(Ed: And its not rocket science! Also this from the Bishop, whose leadership been the key: " I believe our aim should be to produce enough paid and voluntary clergy to staff as many parishes as possible. We should aim for high quality clergy, capable of forging ahead and giving leadership for different kinds of parish. Of course, we have to raise the money to pay for them. But a good stipendiary priest will soon pay for him/herself in all but the poorest parishes. Given the chance of a new vicar, most parishes will rise to the challenge of paying for him or her." That's the way to do it!)
In 2002 we found that we were heading for bankruptcy. Particularly our larger churches had seen decline and children’s work was in free-fall. We had to take drastic action to cut clergy posts and reduce the budget by £800,000. Alongside that we focussed on a Strategy for Growth: praying that God would halt the decline and restore our church. Well, five years later, we can thank God for a wonderful confirmation of his love.
- Last autumn we licensed the largest number of Lay Ministers that we can remember.
- Back to Church Sunday produced several thousand returnees in church.
- Parishes have appointed almost as many children’s workers as the number of clergy posts we have cut.
- All those churches which have attended the Larger Churches course have stopped declining and started growing again.
- Growth is happening in a large proportion of our parishes, including some of the poorest in the land.
- We have been able to balance the budget, and strengthen our reserves.
- We’ve decided to:
- increase the number of stipendiary curates from 9 to 11 and
- not to cut the last remaining three clergy posts of the 50 cuts agreed five years ago. We aim to stabilize the number of clergy and then pray for a gradual increase again.
- We will reduce the annual increase in the Share Formula for the first time for many years.
- We’ve even been able to offer stipendiary clergy health check-ups and we’ve begun a big programme so that every vicarage can have cavity wall insulation.
It is not all good news of course. Some parishes are struggling. But for every apparently insoluble problem we face there are encouragements and exciting opportunities. So I hope you will join with me at the beginning of a new year in giving thanks. Thank you to God for all the signs of his amazing grace, and thank you to all the faithful parishes where people have upped their giving and their commitment. Read more
(Also read this about a church-planting case study in London.)No comments will be posted without a full name and location, see the policy.
1 comment:
I thought both these articles were wonderfully encouraging. I've posted the Lichfield letter on the Chelmsford South website, and I loved this comment in the churchplanting article:
"So are we talking bums on seats here? Yes, we are unashamedly, rejoicing that every London resident is a bum created in the image of God, one for whom Christ died."
It's the sort of quote I wish I'd come up with myself - and I probably will.
Andy Griffiths (Galleywood)
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