Germinate: Growing + Equipping Rural Ministry

KEY NOTE SPEAKERS: Revd Dr Roger Walton, President of the Methodist Conference 2016/7, on discipleship; and Pete Atkins, Team Co-ordinator for Fresh Expressions

 

  • Major National Day Conference on Rural Mission
  • For lay, clergy and regional church leaders
  • Supported by the main churches, networks and organisations that resource rural churches
  • Central venue with easy road, rail and air access
  • Real case studies and practical workshops
  • Details of resources for rural churches and an opportunity to share resources you have found helpful
  • 2014 prices held
  • Save £24! Early booking price £48 including lunch and refreshments. Price from 30 June  £60. From 15 September £72.
  • Low cost hotel accommodation available near conference venue if required.

Case studies include: rural fresh expressions; using discipleship resources; prayer spaces in schools; working ecumenically; dementia friendly churches.

You can see the timetable for the day here. This is subject to very minor change up to the day of the Conference.

 

Workshop choices –  Choose any two from the following seven options:

1.   Developing prayer   A representative from Prayer Spaces in Schools

2.   Developing the Ministry of Lay People   Caroline Pascoe, Lay Development Officer, Diocese of Hereford

3.   Making disciples in Messy Church   Jane Butcher , BRF

4.   Developing discipleship in older people   Pete Atkins, Fresh Expressions

5.   Missional listening   Simon Mattholie, CEO Rural Ministries

6.   Germinate Groups introduction and training   Jerry Marshall, CEO Arthur Rank Centre

7.   Germinate Enterprise introduction and training   Jerry Marshall, CEO Arthur Rank Centre

 

Workshop options 6 and 7 are information and training sessions for those interested in learning more about Germinate Groups, 

or Germinate Enterprise, Rural Business Start-up Programme www.germinate.net/go/enterprise

 

 

You can make and pay for your booking on-line from here.

PLEASE NOTE! You can only make and pay for one delegate place at a time. If you need to make multiple bookings please call the office on 024 76853060. 

 The Welcome Centre, 47 Parkside, Coventry, CV1 2HGhttp://www.thewelcomecentre.co.uk/location/location is walking distance from Coventry railway station, with fast rail access from Birmingham Airport, and close to main motorways. There is free on-site parking.

Information about local hotel accomodation can be found here

 Conference enquiries can be made to helenm@germinate.net or by telephone on 024 7685 3060

 

 Comments on the 2014 conference:

 "An excellent day – lots of practical ideas to take back."

 "Most focused and inspiring rural conference I have ever attended!"

 "Well worth the cost and a great help to our lay leaders."

 "Energising, creative, inspiring… exciting to be part of this."

 "Very enjoyable and uplifting – I feel very encouraged."

 "I'm left with a feeling of excitement and renewal."

 "Absolutely brilliant day!"

Refresh – A guerilla manual for being church and doing life

“The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.” 

            – Thomas Jefferson

“The most important lesson in the writing trade is that any manuscript is improved if you cut away the fat. “

            – Robert Heinlein

Books are much like organizations and systems. They all begin with an idea. This idea, at first, is a lot of fun. The more work you put into it, the more it seems to come alive. Careful time is spent chiseling, shaping, and forming this idea into something that will ultimately be birthed. And soon, with enough hard work, sweat, and toil put in, you possess something that you are ready to unveil.

Now comes the hard part.

Communicating this idea to others in a way that they can understand and even pass on. This is where most ideas die… they get stunted in their delivery and don’t live on. They are either not fully understood by the hearer, or in one’s passion towards the idea it becomes so complex and nuanced that only the originator of it truly gets it.

And with ideas and words, much like organizations and systems, it is easier to add complexity rather than reduce it. Saying less (and still communicating clearly) is more of a task than rambling on.

I bought a new iPhone the other day because the previous one I was using kept getting bogged down and closing the apps that were open. It had too much saved on it and was laboring to work slowing down the functionality. Most days, I would have to refresh the app I was using multiple times by quitting it and then restarting it again to give it another try. Refreshing the apps and restarting the phone daily was the only way to get anything out of it. It had become too complex… too tired… too difficult to navigate.

I needed a new phone. I needed a fresh start. I needed to trade in the old for something simpler.

And time and time again, I have found this principle in my phone scenario to be true in my approach to the Christian life.

Often, I have made following Jesus and being a part of the community of God too complex. Good intentions become rules to be followed, and checking the boxes trumps a righteous heart adjustment. As humans, we love to overcomplicate the things of God.

And that is why we wrote ‘Refresh’. When the Rev. Dr. Michael Moynagh (better known as ‘Mike’) and I chatted about creating something for the everyday person in the pews in the church, we wanted something digestible… something that the average person could read in 30 minutes. Something that explained in simple language what Jesus was all about, and what by His death, He invited us all into. ‘Refresh’ in one sense is a fresh approach to being church as we do life, and in another sense nothing fresh at all. It is a throwback to the first century earliest Christian community and the way that they did life together as the people of God. What did that look like? What was the Spirit doing with this early group of believers? And how can we get back to the start and emulate that today?

‘Refresh – A Not-So-New Guide to Being Church and Doing Life’ was written with the average, normal, everyday person in mind. What would it look like if you leveraged the God-given gifts, skills, talents, experiences, and personality you possess for the Kingdom? What if mission wasn’t just a complicated add-on, but the starting point of life with Jesus? And what if there was a way to live life on mission that simply flavored your day-to-day routine? If there were enough of us who caught this vision and chose to live on mission in community right where we find ourselves today…

There would be revival.

And I cannot think of anything more worth 30 minutes of my time. Please, do yourself a favor (in fact, do the church and those that don’t know Him yet a favor) and forego a television show to push the refresh button on your life and be open to what the Spirit is calling you to do.

____________________

‘Refresh – A Not-So-New Guide to Being Church and Doing Life’ by Michael Moynagh & Rob Peabody has just released in the UK and will be releasing globally 27 July 2016.

–  Rev. Dr Michael Moynagh is based at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He has advised governments and businesses on future trends, and is consultant on theology and practice to Fresh Expressions UK. He is a recognized authority on new types of church.

– Rev. Rob Peabody serves as the Co-Founder and CEO of Awaken, a non-profit charity that exists to resource the church for action. He heads up Fresh Expressions pioneering efforts amongst the next generation.

 

Click here to purchase your copy of Refresh from our online store.

Refresh: A Not-So-New Guide to Being Church and Doing Life

What do you do when the church ceases to reach the masses? When it no longer connects?

You go back to basics… to the early church.

To church, the way the first Christians did it.

What Jesus wants isn’t complicated: He calls us to be a community and through that community to introduce Him to the world.

Refresh is a guerrilla manual that will show you how to do just that – in less than thirty minutes.

 

To find out more about the 'Refresh' project, go to www.refreshyourcommunity.com

 

The Revd Dr Michael Moynagh is based at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He has advised governments and businesses on future trends, and is consultant on theology and practice to Fresh Expressions UK. He is a recognized authority on new types of church.

Rob Peabody serves as the Co-Founder and CEO of Awaken, a non-profit charity that exists to resource the church for action. He heads up Fresh Expressions pioneering efforts amongst the next generation.

Youth Work Project Coordinator Vacancy

We are seeking a pioneering and committed individual to lead our work with young people.

In this unique and exciting role you will be responsible for the day to day running of the project including, leading face-to-face youth work, fundraising and managing a small staff team.

Sidewalk is a successful Christian charity (700733) that has been working in Scarborough for over 25 years. Our aim is to support, challenge and encourage young people to build stronger communities together.  We do this through the core strands of detached street work, mentoring, creative group work and activity trips.

New Monasticism: A UK Gathering of new forms of missional & religious life

This gathering and convention seeks to create an opportuinity for conversation, dialogue and learning to deepen and help articulate what New Monasticism is in a UK context.  In so doing it seeks to draw together practitioners in England Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who are in some form of relationshiop with the Anglican Churches to explore together what is a common understanding of this form of Christian vocation.  Further, we seek to invite those who are sensing a calling in this area, to set up new communities. 

Friday will begin with Evening Prayer St George the Martyr Church and then give time for introductions and a social with drinks and an evening meal.  Saturday begins with Morning Prayer and a Short Address with Phil Potter, Missioner to the Archbishop of Canterbury and Leader of Fresh Expressions UK.  The day will then give room for a number of important dialogues reflecting important areas that need to be addressed, as well as freer conversations based on other questions participants bring with them.  Sunday the venue shifts to the Church of St Margaret the Queen in Streatham, and begins with conclusive discussions before Eucharist where some who have a great distance to travel may leave.  For those who stay on we will have lunch together with activites in the acternoon finishing with Compline led by members of the Community of St Margaret the Queen. 

Please visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/new-monasticism-a-uk-gathering-of-new-forms-of-missional-religious-life-tickets-23204942608​ to book your spot.

Youth Worker

Salary: £20,000 – £27,000 (gross) per annum, depending on experience

This is an exciting opportunity for a Youth Worker with a vision to see positive transformation in the lives of young people living on the Pimlico estates.

The post holder will work alongside the Senior Youth Worker to establish and implement a strategy to engage young people, particularly those who are at risk of gang involvement, radicalisation and other illegal activities. They will encourage young people to reach their full potential and strive to bring them into a living relationship with Christ.

The post holder will be involved with providing support to a variety of youth work programmes including but not limited to the following:

– Schools work

– Detached youth work

– Christian discipleship

– Mentoring

– Sports and or a creative arts programme

The appointment will be subject to an enhanced DBS check and it is a genuine occupational requirement for the post holder to be a Christian.

Isle of Mull Vision Event

Over 6,000 people in over 80 places in the UK and worldwide have discovered more about fresh expressions of church and have come away with a real desire to work with God and develop their dreams. In a fun and interactive way, vision events give you the chance to:

o   share your story;

o   think about what it is to be church;

o   ask questions;

o   find out about fresh expressions;

o   discover resources;

o   build networks and relationships.

vision events are ideal for complete beginners, those with real questions about fresh expressions and mission-shaped church, people who have started something new and need some practical help, and Christians from all churches and traditions.

Pete Atkins, convenor of the Fresh Expressions training hub, says, ‘Each vision event is carefully planned in partnership with local churches to ensure that it is relevant in that particular area and context.’

Venue

Salen & Ulva Parish Church Salen

Isle of Mull

PA72 6JB

Booking details

For more information, or to book, please contact; Clifford Moisy (candronmull@btinternet.comor phone : 01680 300473.