October 2011 – March 2012
catalyst biblical leadership, effective evangelism Church growth through making disciples and developing leaders
growing leaders and churches since 1836
making disciples, developing leaders, growing churches Mission: CPAS enables churches to help every person hear and discover the good news of Jesus Christ.
Our vision:
Our passion:
We long to see a Christ-centred, Bible-based, mission-focused Church where leaders are clear about their call to discipleship, growing in Christlike 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.
We remain a committed evangelical agency, and since 1836 we have been working for the evangelisation of the UK. In what seems to be an evergrowing secularism in the public sector, synchronism in matters of faith and relativism in moral life, the urgency of the gospel has never been clearer. We are fundamentally committed to the local church. Our founders made an obligation to support the evangelistic endeavours of local churches, while our support is now focused on assisting and supporting the leaders of local churches. We believe that the message of the cross is real and relevant to all people. It is a good news story: of grace (God’s unmerited favour towards us), mercy (forgiveness when we deserved punishment) and love (John 3:16). We are passionately committed to the revitalisation of the Church of England. We have never wavered in this passion and our commitment to patronage, Ventures and Falcon Camps and leadership development flows out of our aspirations for the Church of England. All Bible quotations taken from Today’s New International Version
catalyst Editor: Olly Du Croz Design: Catherine Jackson Copyright CPAS 2011. 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 magazine is printed on paper from farmed forest: for each tree felled, another is planted. The paper is chlorine-free and environmentally friendly.
Contact CPAS Athena Drive, Tachbrook Park, WARWICK CV34 6NG T 01926 458458 E info@cpas.org.uk W www.cpas.org.uk Church Pastoral Aid Society Registered charity no 1007820 (England & Wales) SC039082 (Scotland) A company limited by guarantee Registered in England no 2673220 Registered office as above address
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elcome to Catalyst, and thank you for your ongoing interest in and support for the work of CPAS. Let me begin this edition by reminding you why we believe leadership development is so important to the health and growth of local churches. Firstly, because the evidence from research shows that church growth is massively influenced by the quality of leadership in local churches. George Carey wrote: ‘Show me a growing church, where people are being added to the faith and growing in it, and you will be showing me effective leadership.’ Similarly, Bob Jackson, Bill Hybels and the Salvation Army (to name just a few) have all agreed that the gospel is effectively shared when churches have competent, godly leadership.
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Word and Spirit in leadership Mentoring Matters Active in mission
Secondly, because the demands of church leadership are more complex than they have been for many years. In my 13 years of incumbency I observed that un-churched people are starting further back in their journey to faith and that this increases the challenge of evangelism. Furthermore, the marginalisation of the church, its financial challenges and the demands of the ‘compliance industry’ make leadership a more demanding role than ever. This if course is why CPAS resources such as Growing Leaders and Mentoring Matters are becoming ever more important.
Living the life on Ventures Spot the potential Your support for CPAS Arrow dynamics
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Thirdly, because a ‘bottleneck’ of leadership is preventing many people from playing a full role in the life and witness of many local churches. Without strong, strategic and visionary leadership, gifted lay people are sometimes being inadvertently held back from ministering as God has called them. Fourthly, because the Bible teaches again and again that leaders have a particular role in the missio dei. Regardless of whether we consider the Old or New Testament – and whether we use the language of leader or minister – the Bible is clear that men and women are called by God to serve His people and purposes at particular times and in particular ways. As you read this edition, be encouraged that we are working to develop, support and enable leaders who – under the sovereignty of God – help local churches bring men, women and children to Christ. As ever John Dunnett General Director
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Will Donaldson, director of Christian leadership at Wycliffe Hall, is the author of Word and Spirit – the vital partnership in Christian Leadership, which was published earlier this year.
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he book sets out a biblical and historical theology that embraces a strong ministry of the Word with a humble dependency on and openness to the Spirit. He looks at the practical implications across several aspects of church leadership, before concluding with a call for leaders to embrace of a fullbodied biblical theology of Word and Spirit for the honour and glory of Christ.
word and spirit in leadership
Here, Will outlines his thoughts and reflections on church leadership since finishing the book.
Christian leadership is an enormous privilege
We are able to do the things that are nearest to our hearts ... and often get paid for it! We serve the most wonderful Lord and Saviour, we see God at work in people’s lives, we experience the love and affection of our church family and we know that what we do now has lasting and eternal consequences. What a noble calling to be co-workers with Christ in bringing salvation and new life to the world, and how grateful we should be for his gifts of the Word and the Spirit to help us to do it.
Word and Spirit (BRF/CPAS, March 2011) £8.99 plus p&p Will’s book is available through your local Christian bookshop or at
www.cpas.org.uk/shop 04 catalyst
Christian leadership is challenging and complex
One of my most astute parishioners said to me a little while ago that he thought my job (as vicar) was the hardest job in the world: managing large numbers of volunteers, mobilising a sleeping giant into mission, carrying heavy pastoral loads, preaching relevantly into a post-modern, relativistic culture and trying to set the example of godly living before a watching world. Who is sufficient for these things? None of us! Yet God has called us into it, and his grace is sufficient for us (2 Corinthians 12:9). He has given us his Word and his Spirit as our two greatest resources.
Christian leadership is not ‘either-or’ but ‘both-and’ None of our evangelical forebears forced an unnatural separation of ‘Word and Spirit’. To concentrate on the ministry of the Word without any dependency on the Holy Spirit’s power would be extremely foolish. Likewise, to expect the Spirit to work without any serious attention to God’s Word is unrealistic at best, and dangerous at worst. God has always intended that Word and Spirit should work together to promote the gospel and extend his kingdom. How could we think of doing Christian ministry without due attention to both?
Christian leadership which embraces Word and Spirit is a blessing
Over the last eight weeks I have had the joy of returning to all the churches where I have served (curacies in Liverpool and Reigate, then incumbencies in Bristol and Ealing). God’s work is going on from strength to strength: new people coming to Christ, faithful disciples growing and serving, flourishing youth and children’s ministries, outreach to the neediest people in the local community, inspiring and God-centred worship, good quality pastoral care and a strong sense of community. All four of these churches would prioritise the ministries of the Word and the Spirit, and the health and vitality of these churches is a direct consequence of that. So the old saying stands true: a church which is all Word and no Spirit dries up; a church which is all Spirit and no Word blows up; but a church which is Word and Spirit grows up. The more I read the Bible, the more I believe that that’s how God intended it to be. The Rev Will Donaldson, Director of Christian Leadership at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford
Christian leadership is an intentional focus on the Word and the Spirit
By that I mean that we cannot afford to take our eye off either one, because the health of the church is immediately at stake. To focus exclusively on the ministry of the Word – to give ourselves to careful study and preparation, brilliant illustrations, wonderful clarity and plenty of passion – but to neglect our dependency ‘God has always intended that Word and on the Spirit (and an openness to the way he will choose to work in Spirit should work together to promote people’s lives), will result in little real the gospel and extend his kingdom.’ fruit for the Kingdom. Alternatively, Will Donaldson to expect the Spirit to move in power, to long for a deeper work of healing in people’s lives, to be eagerly desiring the spiritual gifts – without the regular and systematic teaching of God’s Word, will inevitably lead to an unhealthy dependency on spiritual experiences and the potential for theological heresy. So we need to keep intentionally focussed on both in leadership. catalyst 05
Empowering relationships are key to healthy, growing churches, and a new resource from CPAS is set to transform discipleship and leadership through the power of mentoring.
mentoring matters
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ow do we disciple people?’ is a question many church leaders grapple with as they seek to equip and encourage others to be closer followers of Jesus. More and more churches are recognising the value of Christian mentoring as an effective way of deepening discipleship and developing leadership in a fast moving, rapidly changing world, where biblical encouragement, perspective and challenge can be hard to come by. ‘Christian mentoring provides an intentional way of engaging with God’s agenda,’ says
James Lawrence, author of the new, easy-to-use Mentoring Matters pack, which contains everything a church needs to set up a mentoring network. ‘Lots of people would really benefit from being invested in through mentoring, but don’t know someone who could help them grow, or may feel awkward about asking. ‘Having a church-based mentoring network provides individuals with a specific context to grow in Christlikeness and security in their relationship with God. It also gives mentors the privilege of investing in others, and the opportunity to serve the Church and the wider world. As people grow in discipleship, they are better able to show and share their faith in their communities.’
‘Christian mentoring provides an intentional way of engaging with God’s agenda.’ James Lawrence
Identifying potential
The pack contains a comprehensive guide to mentoring, and why it is such an effective tool for nurturing disciples and growing leaders at this time. It includes information relating to many different church contexts so that leaders are able to accurately assess whether a mentoring network is right for their church, if they should join with others, and how best to go about identifying and recruiting mentors. James said: ‘Every Christian is encouraged to build others up, but we need to consider whether someone is suitable to take on a mentoring role, and help people discern whether mentoring is something they might be good at.’
Equipping through training
Once potential mentors have been identified, they are equipped through an eight session training process covering important skills such as rapport building, asking good questions, active listening, sense making and goal setting, all within the context of prayer and using the Bible. All the
Discover more about Mentoring Matters and buy online (£24 plus p&p) at 06 catalyst www.cpas.org.uk/mentoring
material is included – leaders’ notes, PowerPoint presentations and handouts – and the process is structured flexibly so it can be run over anything from a weekend to a year, depending on what works best for the church.
Resourcing relationships
‘It is vitally important that mentors themselves are provided with support, encouragement and advice throughout the mentoring process,’ comments James. A series of e-bulletins to equip mentors are provided in the pack for church leaders to send out over the time mentoring takes place, as well as a list of helpful questions to ask mentees and an annotated resources list. Churches are also given a range of adaptable materials to publicise the mentoring network.
Laura Dampney was mentored by Karen Mann at Myton Church in Warwick. Mentee: Laura Dampney ‘Mentoring is a fantastic incentive to get on and do things that deep down you want to do. I really appreciated having someone older and wiser to support and challenge me. Karen gave me advice on praying effectively and regularly and this input has really stayed with me.’ Mentor: Karen Mann ‘Mentoring was a new experience for me, and I decided the best approach was to mentor others how I would like to be mentored myself. So I took care to listen well, give lots of positive feedback and encourage Laura, drawing on my own experiences of the Christian life. It’s always exciting when someone you’re mentoring says “I hadn’t thought about it like that before” and you begin to see the impact you’re having.’
‘Low initial input, high ongoing support is the philosophy behind the pack,’ explains James. ‘We have seen the power of churchbased mentoring schemes, and are keen to respond to the many requests we have had from church leaders who want to begin a mentoring network, but are unsure how to go about it. Mentoring Matters contains everything churches need to identify, equip and resource mentors to develop better disciples and stronger leaders who will reach out to the world around them with God’s love and the message of the gospel.’
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active in mission: then and now 175 years ago, when CPAS first began, its committee gave a grant to St Peter’s, Derby, to assist them in taking ‘the gospel to every person’s door’ in their city.
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oday, as a CPAS patronage church, the same church is still thriving in mission, working in the city centre to help more people discover the good news of Jesus Christ. Paul Morris was instituted as incumbent at St Peter’s in early 2009 and has started several new mission initiatives in the church during the past couple of years. He said: ‘During the application process for the role at St Peter’s, it was very helpful to have the support of CPAS and John Alderman, the CPAS patronage secretary. ‘Since then, we have looked for ways to connect with the local community and have just received planning permission to build a new centre – a project that has been a dream for more than 20 years. We believe it will become a hub for our work in the city.’ St Peter’s has a significant presence in the city, helped by Derby City Centre Chaplaincy, a new organisation which Paul leads: ‘We have 18 chaplains, and have contact with all of the employers in the town, enabling us to engage in “pastoral evangelism” with staff. One chaplain, Sandra, wrote: “I met the manager of a store who told me she had been
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‘It has been good to find opportunities like this to connect with people outside of the church, and exciting to see some coming to faith.’ The Rev Paul Morris
to see a psychic the day before and paid £40 to be told she would meet a guardian angel the next day. She now thinks that is me! She chatted for ages about her life’s issues and wants to meet with me once a month!” It’s fantastic to have these opportunities to listen, support and pray with workers in every situation.’ Another new initiative is an event at the neighbouring pub, Ryans Bar: ‘Recharge is an opportunity for people in the church to bring their friends to a safe, enjoyable evening out where faith is on the agenda,’ Paul commented. ‘We have had theme nights – such as a recent Christian comedy night – and discuss a different topic each month. The relationship between the church and this pub is very good; it’s great being able to work with them to connect with people who might not be comfortable coming to church. ‘We run our own enquirer’s course called Food for Thought and the last time we ran it, all four participants became Christians on the same evening! One of them, Nigel, said: “I believe that Jesus found me at the exact right time,” and another, Richard, said: “Attending St Peter’s and finding faith has empowered me to tackle life’s challenges from a completely new angle.”
‘We also do Serve The City, and provided 150 hampers for families who would otherwise go without food on Christmas Day – the project is called Christmas Lunch on Jesus. It has been good to find opportunities like this to connect with people outside of the church, and exciting to see some coming to faith. We look forward to being part of God’s ongoing work in Derby city centre.’ Paul and his team at St Peter’s would value your prayers as they look to continue meeting with the local community through the chaplaincy scheme and events like Recharge, as well as the day-to-day activities of the church.
CPAS Patronage As the UK’s leading evangelical patron, CPAS has the responsibility for nominating candidates to more than 500 benefices nationwide, including St Peter’s. Following John Alderman’s retirement as patronage secretary in early 2012, John Fisher (pictured) will succeed him in this strategic role shaping the future leadership of local churches. John has worked for CPAS in the North-east for two years, having previously served in parish roles and as an area dean. Prior to his training at Wycliffe Hall he was a UCCF travelling secretary.
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living the life on
ventures H
aving been a leader on Venture holidays for several years, Alison Barratt remains convinced about the importance of this ministry in growing and strengthening the discipleship of young people across the country.
more receptive to leaders on a Venture. There is a real advantage being taught by different people in a different setting. ‘As well as good teaching, the biggest value of a Venture is members seeing the Christian life lived out in front of them. As leaders we’re modelling Christian living in the Bible sessions and demonstrating the daily pattern of putting Jesus first.
Alison, who leads the women’s ministry at Christ Church, Durham, sees the gospel changing lives on Casterton 2 year after year – even for those ‘It’s a real joy every year to see who benefit from sound biblical more people coming into the teaching at church. kingdom; seeing non-Christians She said: ‘Young people often hear something for the first time, see church leaders as their respond to the gospel and think parents’ friends, so they can be in a Bible-centred way.’
‘Young people often see church leaders as their parents’ friends, so they can be more receptive to leaders on a Venture.’ Alison Barratt
This summer was no different. Alison added: ‘The highlight of this summer was the impact of a session about grace. One girl
Find out more about CPAS Venture holidays at 10 catalyst
realised for the first time that she could become a Christian. She knew there was no way she could do it all on her own, but recognised salvation as a gift – won for her, not by her – and that she needed to live in response to that. ‘All of this is only possible because of the planning that goes on at the Ventures office, so we can do the fun stuff on the ground and make the gospel a reality to more young people. Being in partnership with other Ventures is also a huge encouragement as we support one another other in prayer.’ After their week on a Venture, Alison’s prayer is that young people take the next steps in their faith. For some this means attending church more regularly, finding someone to pray with or talking to their friends about Jesus. And living the life.
www.ventures.org.uk
‘Leadership is a key factor in the spread of the gospel’ James Lawrence, co-author of the Growing Leaders course
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spot the potential
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he Growing Leaders suite of resources is used in churches across the UK and Republic of Ireland to develop the leadership potential in adults and young people. Developing mission-focused leaders is a priority to enable the Church to reach more people with the gospel.
Growing Leaders training events introduce leaders to the resources available.
For Mark Tanner, vicar of Holy Trinity in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, a training event came at just the right time. He said: ‘Like many churches, we constantly find it hard to find new leaders. For some time the core leadership team has been talking of the need to identify, nurture and train new leaders; in a busy church where people lead busy lives and find regular commitment hard, this is one of our biggest challenges.
‘One of those lovely God moments occurred when CPAS emailed to advertise a Growing Leaders evening led by John Fisher. It coincided with our core leaders’ meeting and I knew most could be present! John’s input was extremely helpful, as he outlined the course. It certainly resonated with us and our next challenge is to clear the diary and get it up and running.’ Spotting and growing leadership potential within a congregation helps to multiply leadership capacity in a church, allowing leaders to use their strengths as they
work as a team, and enabling them to become more effective in mission. Riverside Church in Birmingham also runs the Growing Leaders course and Judy Moore, pastoral director at the church, said: ‘Often as a pastor you meet with people and see that spark of leadership potential in someone, but the challenge is how to actually develop that. Growing Leaders has given us a wonderful way of walking with people, from that initial spark, right the way through to taking on a leadership role within church life, or outside in the community as well.’
www.cpas.org.uk/growingleaders catalyst 11
If we can help you support CPAS in any way, please contact us on supporter.relations@cpas.org.uk or 01926 458430.
your support for CPAS The power of prayer
Because we are convinced by the vital importance of prayer to sustain and uphold our ministry, we want to provide accessible and informative details to help guide your prayers. We currently resource your prayers in two main ways: Prayer Diary – see the ‘Contact us’ panel or visit www.cpas.org.uk/pray to subscribe and join with several thousand others in praying for our work. Twitter – view the latest daily prayer points at www.twitter.com/cpasnews, and if you’re a fellow tweeter why not follow us (@cpasnews). If there are any other ways you think we can help you pray for our work, please do let us know.
FOLLOW US
www.twitter.com/cpasnews
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Daily prayer point and regular updates about the work of CPAS.
Donate online at www.cpas.org.uk/donate Donating to our work
Olly Du Croz, communications and fundraising manager
Church prayer
Many church groups support us in prayer, often in tandem with their financial donations towards CPAS. Andrew Shingleton, on the mission committee at the two St James’ in Gerrards Cross and Fulmer, said: ‘We believe that engaging in mission is what defines the church of Christ and that mission is the heartbeat of the local church. We also believe that prayer is the ’engine room’ of our church, so prayer for our mission partners is absolutely fundamental. ‘We pray at our monthly prayer gatherings, in house groups, and we focus prayer on a ‘Mission of the Month’ mission partner in all our services at least one Sunday each year. We also encourage prayer support at our bi-annual Mission Fair. ‘CPAS has been part of this programme for many years, as we see the UK as a vital mission field. We especially support the work in training leaders and in making parish appointments, and think it critical to reach out to the youth of our country through the Ventures and Falcon Camps.’ If your own prayer group would like some up-todate prayer points to use at your next meeting, please email supporter.communications@cpas. org.uk and we’d be happy to help.
As a charity, we are entirely dependent on the generosity of individuals and churches so that we can carry on making disciples and developing leaders to bring about growth in local churches across the UK and Republic of Ireland.
Individual giving
If you do not currently support us financially and are able to make a donation, please go to www.cpas.org.uk/donate or complete the form enclosed with Catalyst and return it to the Freepost address provided.
Church giving
The majority of our donations come from supporter churches, which generously provide us with a share of their giving to mission projects and organisations in the UK and overseas. If your church does not currently give to CPAS, please do approach your church leader, mission committee or PCC to advocate the merits of our work in extending God’s kingdom by equipping church leaders for the task of mission. If you would like any promotional material or presentation slides to help you support CPAS in this way, please contact us on supporter. relations@cpas.org.uk or 01926 458430
Hazel Lancefield, communications and fundraising officer
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After completing the Arrow Leadership Programme in 2009, the Rev Lorraine Dobbins put theory into practice and is now seeing God’s kingdom flourish on the Littlemoor estate in Weymouth.
B arrow dynamics
eing an effective leader who brings about positive change is something I’d always aspired to, but as the only member of staff at St Francis, Littlemoor, I often found myself struggling to meet the many demands on my time. Through the Arrow Leadership Programme I not only acquired the skills I needed to lead well, but also learnt the essential principle of leading from a place of security in Jesus, in order to do his work in the world he loves.
A ‘cockpit crew’
Seeing how I could use the people around me to bring about change was a real eye-opener for me. I realised that one leader can’t possibly have all the gifts and talents needed to lead a church, and that far more can be achieved through involving others in leadership, so I got together a ‘cockpit crew’ (as it’s called on Arrow). This was made up of me and three others from the church who could share vision and ideas and implement change. The idea was that if the church was going to take off and grow, we needed a crew. It sounds cheesy, but it worked!
Planning our course
Discerning God’s vision for our church was our next step. We were keen to involve the whole church in this process, so after seeking God’s direction as a leadership team, we held a vision day so that ‘Arrow helped me shape my everyone could personal vision, which enabled me play a part in to lead the church in developing discovering his a mission statement, core values purpose for us.
and vision for the future.’ Lorraine Dobbins 14 catalyst
We asked people to pray and listen to God in groups,
Arrow is a transformational leadership programme for Christian leaders aged 2540 who are working in full-time ministry. We are now accepting applications for the next Arrow programme. For more details please see www.cpas.org.uk/arrow
and then feed back anything they felt God was saying to them. Seeing the congregation coming up with the same things as we had was very affirming! Many people specifically felt that God was calling the church to be a hub in the community – something which was for everyone, and not just ‘church people’.
and give them a treat, so we decided to open a cafe which was like a Costa or Starbucks, but with prices people could more easily afford. We really saw God’s provision in this. In the cafe, volunteers are available to offer support and prayer to anyone facing difficulties, or people can text anonymous prayer requests to our prayer team.
Taking off!
We specifically minister to families through a ‘Hands up’ scheme to meet practical needs. This has included decorating and helping a family get a much-needed washing machine. We also help families put household management systems in place, and recently ran a parenting course which anyone could attend.
Because St Francis is the only church on the estate, we decided to rebrand ourselves ‘the church in Littlemoor’ to make our presence in the community more prominent. We got a new, more accessible, website, and had a giant banner made to put outside the church featuring members of the congregation and the new web address. We put together a welcome pack for visitors, ran a teaching series on welcoming and trained people to be official ‘welcomers’ to church services. We also did practical things like re-ordering the church entrance to make it more open by moving some old books. As well as making the church itself more welcoming, we were keen to meet people in their own environments. Lots of people in Littlemoor have low incomes, and we wanted to bless them
The impact Arrow is having on the ministry of ‘the church in Littlemoor’ is phenomenal. We’ve started a new, more family friendly service, the congregation is growing and we have much stronger links with the wider community. We used to have a summer fete to raise money, now we have one to engage with people. Personally, I spend more time with my family now, and have a much healthier work-life balance. Before I was running to others’ agendas, now I am doing what God wants me to do!
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CP AS NE W OU RES T N OU OW RCE
mentoring matters Identify, equip and resource mentors
An easy-to-use pack with everything you need to start a church-based mentoring network.
To find out more visit: www.cpas.org.uk/mentoring