1. Patterns of Ministry in the North Western Synod

2. Patterns of Ministry in the North Western Synod

3. Behind the scenes…

4. Discussion of a preliminary paper at….. South Area Pastoral Committee (Mon 11 th January) Lancashire Area Pastoral Committee (Mon 11 th January) Synod Executive (Thurs 14 th January) Learning & Ministries Committee (Mon 18 th January) Synod Pastoral Committee (Fri 22 nd January) Central Area Pastoral Committee (Mon 25 th January) Cumbria Area Pastoral Committee (Tues 26 th January) Synod Resources Committee (Thurs 28 th January)

5. Outline of presentation…

6. God’s Mission Ministry of all God’s people Particular forms of ministry We have a challenge to face… A renewed vision… Strategy… Process… Discussion in groups

7. God’s Mission

8. Jesus went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:16 – 20 (The Message)

9. ‘The mission Dei purifies the church. It sets it under the cross – the only place where it is ever safe. The cross is the place of humiliation and judgement, but it is also the place of refreshment and new birth. As community of the cross the church then constitutes the fellowship of the kingdom, not just “church members”; as community of the exodus, not as a “religious institution”, it invites people to the feast without end.

10. Looked at from this perspective mission is, quite simply, the participation of Christians in the liberating mission of Jesus, wagering on a future that verifiable experience seems to belie. It is the good news of God’s love, incarnated in the witness of a community, for the sake of the world.’ Transforming Mission (David Bosch, 1991)

11. Ministry of all God’s People

12. “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)

13. ‘Laos’ means everybody ‘ In the New Testament, ‘laos’ means people and the ‘laos of God’ are the people of God, the Church, with different and complementary gifts and ministries but sharing one common vocation to be the people of God’s new creation.

14. The ministry of the whole people of God should mean the ministry in which every member is called to be engaged in every aspect of their lives, including those called to ministries set apart by the Church.’ Equipping the Saints Report (General Assembly 2004)

15. Particular forms of ministry

16. 11 The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. Ephesians 4:11 – 13 (NRSV)

18. Congregation + Elders + Children “The Lord Jesus Christ continues his ministry in and through the Church, the whole people of God called and committed to his service and equipped by him for it.” Basis of Union (para 19)

19. We have a challenge to face…

20. “The Patterns of Ministry Report, like this one (Equipping the Saints), focussed on the need for more effective missionary engagement as the proper basis for ministerial deployment.”

26. Old maps are worn…

27. …we are now the map makers

28. A renewed vision….

29. ministry in teams (“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow” 1 Corinthians 3:6)

30. A renewed vision…. ministry in teams (“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow” 1 Corinthians 3:6) ministry in partnership (“This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.” 2 Corinthians 9:12)

31. A renewed vision…. ministry in teams (“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow” 1 Corinthians 3:6) ministry in partnership (“This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.” 2 Corinthians 9:12) ministry equipping the saints (“From Christ the whole body grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Ephesians 4:16)

32. Strategy…

33. Prayer

34. Strategy… Prayer Mission priorities

35. Strategy… Prayer Mission priorities Equipping local ministry

36. Strategy… Prayer Mission priorities Equipping local ministry Deploying stipendiary ministry

37. Strategy… Prayer Mission priorities Equipping local ministry Deploying stipendiary ministry Ecumenical dimensions

38. Strategy… 7 th Mark: does a few things and does them well focused rather than frenetic  does the basics well: especially public worship, pastoral care, stewardship and administration  occasional offices : make sense of life and communicate faith  being good news as a church in its attitudes and ways of working  enjoys what it does and is relaxed about what is not being done.

39. Process…

40. Consultation with churches

41. Process… Consultation with churches Consultation with ministers in May

42. Process… Consultation with churches Consultation with ministers in May Roadshows in June and July

43. Process… Consultation with churches Consultation with ministers in May Roadshows in June and July Synod Area meetings in September 2016

44. Process… Consultation with churches Consultation with ministers in May Roadshows in June and July Synod Area meetings in September 2016 2016 October Synod Meeting

45. …we are now the map makers

46. The United Reformed Church North Western Synod (a) accepts that the Synod, together with the whole United Reformed Church, faces challenges about the patterns of ministry that will equip and enable our congregations; and within that overall understanding of the ministry of God’s people a deep concern about the deployment of its stipendiary ministers

47. (b) believes that it is called to encourage, support and resource its congregations in their vocation to be the good news of God’s love for the sake of the world (c) commits itself to encourage its congregations and ministers to fully engage with the process of consultation so that concerns can be expressed and issues explored that will help us in discerning the next steps together.

48. (d) determines, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to work towards 2020 in having renewed patterns of ministry across the Synod enabling a continuing participation in the liberating mission of Jesus through its congregations

49. (e) instructs the Synod Executive to oversee this process of consultation and, in collaboration with the Pastoral and Learning & Ministries Committees and involving others with an understanding of the pioneering work possible in the 21 st century, to formulate a strategy for helping the Synod in October 2016 to develop its understanding of the issues involved and action required

50. (f) instructs its Pastoral Committees to work on the immediate and future issues facing our congregations concerning the deployment of stipendiary ministry (g) instructs its Learning and Ministries Committee to consider ways to encourage, resource and support local expressions of ministry (for example Eldership, local church leadership, lay preaching) within its congregations to strengthen their common life, worship and witness.

51. Discussion Groups Small groups (in 5s or 6s) within each of the 4 Synod Areas

52. Prayer by Bishop Ken Untener (on anniversary of the death of Archbishop Oscar Romero)

53. Prayer by Bishop Ken Untener (on anniversary of the death of Archbishop Oscar Romero) God of wisdom, It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view. The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.

54. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work. Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.

55. No statement says all that could be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection.

56. No pastoral visit brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the Church's mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

57. This is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.

58. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities. We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.

59. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.

60. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own. Amen.