The Diocese of Norwich mission strategy is very simple:
The Diocese of Norwich is committed to growth in discipleship, service, and numbers.
The full Chet Valley Benefice Growth Plan can be found as a PDF. The key operating part is what we intend to do in the coming year (from May 2009), reproduced below:
Chet Valley Benefice Growth Plan
In the coming year we will undertake the following:
Discipleship
l To promote small groups:
m Aim to increase membership by 10% this year.
m To explore the possibility of launching a daytime small group and a cell group for teenagers.
l To encourage and enable members to share their faith confidently.
m Run at least one workshop for congregations
m To work on Nigel’s Arrow project to survey local people’s beliefs
l To grow new leaders for Xpressions Café and other initiatives.
m Promote the importance of leadership within the benefice.
Service
l To work closely together as parishes and improve communication between parishes.
l To identify and develop social action projects in the local area like freecycle at Noah’s Ark and ‘Besom’.
l To explore the needs and resource the development of visiting and bereavement teams.
Numbers
l Develop the philosophy behind Xpressions Café across the benefice for all ages.
l To use Alpha as a tool to promote the Christian faith.
l To provide opportunities to build relationships through social events and by effective advertising of them.
l To develop a link between Rock Solid and Xpressions Café.
Commentary (July 2010)
Some of our targets proved to be overly-ambitious. On the other hand, we have started some new things undreamed of in May 2009:
Discipleship
We haven't increased numbers in small groups significantly. We are expecting a new cell-style youth group to be started in September. This will be a follow up to the existing Rock Solid group which will re-start with a new intake.
We ran CPAS's Lost for Words evangelism course in early Summer 2010. About fifteen people attended. Members of the Ministry Leadership Team went to Beccles on a Saturday morning in May 2010 and asked passers-by a set of non-threatening questions developed for the Arrow Course. This proved to be a very satisfying and informative exercise.
We have grown some new leaders for Xpressions Cafe. In particular, Sandra Hornagold has stepped up to take on the leadership of Xpresso. Catherine and David Knight are also taking on more leadership in Xplore. Xpressions has also gained a couple of new leaders. We also had seven new leaders for our 2010 Holiday Club. Most are regular church members and a couple have come through their attendance at Xpressions Cafe, which is very encouraging.
Service
We have made some progress in working together, with, for instance, a Creativity Month in both 2009 and 2010 where each church in the benefice contributed an event during a four week period. We have, however, made no real progress in social action projects, though there have at least been some conversations about the needs and how we might be able to help meet some of them.
Although we don't have formal visiting and bereavement teams, there is now a pastoral group, chaired by Ros Hoffman (Ministry Leadership Team leader for pastoral care), which meets regularly to consider pastoral issues.
We now offer a monthly worship session for Broad Horizons, a residential home for people with severe learning difficulties.
Numbers
We continue to develop Xpressions Cafe and are shortly to start Xpresso Souper Lunches once a month, building on Xpresso's motto of 'extravagant hospitality'.
We haven't done another Alpha course in the last year; time and resources have made this difficult.
We continue to build relationships through schools work, Chedgrave's concert series, Lent lunches and other initiatives.
An especially important innovation is the monthly worship service held while Noah's Ark meets. Attendance, in the Lecture Hall in St John's, is optional and numbers fluctuate but we hope to build a regular congregation, leading Noah's Ark a further step on the road to becoming another Fresh Expression in the benefice.
Rock Solid has grown and flourished. We have not so far felt it necessary to strengthen the links between Rock Solid and Xpressions Cafe but that may change in the future.
Richard Seel August 2010.