Items filtered by date: May 2025
This book provides encouragement to all those who feel the need to refresh how they pray. It looks at prayer as having the trust and belief that God is truly interested in everything that happens to us and wants to hear about it. The book leads the reader into the theological aspects of prayer and how it relates to Christ, to the Holy Spirit and to the Church. This is done without using complex theological concepts but simply through scriptural quotations. Chapters are kept brief intentionally to make the book suitable for daily reading over the Lenten period. With a foreword by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Say it to God demonstrates that the everyday, even the most mundane of tasks and situations, can be applied in deepening our practice of prayer.
The Children’s Society provide The Story of Lent, prayers and reflections
https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-you-can-do/your-church/pray-worship-reflect/worship/lent
Christian Aid have daily Count Your Blessings reflections for both adults and children.
https://www.christianaid.org.uk/lent-easter/lent-calendar
Life Balance
21st century living is hectic. Getting the right 'life balance' between rest, work and play seems almost impossible. In five interactive sessions, Life Balance aims to help groups explores: How to build Sabbath time into the crazy pressures of everyday life. How 'Sabbath attitudes' can transform the way we spend our time. Each session contains enough material for a 90-minute session and includes guidelines for group study, with full background notes for leaders, interactive activities, questions for discussion and multimedia ideas, and ideas for practical action.
https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9780715142776/life-balance
Several people have asked ‘How do I reduce the file size of my picture to upload it on to the Strategic Buildings Review Database?’
One very simple way is to us on-line software such as www.picresize.com
If you haven’t used this type of program before, I have prepared an instructional video for you, which you can watch here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF_PZvrwXqQ
I have chosen this software as it is very straight forward to use. There are, however, other resizing apps and programs available.
All the best, and get uploading!
This stage is designed to help the church journey toward making the changes God requires of it.
The questions in this stage are different to the questions in the other stages, in that the church needs to constantly ask them throughout the work. It may be helpful for the church’s leadership team to frame their reflection on the MAP process around these four questions as they review each time they meet.
These are the questions that the church will engage with in this stage.
Are we staying close to God?
The first core principle of the MAP process is prayerfulness. The MAP process is concerned with the church increasingly becoming the church God is calling them to be, so it is vital for them to be constantly seeking God’s direction, wisdom, discernment and equipping.
The work of the MAP process should be regularly included in the prayers of the leadership team and during times of corporate worship, but the church will also wish to find other creative ways in which to seek God concerning the work.
Are we aware of what God is doing in and through us?
The second core principle of the MAP process is leader commitment. Although much of the detailed work of the MAP process may be done by other individuals or teams, it is important that the leadership team continue to oversee and be involved in it.
We recommend that the MAP process becomes a standard item on the agenda of the leadership team’s normal meetings and that regular updates are sought by them from those involved in the work. If the work is progressing differently than expected, the leadership team will want to review why and to understand whether any changes might be needed to existing actions and plans.
Are we celebrating God’s faithfulness?
As God continues to work in and through the church, it will be important to celebrate the good things that are happening. This will remind the church of God’s faithfulness and encourage them to continue in the changes He has called them to. There are different ways to celebrate:
With those involved, thanking them and recognising God’s work in and through them.
- As a leadership team, giving thanks to God.
- With the whole church, through regular updates and an annual celebration service.
- With the wider community, sharing all that God is doing through the MAP process.
Are we communicating with others well?
The third core principle of the MAP process is integration – keeping MAP at the centre of the life of the church. People forget very easily, and will assume that if they don’t hear anything then nothing is happening. Therefore, regular and constant communication is vital.
Communication will need to happen at all the same levels as for celebrating God’s faithfulness (individuals, teams, leadership, church, wider community). The leadership will also need to communicate regularly and in different ways. The church may consider communicating via:
- personal contact (announcements, events, one to one, small groups)
- physical media (newspaper articles, newsletters, letters, information boards, posters)
- electronic media (email, website, blogs, videos)
- social media (Facebook, Twitter)
You may find the following extra resources helpful during this stage:
- Prayer and Worship Resources
Some ideas and models to help keep prayer and worship at the centre of the MAP for Derby Diocese process. - Seeking Evidence for Church Health
A resource for those looking for measures and indicators to help them assess the health of the church.
For further help or information on any aspect of using MAP for Derby Diocese, please contact:
Jason Kennedy Diocesan Missioner
e jason.kennedy@derby.anglican.org
t 07539 483733
Derby Church House, Full Street, Derby DE1 3DR
This stage is designed to help the church prepare how they will make the changes God requires of it.
This will mean creating a plan for these changes. There are three questions to answer in this stage, but the answers to each will develop together to form that detailed plan.
These are the questions that the church will engage with in this stage.
What steps should we take?
Answering this question will require the church to detail the actions that will be required to meet God’s call for them (as discerned in the previous stage). What type of actions, and how many of them there are, will depend on the changes God is calling the church to make.
There is a temptation for the church to limit their thinking to doing new things – adding in new programmes or events, starting new initiatives. This often adds further burden and pressure on the church (and usually on those who are already overstretched, especially the church leader). Whilst this stage might mean starting something new, it might equally entail:
- Stopping something
It may be that an activity or programme that the church is currently involved in is hampering the church from responding to God’s call. - Changing something
Perhaps, in taking what is already happening and changing the way it is done to reflect the church’s revealed character and purpose, the church can better respond to God’s call. - Learning something
Most often, the changes God calls His Church to make are heart changes (about who we are) rather than technical changes (what we do). This is harder, but nonetheless important. Such changes are not wrought through programmes, but through prayer, reflection, discussion, learning and repentance as God’s church.
A good indication that the church has addressed this question is that the church have a specific plan for change that will enable them to make the changes that God is calling them to, according to the previous stage.
With whom will we share the journey?
The MAP process will offer the church many opportunities to share the journey with others. To do so opens the possibility of building creative relationships in which the Good News of Jesus can be shared and the mission of God can be advanced. Such partnerships can enrich both the church and those with whom the church partners. This might mean establishing connections where there previously were none, or deepening existing connections.
The answers to the question, ‘with whom do we share our life and what do they say about us?’ in stage 2 can form the base from which to begin answering this question.
Sharing the journey might mean different things, depending on the people with whom the church is seeking connection and why. It might be information sharing, or something much more substantial.
A good indication that the church has addressed this question is that the church are developing new and existing connections with others.
From whom will we need help?
Often, one of the hardest things for a person to do is to admit they need help. The same is true of churches. Although the church’s source of help, wisdom and power will always be God, that may well come through others who can offer their support, help and advice. Sometimes churches will not embark on the work that God is calling them to because they are not sure they have the resources to complete it. Yet, the work may well be possible with the help and support of others. Commonly, churches will need help in the following areas:
- Prayer, support and encouragement
Partnering with those who will support and pray for the church. - The experience of others
Partnering with those who have already completed the work the church is planning. It can be helpful to see what worked and what didn’t, but care must be exercised in transferring models from another place without contextualisation. - Teaching, preaching, training and facilitation
Seeking help for the church to learn something effectively, or having someone from outside to facilitate, which offers a ‘critical friend’ and free them to focus on content, rather than process. - Funding
Seeking help with funding; this usually means making best uses of the assets and resources the church already has, or applying for grant funding from elsewhere. - People and resources
Obtaining required skills or other resources to complete a piece of work.
The Parish Support Office will often be able to help the church to find any of these types of help, either directly or by pointing toward others who can provide it.
A good indication that the church has addressed this question is that the church are clear and confident that they have in place all the help they need to make the changes God is calling them to, with His help.
You may find the following extra resources helpful during this stage:
- Prayer and Worship Resources
Some ideas and models to help keep prayer and worship at the centre of the MAP for Derby Diocese process. - SMART Actions
How to ensure that the tasks you set during this stage are ones that you can review and measure. - Sharing the Good News
A resource to help the local church develop effective evangelism in their context. - Measuring Church Growth and Health
A resource to help church and deanery leadership teams consider how and why we measure the health of churches. - Developing a New Worshipping Community
A guide to working through the decisions and areas of interest when starting a new worshipping community. - Where Do We Go From Here?
A special resource for moving into mission in post-COVID times.
For further help or information on any aspect of using MAP for Derby Diocese, please contact:
Jason Kennedy Diocesan Missioner
e jason.kennedy@derby.anglican.org
t 07539 483733
Derby Church House, Full Street, Derby DE1 3DR
This stage is designed to help the church discern the areas in which God is now calling them to grow and change to meet His call. Some churches call this the vision.
There is only one question that the church will engage with in this stage.
In what ways is God calling us to grow and change?
This question requires the church to discover the areas of its common life in which God is asking them to work and develop. Like other parts of MAP for Derby Diocese, this is not a question that can be answered quickly and simply. The process for doing so will vary with each church. However, the discernment will need to include:
- Praying
It would be easy to listen to the strong voices in the church, or to simply come up with a strategy in a leadership meeting that reflects the views of that leadership. However, since the church are seeking God’s way forward, prayer is central. The church may seek God’s wisdom in different and creative ways that can engage people from right across its communities and groups. - Reflecting
The church will have gained a great deal of information from the previous stage about its history, its current place with God and about the views of those outside the church. There will need to be a great deal of reflection, considering carefully all that has been learned, without ignoring things that are difficult to hear. - Discussing
Listening to one another in the church is vital if there is to be accountability and opportunity to hear God in a range of voices.
There is always a temptation to try and do everything. There will inevitably be many good ways in which the church can continue to respond to God’s call. The importance lies in discerning:
Of the many good things that God may be calling us to now, which are the few God things that He is calling us to now?
A good indication that the church has addressed this question is that the church are clear about one or two areas in which God is asking them to grow and develop in the next season, and about which aspects of these areas are the key ones. These are likely to be selected from the agreed characteristics of God’s Church that form one of the core elements of the MAP process.
