Partnership for Missional Church is not quick.

It’s not easy. It’s not something you can do alone.
You could say the same things about freedom.
And that’s what we want churches to find: freedom in God’s mission.

“It’s a wonderful journey that helps churches discover a sense of purpose, discern the call of God, and engage in joyful, hopeful mission in their local communities.”

Rt Rev Paul Butler, Bishop of Durham

With so many churches under pressure to grow more, give more, do more – we want to help them discover:

1. The release that comes from truly relying on God
2. The liberty that comes from taking the time to listen
3. The confidence that comes from genuinely connecting with your community
4. The impact of innovating, risk-taking and not being afraid to experiment
5. The lightness of living out your call as a church

Partnership for Missional Church is not a course.
It’s not a programme.
It’s not prescriptive.

How does it work?

Partnership for Missional Church is a 3yr process.  We told you it wasn’t quick – that’s the beauty of it.  And that’s why you’ll be able to see such deep change.

The PMC journey involves clusters of 12-15 local congregations meeting together regularly.

Year 1  -  is all about listening, paying attention and discovering where God is already at work. Specific spiritual practices are introduced that help point people towards being naturally missional, rather than doing mission activities.

Year 2  -  focuses on experimenting. Based on what churches discover about themselves and their communities in Year 1, the next step is to take some risks and learn from both what works well and what doesn’t. This is done ‘with’ people in the local community, not ‘for’ them.

Year 3  -  focuses on recognising God’s particular mission call for your church and figuring out how you are going to put it into action. The outcomes will look different for each congregation.

The journey might not be for everyone.

We won’t sugar-coat it: getting deep culture change can be tough and moving towards freedom in mission can be scary for some.  People have given up.  But those who have stuck with the PMC journey have seen real growth in things like worship attendance and numbers of people turning to Jesus.

We’ve also seen many who aren’t clergy become empowered for leadership and become more involved.  This helps churches thrive.  Together, churches have developed creative, innovative and effective ways of making God’s dreams for their communities come true.

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Partnership for Missional Church  -  Update - August 2021

 

‘Hospitality’ - I have been reflecting on this.  Have you?

PMC turns things on their head.  With Hospitality, we reflect on how we receive – not how we offer it. Here are my thoughts on what has been a ‘different’ time for me.

Recent ‘issues’ meant I had to withdraw from social interactions.  Having shared details with only a limited number of friends, most responded very positively.  But, one couple responded in an unexpected way – text messages / phone calls / Zooms / emails / home delivered treats – throughout the particularly difficult days.

I have been used to giving – of being in charge; but not to receiving – of not being in charge.  My first thoughts were ‘How do I accept / repay this Hospitality?  

I realised that the my friends were eager to help and that there was no need to worry about repayment.  We even discussed the PMC concept of Hospitality together and realised exactly what it meant for us all.

Having been in a position of being in charge, I reached the point of complete acceptance for whatever came my way. An acceptance that God was in actually charge and acting through my friends.

Does ‘Hospitality’ mean anything different to you now?