AUTUMN – WINTER 2017
CATALYST
HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS! ROMANS 10:15
MAKING DISCIPLES | SEASONS OF CHANGE SCHOOL VENTURES | TALK CALLING WITH TEENS
Mission: CPAS enables churches to help every person hear and discover the good news of Jesus Christ.
Our Vision: We long to see a Christ-centred, Bible-based, missionfocused Church where leaders are clear about their call to discipleship, growing in Christ-like character, and competent to lead in a time of rapid change; where leaders discern God’s direction, enable action, build teams, develop leaders, facilitate communication, and nurture people; where leaders work in teams, reflecting the diversity of ministries, and model themselves on the servant character of Jesus; where leaders help transform inherited churches, pioneer emerging churches and deliver creative residential ministry, effectively helping children, young people and adults hear and discover the good news of Jesus Christ.
CPAS Sovereign Court One (Unit 3), Sir William Lyons Road, University of Warwick Science Park, COVENTRY CV4 7EZ 0300 123 0780 supporter.relations@cpas.org.uk www.cpas.org.uk A company limited by guarantee Registered in England no 2673220 Registered charity no 1007820 Registered office at address above
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Editor: Olly Du Croz Design: Catherine Jackson Copyright CPAS 2017. All rights reserved. Permission is granted for the reproduction of text from this publication for CPAS promotional use only. For all other uses, please contact us. This publication is printed on paper from farmed forests: for each tree felled, another is planted. The paper is chlorinefree and environmentally friendly. Unless otherwise stated all Bible quotations taken from the New International Version (NIV).
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WELCOME
Contents: 04 CPAS in Brief
GRAHAM ARCHER DIRECTOR OF MINISTRY
06 Talk Calling
Three times in the last few months, I have been given the story of the transfiguration as the main reading for a sermon. It is such an intriguing scene. An intimate encounter where Peter, James and John see the glory of God reflected from the face of Jesus and, spotting Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus, grab their canvas and timber in order to knock up some tents. There is so much security in having a job to do, but why didn’t they sneak up and listen in instead?
08 Through the Lens of a Leader 12 School Ventures 14 Making Disciples of All Nations
Before they were able to swing a hammer, they do hear the Father’s voice drawing their attention back to Jesus and – awestruck – they fall to the ground, any thought of DIY gone.
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In our prayers at the CPAS office we have been thinking about the many times in the Bible where an encounter with God makes all other considerations fall into perspective. In this edition of Catalyst you will find a common theme emerging – the creation of space in which to perceive the voice of God. You will get an insight into some of the Venture and Falcon holidays where children and young people have had the time to encounter Jesus (p8-11) and read about the Lead On book just published (p4), inviting leaders to take 30 reflective days to hear the call of Christ afresh. Our new Talk Calling resource (p6-7) has also just been published, which offers young people the chance to think about the God opportunities in their lives, and of course all our conferences take place in an atmosphere of prayer and worship because God is still speaking.
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As you read this publication you might not experience a transfiguration-type encounter, but I pray that in all the days to come and in all the challenges we face, the whole CPAS community continues to create those times when the work ceases, our minds still and we hear God speak. God bless,
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www.cpas.org.uk info@cpas.org.uk
0300 123 0780
CPAS IN BRIEF LEAD ON BOOK Taking stock is a crucial step in establishing where we are and what we need to give our attention to, so that we are not simply swayed by the clamouring demands around us. The new Lead On book, written by James Lawrence, offers 30 reflections for leaders to take stock of both their inner and outer life. Each reflection is accompanied by questions and suggested resources, with prayer and space to review at the end of sections. This is a great resource to use during Advent or at the start of the New Year as a basis for reviewing your leadership, and is available from the CPAS bookshop. www.cpas.org.uk/leadonbook
SEASONS OF CHANGE Spending time reflecting and listening to God with others at times of transition in ministry is hugely valuable. The following CPAS events help clergy who are moving roles to take stock of all that has gone before, learn from it and enter a new phase of ministry with fresh hope, energy and vision. The Buck Stops Here, for men and women who are taking on overall responsibility of one or more parishes for the first time. Next event: 31 October-2 November, Malvern. New Chapters, a learning retreat for experienced clergy making a move: ending well, starting well – and doing so in a context of prayer and worship. Next event: 6-9 November, Malvern. Moving On, a forum-style event for clergy offering guidance about the tricky subject of moving jobs. Next event: 23 November, Coventry. Please do pray for those attending these events, for all the best that God has to give to equip and empower with wisdom and insight. Ask that he would be teaching the leaders new things about themselves and his call on their lives. www.cpas.org.uk/events
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CHURCH RECRUITMENT GOES DIGITAL CPAS is currently part of a national pilot project on recruitment being run by the National Church Institutions. Many dioceses are also part of this and the hope is that all dioceses will come on board by the end of 2018.
www.cpas.org.uk/patronage
Pathways will facilitate the recruitment of jobs in local churches by using digital platforms for handling the advertising of posts, applications and other recruitment processes. This project is part of a much wider programme seeking to support ministry in the Church of England. For example, individual clergy will be invited to join Pathways by registering, and those interested in being ordained can also use the service. This is a major initiative which will significantly impact the world of church appointments. It should enable processes to run more smoothly, raise awareness of job opportunities and be a central and secure place for handling administration.
PCC TONIGHT
ARROW APPLICATIONS
PCCs have been a big focus of the past 12 months here at CPAS, with more than 1,600 people attending events around the country which have helped clarify the purpose of PCCs and avoid some common dysfunctions.
Applications are now open for the next Arrow Leadership Programme, which begins early in 2018.
One event delegate said: ‘Fantastic session and the material helped us open up as a group much more and recognise some keys areas we can change, which will help us lead more effectively and engage better.’ Many churches have gone on to use the PCC Tonight resource. The pack contains a guide to leading a PCC, six half-hour sessions to run as part of PCC meetings, and many additional online resources. www.cpas.org.uk /pcctonight
Arrow aims at life transformation. It is not merely another course or conference. It doesn’t simply add a few extra skills to the life of the leader, but considers the deeper issues of call and character. Over 18 months it provides an opportunity for leaders aged 25-40 to grow through teaching, reflection, worship, interaction, application, accountability and fun. The deadline for applications is 13 December, so visit the CPAS website to find out more about the programme and how to apply (including the all-important eligibility criteria). You can also watch videos which give an insight into the impact that Arrow has had on some of the recent participants. www.cpas.org.uk/arrow
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mma Sykes, CPAS Leadership Specialist with a focus on vocations, gives an insight into the creation of our new Talk Calling resource.
TALK CALLING In my work over the last year or so I have become acutely aware of the need for more resources to help church leaders (both lay and ordained) start and develop conversations with young people that focus on calling. It is well known that the church needs to encourage younger people to consider a call to ordination, both to fulfil the need for more church leaders in the future and to reach out to the younger generation who have become increasingly absent from our churches. Much is being done to address this, through encouraging the appointment of young vocations champions in every diocese, the increase in events specifically aimed at young people to explore vocations and the rise of ministry experience schemes and internships. All of this is great and is certainly having an impact as we are seeing increased numbers of younger people being ordained. However, much of this work focuses on ‘the articulation’ stage, the point at which a person has already begun to think about calling and is ready to explore. I was interested in how they get to that stage, who starts having that conversation? Where is the seed sown? How do we make sure that conversations about calling are part of discipleship for everyone and not a separate special thing for a chosen few? It was from
thinking about these questions that Talk Calling was born. I wanted to develop an easy to engage with and flexible resource that could be used by anyone who works alongside teenagers, lay or ordained, either one-to-one or in a small group setting, that would start the conversation about what God wants them to do with their lives. So I designed a series of creative cards that could be used to open up the God possibilities for their lives in different ways: Pictures: For those who find words difficult, they can articulate themselves through an image. About Me: Questions to help draw something out of a young person’s gifts, skills and talents. Bible Verses: Bringing inspiration from Scripture, these cards bring God’s voice into the discussions. Blockages: Highlighting some of the barriers that young people place on themselves (or have had placed on them) that can then be discussed and overcome. Each series of cards has an instruction card to give guidance on how to use them, and a facilitator instruction booklet that explains the thinking behind the resource and the different ways it can be used.
‘AN INNOVATIVE AND VERSATILE RESOURCE TO HELP TEENAGERS EXPLORE GOD’S CALL.’ 06
Paul Peterson, Vicar and Venture Holiday Leader
Want to help young people discover what God wants for their lives?
Like to open up a conversation with a teenager about how to follow where God leads?
Talk Calling was piloted by a number of people in a variety of settings such as Venture leaders on holidays, a University Chaplain with a small group of students, a Diocesan Youth Missioner in a youth group and a parish priest with a group of teenagers, to name just a few. The feedback was overwhelmingly encouraging and incredibly helpful in terms of shaping the final product.
can enjoy a chat about school and their personal likes/dislikes or a mature group, used to deep discussion and Bible study, can really get their teeth into some of the questions raised. It’s a resource that will open up a dialogue with young people to think about where God may be calling them.’
One youth worker commented: ‘The flexibility of the resource means that each group can experience it differently – lively younger teens
Talk Calling will help you get started by enabling young people to explore their calling through through a series of creative cards:
My hope and prayer for Talk Calling is that it will give confidence to those who minister alongside young people to start conversations about calling. Once the conversation starts, who knows what God possibilities will be discovered?
TALK CALLING
Pictures About Me Questions Bible Verses Blockages
cpas.org.uk/talkcalling
Who knows what they will discover?
HELPING 14 TO 18 YEAR OLDS EXPLORE THE GOD POSSIBILITIES FOR THEIR LIVES
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THROUGH THE LENS OF A LEADER his summer one of our 3,000+ volunteer leaders had a unique insight into the dozens of Ventures and Falcons taking place across the country.
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As well as leading (and snapping away!) on her own Falcon holiday, we sent photographer Anna Wood on an assignment to visit three Ventures. During her travels, she captured on camera a great variety of approaches to sharing the gospel and giving young people an unforgettable holiday. Anna is an overall leader at Wydale Falcon, along with her husband Dan. ‘The photos taken at Wydale have served as a great reminder of the happy moments,’ said Anna, ‘especially when I was up until 3am on the last night putting a slideshow together to show everybody before they left. As leaders on a Falcon we deal with a lot of stuff during the week which remains hidden to the members, but the images showed what a happy and fun week it really was.’ Anna shares her reflections on the holidays she visited:
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Stage Fright ‘It was great to see so many talented leaders and children applying the teaching theme of Kings to drama and dance on this creativelythemed Venture. There were only about 20 members, so that resulted in a very close community, and I was greeted by a stunning dance to Rend Collective’s song My Lighthouse. ‘Using drama gave the members an understanding of the Bible on a whole new level, and it certainly made me think about how we can bring more drama into the teaching programme on our Falcon too.’
Wydale Falcon Wydale Falcon started two years ago when Dan and Anna responded to God’s call to work with different young people from the Ventures they had led on for the previous 10 years. ‘For some young people on Ventures the holiday is about pushing more into their own personal faith and growing as disciples, but on a Falcon we’re introducing young people to Jesus who have basically never heard of him before. ‘Many of the young people come from chaotic lives at home, with some really challenging behaviours. On a Falcon it’s amazing and humbling because we tell them about a God who loves them unconditionally, show them that they’re cared for and give them a load of new experiences they wouldn’t normally have at home.
...ON A FALCON WE’RE INTRODUCING YOUNG PEOPLE TO JESUS WHO HAVE BASICALLY NEVER HEARD OF HIM BEFORE.
‘There’s no hiding from the fact that it was a really tough week, and as overall leaders we spent lots of time supporting the other leaders, letting them offload and chatting through what they were hearing or dealing with.’
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Blaithwaite ‘Set in the Lake District, this is an enormous Venture with nearly 80 young people. There were so many small groups and a great choice of activities, with everything from archery to paddle-boarding led by people who are trained technicians in each discipline. The leaders were very special in the way they used all kinds of gifts to teach the teenagers, and it was good to see them leading by example in a gentle way that gave them a lot of respect in the eyes of young people.’
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Sedbergh ‘This was closer to the type of Venture we used to lead on, with a Hollywood theme and their ‘Main Event’ morning and evening meetings. There were very clear basic rules for the 14-18s – such as always turning up to meetings with a Bible, notebook and pen – and the sessions were really well structured. The meetings were also brilliantly compered by leaders who definitely deserve an Oscar!
OVERALL, MY TRAVELS THIS SUMMER REMINDED ME THAT THERE’S SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL ABOUT THE TEAMS OF PEOPLE THAT RUN VENTURES AND FALCONS.
‘I also witnessed my first game of crocker [a favourite on many Ventures, mixing cricket with football], which the leaders seemed to be enjoying just as much as the teenagers.’ ‘My travels this summer reminded me that there’s something very special about the teams of people that run Ventures and Falcons. I saw so much encouragement and building each other up, which is how I grew and became more confident as a leader. It’s great to see that happening elsewhere and know that the investment in younger leaders is still going strong!’ 11
SCHOOL VENTURES an extension of our existing A sministry to children and young people through the local church, we have been piloting a new series of School Ventures. These residentials aim to help pupils from Church of England schools investigate the core concepts of the Christian faith, explore their own personal response, and connect with a suitable local church children’s programme. We have six School Ventures taking place during this academic year in Chester, Hereford, Nottingham and Leicester, with lots more interest from other dioceses for 2018/19. Tim Friend, Ventures and Falcons Principal (above), said: ‘There seems to be a big appetite amongst schools for this ministry as it also helps enhance pupils’ RE experience and contributes to these schools’ Christian ethos, all
We are raising money for the development of Ventures, including School Ventures, through the Big Give Christmas Challenge. Donate at www.thebiggive.org.uk between 28 November and 5 December 2017 and your gift will be doubled. Thank you! 12
within the context of a fun and safe residential. We’re praying that God resources this mission opportunity with leaders and finances!’ The theme on School Ventures so far has invited the children to come as detectives and investigate ‘The Case of the Empty Tomb’, exploring evidence from Luke’s Gospel in an exciting and interactive way. We’ll also start using a ‘321 Blastoff’ theme (based on Glen Scrivener’s resource), which is about the Trinity and being part of God’s family. We operate with mixed teams of school staff and local church volunteers who work together to help children take a more detailed look at
Some of the pupils’ highlights from School Ventures so far include: ‘… being with children from other schools’ ‘… made loads of new friends and cracking the case of The Empty Tomb’ ‘… I didn’t believe that Jesus rose and now I do’
the evidence, unpacking the Bible passages together in small groups. The teaching programme is appropriate for children of all faiths and none. The programme of activities generally includes a couple of outdoor pursuits, crafts, challenges and sports. Tim added: ‘This really has the potential to grow big and impact the lives of many more children and young people across the nation as they grapple with the gospel – many for the first time. ‘Our prayer is that these pupils will go on to connect with their local churches as we try to broker new and reinforce existing relationships. It may even be that pupils go on to the fuller Ventures experience and therefore begin to feed into our existing holidays too. ‘Please do pray for the planning, relationships with schools and support of local churches. We’re so thankful for the level of interest in this exciting initiative, which means we’re also on the look-out for team leaders with Ventures or Falcons experience to help lead new School Ventures in 2018 and beyond.’
FALCON PARTNERSHIPS Falcons serve young people who are facing challenges at home by giving them a great holiday and the chance to learn about life with Jesus. We’re thrilled to be working with a number of organisations to reach even more youngsters: TLG: We have a fledging relationship with this education charity. Last year, several young people came to our Oakwood and Wydale Falcons through this link and one young person gave their life to Christ. MakeLunch: This fantastic charity, which tackles school holiday hunger, has sent groups of children and young people to Falcons from their Barnet kitchen for the first time this year. The feedback has been very positive, and they all want to go again next year! CAP: Several young people came to Wydale Falcon through CAP (Christians Against Poverty) debt and refugee centres. We are in conversation with various CAP centres to encourage them to invite more clients’ children to our holidays. Spurgeons: The latest link we are exploring, in particular due to their work with young carers. One 11 year old boy attended a Falcon this summer. Our Spurgeons contact said: ‘He had an awesome time and definitely hopes to go back next year. This is amazing as he doesn’t get to go on holidays generally, and also he doesn’t like to leave his mum because, as her carer, he gets anxious when he’s not around to help her. To hear that he had an amazing time and wants to do it again next year is really lovely.’ 13
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t Matthew’s West Ham sits at the heart of a diverse residential area in East London. ‘We are a multicultural fellowship with members from the UK, Europe, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia,’ explains The Rev Christiana Asinugo, who has been leading the church since 2013.
‘The Bible verse in Matthew 28 where Jesus says “Go and make disciples of all nations” (verse 19) feels very relevant to our parish as the nations are presented all around us. We have a vision to both take the love of Christ out to our multicultural community and also welcome people in to our church. We want to make Christ known and help each other grow in our relationship with him.’ Christiana attended ‘Looking Up, Looking Forward’, our free training day for vicars at CPAS patronage churches and also ‘Refresh’, an event for clergy in Chelmsford diocese where John Dunnett spoke on ‘Leading a disciple-making church’. She is also a subscriber to Lead On (our free leadership email) and recently bought the new Lead On book. ‘It is good to feel that we leaders are cared about and to have all the useful information
MAKING DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS
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and support. I was very encouraged by the session at ‘Refresh’ about discipleship and am now thinking about how we can grow to know the Lord more as a whole church, and make Jesus known more in the community around us. ‘Since I began my role at St Matthew’s, we have been building bridges between the church and the community through our children’s and youth work. We have a growing group of children and young people, many of whom attend our Girls’ and Boys’ Brigades, and we have started a toddler group. ‘I also have opportunities to take the love of Christ out to the community in my role as co-ordinating chaplain at Westfield shopping centre. Shoppers and staff can drop into the chaplaincy and enjoy a quiet space for prayer and reflection and we also go out to the shops and get to know the staff and offer them the chance to chat. ‘We arrange carol singing at Christmas and other events through the year, including a free shoeshine service for shoppers on Maundy Thursday – a modern day equivalent to footwashing!
‘We are now thinking about what’s next, and if God is encouraging us to link with the community in other ways, perhaps doing more outreach to meet local people, going out into the street and people’s homes or joining in with other missions. ‘We want to talk to the people around us about Jesus, and we’re seeking God’s guidance for how we can meet people where they are and help them become disciples and grow in faith.’
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