Mission
The Mission Fund exists to support MMAs and parishes in the funding of mission opportunities and initiatives. It is hoped that such investment will enable churches to be more effective in engaging with their communities and sharing God’s love with them. It can also be used by Diocesan Officers to support wider initiatives.
The Panel is willing to consider a wide range of applications, both for ‘one off’ events and for the appointment of staff. In recent years, successful applications have included :
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A Chaplain to Older People.
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The establishment of a Food Bank.
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A "Dads "n" Kids Group"
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Envision- an initiative in a Church School.
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A Christian's Againist Poverty debt counsellor.
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Youth & Community Workers.
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A deanery initiative with 12-18 year olds.
The money for the Fund is provided by the Church Commissioners’ Parish Mission Fund. At present they have guaranteed funding being available until 2013.
The Mission Fund Panel meets twice a year to consider applications, usually in May and October. Bishop Humphrey chairs the Panel but administration is overseen by the Director of Mission and Minstry, Rev'd Andy Broom. Guidelines and criteria for applications, plus the application form, can be downloaded from this page or are available from Sharron Howarth at Derby Church House (sharron.howarth@derby.anglican.org) and applications should be sent to her, at least 28 days before the Panel meets.
In 2013 the Mission Fund Panel will meet on the 22nd May and the 23rd October 2pm Repton House.
What is Mission Action Planning (MAP)?
A MAP is an action plan for mission in your church. It is produced after much prayer and discerning God’s calling for your Church and community. The plan describes your vision for your Church. It also gives the long and short term priorities that you have decided will implement your vision. The plan will need to be reviewed and updated regularly and should be revised every 3 years.
“In Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their sins against them
and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.”
Stage 1: Where are we starting from?
What is our Church like? What links do we have with the community?
As individuals and as a church:
Spirituality – How is our Christian faith developing?
Discipleship – as followers of Jesus how are our lives standing out in a crowd?
Evangelism – How do we talk about what our Christian faith means for us?
Engagement – How are we salt and light in the world and our local community?
Stage 2: Where are we going?
What do we believe that God will do amongst us?
Where would we like to be in three years time?
After considering these:
What is your 3 year vision?
Stage 3: What’s the best way to get there?
What are our priorities?
Who will take action?
Stage 4: What do we need to do now?
Are we support the people involved in delivering our plan?
Are we organised to do it?
Publications
PCC leaflet (pdf)
MAP workbook (pdf)
What is Mission? leaflet (pdf)
Frequently Asked Questions and MAP timetable (pdf)
MAP Church audit (word)
Healthy Church audit (word)
Mystery worshipper audit (word)
Daily News (word)
MAP summary form (word)
Small rural church process (pdf or word)
Appendix 3 Stakeholder interview ( word)
Appendix 3 Letter to stakeholder ( word)
Appendix 4 Church Audit (word)
Web links
1. www.churchmaps.co.uk - this website has information and resources from other Dioceses that they are using for mission action planning and church growth
2. Chester Diocese Website - Parish Development, GAP process Youtube clips 2 & 3 these give you an idea of what parishes do as a result of mission action planning
3. Blackburn Diocese MAP site - Video of MAP at Whittle-le-Woods (Opens new YouTube window)
We would love to replace these YouTube clips from other Diocese with stories from our parishes. So please do share your stories and successes with us.
Video recording, pictures and stories would be great. Send them to Maureen Cole (see below)
Support
If you want further information please contact Maureen Cole Church Growth Officer:
e-mail: maureen.cole@derby.anglican.org
telephone: 01332 388691
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 MAP Church Audit |
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| MAP-summary-form.doc |
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| Healthy-church-audit.doc |
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| Daily-News-Article.doc |
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| Church-questionnaire.doc |
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 What is Mission.pdf |
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| MAPleaflet.pdf |
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| New MAP workbook 2011.pdf |
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| Appendix 4 Church Audit |
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| Appendix 3 Stakeholder Interviews |
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| Appendix 3 Letter to stakeholders |
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| MissionActionPlans-FAQs.pdf |
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| Year 1 MAP review Form.doc |
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| Year 2 MAP review Form.doc |
What is MAP?
MAP stands for Mission Action Planning. The main purpose of MAP is to listen and discern the will of God for your church and its community. It is about looking at what is happening in your parish and as a church community considering the direction that you think your church should be heading. Once you have established a vision for your church you then set yourselves priorities for you church for each of the following 3 years and then plan the specific steps you need to take to deliver these goals. At the end of each year we will ask you to review your action so that you can adjust your plan accordingly.
Why should churches do MAP?
The MAP process gives every parish an opportunity to take time out to reflect and discern on what God’s mission is for their church and their community. It also gives an opportunity to celebrate what has been achieved and consider what needs to be done in the coming year. It is also an opportunity for you as a community to dream some dreams and consider what God wants you to be both individually and as the family of God.
Is MAP a top down initiative?
MAPs are intended to be done at a local parish level. The reason we want to do this together as a Diocese is so that Bishop Alastair and other senior staff can see what your plans are and be able to pray for you. It also gives us an opportunity to consider what resources we need to provide for you all to deliver your plans. We would prefer to describe that MAPs become part of the life of each churches annual cycle rather than an initiative.
Is MAP a "one size fits all" process?
During the pilot we are looking at how the process works across a wide range of churches both in size and churchmanship. The process has been designed to ensure that you can use it in the most appropriate way for your particular situation.
We are also testing a simpler process for our small rural churches to see if this is more appropriate for them.
What if we already do a form of planning and review: do we have to repeat everything?
The purpose of MAP is that we are all encouraged to plan on an annual basis and it is great that some of you are doing this already
If you already have a system of annual planning and review then all we would ask is that you fill in the MAP summary form so that we know what you are doing. You might want to look at the materials we are using to see if there are any ideas that you can use.
What is the timetable?
MAP launch events are currently being planned for May 2011 and we will be asking that churches have sent in their completed MAP summary forms to Bishop Alastair by Advent Sunday 2011.
Is this just another one-off initiative?
We really want mission action planning to become a way of life for all of us in the Diocese. It should become part of our annual cycle in each parish so that we have an opportunity to review what has gone well and to refine any activities that haven’t been quite so successful.
Finding the right direction for your Church
Let’s imagine someone has a free day and they want to go on a new walk. They get out their map and need to consider the following:
1. Where will they start from?
2. Where are they going, what is their destination?
3. What’s the best way to get there?
4. What do they need to do now?
Well that’s exactly the process we follow for mission action planning:
As churches begin to consider where God is calling them, what direction they should take and which path they should follow, then these same questions are relevant.
1. ‘Where are we starting from?’
Each church needs make an honest assessment of their present situation. They need to review where they are as a church, identifying their strengths, weaknesses and also the opportunities that they have. This includes both the ‘internal’ life of the Church and because MAPs are outward looking, it also involves reviewing their relationship with their community.
2. ‘Where are we going?’
Churches need to consider what they could become and to develop a vision for their future. MAPs encourage each church to look ahead three years and ask what they could be like then. As they do this, churches are encouraged to keep in mind four aspects of their life – their spirituality, discipleship, evangelism and engagement with the world around them.
3. ‘What’s the best way to get there?’
Once churches have a sense of where they want to go, they need to decide how best to get there. At this point some thoughtful planning and prioritising is needed. MAP’s encourage churches to give themselves three years to reach their destination so there is no need to feel that everything has to be achieved all at once but they do need to decide what is most important and what needs to addressed first.
4. ‘What do we need to do now?
At this point, churches identify the individual actions that need to be taken to turn the vision and plans into realities. Initially they look ahead to the next 12 months and identify actions that are clear and achievable. Once the actions are set out and the MAP is in place, churches can enjoy the task of setting out on the journey and seeing what God can do through them and amongst them.
As part of our commitment to growth, we ask every church to create a Mission Action Plan (MAP). We want to make our communities and those beyond the church a greater priority and to prayerfully and strategically consider how we relate to them.
Approximately 85% of parishes in the diocese have now produced a Mission Action Plan, many more are in the process of launching their MAP.
Our prayer is that every one of us in Derby Diocese have that real sense of joy of working together for the glory of God through the MAP process over the coming years.
For more information please contact:
Revd Lee Townend, Church Growth Officer, 01332 388668 or email lee.townend@derby.anglican.org
Click here to search the Download Centre
A list of the most read pages in the Training section follows.
Introducing the Christian Faith to Inquirers and Seekers
These resources are useful to have available in churches simply for visitors to take away. Write something for your church or contact the Mission Adviser for ideas
Christianity for the Open Minded (Inter-Varsity Press, Tel: 0115 978 1054 or sales@ivpbooks.com)
A booklet designed to engage the inquirer or seeker. There are other titles in the series.
Why Jesus? Nicky Gumbel (Alpha Publications, Holy Trinity Brompton, Brompton Road,
London. SW7 1JA. Tel: 0845 644 7544)There is also a Why Christmas? version.
Spelling it Out... a leaflet on being a Christian subtitled 'an ordinary churchgoer offers to explain' and part of a series of leaflets first written by Kate Rhodes for Bolton Abbey. It is available from Tim Tiley (see websites below).
The Light of the World Also available from Tim Tiley. It features Holman Hunt's famous painting on the cover and then gives the background story and an application of the message for our lives.
Christianity a pocketsize foldout guide (The Good Book Company, Elm House, 37 Elm
Road, New Malden, Surrey. KT3 3HB. Tel: 0845 225 0880).
No Ordinary Man St Luke's Gospel in an attractive format including Christian testimonies and stories (Deo Gloria, deo-gloria.co.uk; Tel: 020 8651 6246). Deo Gloria produce a range of other materials suitable for those on a 'spiritual journey' and who may know little or nothing about Christianity. A sample pack of these materials is available for £11 and is worth ordering.
The Story, An innovative booklet telling the Easter story and one of a range of resources available from Lifewords (see website address below).
Websites Worth Exploring
www.rejesus.co.uk (designed for non-church people wanting to explore Christianity)
www.deo-gloria.co.uk (includes a range of outreach material)
www.churchtourismassociation (for further advice on being a welcoming church)
www.achurchnearyou.com (a useful website to have on visitor literature - the site does what it says in its name, enabling people to find their local church)
www.cofe.anglican.org (the Church's national website is always worth exploring)
www.timtiley.com (website for the popular supplier of prayer cards, greeting cards and other material for visitors and church members alike)
www.lifewords.info (formerly Scripture Gift Mission, and supplying a range of materials for giving away including a range of booklets with titles such as 'Living with Loss', Meditations of Life', and Who am I?')
Books
Creating a Culture of Welcome in the Local Church, Alison Gilchrist (Grove Evangelism series, Ev 66)
Open for you, Paul Bond (Canterbury Press, 2006)
