1. Thinking ahead about... sharing the idea

2. How it came about What would help churches? A prompt to start planning sooner ‘Thinking ahead about... Autumn Festivals’ in Kirkham URC Materials hidden on the URC website ‘Thinking Ahead about... Easter’ in three venues across NW Synod in January 2010

3. How might our churches make fresh connections?

4. 1.By developing who we already are and what we already do

5. How might our churches make fresh connections? 2. By using our existing special events and special efforts...

6. How might our churches make fresh connections? 3. By developing people’s existing gifts and skills

7. How might our churches make fresh connections? 4. By redeploying our time and effort (not by asking everyone to do more – unless it energises them)

8. How might our churches make fresh connections? 5. By reaching further out to more people and digging deeper into the story and meaning

9. How might our churches make fresh connections? 6. By starting thinking far sooner to allow planning ahead

10. How might our churches make fresh connections? 7. By thinking outside our regular organising boxes

11. How might our churches make fresh connections? 8. By involving the usual people and some who’ll be surprised to be asked

12. How might we make that happen?

13. 1. By organising prompting events for clusters of churches

14. How might we make that happen? 2. By trying to ensure that churches hear about them and want to use them

15. How might we make that happen? 3. By encouraging churches to ‘bring a car-load’

16. How might we make that happen? 4. By trying to get a good mix of people from each church to attend

17. How might we make that happen? 5. By starting the time together with telling our stories & sharing our ideas

18. How might we make that happen? 6. By offering a chance for shared re-engagement with the Bible

19. How might we make that happen? 7. By encouraging everyone to start working on their own church’s situation

20. How might we make that happen? 8. By sending people back to their churches to enthuse and involve others while there’s still time to plan ahead

21. What we found when we tried it out...

22. What we found when we tried it 1. People were stimulated by hearing each other’s ideas

23. What we found when we tried it 2. People greatly appreciated the prompt to think ahead

24. What we found when we tried it 3. Over 80 people came to our three Easter prompt events in January 2010 – despite the weather!

25. What we found when we tried it 4. We keep hearing of new things churches tried as a result of the prompt

26. What we found when we tried it 5. The event and the meeting with other churches was central – not just the materials

27. What we found when we tried it 6. Rolling this out for Vision4Life Evangelism Year would mean running events for clusters of churches

28. What we found when we tried it 7. We could share the idea, our enthusiasm and prompt events - it would all depend on interested Synods

29. What we’re asking you to consider doing

30. 1. Check what you and other Synod movers and shakers think about the idea

31. What we’re asking you to consider doing 2. Check whether running Thinking Ahead events in January and in May/June would fit into the Synod programme for 2011

32. What we’re asking you to consider doing 3. Get a working group working on the plans for January, NOW

33. What we’re asking you to consider doing 4. Work together on the when where and how – and start devising your publicity strategies

34. What we’re asking you to consider doing 5. Let the Synod’s Thinking Ahead planning group plan – but keep in touch