Implement new pastoral care and praying for others guidelines  and design strategy from them. • Diarise Pastoral care team meetings for the next 12 months.

19. HEART FOR our community

20. The Community Support Centre is robust in terms of management , etc and meeting spiritual needs as well as practical. • Set up a prayer support team for the Support Centre. Ultimately an opportunity for specific face-to-face prayer for Support Centre clients, but initially a system of prayer requests passed to a team of prayers.* • With funding, appoint a salaried project development worker with management roles. 

21. We are holding regular significant outreach events. • Run an Alpha course or similar in early 2020. • Meal event with Andy Cannon and Unite event in September.

22. New staff have been employed filling areas of need. • Build a foundation of giving, including teaching on a Sunday and encouragement of gift aid. • In year 2, a possible pledge/challenge: people being asked to commit increased giving in the context of a particular venture e.g. the hiring of new staff.

23. The future of the Coffee Shop has been determined and its work developed appropriately in terms of ministry, exposure and expansion. • Run a consultation on the future of the coffee shop, with a view to implementing recommendations in year 2.

24. Steps have been taken to ensure that our church’s ministries are robust and in a sustainable position (e.g. Sunday children’s ministry; crash time; Little Treasures). • See comment earlier about development plans.

25. We have one or more church plants in place or in preparation.We are running or exploring alternative expressions of church, e.g. Cafe style worship; worship on different days or at different venues.

27. HEART FOR the world

28. People will have been sent from the church into different forms of Christian service and ministry. This will include both those who move from the church to new ministries and/or those who remain in the church, working for us or for others. • Consider  feasibility of an internship programme for year 2 or 3

29. Our mission support has increased to become a recognisable percentage of our income. (minimum 10%)We have increased the range of our mission support to include other groups and agencies • Agree a policy on mission giving (including split between regular and one-off, and additional organisations to be supported) and increase giving to 10% by the end of the year. The Leadership Team will  discuss this initially to provide ‘the broad brush strokes” and then seek to bring others into the discussions.

30. Following a) above, possibly form a team that will manage the on-going process?*