TRANSFORMINGCHURCHSHAPING THE FUTURE

T H E C H U R C H O F E N G L A N DB I R M I N G H A M

SHAPINGTHEFUTURE

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INTRODUCTION

B I S H O P D AV I D U R Q U H A R T B I S H O P A N N E H O L L I N G H U R S T

A MESSAGE FROM OUR BISHOPS

Our region is young, diverse, creative, dynamic and constantly changing. In the midst of the political, economic, social and environmental changes, God is at work, inside and outside the church. In the lives of all sorts of people, in the search for justice and in acts of care and compassion we see Christ at work and by the power of the Holy Spirit we are urged and equipped to join in with our hearts on fire, always ready to give a reason for the hope that is within us. Since 2009, Transforming Church has been shaping our vision across the Church of England in Birmingham, guiding us to be a Church that is growing ‘larger, wider, deeper and younger’ – a Church that is a transforming presence at the heart of our communities. We give thanks for the creative ministry and local mission that take place every day in so many different ways through our churches, chaplaincies, schools, and the lives of ordinary, faithful Christians. It’s good to celebrate all that’s happened over the last eight years. It’s also the right time to look ahead to the next phase of our wider mission together as the Church of England - Birmingham, which new funding is helping to resource. There are enormous challenges as well as opportunities ahead as we seek to be a growing Church making a bigger difference in the places where we are called to serve. There is no ‘one size fits all’ roadmap for the next few years, but encouragement to listen to what God is doing in our different contexts, to try new things, to discover new gifts, to share new learning, and to look afresh at what it means for each one of us to be a disciple of Jesus in our own generation. We pray that God through his Holy Spirit may renew our prayer, stir our imaginations and enlarge our vision. We invite you to be part of the next phase of Transforming Church; working with God and working with one another to shape our corner of God’s world so that we may see the kingdom of justice, joy and love in Birmingham and the region - on earth as it is in heaven.

C l o t h e u s w i t h p o w e r f r o m o n h i g ht h at w i t h g e n e r o u s l i v e s

a n d h e a r t s o n f i r e w e m i g h t w o r k w i t h y o u

THE STORY SO FAR...GROWING CHURCHES AT THE HEART OF EACH COMMUNITY

Transforming Church was launched in 2009 in a memorable service at St Martin in the Bull Ring. The strapline spells out its core mission: to ‘grow churches at the heart of each community’. As such, Transforming Church has always had its heart in local parishes and in all forms of growth: numerical, spiritual and transformational. Seven Areas of Transformation alongside Ten Diocesan Goals have provided the framework for this.

The ten goals have largely stayed the same since 2009. However, in 2016 it was agreed at Diocesan Synod to amend Goal 8 to include environmental justice more explicitly:

Each parish was invited to explore Seven Areas and to develop the church’s mission in ways relevant and achievable in the local context.

Drawing us into the presence of the Living God.

Enabling us to grow as confident followers of Jesus.

Living out God’s love in our com-munities and the wider world.

Leading others to believe in Jesus and belong to his Body.

Finding healing, encouragement and challenge through our life together.

Working together with people of goodwill to see God’s purposes fulfilled.

Releasing and harnessing the gifts of all God’s people.

To grow the number of adults, young people and children within the worshipping Chris-tian community year on year.

To implement in every parish an appropriate strategy for making confident, prayerful disciples in their daily life.

To make the most of opportuni-ties presented by the occasional offices, the church calendar and invitational events.

To encourage an increasing number of worshipping Chris-tians to take tithing seriously, and to give at least 5% of their income to the local church.

To develop an understanding of communications in every parish, promoting a church that is vis-ible, welcoming and accessible.

To increase the number, range and spiritual fruitfulness of part-nerships and initiatives for so-cial and environmental justice and community building across the diocese and the world.

To develop a spiritually-enrich-ing children’s and youth minis-try in every parish and church school, encouraging clustering where appropriate.

To increase the number of lead-ers of all ages, and drawn from every ethnic group, who are trained and deployed in the church and wider community.

To ensure that a Christian Basics course of some kind is offered in every parish at least once a year.

To encourage every parish com-munity to think through the chal-lenges of relating constructively to those of other faiths.

T H E S E V E N A R E A S O F T R A N S F O R M AT I O N

T H E T E N D I O C E S A N G O A L S

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Each year since 2009, parishes have focused on two or three developments that are linked to the Transforming Church Goals. These have ranged from looking afresh at worship styles, to exploring new ways of serving the local community. Each year it is exciting to hear about all that our parishes are doing and such parish-led activity has attracted new clergy to the diocese. A series of popular Transforming Church Conferences also enabled parishes to share ideas and good practice with each other.

In 2015, with the help of a grant from the Church Commissioners, we were able to significantly resource Goal 4 and Growing Younger was born. This came out of consultation across the diocese that showed that children’s and families’ ministry was an area most parishes wanted to prioritise (Birmingham is the youngest city in Europe). The additional resources enabled us to employ nine new Mission Apprentices, 15 Children’s and Families’ Missioners, three Growing Younger Facilitators and to start St Luke’s, Gas Street, a city centre resourcing church.

In 2016 there was another consultation. Following conversations with Area Deans, Bishop’s Council, Diocesan Synod and others, it became clear that Transforming Church still provided a vision and framework that parishes found helpful, and that more resources to support other areas were needed.

Work began in the spring of 2016 to discern and shape priorities for the next five years, mindful of both local needs and the mission challenges facing the Church nationally. At the start of 2017, we heard that we had been given another significant grant by the Church Commissioners towards this new phase of Transforming Church, which enables us to move ahead more quickly than we might otherwise have done.

The intention is to extend and underpin the good work that has already begun in so many contexts, with an emphasis on encouraging every member of every church to hear a fresh call to service. In baptism we share that call and everyone has a part to play.

These four areas are therefore not about introducing new, separate mission goals, but rather about supporting and equipping individuals and church communities to grow in confidence and understanding of the mission to which God calls us.

G R O W I N G Y O U N G E R

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N E W R E S O U R C E S W I L L S U P P O R T F O U R M A J O R A R E A S

SHAPING THE FUTURE

N E W C H R I S T I A NC O M M U N I T I E S

L E A D E R S H I P A N DD I S C I P L E S H I P

C H I L D R E N , Y O U T HA N D F A M I L I E S

M I S S I O N A N D E VA N G E L I S MI N D I V E R S E C U LT U R E S

In the next phase of Transforming Church, we want to build on the amazing work done since 2009 and we now have resources to do so. The new things that God is doing through his Church can take root at a deeper level and the gifts of more people, both ordained and lay, can be released.

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new christian communitiesReaching new people, in new places, in new ways

Supporting parishes of all traditions in all contexts in reaching out to their local communities has always been part of the vision of Transforming Church. It is hoped that this new phase will inspire reflection and activity that reaches new people, in new places, in new ways.

Doing things in a ‘new way’ will mean different things in different places, depending on what is appropriate in each context. Some examples could include:

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F O R E S T C H U R C H

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Starting a new church in a new area. Sometimes this is appropriate when e.g. new housing developments are built, or there are population changes in an area.

R E V I TA L I S AT I O N S

Breathing new life into an existing church. This might include a new ministry structure, a new sense of direction for an existing congregation, or perhaps being joined by a new group of Christians moving from another church.

F R E S H E X P R E S S I O N SO F C H U R C H ( F XC )

New Christian communities grown among those with whom the Church finds it hardest to connect. These may grow within distinct cultural groups or within networks of people e.g. ‘church’ in a gym, a pub or at a local park.

A number of years ago I was leading a discussion group as part of a Growing Gifts day. One of the questions we had to discuss was: ‘When do you feel closest to God?’ The replies that came from people in the group were remarkably similar: ‘When I’m walking in the mountains… When I’m by a river… When I’m surrounded by nature…’ So I started to wonder why we spent so much time worshipping inside buildings. Following further conversations with likeminded folk, a small group of us decided to set up Ancient Arden Forest Church – along with others who were beginning to do so across the UK. Put simply, they are opportunities for people to encounter Christ in the natural world around us.

“There’s no organised network or prescribed way of doing Forest Church, but the guiding principles are that it must be Christ-centred, outdoors, not damaging to the environment and using as little tech equipment as possible. Our group includes two Anglican priests, so tends to have a liturgical feel, but we use deliberately open language that non Church folk will relate to.

“We meet eight times a year, following the old agricultural calendar of two solstices, two equinoxes and four quarter festivals. Between meetings, though, a great support network has developed - mostly out of interaction on Facebook, which is one of the lovely things that have come out of Forest Church. Some people have managed to remain engaged with Christ through friendships that have been established. It’s all about relationship and building trust. Because of the trust and support that has been built up amongst the group it’s been possible to be present as a priest to a number of people with very different beliefs from me but who have felt that this provided them with a safe space in which to talk. This developing trust has led to an invite to talk about what I believe in a Pagan gathering. “At the Spring Equinox, because of its proximity to Easter, our focus is some kind of tent or place of engagement which mirrors the garden tomb. Each person is invited to enter and engage with the risen Christ, individually, and to stay in there for as long as they want. In the past we have had people from more earth-centred spiritual paths spend longer in the tent than the professing Christians who were present. It was clear from their responses that they had encountered Christ in a way that moved them deeply. At its heart this is the nature of Forest Churches across the UK, to enable people to encounter Christ ‘in the Green’IN

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CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIESPASSING IT ON TO THE NEXT GENERATION

Growing Younger has been a key priority over the past couple of years and continues to be so. We are committed to helping young people, children and families understand more of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. As part of this, the greatly valued work of our Growing Younger Facilitators will continue and be extended, along with the offer of other resources:

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R a c h e l H i l l- B r o w n - S t J a m e s ’ , B e n t l e y H e at h

S C H O O L S

Building on the great work that is already going on in our Church Schools, churches will be supported to serve their local schools (Church Schools or not), through projects such as ‘Open the Book’, ‘Prayer Spaces in Schools’ and others appropriate to their context.

Y O U T H

Our original Growing Younger initiative supported work with children 11 and under but this will now extend to include all children and young people. We aim to encourage and help build up both existing and new youth ministry through new posts that will focus on envisioning, supporting and equipping local volunteers and leaders. New expressions of youth ministry will be explored which enable young people to be both rooted in their parish as well as connected with others across the diocese.

We’d been running a monthly Messy Church for about four and a half years, but we felt we needed to create another opportunity to develop friendship with those on the fringes of church life in an environment which is intentional about growing disciples, which is difficult in a large Messy Church. So, Breakfast Church was born!

“We’d learnt from Messy Church how well people bond over a meal, so we wanted to have the new service at a meal time. Lots of families are involved in sports clubs on Sundays so we chose breakfast in order that we could be finished by 9:45 and they can get to their other activities without having to choose between church and sport.

“For the first 15 minutes or so, people eat breakfast and just chat. The hall is set up café church style and there’s often a table-based challenge to get people talking across the ages and working together with each other. There’s usually some music from a band who avoid well-known worship songs so that we’re all learning songs together, rather than creating a ‘them and us’ feeling if the church people know the songs and the others don’t. Similarly, we’ll all read a bit of the Bible together from a screen, instead of a ‘special holy person’ reading it at you. After that, there’ll be a quick, fun quiz along the lines of ‘Bible or Star Wars Quote?’, a quick testimony, a short, interactive talk and a creative prayer response.

“Around 130 people come to Breakfast Church and about half of them are people we only see there or at Messy Church. We’re also seeing how different types of small group are emerging out of Breakfast Church. A group of mums have now formed a small group. Similarly, we’ve got mid-week cell groups for kids in Years 5 and 6 who now help out at Breakfast Church – so it’s part of the whole wider church strategy. Breakfast Church doesn’t exist in isolation, but is a great access point to other elements of church life that people wouldn’t necessarily immediately join in with. As well as attracting newcomers, it’s great to see people who are maybe on the periphery of church get behind the vision of Breakfast Church and start to take ownership of it.IN

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DISCIPLESHIP AND LEADERSHIPEVERYONE HAS A PART TO PLAY

We are all called by God to loving service in the world and to share the hope we have in Christ. The Church as the Body of Christ needs the gifts of all its members; women and men who are able to live out their faith confidently and creatively, meeting today’s challenges, engaging minds and hearts and being part of the transforming work of God’s Spirit. Our vision is that every Christian will grow as a disciple of Christ and the gifts of a greater diversity of leaders, both ordained and lay, across all backgrounds, ethnicities and ages will be released. New Mission Learning and Development streams will add to our capacity to support this vision through resources such as:

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J e s u s S h a p e d P e o p l e C O U R S E

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‘J e s u s - S h a p e d P e o p l e ’ a n d ‘ G r o w i n g L e a d e r s ’ c o u r s e s

M e n t o r sL AY L E A D E R S

E n c o u r a g i n g M E A ( M i n o r i t y E t h n i c A n g l i c a n ) L e a d e r s

Around four years ago I was looking out for a discipleship course that was relevant to the parishes I was involved with at the time. We ran Jesus Shaped People in those parishes and they went well. Since then, its popularity has spread organically and we’ve been running it with a mixture of outer estate and inner city parishes - 19 in total across the diocese. It’s a key part of mission strategy in some areas.

“It’s really worked well in inner city and outer estate areas because the style is contextually right for more deprived parishes. It’s very practical rather than academic - you don’t have to go away and read loads: you do things together and talk about it. It’s also free at point of access. One of the great things about it is that the effects on the parishes are all different; it really respects the traditions of the parish, the energy of its people and there’s space for the Spirit to move as well. Each parish outcome is different. Sometimes it leads to deep culture change and we have seen modest growth in parishes where growth is extremely difficult.

“As a result of the programme, some parishes have built children’s ministries out of nothing, some have engaged more in serving their communities in new ways, and some have created new discipleship and evangelism materials off the back of it. Some of the estate churches that are seeing shifting ethnic changes have really taken on board the ‘prophetic challenge’ element and have done a lot of work in standing against racism in their parish.

“It’s a great programme for building people’s confidence, particularly in enabling lay people to be the Church. This is a really important element for more deprived parishes, whose people may not feel like the world is their oyster. Jesus had particular concern for those on the fringes of society, so seeing that they are a priority gives those communities a sense of value and worth.

These courses have been run over the past few years in a number of contexts within our diocese, with encouraging feedback. It would be great to see more parishes being equipped to run courses like this, encouraging a new generation of lay leaders that are confident in whole life discipleship.

Within our diocese and across the Church of England in general, ethnic diversity in the church is not well represented. There needs to be more deliberate encouragement of MEA leaders. A course for lay leaders under 40 from MEA backgrounds will be piloted so that we can strengthen the support and leadership training offered to young, minority ethnic Anglicans.

Mentoring is vital in leadership development and training will be offered for potential mentors in order to build a culture of widespread mentoring across our diocese.

Ordained or not, every person has a calling. As well as increasing ordained ministries, we want to focus on developing lay leaders, seeing every person equipped to share and live out their faith in their daily lives.

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Mission and evangelismin diverse cultures the world in one diocese

We live in a super-diverse diocese, so how we go about sharing our faith involves humility, prayer and careful listening - both to God and to our context. We need to understand the culture of those around us in order to communicate God’s love in a way that makes sense to them. We are already blessed by networks and individuals with a wealth of experience in ministering to distinct communities across our region, and this area will be further strengthened by the work of an Intercultural Missioner. It is hoped to build and draw on all this expertise as we enter this new phase, focusing on five specific contexts:

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A S I A N A L P H A

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M a r i K a l e r - A s t o n P a r i s h C h u r c h

The Asian Alpha courses that we run are always bilingual, using the same format as a traditional Alpha course in translation. But it’s not just about language; some of the illustrations that are used in the Alpha talks are less meaningful to other cultures. We also noticed that a lot of people from other cultures who came to our Asian Alpha courses wanted to ask questions and discuss as the talk went along, rather than waiting until the end of a video. To address both these issues we invite a guest speaker or someone from the church to present the talk instead of use the video; they use culturally relevant illustrations and there’s more space for questions and discussion throughout.

“We always end with food and have a sit down meal together. That’s really important. It creates a real family atmosphere. Sometimes if you’re from another culture your circumstances can make you feel like you’re an outsider. I’ve met so many people who are just lonely; they just want to have a conversation. One of the most important things I’ve learned about church life is that family and a sense of belonging need to be the primary thing. Welcome is the bit we need to get right because that’s what attracts people and keeps them engaged. Although it’s called ‘Asian Alpha’ it’s not just Asian people who come to it, it’s open to everybody. Ultimately we want people to know that we are all one body in Christ.

“A lady who came to the last Asian Alpha was 65 years old; all her life she’d been in and out of different temples and places of worship and had had a really difficult upbringing. At the start of the course she told me: ‘I always thought that Jesus was the white people’s god and that he would never know me or accept me.’

It’s amazing to see people coming from a position like that to one where they realise that Jesus loves them and seeing them get baptised, as this lady was, is an amazing privilege. When you welcome and include people there’s often a ripple effect and we’ve already seen two family members of people from the last group also coming forward for baptism. It’s the changed lives of those around them that make the biggest impact on people.

I n n e r U r b a n a n d M a j o r i t y M E A c h u r c h e s

U R B A N E S TAT E S

S U B U R B A N R U R A L

‘ P r e s e n c e a n d E n g a g e m e n t ’ ( P & E ) a r e a s

The intention is to foster lay leaders and evangelists in these contexts, as well as continuing to support pre-established networks for urban and estate clergy.

We have 78 P&E parishes, in which at least 10% (and often far more) of the population are of other faiths. A learning community will be established for clergy and Readers in this context, helped by our Director of Interfaith Relations, experienced clergy colleagues and new posts.

We already benefit from missional communities in a number of estate areas and the insights of the Strengthening Estates Ministry Group. With new resourcing and further facilitation, more parishes can now be supported in engaging with their estate communities and building connections with local communities with whom the Church currently has no contact.

Some of our largest and youngest (demographically) churches are in suburban areas. These churches will be offered the opportunity to share peer learning about culture change and ways of making the next step-change in each church.

We are in the process of developing a strategy to help rural parishes grow larger, wider, deeper and younger. Applying the knowledge of rural mission experts, new posts and consultancy we commissioned in 2015, there will also be a learning community for lay people and clergy from rural areas to share good practice and encourage growth.

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Has there been significant

population growth in your

area? Could you think of

creative ways of serving

them or planting

a new church?

What subcultures are present in your parish? Are there ways you can begin to offer hope and

hospitality to people totally different to you?

How could you listen more intently to young people in your parish and support their ideas for community transformation?

What might

‘church’ look like for the young people in your area?

Could you commit

to pray for

young people

in your area?

Are you a ment

or who

could offer su

pport

to someone as

they

step out into

something new?

How much connection do you have with your local primary schools? How might you grow positive relationships with them? Could you serve them

through offering support for reading or running ‘Open the Book’?

Could you get involved in, or run, a Growing Leaders course to encourage and equip a new generation of

confident lay leaders?

How might you encourage

minority ethnic Anglican leaders (particularly those under

40 years old), support the

development of their vocation or recommend them for

a training programme?

Could your congregation send a group of people to plant a new church or help revitalise another congregation?

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H e r e a r e s o m e i d e a s ta r t e r s t o e n c o u r a g e e v e r y o n e t o d i s c o v e r t h e t h i n g t h at G o d w a n t s t h e m t o d o .

Getting involved…

If you have ideas on how you’d like to get involvedor new things you’d like to try – please get in touch!

Keep an eye on the Church of England - Birmingham websitefor news and updates on Transforming Church.

Please pray and listen to what the Holy Spirit may be saying in your own context, so that you might find out what God is doing and join in.

In what ways could you encourage ordinary church members to share and live

out their faith in their daily lives?

Could you write a prayer which could be regularly used in your church which asks God to help you grow in discipleship as well

as numbers?

Is there anything you and your church could do to serve, pray for or learn from the worldwide church?

What things could you do to keep mission on yourPCC agenda? Is God calling you to serve the church’s mission in a particular way - perhaps in authorised or licensed lay ministry? Do you need to talk to your vicar about your vocation?

What are the

needs of peopl

e

in your parish

?

How can you

share the love

of Christ with

them in word

and deed?

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GET IN TOUCHAND SHARE IDEAS

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Investing in the new, treasuring the old THE TRANSFORMING CHURCH

PRAYERThis booklet introduces a new phase of Transforming Church, although in many ways the ideas put forward here aren’t new at all. The Seven Areas of Transformation and Ten Diocesan Goals are still challenging and relevant and still provide the framework for our shared mission. The vision for this next phase is to build on the dedicated work that has already taken place.

Sovereign God, in Christ you make all things new.Clothe us with power from on high,that with generous lives and hearts on fire we might work with you to grow your church and transform your world.To you be glory through Jesus our Lord. Amen.

It is good to recall that a pioneering spirit has long been in our DNA as the Church of England – Birmingham. When Charles Gore gave up a prestigious position as Bishop of Worcester to form a ‘fresh expression of diocese’ in booming, industrial Birmingham he set out a path of innovation we continue to walk today.

Across the years, our church communities have continued to respond to contemporary needs and opportunities: founding schools, planting churches, embracing the vibrant, intercultural opportunities that Birmingham offers. That vision is

still the same. It’s time to invest in the new while treasuring the old, to look forward with confidence while honouring the past, to change and to remain faithful, as God leads. Together, through our Transforming Church vision, we seek that leading, remembering that ‘it is not the Church of God

that has a mission to the world, but the God of mission who has a Church in the world.’ As well as an introduction, this booklet is an invitation to be part of the vision. The most important part we can all play is to pray to the God of mission – the one who ultimately shapes our future.

TRANSFORMING CHURCHshaping the future

If you have ideas on how you’d like to get involved or new things you’d like to try...please get in touch!

Keep an eye on the Church of England Birmingham website for news and updates on Transforming Church.

Please pray and listen to what the Holy Spirit may be saying in your own context, so that you might find out what God is doing and join in.

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