Session 2: Growing Church
By Sarah Watson
Aims
By the end of this session you should be able to:
​
-
explain what is meant by mixed ecology of church
-
reflect on opportunities within your context
-
identify next steps to take to grow the church in your context
.
Prayer
God of eternity, we thank you that at the heart of faith is hope, a hope based on what we celebrate every Easter, a hope that has the potential to transform this troubled world into a heavenly one. In our studies may we see the fullness of this hope you have revealed.
Amen.
What is Church?
The church is called to proclaim the Christian faith afresh in each generation (Declaration of Assent) and in seeking to do this the diocesan vision statement speaks of us being “a Diocese committed to a mixed ecology of church that is more diverse, enabling people of every age and in every context to hear the good news of Jesus, where we grow and expand worshipping and witnessing communities (including Parishes, Schools, Chaplaincy, Plants and Fresh Expressions).”
​
Questions for Reflection
-
What stands out to you from the statement above & why?
-
In ‘enabling people of every age and in every context to hear the good news of Jesus” where might there be opportunities for growth in your context?
-
When we speak of “growing church” what comes to mind?
​
Let’s consider what we mean by growing church a little further …
Growing church is obviously closely linked to the idea of mission, without mission how can we grow church? In Transforming Mission David Bosch speaks of Missio Dei (God’s mission) where our role is to seek where God is already at work and join in. Mission is a movement from God founded in God’s love for the world and the church is an instrument for God’s mission in the world. (pp.398-400) There will be more the mission of God and the mission of the church later in our session in an interview with Rev Cath Hollywell. (For more on Misseo Dei see the going Deeper section).
When we think about church growth it is very easy just to think about numbers. Whilst of course we wish to see people being added daily to the church as was the case in Acts of the Apostles, there is a danger in purely focusing on this. In The Mystic Way of Evangelism Elaine A Heath warns of the perils of “a frenetic grab for every new church-growth program and strategy that comes along.”( p.23) Listening to God for the context and having a broad perspective on what it means to grow is important.
​
It is also important to consider who is responsible for growing church & through whom it will grow. In On Priesthood Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell says the following …
​
“The Church is a community, not an organisation or an institution; … of men and women formed by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and his impact in the world, and constantly being transformed by the activity and outpouring of the Holy Spirit. …. one in which ministry is shared by everyone and in which certain people are called and commissioned (we use the word ‘ordained’) for a specific role of oversight.” (pp. 17-18)
​
Questions for Reflection
-
Where do you already see signs of God at work in your context & how might you join in? i.e. in what ways can the church where you are be an instrument for God’s mission and an opportunity to grow church.
-
In what ways can the church grow i.e., not exclusively about numbers?
-
Who is responsible for growing church? Archbishop Stephen speaks of the role of those ordained to provide oversight but that ministry is shared by all. In order to grow church this shared ministry is vital. What does that look like?
Mixed Ecology of Church
Please download and read the document 'Church-Mixed Ecology' in the Resources section below. When you have done this, consider the following questions:
​
Questions for Reflection
​
-
In embracing the Diocesan vision of every age and in every context, who may be the excluded people in our communities? In your community who is on the outside? Who are you connecting with?
-
How do we enable listening to those who have been excluded for whatever reason?
-
Does the way that we “do church” means that some are excluded?
-
What should be common to any worshiping community? e.g. Prayer, sacrament, Bible, location, music, style … and what may need to change in order to grow church? e.g. time, style, content etc?
Interview
​
Rev'd Cath Hollywell is a full time stipendiary ordained pioneer minster in the Diocese of Derby who used to over The Journey Community (a congregation under the Bishops Mission Order). Watch the video and then consider the following question:
-
What stuck you from the interview and is there anything you can take away from the interview for your personally or for your church?
Every Age & Every Context
Thinking About Fresh Expressions:
Please download and read the document 'Fresh Expressions' in the Resources section at the bottom of the page.
Now watch the video below the think about the folloowing question:
-
what strikes you most from what you have read and heard about Fresh Expressions (FX)?
Interview
Rev'd Dr Christian Salvaratnam is the Director of the Centre for Church Planting at St Hild College and play a key role in supporting church planting nationally but more specifically focused in the north He has vast experience of growing and planting churches, previous been Head of Alpha UK and has planted two churches including G2 a church plant from St Michael le Belfry in York and has supported many supported others. Watch the video and then consider the question:
​
-
What stuck you from the interview and is there anything you can take away from the interview for your personally or for your church?
Spotlight on Doctrine
For this section we are heading over to the Fresh Expressions website to look at a reflection on the idea of a mixed economy of church.
Click here to access it.
Spotlight on Spirituality
In 'The Mystic Way of Evangelism', Elaine A Heath speaks of the churches dark night of the soul in the west with the decline if western Christendom as we know it. This leads to a revaluation of our expression of spirituality and faith what we do and why “The dark night brings about a necessary detachment so that God’s people may freely love all things in and through the love of God rather than in and of themselves. Religious activities, rituals, and practices especially are cleansed so that they are now, in the oft-quoted imagery of Thomas Merton, fingers pointing to the moon and no longer mistaken for the moon itself. The fruit of the night is about the transformation of relationships into expressions of love of God and neighbour, and love of self for the sake of God.” (p.20)
Reflect
“Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love
Like You have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am
For Your kingdom’s cause” (Hosanna, Hillsong)
​
Reflect on the song and the lyrics (extract quoted above). What has particularly struck you in this session? Pray about what you have learnt and what the holy spirit may be prompting you to do with what you have learnt?
Something Practical to Do this Week
Either - from the Resources section, use the table ‘Growing Church Evaluation & Planning’ to begin to think about your context. This can be done alone or in a group. You may want to look at your context as a whole or one specific group or people God may be drawing you to to grow church with. Don’t feel you need to feel in every section. Referring back to the Fresh Expressions diagram you may just be in circle one at this stage & it may be helpful purely to focus on this.
And/Or – again from the Resources section, use the Steve Chalke strategy wheel from his book Faithworks p.78 to evaluate where you are currently with a specific project and the next steps.
Resources
