This is the title given to my ‘slot’ today – So the obvious question is “where is 'there'?” And I guess the answer is that our journey is towards the perfect church so don’t expect to arrive any time soon. I suggest as individuals we are on the same journey towards being perfect followers of Christ so we can all set our satnavs for the same destination and help each other to find the best route. The only way to ensure we are moving in the right direction is to continually seek God’s guidance as we listen to God's people who work within the Corps. We need to ask ourselves – what resources and skills has God given us and how does he expect us to use them effectively and efficiently to extend His reach into our community. 1

I guess a check point on our journey has been the NCD survey. Corps leadership have looked at what was said and need now to decide how best to respond on both the Corporate issues and personal development needs we expressed in the survey. 2

The yellow, traces our view of each of the 8 areas measured You have come here to worship this morning, so I will try to be brief, but you are probably thinking – we did the survey, we looked at the results, so now what? This is what we said about our Corps (80 surveys – a high proportion of active Corps members) The yellow, traces our view of each of the 8 areas measured The dotted line is the average of all the results and is a very positive result when compared to other Corps and Churches Let's take a brief moment to give thanks to God for the Corps He has grown here. Maybe even a moment to pat yourself on the back for the contribution you have made - that's enough, there 's more to do! 3

If were were awful, we would be near the red circle If we were the perfect Corps our results would have been as shown by the green circle If were were awful, we would be near the red circle Thankfully, and I believe correctly, we came out more towards the green than the red. But there are areas where we need to review, highlighted by what we all said in the survey. The question we need to ask is ’What comes naturally to us that we can use to develop our part of the Church?’ – Natural Church Development. 4

This slide shows the 8 characteristics measured 5 This slide shows the 8 characteristics measured The list on the left shows what we said we do best at the top, then moves down the list to the lowest measures. 7th out of 8 is ‘effective structures’ This Corporate issue is the area I have been asked to talk to you about, and it will be briefly, this morning. How can we organise ourselves better?

Current Structure Pastoral Care Council Mission Forum The Corps has a very 'flat' structure with each activity having it's own leaders, who are accountable to 2 groups – PCC reviews and makes decisions on all ‘people’ issues. MF is not a decision making group (decisions are made by programme leaders) but MF tries to support programme leaders & ensure any organisational and business issues are progressed. Clearly from the survey, you do not feel these structures are effective. 6 Current Structure Pastoral Care Council Consists of programme leaders Discusses all ‘people’ issues Agrees appointment of leaders Confirms new soldiers Confirms new adherents Manages and reviews Corps rolls Mission Forum Consists of Purpose Group Leaders Receives reports on activities & concerns Opportunity for communication & support Endeavours to coordinate & balance activities Purpose Group Leaders implement any decisions with programme leaders and support from MF if required

This is what we said about our Corps structures This is what we said about our Corps structures. Probably a bit small to read everything but it shows 4 areas we considered ourselves to be below average. Having considered these results, they confirmed what we had already been discussing, that the Mission Forum needs to be reviewed and changed. All these questions are about how we organise ourselves, so comes within the remit of MF. While MF worked well for a number of years, we have recently been unable to find leaders for some of the Purpose Groups. These gaps have been a concern and have meant a vacuum has opened up as programmes have not been represented at MF. All areas need to be looked at, but as a start we look at the 4 areas where we fell short of the average. 7

The lowest response scoring question regarding effective structures 8 The lowest response scoring question regarding effective structures Under the Mission Forum structure, new initiatives have been the responsibility of the programme leaders and where support has been needed, Purpose group leaders brought this to Mission Forum for discussion. Clearly you do not think we are doing enough to develop our Corps and we need to look at this and talk to you about what this means: In recent months we have: Started the Life Project on Tuesday evenings Added Sunday Night is Music Night to add variety to our 2nd meeting Taken on Employment Plus to help people in need within our community We need to consider new ideas which we/you have the skills & passion to develop

9 Suggests there are barriers within the existing arrangements which have hindered the development of our Corps. I would be interested to know what these have been in order that we can remove them. Members of the new group will be open to all comments and criticisms (be gentle please!), in order that barriers can be overcome.

1010 There has been a strong vision over a number of years based on Ezekiel 47 but it is recognised that the vision and values of the Corps need to be revisited, led by our Commanding Officers. This will be a priority on the group’s agenda, and opportunity will be given for the whole congregation to contribute on Vision Sunday early next year. – not just to clarify the vision but to work it through as a reality in our Corps.

1111 Gaps in Purpose Group leaders have reduced communication and resulted in various groups not having as much support as in the past. The new group will work with all leaders to provide input and support where this is required.

Once the new group is in place, we will review all the other characteristics from this, or the next survey 1212

New Group (name to be decided) 1313 In summary - SLIDE New Group (name to be decided) Will overview all Corps activities Will endeavour to maintain a good balance of activities Will review NCD Survey results and decide on appropriate actions Will consult programme leaders regarding issues under review Will offer opportunity for Corps members to suggest changes and new ideas for consideration by the Group Will be keen to hear what you want to contribute to our Corps

Please pray for these people but also talk to us about your thought and ideas. Let us know what you can, and want to do. 1414 ‘New Group’ members Major Nigel Schultz Commanding Officer Adrian Horwood Corps Mission Secretary Tim Scott Corps Sergeant Major Andrew Pennington Corps Secretary Tracy Wood Young People’s Sergeant Major Mike Gibbs Service & Ministry Leader Nigel & Margaret Day Recruiting Sergeants

Just a reminder – things don’t always happen overnight. Our job is to keep faith and keep working where God has placed us – when the time is right, God will make things happen. 1515