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Appendix 1

Growing Up - a Mission Programme for the URC

Part 1 A Church at the Crossroads

1. The Churches in the United Kingdom

1.1 Any study of the mainline churches in the United Kingdom shows that the number of people belonging to the church during the post-war period has fallen. The experience of the United Reformed Church since 1972 is not unique. Anglicans, Baptists, Congregationalists, Methodists, Presbyterians and Roman Catholics have all shown a decline in the number of members (1). In 1975, 72% of the UK population claimed to be Christians and 8 million were church members. Twenty years later in 1995, only 60% made the claim and membership had fallen to 6.5 million.

1.2 The 50% fall in membership within the lifetime of the United Reformed Church is serious but it needs to be understood in a context of general decline. Statistics are difficult to interpret and compare but the Church of England between 1960 and 1985 was effectively reduced to not much more than half its previous size (2). And since 1975, when Basil Hume became Archbishop of Westminster, attendance at Mass in England’s Roman Catholic churches has halved. It is with no satisfaction that we note that all our other partner churches in England, Wales and Scotland share this decline. It is true that there has been growth in the independent and in some Pentecostal churches. Davie comments ‘Persistently high levels of growth may or may not be sustained as the house churches move into their second generation, a crucial stage in the development of denominational life’.

1.3 However the extent of the reduction in church membership and attendance is even more serious when it is seen in a longer perspective. Most of the Free Churches have been in numerical decline relative to the total population since the 1880’s, even though absolute numbers continued to increase until the first decade of the twentieth century.(3) Exceptionally the Presbyterian Church of England and the Churches of Christ reached a numerical peak later, between the two wars. For the Church of England and the Independents (including Congregationalists) the trend was obvious from 1851. The growth in the number of church buildings outstripped the growth in membership: the optimism of church builders was not matched by effective evangelism. Far from pre-World War 1 pews being full, Gill shows, for example, that at Congregationalism’s numerical peak, most of its chapels were only a quarter full. David Cornick (4) writes

Historians have long noted that the ratio of Christians to the total population began to fall around 1840. In 1854 when the report on the only religious census ever to be taken in Britain was published, all churches had to face the sobering news that only 40.5% of the population were in worship on Census Sunday. There are arguments amongst historians and sociologists about the precise interpretation of that evidence, but it is clear that secularism had become a serious part of British life. People might still believe in God, might still view the world through Christian spectacles, but many no longer felt the need to belong to a Christian community and worship corporately.

The United Reformed Church

1.4 It is worth examining in more detail some statistics related to the URC. What has happened since union in 1972?

(The figures are for the end of each year and, except for churches, are in ‘000’s.)

Table A

* 1989 figure
# Category redefined as Regular Worshipping Non-members

Of course, membership may not be a good measure of the number of people belonging to the church. Moreover we may argue about the accuracy of the statistics returned annually by church secretaries but the continuing downward trend over the past 24 years cannot be denied.

The precise number of stipendiary ministers in any year is difficult to assess, particularly in the earlier years. However the figures used are sufficiently accurate to illustrate the trend.

Table B

It is worth noting the contrast between the reduction in number of members and the decline in number of churches and ministers (stipendiary).

Table C

Table D

Table E

1.5 These statistics do not reveal the number of members in Local Ecumenical Partnerships. Nor do they take account of the proportionately large number of adherents. And what do we make of the number of children and young people? Wild fluctuations in those latter figures must be related to the way the statistics have been collected but trends do emerge. If we conclude that it might not be so bad as we fear, nevertheless the bottom line is that the church is much smaller now than it was in 1972. This has continued a trend that began in the nineteenth century.

1.6 For local congregations there are many effects which arise from smaller numbers. There are fewer to do the work and pay the bills to fund ministry, buildings and mission. Of course, sometimes a small congregation can be more effective than a larger group of members who are less committed. Fewer members per minister ought to deepen relationships. Nevertheless ministers find that caring for an increasing number of congregations means more meetings, not only in the church but also in the different communities where the churches are located. The average figure of churches per minister in 1972 is difficult to interpret. Both Congregationalists and Presbyterians had many single pastorate churches. In addition, the Congregationalists had many small churches without ministry. At union a decision was taken that stipendiary ministry would be shared between all churches. It was a response to the requirement that all churches pay for ministry. It was this policy which stimulated the development of the multi-church pastorate. It is also true that falling numbers in themselves tell us nothing about the congregation’s age spread, though general observation reveals ageing congregations. If statistics are the only measure, we have not been very successful.

Reasons for Decline

1.7 The peak of Congregationalism in England was 1910-12. Membership was at its highest both as an absolute and as a proportion of the whole population. Yet in a 1909 sermon on the subject of Church Membership, Sydney Berry, later to be the Secretary of the Congregational Union of England & Wales, said

I am no pessimist but I confess that the signs in many of our churches are not altogether hopeful. At present they are held together by older people, but one looks in vain for the support that is to come after the older people have passed away. (5)

If this seems at odds with the statistics, he offers an explanation

People may come into our Congregational Churches Sunday after Sunday, they may help swell our congregations, and yet many never really become part of the church. And it may justly be feared, I think, that this disinclination to commit themselves to anything definite is growing. (6)

1.8 In this brief paper it is only possible to present headlines, each of which deserves fuller explanation. Nevertheless the scale of the decline and the number of denominations involved ought to confirm that the reasons are complex and thereforeare unlikely to be corrected by any simple solution. The starting point has to be the rapid industrialisation of the late eighteenth century. This was accompanied by a rapid increase in the size of the population. In spite of the Evangelical Revival, in England it is possible to interpret nineteenth century church history as the failure of numerous attempts to convert the majority of the newly created urban working class. Congregationalism was part of this failure. Algernon Wells, Secretary of the Congregational Union claimed, in 1848, that Congregationalism was the church of the middle class. English Presbyterianism was less typical, smaller and dependent for its growth on Celtic migration doubling its 1850 membership by 1875. The Churches of Christ experienced their rapid growth between 1861 and 1892. (See Cornick) (7)

1.9 Although the churches in the nineteenth century failed with regard to the masses, large numbers were gathered in Sunday Schools, a vast range of organisations and improving groups, as well as at least twice at Sunday worship. However successful such churches were, their size was dramatically affected by the demographic changes of the early twentieth century, shown by the reduction in the size of families. The effect of these on the numbers belonging to a three-generation church was very significant. Part of our sense of failure today is that our small memberships are likely to meet in and manage a nineteenth century building with seats for ten times the present membership.

1.10 Robin Gill (8) argues that empty churches played a significant part once decline began. The decline could be due, in rural areas, to depopulation or, in urban areas, to the middle class moving to the suburbs. The situation was aggravated by the competitive building of chapels and the failure to prune the surplus. The empty church results in heavy financial demands on the remaining congregation, the need for ministers to serve more than one church, and newcomers finding it difficult to attend casually. Empty pews lower the morale of the congregation and give some evidence to those who argue that secularisation has triumphed.

1.11 Struggling with the effects of demographic change and empty churches, we then suffered the First World War. Check the memorial boards in many churches and imagine the devastating result of the loss of so many young men. (The board at Castle Hill URC, Northampton, lists 38 names). There are stories also of those who survived the trenches but, having been encouraged to volunteer by preachers, never went to church again. In the twenties and thirties, facing the hedonism of the middle class and the despair of labour, Congregationalism responded with liberal Christianity at its emptiest. The Second World War sacrificed fewer lives. Theologians’ tougher response to the more obvious evils stirred preachers, while people’s pastoral needs gave new purpose and the church began to recover its nerve. However, in the late fifties and the sixties, with full employment giving greater prosperity and the development of youth sub-cultures, the churches failed to make a radical response. In the seventies and eighties local churches, lost more ground. In this period elderly congregations benefited from the prevailing political values and were largely unwilling to respond to the issues which attracted both young people and thoughtful adults (anti-nuclear weapons, the environment, world poverty, feminism). The major source of recruitment, the children of our most committed members, of our elders and ministers, fell away. This lost generation is the cadre from which in the past we drew many of our ministers and leading lay people. The miracle is that 1,738 congregations have survived to the present.

1.12 In contemporary Britain, there have been social changes some of which create difficulties for the churches. Employment makes demands on both partners, taking time from voluntary activities, and can involve moving home frequently. There is not only Sunday shopping but the day is widely used for sporting and cultural activities for the young, keeping them and their parents away from worship. This is also the day when children of split families spend time with the "other" parent. The media, for their own reasons, in general oppose, ignore or trivialise the churches. The sexual revolution of the past forty years, has presented further significant challenge.

1.13 Beneath these changes in personal lifestyle and habits there are profound changes in how humanity perceives itself and its history, past and future. Several centuries of technological discovery, economic growth and aspirations to personal freedom have climaxed in a world where too many people have ceased to believe in the traditional something and now believe not in nothing but in anything. There is resistance to organised religion as symbolic of the discredited something. Yet at the same time, during the past thirty years, there have been perhaps more serious enquirers than ever, all more or less disappointed by the claim of science and technology to be self sufficient and self-authenticating. This somewhat random subjectivism, whether formally known as post modernism or not, has not destroyed but has reshaped the human instinct to believe and to feel profoundly moved by success and by tragedy; the acres of flowers for Diana demonstrate this. Grace Davie calls it believing without belonging, but it is nevertheless the touching place where evangelism must begin again. It is our task to demonstrate the truth of what we preach by our love and our integrity, since that speaks much louder than words in a soundbite-ridden society. Our priorities and programmes must be shaped by this insight: Jesus said follow me. Thus, to worship the incarnate God is to ascribe value to persons and relationships rather than to things and deals, it is to coax young people into maturity rather than to damn every pleasure, it is to forgive even the Enniskillen bombers, it is to remember the wretched of the earth when the cameras have departed to another story. That is the living sacrifice which the apostle commands, the worship offered by mind and heart, not the dead institutional routine which has long since passed its sell-by date.

1.14 This brief description of the serious numerical decline of the mainstream churches in the United Kingdom, including the United Reformed Church, which began in the nineteenth century, points to the conclusion that there is no quick fix, no simple human solution to reverse this downward spiral.

2. Planning for Growth in the URC

2.1 There is a serious discussion to be held as to whether the church is withering or is being pruned by the Holy Spirit. Whatever the outcome of that debate, the church must still respond to its predicament. One consistent reply to the signs of numerical decline has been to urge the church to plan for growth. At the 1983 Assembly, The Missionary and Ecumenical Work (MEW) at Home Committee dipped a toe into the waters of evangelism.

The committee is inviting the Assembly to designate 1984 as a year of evangelism.

Billy Graham and other evangelists were on their way and so the report continued:

We hope that all our local churches will take up the evangelistic task in their own way in 1984, whatever that way may be.......to help them to do so, we have proposed the appointment of an inter-departmental working party, widely representative of convictions and insights in the URC, to prepare materials for local use and encouragement as well as a major presentation on evangelism at the 1984 Assembly.(9)

That brief paragraph is very revealing. The URC has never been comfortable with the word evangelism. It is not used in the Basis and appears in the Structure only once concerning the first function of the elders’ meeting:

to foster in the congregation concern for witness and service to the community, evangelism at home and abroad, Christian education, ecumenical action, local inter-church relations and the wider responsibilities of the whole church. (10)

MEW at Home’s paragraph avoids anything contentious by pushing the action on to the following year, allowing local congregations to take up the evangelistic task in their own way. In case this was believed to be too directive it was softened by adding, whatever that way may be. It then proposed that the working party be inter-departmental, rather than made up of provincial representatives. Even then it had to be widely representative of convictions and insights. Finally the task was defined, not as achieving a major objective but merely to prepare material for local use and encouragement as well as a major presentation at the 1984 Assembly. The actual resolution continued the cautious approach and remembered another URC sensitivity. Not only were local churches urged to develop such methods as seem right to the Holy Spirit and to the fellowship but there was added ecumenically if possible, with the after thought and with prayer.

2.2 Growth for Their Sake was the theme of the report presented in 1984. The Record states that the challenge was accepted after considerable discussion. Not until three years later did the Working Party produce Planning for Growth (Assembly Reports 1987 pp27-32). The accompanying resolutions refer the Report to each synod and district, each being asked to set its own objectives. The provincial reports back came after two years (Assembly Reports 1989 pp3-27). Afterwards the whole subject faded away. During this activity over the six years from 1983 to 1989 the membership declined by 12% (16,000 members). There may have been some small successes as a result of Growth for Their Sake but overall it resulted in an aim that was not specific enough and a timetable that lacked momentum.

2.3 However, if the term evangelism disappeared in a flurry of words and good intentions, at least numerical growth was not advocated in a mechanistic way. It is not just that we have a cultural aversion to such an approach but that theologically we are not convinced. There have been too many instances of growth arising from questionable initiatives.

2.4 During the same period, the Assembly was also going down another track. In 1982 under the heading New Enterprise in Mission, the MEW at Home Committee presented a report Good News to the Poor. Assembly agreed to remit this to the appropriate committees for consideration and action. This was an attempt to respond to the needs of a nation with increasing numbers of poor people and, in some of the older industrial areas, high levels of unemployment. At the same time, the slow, steady, development of the replacement for the Deaconess, the Church Related Community Worker, continued. Both these programmes were not about building the church but building and serving the community. Over the years this programme, albeit on the margins of the church’s life, has grown. However it has never been properly integrated within the mainstream of the church’s thinking on mission. The twin threads of community work and evangelism have both woven in and out of the URC’s life without becoming intertwined, both peripheral to the priority given to maintenance rather than mission.

2.5 In 1995 Mission Council identified Eight Priorities which were referred to synods, districts and local churches for comment. One priority was Growth. The responses indicated that no one was against it but some saw growth as the fruit of going about things in the right way and it was argued that growth should not be a target for its own sake. Other responses rejected niche evangelism, appealing to a narrow segment of society. The question was also asked as to how aiming for growth squared with the prophetic task?

Growth: God’s Gift

2.6 In the New Testament there is much about growth and a great deal about evangelism: announcing by word and deed to those who have not heard it before, all that God has done, is doing and will do (11). The call is always to faithfulness even if this leads to a cross. When Jesus sent out the twelve to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal, he warned them that not everyone would welcome them. As they were leaving those towns, they should shake the dust off their feet (Luke 9. 1-5). Planning a strategy for evangelism therefore is not to be confused with planning for growth. In the New Testament, numerical growth is not a major concern, although there is the important reference to the rapid growth of the early church in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. This growth came after the preaching, after the common life, and after breaking the bread. It was only then that

......... day by day the Lord added new converts to their number

(Acts 2.47)

Growth in numbers is by God’s gift not by our planning. But if seeking for growth is not our primary task, what is?

2.7 The purpose of our life as a church is spelt out clearly in the Basis of Union

Within the one, holy, catholic, apostolic Church the United Reformed Church acknowledges its responsibility under God:

• to make its life a continual offering of itself and the world to God in adoration and worship through Jesus Christ;

• to receive and express the renewing life of the Holy Spirit in each place and in its total fellowship, and there to declare the reconciling and saving power of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ;

• to live out, in joyful and sacrificial service to all in their various physical and spiritual needs, that ministry of caring, forgiving and healing love which Jesus Christ brought to all whom he met;

• and to bear witness to Christ’s rule over the nations in all the variety of their organised life. (12)

If the church is faithful, then history records that, in God’s own time, the church will grow. For example

• a corrupted European church was renewed in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries by the Reformation, though there is no evidence to suggest that this resulted in numerical growth

• a complacent English church was resurrected towards the end of the eighteenth century by the Evangelical Revival

• missionaries to Madagascar began work in the 1820’s, were expelled after ten years, yet returned in the 1860’s to discover that, after persecution, there had grown a thriving church

• during the Chinese cultural revolution, beginning in the mid 1960’s, attempts were made to destroy the Christian faith. Churches were closed, ministers sent to work in factory and field. After ten years, when freedom was restored, the church grew and flourished as never before in all its history.

Through death the Spirit beings new life. In each of these examples, during the periods of corruption, complacency, persecution and suppression there remained a remnant who were faithful and from whose seeds the Spirit reaped a harvest.

2.8 For a church to be anxious about its size is like our being anxious about food and drink to keep you alive and about clothes to cover your body. Jesus’ response was set your mind on God’s kingdom and his justice, and all the rest will come to you as well. (Mt 6.25 & 33) It is quality that counts: You are salt to the world. And if salt becomes tasteless ....... It is good for nothing but to be thrown away......(Mt 5.13ff) It is by the light we shed and the good we do, that people will come to give praise to our Father in heaven (Mt 5.14ff) And so the message to those who gloomily ask if the URC has a future is do not be anxious about tomorrow; tomorrow will look after itself. Each day has troubles enough of its own (Mt. 6.34).

2.9 Recalling that Jesus said If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross (Mt 16.24) we ought not to assume that faithful evangelism will produce growth in numbers. It might produce the opposite.

In short, church growth says come and join us; the gospel call is follow Jesus.

3. Unity in Mission

3.1 At the time of union in 1972, the URC saw its direction as dying and rising in further unions of churches. The Basis states that the URC

sees its formation and growth as a part of what God is doing to make his people one, and as a united church will take, wherever possible and with all speed, further steps towards the unity of all God’s people. (13)

On a limited scale this happened in 1981 when there was union with the Churches of Christ. Now Assembly has taken a first decision to unite with the Congregational Union of Scotland. Further unions still remain our goal. But a sense of realism teaches us that these will not happen in the immediate future. What then is our role now?

3.2 This urgent expectation in 1972 for further union is perhaps the main explanation of the absence from the Basis and Structure of many specific references to mission. It is true that the purpose of the URC is clearly defined and it may be argued that mission is there in everything but name. However, nowhere is there a systematic exposition of the URC’s understanding of mission. On the other hand, a World Church and Mission Department, with Mission and Ecumenical Work committees, was formed.

3.3. Within the Structure the members are given opportunity in the church meeting to care for one another, to strengthen each other’s faith and to foster the life, work and mission of the church.(14) One function of the church meeting is to further the church’s mission in the locality. While many other functions of the church and elders’ meetings, the district council and provincial synod fall within any definition of mission, the term only specifically occurs next in a reference to the General Assembly, where one function is to support and share in the missionary work of the church at home and abroad. Twenty six years later, our direction is still to seek unity but, given that progress will be slow, we now need to have greater clarity about mission.

3.4 However mission is defined, we may no longer use the language of missionary work at home and abroad. This looks backwards to a time when mission was an extra activity, when churches were divided into those who sent and gave and those who received and took. Within the family of the Council for World Mission (CWM), the URC has been a strong supporter of the concept of partnership. Resources are to be given according to ability and all have a voice in deciding how they are to be used.

3.5 It has taken some time for the URC to recognise that it is a receiving church. The regular input from five missionaries from partner churches has helped to change our thinking. Now, as a result of the proceeds of the sale of land in Hong Kong, CWM is no longer dependent on the URC for a significant part of its income, and all thirty two partner churches are on a similar footing for giving and for receiving.

3.6 It is not insignificant that our CWM partners have now recognised that, after two centuries of seeing Britain as the source of missionary endeavour in their lands, the needs of Britain require them to share with the URC in mission here. Preman Niles’ letter of January 1998 (see 1998 Assembly Report p.169) eloquently recognises this change.

3.7 The Council of CWM has also recognised that it needs to stimulate the mission of each partner church. Therefore each one has been asked to examine its mission strategy and to prepare a mission programme for a three year period. This challenge fits closely with the Mission Council’s own decision to respond in appropriate ways to the decline in membership.

3.8 However any understanding of mission which is to accord with the URC’s experience and roots must reflect our commitment to unity. The organised unity we seek is not of static institutions but of churches engaged in mission. The unity we express in our ecumenical pilgrimage now must also be between churches which are in mission together. The way forward is by mission in unity and our goal is unity in mission.

4. Mission is.....

4.1 It is stimulating to compare different attempts to describe mission. Three expressions are given here:

• the purpose of the United Reformed Church

• a short definition by a writer on mission

• Five Marks of Mission

4.2 The purpose of the United Reformed Church

Within the one, holy, catholic, apostolic Church the United Reformed Church acknowledges its responsibility under God:

• to make its life a continual offering of itself and the world to God in adoration and worship through Jesus Christ;

• to receive and express the renewing life of the Holy spirit in each place and in its total fellowship, and there to declare the reconciling and saving power of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ

• to live out, in joyful and sacrificial service to all in their various physical and spiritual needs, that ministry of caring, forgiving and healing love which Jesus Christ brought to all whom he met;

• and to bear witness to Christ’s rule over the nations in all the variety of their organised life.

4.3 As the final sentence of his important book, Transforming Mission, David Bosch states that mission is the good news of God’s love, incarnated in the witness of a community, for the sake of the world. This simple summary of the previous 500 pages of reflection and study highlights certain principles

• the good news: the words and deeds that express the life, death and resurrection of Jesus;

• of God’s love: the mission is not ours but God’s. The initiative is God’s, ours the response; and God’s love points us to the cross which stands over our life in judgement and grace;

• incarnated: mission is not an extra but takes flesh wherever the body of Christ is;

• in the witness: by a church which is not hidden away but gives testimony and evidence;

• of a community: for the church to be effective, to be the body of Christ, its members must be in relationship with each other;

• for the sake of the world: mission is being sent to the world and not for the church’s sake, for self-preservation or its numerical growth but as an offering in the mission of God.

4.4 Alongside that dynamic analysis of mission it is helpful to use the formulation of Five Marks of Mission first drafted by the 1988 Lambeth Conference and later revised. The 1997 Forum of Churches Together in England endorsed this formulation:

• to proclaim the good news of the kingdom;

• to teach, baptise and nurture new believers;

• to respond to human need by loving service;

• to seek to transform unjust structures of society;

• to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, to sustain and renew the life of the earth.

Mission is necessary for the life of the Christian church, which, in the striking phrase of Emil Brunner, exists by mission as a fire by burning. Mission can be defined as all the deliberate outreach of the church: it is the sense of being called, sent and empowered by God, of being the only human organisation which exists for the benefit of those who are not its members in William Temple’s phrase.

Mission is thus activity in line with God’s own loving purposes for the world as we believe we know them in Jesus Christ and by the Spirit. Mission seeks, by word and by action together, to generate and sustain faith, hope and love in obedience to God the Holy Trinity, interpreting the whole world of space and time as God’s creation, affirming Jesus as Lord, open to be led by the life-giving Spirit.

4.5 Various activities follow from the basic understanding set out in these five marks of mission, including worship and evangelism, Christian education, compassionate care, campaigning on issues of justice and peace, striving for a more wholesome lifestyle. Engagement in mission on this basis requires listening as well as speaking, learning as well as teaching, as Part Two will demonstrate. Some of these activities require particular gifts and ministries though all are, to a degree, for everyone. We would do well to keep these five points at the forefront of our thinking as criteria for mission when we appraise new ideas and suggestions.

The witness of the church must be well organised but not compartmentalised. We need a strategy which will drive the approach of those whose primary task is to make more effective the evangelistic and ‘church life’ aspects of mission as well as those whose calling is to serve and work for social transformation. We need to speak and to serve. This first section has shown that the decline in size and influence of most local churches has made us less able to serve and less confident to speak. Added to which, the rapid change and growing diversification of British society leaves many traditional activities well past their ‘sell-by’ date and traditional church language barely intelligible. Now we have a unique opportunity for a fresh, constructive look. Mission thinking sees the broader picture; it deliberately reflects on what God is about today and tomorrow; it integrates our words and our activities in an appropriate evangelism and an authentic lifestyle; and generally it underpins church life and work with theological and spiritual strength which is not always there at present. We can evaluate not only our practice but our ideas against these Five Marks of Mission

After all, if God had wanted us to live in the past he would never have promised us the future!

Footnotes

(14) The Structure of the United Reformed Church para 2(1)

Part 2 Towards A Mission Strategy

5. Introduction

5.1 One starting point of Growing Up is that people feel something is missing from our life as a church. They look for a vision, a sense of direction, leadership: there are different labels. Usually it is related to a deep unease about numbers. When at Mission Council in 1997 the concerns of the synods were expressed, more than all the other issues mentioned were declining numbers and the need for mission. The foregoing analysis and theological exposition make it clear that there can be no simple solution to the problem of numerical decline. Yet in spite of all the frustrations amongst our ministers, elders and members there is a real commitment. In most churches, there is at least one thing done well. In some churches there are many things done well. But it is patchy: here and there, now and then. The challenge is to build on this commitment and on the faithfulness already demonstrated. The response to decline must be greater maturity in faith; not so much a strategy for growth but a growing up. It should be all of our members doing better what some already do well. It is about being more faithful where we are. It is being ready to share, eager to receive and open to learn from Christians in other places. It is listening and learning from God’s action through people outside the church. Our calling is to be more loving as disciples of Christ, more trusting in the leading of the Spirit and more obedient to God, Source, Guide and Goal of all that is.

5.2 However it is also clear that some of our failure is a result of too many largely empty, struggling churches, the maintenance of which distracts us from mission, and whose empty pews discourage members and visitors alike.

5.3 The earlier analysis of decline (1.1ff), coupled with an understanding of mission in unity, which sees growth, not as an objective to be achieved but as a gift from God (2.5ff), and which may be tested by the Five Marks of Mission (3.10), points us in the direction of changing, building up and supporting the local church. Such an analysis suggests radical changes and many opportunities. Moreover CWM has challenged us to prepare a practical programme for three years. The programme described below does not deal with every part of church life but focuses on a few pivotal points for change. Nor are there proposals about district, regional or international mission. This is because these aspects of mission cannot be done well by a single church. They reinforce the need for mission in unity. Not everything will be new, as if no one has begun to create the building blocks of such a mission programme already. Some decisions have already been taken and some elements of a strategy are already in place.

6. The Mission Programme: An Introduction

6.1 The aim is for the United Reformed Church to balance its commitment to the unity of all God’s people with a similar commitment to share in God’s mission. The test of this commitment will be as we shape the life of our local churches according to the Five Marks of Mission.

6.2 The courses of action in paragraphs 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 are set out grouping them under the appropriate Mark of Mission. Other courses of action follow regarding leadership, paragraph 11, structure, paragraph 12 and finance, paragraph 13. It must be stressed that this programme points to changes, it does not include all that is already being done by local churches and other councils and their committees. In particular it is against a background of regular worship in all local churches and the mission in which they share day by day.

6.3 The Timetable. At the General Assembly in 1997 and 1998 various programmes were agreed and also in that period, Mission Council took some initiatives, all of which can be interpreted as separate strands in a developing mission strategy. These now need to be interwoven with further proposals to give a more rounded programme. In addition, the church needs to respond to CWM’s invitation to prepare a mission programme for the next three or four years. It seems appropriate therefore to attempt to achieve the aim (6.1) during the three years 1999-2001.

6.4 Implementation. Although this programme is presented as a single package, it takes an overview recording actions recently taken by Assembly or Mission Council and proposals for decision and implementation by different committees and councils of the church. Each proposal stands or falls on its own merits.

7. The Mission Programme: Proclaiming the good news of the kingdom

7.1 Belonging to the World Church. A vision is needed that will enable the local church to lift its eyes from the limited horizons of its own locality. This programme was accepted by the General Assembly in 1998. Various practical programmes have been outlined but their prime objective is to enable each local church to be part of a world-wide Christian family so that, working together and learning from one another we can gain the perspective and form the networks that help us understand God’s purposes in this age and enable us to proclaim and live a gospel that speaks to our time. (A summary of the programme is in Annex A. A fuller account is given in Assembly Reports 1998 p 82.)

7.2 Witness. This is part of the calling of every member. As was outlined earlier, (2.1 - 2.3) the URC has shied away from direct evangelism. Partly this has been because it has been associated with some methods, styles of church life and theology with which many members and ministers have been uncomfortable. Yet there is an inescapable obligation for Christians to speak of the faith in which they believe. David Bosch speaks of the obligation of a church to witness, to give testimony and evidence (3.9). At the 1998 Assembly, in a report on Evangelism, it was emphasised that the local church and its members are universally seen as the primary agents of faith-sharing. The need was also emphasised to find ways in which Christians can learn to speak comfortably about their faith. (The full report can be found in Assembly Reports 1998 pp 68-9). A resolution on the report called on local churches, district councils, synods and the Discipleship, Stewardship and Witness Committee to engage in particular activities to encourage evangelism.

However the lessons of the URC’s past resistance to what the New Testament means by evangelism indicates that the Committee must sharpen its focus, to help the people become more effective in its witness of proclaiming the good news of the kingdom. But people need help to be credible witnesses. The faith must be clearly and relevantly presented within each congregation. Everyone, young and old, should have experience of articulating this faith to others. We can no longer rely on those outside the church coming in to sample what is on offer. However, any that do must find a welcoming group who are eager to learn about and share the faith, enjoy worshipping God and show that they love each other and are ready to give loving service and work for justice. If the Holy Spirit adds to their number, then we must rejoice. But the starting point can only be the word and deed of witnessing. To revive the desire to witness and to suggest the ways, must be the focus of the Discipleship, Stewardship and Witness Committee’s work in supporting the local church in proclaiming the good news. This may involve funding for particular mission projects, including the provision of enabling and training. The Committee will advise on such applications for funding.

7.3 Unity. In the light of the historical analysis and the challenge we now face, the ecumenical pilgrimage towards unity cannot be viewed in contrast to mission or as a distraction from evangelism. The whole church should remain alert for every opportunity of co-operating in mission with other denominations. Celebrating the Millennium is one such opportunity. We should also continue to seek organic unity for the sake of mission: our emphasis must be mission in unity; our goal, unity in mission. Current developments include negotiations with the Congreg-ational Union in Scotland, resulting in a first decision by the URC’s 1998 Assembly to unite; the publication of the first report of the Scottish Church Initiative for Union; in England, the beginning of informal talks with the Church of England and the Methodist Church; and, in Wales, within the context of the Covenant for Union (Enfys), a move towards developing ecumenical oversight.

8. The Mission Programme: Teach, baptise and nurture new believers

8.1 Children. In the last few years the traditional interest of the United Reformed Church in the contribution of children to the life of the church (e.g. family church, all age worship etc) has been re-awakened by the Youth and Children’s Work Committee and its staff. Pilots is another way in which it is intended to stimulate this part of the church’s life. Pilots is a non-uniformed children’s and young people’s organisation in which the United Reformed Church collaborates with the Congregational Federation. Its aim is to enable children and young people to grow in faith within the family of the church, by respecting the individual personality of each member. Its teaching focuses on the life of the worldwide church and on the Christian’s calling to safeguard the integrity of creation. The Mission Council resolved to put resources released by CWM into the creation of a new post to support local churches in developing Pilots Companies. A Pilots Development Officer was appointed in 1998.

8.2 Faith Development. Many churches in recent years have received into membership, women and men who have committed themselves to Christ after many years, or a lifetime, outside the family of the church. Local churches must be ready to welcome them and to encourage and nurture their growth in faith. Developing Discipleship (15) is a useful tool.

8.3 The Elderly. Concern is sometimes expressed at the proportion of elderly people in our congregations. However this is not surprising given the age structure of the general population. The gifts of these members ought to be seen positively. General Assembly in 1998 accepted a strategy to enable the church to regard older people more appreciatively and to enable older people themselves, whether members of the church or not, to regard themselves more positively. A full report Respecting the Gift of Years was produced to assist the church in its thinking. (16)

9. The Mission Programme: Respond to human need by loving service

9.1 The Local Church in the Community. Proclamation of the good news is not only by word but also by deed. Many local churches serve the community well in a variety of ways. However it is an astonishing fact that throughout the history of the URC, no attempt has been made nationally to co-ordinate, share experiences, take initiatives, or suggest policy within this field. Alongside a renewed concern for witness, it is proposed to entrust the Discipleship, Stewardship and Witness Committee with the development of this new area of work. The proposal is worked out in some detail in Annex B which makes it clear that: In line with the latter three of the five marks of mission (4.4) we must re-affirm that to fulfil the church’s calling requires a deliberate engagement with the local community.

10. The Mission Programme: Seek to transform unjust structures of society

10.1 Working for Peace and Justice. The Church and Society Committee should be encouraged as it gives leadership, through its concern for the poor here and overseas, in particular, through the Commitment for Life programme and through the Jubilee 2000 campaign, to wipe out the debts of the world’s poorest nations. That, however, is only one stride on the longer journey to end world poverty. Work done by the committee and staff is complemented by efforts in local churches and by district and synod committees and groups, to keep alive the vision of peace and justice for the whole creation.

10.2 Mission in a multi-racial and multi-cultural society. A modest step has already been taken in appointing a Development Worker in this field for 1997-2000. Assembly will need to decide in 2000 how the whole of the United Reformed Church, not merely those parts of it with a visible ethnic mix, is to respond to the findings of this research. Work alongside Ghanaian Presbyterians having been reviewed, will continue. Some Urdu-speaking congregations from a Presbyterian background have recently come into contact with us. The challenging task of relating to these congregations, serving their needs and enabling their own mission is not straightforward. But all this work has enabled the church to begin to tap deep and diverse spiritual gifts which members of ethnic minority backgrounds bring to our own life and mission.

10.3 Church Related Community Work. Mission Council commissioned a review of this ministry the report of which was received in October 1998 (17). The report affirmed the work, which in different forms exercises a ministry of service (a diaconal ministry). It also attempts to transform the unjust structures of society by enabling people to take more control over their lives and local community. After listing the different models of community work and its theology the report makes number of recommendations, the chief of which are that

10.3.1 the theology and practice of diaconal ministry, largely developed by Church Related Community Workers (CRCWs) and the churches-in-community be taken into the mainstream of the United Reformed Church’s life;

10.3.2 a policy is implemented which devolves the management of the CRCW programme from an Assembly committee to the synods and district councils;

10.3.3 it is aimed to increase the present ten CRCWs to thirty, with at least two serving each synod;

10.3.4 consideration be given to the appointment, not only of a CRC Work Development Worker but also of a second member of staff to support the development of community work of all local churches.

There are eleven other recommendations which refer to issues of accreditation, training and support. The above four recommendations have already been agreed by the Mission Council and the rest referred to the Ministries Committee for action.

10.4 Sharing Synod Resources. For reasons which are partly historical but largely to do with property values of redundant buildings, synods have unequal financial resources. Learning from the CWM pattern of churches contributing as they are able and receiving according to their needs, the synods themselves have devised a method of sharing resources. Essentially this involves redistributing 5% of their annual investment and property income in an inverse proportion to their income. It is now being argued that justice and the needs of mission require the sharing to be increased to 10%.

11. The Mission Programme: Safeguarding the integrity of creation

11.1 No further major initiatives are proposed which deal with this exclusively. Recent new work has been done by the Church and Society Committee on the environment. This has resulted in the production of Roots and Branches,(18) which is commended to local churches to enable them to reflect on issues related to sustaining and renewing the life of the earth and to begin to care for God’s creation.

This is also intended to be a significant element in the teaching material offered by Pilots.

12. The Mission Programme:

Supporting structure

12.1 A question for each local church. Populations move. Across the road, there may be another church with whom God wants us to unite. There may be another United Reformed Church in the town, and in coming together, both may be more useful to the Kingdom. There may be another neighbourhood which needs a church. Every church, therefore, whatever its size must ask: Is there, here in this place, a part for us in God’s mission? If the answer is yes, then the question becomes one of assessing if the church is playing a full part in God’s mission there. Such matters are not for that congregation alone. There must be openness to receive the advice of other churches through the district council and others.

12.2 Small churches. The 1998 Assembly requested Mission Council to set up a Task Group to consider and report on the opportunities, challenges and difficulties which small churches face. It is not easy to define small but out of 1733 churches, 179 have 10 members or fewer. There are even towns where there are two congregations belonging to the United Reformed Church, each with fewer than 10 members. There is nothing significant about 10. To define small as having fewer than 12 members would add another 48 congregations to the list, 1 in 8 of our churches.

12.3 Local groups and the district council. In order to strengthen the local church’s mission and to reduce internal administration, new patterns of the grouping of local churches are being considered. Mission Council has already set up a working party on this matter which is due to report in October 1999. However the Structure 2(3) defines the district council as churches grouped together for the purpose of fellowship, support, intimate mutual oversight and united action. It would therefore be appropriate to explore how the purpose of the district council could be shared between a group of local churches and the synod. The danger of creating another layer of structure must be avoided.

12.4 The Discipleship, Stewardship & Witness Committee of the Assembly should be strengthened to cope with the additional responsibility for the local churches’ involvement in the community. Proposals for a revised remit, its structure, staffing and new name are set out in Annex D.

13. The Mission Programme: Leadership

13.1 Elders’ training. The key to change in the local church is leadership. This is the responsibility of the elders working with the minister. Many synods undertake programmes of elders’ training. A significant element in that training should aim to improve the collaboration between elders and minister. The Discipleship, Stewardship and Witness and Training Committees should be asked to review the work which is being done and to present proposals for a systematic programme.

13.2 Local Leadership. In order that each local church should have better oversight without using scarce stipendiary ministry ineffectively, the supply of local leadership should be encouraged by each synod. The pioneering model created by the Mersey Synod could be a starting point. Guidelines on Local Leadership were accepted by the Assembly in 1998 (Assembly Reports pp 66-7).

13.3 Ministry (Non-Stipendiary). This form of ministry was created in 1979. After nearly 20 years experience, the Ministries Committee is reviewing all aspects of this ministry to see what lessons have been learned and to develop further this gift of ministry.

13.4 Ministerial Accompanied Self-Appraisal. This was agreed in 1997. Its purpose is to enable ministers to assess their performance and to identify areas where they need help and further training. In order to respond to the needs identified, the Ministries Committee, which has oversight of this programme, should liaise closely with the Training Committee regarding its policies.

13.5 Continuing Ministerial Education. This policy was adopted by the 1998 General Assembly. This policy should be implemented in the next three years. In many respects this programme could be the key point in transforming the church. The role of ministers in enabling local churches to reshape their life according to the Five Marks of Mission is crucial. By expecting ministers to undergo training throughout the life of their service, the emphasis should be on developing and sharing their knowledge of current thinking and good practice as it focuses on mission in unity.

13.6 Recruitment of Ministers. In the analysis, (1.4), it was demonstrated that over twenty five years the number of members had halved but the number of ministers had only fallen by one third. Whereas in 1972 there were 176 members per minister, in 1997 there were only 131 members per minister. It is easy to argue from these figures that there is no shortage of ministers. However the figures also show that the number of churches in the same period has fallen only by one sixth. This has resulted both in ministers having responsibility for more churches than in 1972 (from 1.9 to 2.4 churches) and more and longer vacancies. As a consequence, the cry of ministers and churches has been that more ministers are needed. The Mission Council in October 1998 received from its Resource Planning Group a paper on the Procurement and Deployment of Stipendiary Ministry. This offered a number of options for a recruitment policy for this situation. In the end it was agreed to budget for minister numbers to track membership for the next five years. If membership rises, the figure for stipendiary ministers will be increased at proportionately half the rate. However the figure in the budget will be reduced at a rate of about half that of any decline in membership. This policy ought to provide the finance for a modest growth in the number of ministers. However there are two cautions. First, this modest increase will be a charge on members’ giving. Second, budgetary provision, in itself, does not recruit ministers.

13.7 The Call to Ministry. The previous paragraph deals with the scaffolding. But the formation of any consideration of ministry with regard to a mission strategy, must be listening for the call of God. At the heart of our understanding of call, is the conviction that Jesus’ words are true in our experience: you did not choose me: I chose you. (John 15.16) This call to ministry is to the whole people of God. However, to give leadership in mission, we must pray not only that God will call women and men to a ministry of word and sacrament but that they will hear and obey. To speak to a younger generation, increasingly alienated from the Christian institutions, the church needs more young ministers. To provide the energy and drive to transform tired structures, the church needs ministers with understanding of contemporary culture and lifestyles. The challenge is to every member old and young. Some should ask themselves if God has chosen them for the work of ministry. All should ask if God is asking them to speak a word of challenge to a particular person. Individual convictions still have to be tested by the councils of the church. But the United Reformed Church, with a mission programme has a worthwhile vision to challenge every one of its people to ask if God’s voice can be heard demanding their life.

13.8 Deployment. In the union of 1972 it was agreed to take steps to ensure that so far as possible ordained ministers of the Word and Sacrament are readily available to every local church (Basis para 24). This intention was followed by an early decision to unify the method of payment of ministers’ stipends so that all, instead of only the former Presbyterians, would be paid from a central fund. This system left local ministry costs (manse, car, telephone, etc) to be met locally by the pastorate. The consequence was that, although a system of sharing ministers evenly was introduced in 1974 (deployment) those pastorates with stronger financial resources, able to meet local ministry costs without much difficulty, have found it hard to understand a policy which limits the availability of ministers. Some of those wealthier churches have therefore found it hard to share ministry. District councils are discouraged from following mission-driven priorities by the overriding commitment to provide ministers for every church. (see 1.4 Table E)

14. The Mission Programme: Finance

14.1 Maintenance of the Ministry. One of the great successes of the United Reformed Church has been the central payment of ministers. This is based on the Plan for Partnership under which synods agree how much they will contribute to the Ministry and Mission Fund. Each synod then agrees with district councils and local churches how much the latter will pay. Ministers’ stipends are paid directly through the central payroll. The principle is that churches pay as they are able but receive the ministry they need. District Councils are responsible for scoping pastorates i.e. defining the level of ministry received by each church. It is argued that this system does not adequately reflect our need to support mission. Therefore consideration ought to be given to a more strategic use of the element of subsidy to support mission.

14.2 Mission Programme Costs. It is estimated that the major costs arising in the first three years (1999 - 2001) will include

14.2.1 three new initiatives (total for

three years)

• Continuing Ministerial Education

(Ref. 13.5) £744,000

• Pilots Development Officer

(Ref. 8.1) £125,000

• Belonging to the World Church

(Ref. 7.1) £700,000

14.3 Financing the Programme. The above costs have already been included in our budget for the year 2000, and revised estimates for 1999. This has been done without creating any additional burden on local churches by making use of existing resources as follows:-

14.3.1 the resources released by the reduction of £500,000 in our annual contribution to CWM

14.3.2 accumulated reserves in the World Church and Mission Fund

14.3.3 accumulated reserves in the church’s general funds

In addition, CWM has allocated two specific funds:

14.3.4 Mission Programme Support fund allocation of £313,000.

14.3.5 Self-support Fund allocation of £366,000, which it is proposed should be made available to local church projects (see para 14.4 below).

14.4 Self Support Fund. CWM has set aside a capital sum to assist each partner church to become Self-Supporting. The URC has been allocated £366,043 The intention is for member churches of CWM to use this allocation to enable them to be self-supporting. The problem for the URC is that we are already self-supporting. CWM has set criteria regarding the use of the funds within the context of self-support (See Annex C). It is recommended by the Mission Council that this is made available for the self-support of appropriate community work through local churches. This would be a way of enabling the church to act on two of the Five Marks of Mission (3.10)

• to respond to human need by loving service;

• to seek to transform unjust structures of society.

The conditions and procedures regarding the use of such resources will be worked out by the Discipleship, Stewardship and Witness Committee

Resolutions

The General Assembly

14 accepts the mission programme outlined in the report Growing Up and strongly commends it to local churches, district councils and synods;

15 instructs the Mission Council to oversee the planning of the mission programme;

16 submits the mission programme of the United Reformed Church to CWM;

17 enlarges the remit, adjusts the structure and changes the name of the Discipleship, Stewardship and Witness Committee as set out in Annex D

These proposals, together with the rest of the life of the United Reformed Church, are offered to the Council for World Mission and to God, by the General Assembly, as a mission programme for the years 1999-2001:

whatever you do, in word or deed,

do everything

in the name of the Lord Jesus,

giving thanks to God through him. (19)

Footnotes

(15) Developing Discipleship - Available from the URC Bookshop.

(19) Colossians 3.17

Annex A

Belonging to the World Church

The Need

For centuries Christians from this country took the gospel to foreign lands. Today the striking missionary challenge is to present the gospel confidently and meaningfully here. Many of our overseas partners are steeped in the tradition of being "missionary" churches. Alive and vital they display a self-confidence that is sadly lacking in much of the church in this country (witness the comments of those who have served with us from our overseas partners outside Europe). We should be learning from them that we might rediscover our missionary calling and, interpreting what we find, seek fresh approaches to God’s mission here. We need to be challenged by our Christian sisters and brothers from other cultures on attitudes that we take from society which are not gospel or Kingdom values and which hinder our mission. At very least, we should allow their enthusiasm, commitment, courage and vision to inspire us and energise our sense of purpose.

Alongside this is another contemporary challenge - globalisation. The church being both global and local is uniquely placed to speak to this phenomenon. The increased control of wealth and power across the world by a few individuals and large corporations needs challenging, most especially where the needs of people are ignored and the environment is mercilessly exploited. Working with our church partners, sharing stories and experiences, we can make connections and begin to try and understand the forces that are at work behind the term "globalisation". As the Christian community, we too can be global players, but we need to learn from one another and to work much more closely together. Our world church partnerships make this possible.

For both these reasons we need to raise our awareness of the world church so that we might

• stretch the imagination and vision of people in the URC by exposing them to churches whose life, witness and circumstances whilst markedly different from ours, offer much to be learned about being the church engaged in God’s mission today

• take seriously the global challenges facing us and find ways of responding together as Christians called to care for God’s world.

The Vision

God’s purposes are global. They encompass the world, seeking to bring healing to the nations, reconciliation and peace with justice. They speak to our sin and failure, offering love and forgiveness; liberation from the past and new opportunities for tomorrow. They offer a vision of wholeness, of shalom - people at one with God, with each other and with the creation. They call us into partnership, to be witnesses to the ends of the earth.

Each generation has to make these purposes their own. To see in the signs of the times where God’s mission lies for them. To interpret afresh Jesus’ understanding of the kingdom and in their own words and actions to witness to these things that others might believe and share in the new life they offer.

The fruits of previous generations’ missionary activity provide the foundations for our response to today’s challenges. Partnerships transcending the world enable us to think and act globally; to make connections; to link local and international experience; to learn from and share with one another; to challenge others and to be renewed ourselves.

We live in a global culture. Our cities are international centres with communities drawn from many ethnic groups, cultures and faiths. Our rural communities now compete with rural communities across the world for markets which not so long ago could have been taken as granted as theirs. Around the world we are partners in God’s mission with churches whose own life reflects the individual strands of the multifaceted society in which we minister. Together we face the common challenge of a global economy and global news and entertainment media. Working together and learning from one another we can gain the perspective and form the networks that help us understand God’s purposes in this age and enable us to proclaim and live a gospel that speaks to our time.

The Action

The 1998 General Assembly, receiving the above statement encouraged the Ecumenical Committee to implement an exciting set of programmes grouped together under the heading Belonging to the World Church.

The programmes are all intended to build into the life and witness of the United Reformed Church a new awareness of belonging to the world church so that we might better fulfil our calling to be witnesses to the ends of the earth, partners in God’s mission responding to the challenges of today.

Briefly the principal programmes are:

1. Overseas Training Opportunities for Ordinands and CRCWs

On a reciprocal basis offering everyone training for the ministry or to be a church-related community worker the opportunity to spend two months learning and working with one of our CWM partners outside Europe.

2. Lay Training Opportunities

Seeking to enrich the whole life of the church through our world church partnerships we will initiate with CWM events that bring together lay people from the URC and our partner churches to learn from one another and experience at first hand the richness and variety of the world church.

3. Opportunities for Young People and Children

Working with FURY we will develop opportunities for young people in the United Reformed Church to learn from the world church. Through the appointment of a Pilots Development Officer new opportunities will be opened up for children and young people to understand that they belong to a world-wide community committed to work together in partnership in God’s mission.

4. Visiting Speakers

Each year we will invite visitors for each synod from our partners outside Europe to pursue a programme of mutual learning. They will learn about us and we will hear their stories of how the church is engaged in mission where they come from. Their visit will conclude with an opportunity to hear our visitors’ observations on the life of church and society in Britain.

5. In-service Training Opportunities

Opportunities and incentives will be developed to encourage those already working for the church to learn from our overseas partners.

6. Research Fellowships

We hope to develop a research fellowship in each of our theological colleges for the study of an aspect of contemporary UK church life in the world context, with a view to developing our understanding and practice of mission here.

In addition we will develop and modify existing work, partnerships and programmes in line with the overall objectives of Belonging to the World Church, encouraging every opportunity for mutual learning, enrichment and support as Christians and churches working together we go about God’s mission in the world today.

Annex B
The Local Church in the Community: a call to mission

1 A glance at a few of the changes in society that affect community work of various kinds ( - and there are many kinds, on a spectrum from cautious room letting to outright political activism) reveals a steadily changing context and a varied pattern of how the churches are or might be responding.

1.1 The recent history of public funding for community projects presents a fascinating kaleidoscope. Direct support for capital and revenue projects run by voluntary bodies, including the churches, has ebbed and flowed.

Schemes of job creation from 1974 proved more and more demanding until many voluntary sponsors withdrew. Now they are being invited back and some churches will become involved in various aspects of the New Deal programme, in providing premises, ideas and people. Experience in the next two years will reveal the wisdom or otherwise of such involvement.

Capital programmes affecting church premises are legion, many of them drawing on public funds or on quasi-public funding such as the Lottery. The URC has attempted a relatively sophisticated approach to the acceptance of Lottery funding, namely that it is not ruled out for community benefit but is deemed unacceptable for direct church benefit; we wait to see evidence of how this distinction works out in practice

The system of formal contracts or similar arrangements for the provision of activities and facilities on church premises is now normally a condition for receipt of any substantial public funding for such work - day centres, lunch clubs, open youth work, etc. There are good stories and some not so good. Overall, it must be a concern that there is no overall pooling of experience across our church in the matter of public funding. Neither District Councils nor Provincial Synods and Trusts have much to offer in monitoring such projects and giving effective support. When our history is written, the failure of the wider church to collate experiences and to offer better support and guidance in such matters will be seen as a serious omission.

1.2 All public programmes have been radically and irreversibly changed from the post-war settlement. Thoroughgoing policy changes by Government in every area of public policy have affected community life and often disproportionately the poorer people across our country. It is not only specifically designated ‘community work’ that has been affected. Policy changes influence the well-being of communities and the post-war norms and expectations, often (though of course not always) in sadly damaging and divisive ways.

1.3 New styles of community involvement have emerged in the 80s and 90s, new ways for the churches to engage with others in responding to the needs of people within their communities. These include broad-based organising, the activities of ‘social entrepreneurs’, the transformation of some churches into community centres and campaigning round particular local issues.

1.4 Alongside all this, the traditional programmes of provision to particular groups continue to make vital contributions to community life. And, of course, the commonest community involvement by churches remains the letting of rooms to many different outside bodies though hardly any work has been done on how far room lettings may or may not be described as mission.

1.5 In addition, local churches would probably say that collecting and giving money for good causes can be valuable and authentic community service. And, of course, an immense amount of work is done by church members in various capacities in society (see below, 3d and 3e)

1.6 The pattern of church involvement is not known in any detail but this should not necessarily encourage us nor invite exaggeration of what is being done. Some research was carried out by Church and Society in 1993 into local church involvement in community work and service. The researcher stated: "The results suggest that relatively little effort has been made to identify the changing needs of society in recent years. ... Few new initiatives have been started in the past five years". We need to know more of what is going on (see below, 5.3).

2 In line with the latter three of the five marks of mission (see above, 3.10 and 9.1), we must re-affirm that to fulfil the church’s calling requires a deliberate engagement with the local community. All those church programmes that might be described broadly as community work (from basic service provision to a more partnership-based enabling style) must be regularly reviewed and improved to meet the changing needs and expectations of those around us. People actually deserve more than ‘the best we can manage’ and certainly more than ‘the best we could think of twenty years ago’.

We need to begin by affirming the variety of styles of what has to be generically called community work, though we should also say that some are more authentic than others. We should start from a basic premise that the aim of good community work is to enable and to empower local communities and vulnerable groups, as well as to serve and provide for them. The logic of this is usually that the church does not ‘go it alone’ but joins with other bodies around that aim; there is some experience of this in the URC. This approach is far from straightforward, since the credibility of the church in seeking the well-being of a community is not always established - many suspect us of hidden motives - nor is it easy for Christians to form demanding partnerships with non-Christians. But this open approach can result in a deepening of the quality of church life and a strengthening of our credibility.

3 The resources of the church for mission activity are three-fold, primarily people, then funds, then buildings. Mission Council has taken steps to begin work on a strategy for the use of local church premises.

We can look first to a range of human resources:

a) regular ordained ministers, many of whom are experienced in community work of one kind or another; with new patterns of continuing ministerial education, many more ministers will have the chance to acquire skills in this area;

b) ministers in ‘special category’ posts, with specialist work, in demanding locations or within institutions; such ministries are sometimes resented as being a distraction from the ‘real ministry’ in the local pastorate but this experience must be seen as a valuable resource;

c) Church Related Community Workers, self-evidently a primary resource for any developing strategy of church and community engagement; as well as those in post there are several others whom we have not used since they ceased to be in post, even though considerable sums have been spent on their training;

d) professional people in our churches, qualified professionals in relevant fields (community work, education, politics, social sciences, finance, building, administration, etc.) are often available to help; we often fail to acknowledge them and their work as part of God’s mission in the world today;

e) other people with time in today’s world, the most precious gift of all to offer; their contribution (as noted above, 1.5) is made through a range of organisations in addition to the church.

4 What gives this discussion its edge and thrust is, of course, the prospect of new funding. This is primarily down to the Council for World Mission and their challenge to us. However, grants from Assembly funds each year to local projects already exceed £100k. Thus it is not simply the ‘new money’ which has sparked off new thinking and there has been growing scope for funding of new work in recent years. But the CWM challenge to concentrate on mission in our own land has jolted and spurred us.

5 The specific proposal which affects the church nation-wide is for an enabling programme (see below, 5.2) which will be part of the wider responsibility of the Life and Witness Committee and might require an additional staff member. It must be stressed that the proposal must be evaluated by the intended impact on local churches, with actions and events at Provincial and District levels intended towards that basic aim.

5.1 The additional responsibilities include:

a) overall policy development in church and community work complementary to the work of the CRCW Development Worker.

b) implementing the ‘enabling programme’ (see below, 5.2) including the task of compiling a short list of possible applications for funding through the Self-Support Fund of CWM (see above, 14.4).

c) promoting research and exchange of information, ideas, etc. on church and community engagement among local churches and other Councils, including liaison with other similar work, e.g. the outreach programme of Youth and Children’s Work Committee.

5.2 One way of implementing any overall commitment in a new mission strategy which committed us to reach out more pro-actively into the community would be an annual enabling programme, co-ordinated nationally but delivered at local, district and synod ‘level’, including at least the following elements.

5.2.1 There might be additional specific training opportunities in community work to existing ministers and leaders at £5k + per synod, no less than ten persons to benefit each year. (£75k pa) These might well be provided by one or more specialist bodies contracted to serve the whole church. Some of these opportunities might be overseas or involve overseas personnel through the complementary ‘Belonging to the World Church’ programme.

5.2.2 There might be major consultations, one per synod per year, on church and community involvement, (£13k pa). These would address such topics as criteria for good projects, applying for funds, making cross-community partnerships, coping with criticism, etc.

5.2.3 It would be helpful if, there were some opportunities to share these ideas and information imaginatively in each district, to revisit earlier ideas which never went anywhere, to identify churches with good proposals for consideration for funding.

The Committee and its Officers will need to liaise widely to ensure that best use is taken of ecumenical options throughout this enabling programme.

5.3 Fairly soon, Mission Council should commission fresh independent research into what community work is being done in our churches, what form it takes and how effective it is. This would be done by a statistical survey and a supplementary qualitative survey and might take six - nine months.

Having reviewed the current mood of the church, the context and the theological imperative for community work as mission, and the fresh opportunity to deploy some new money, these proposals could form a key element in the new mission strategy being developed for the United Reformed Church into our second 25 years.

Annex C

CWM’s Self Support Fund

1.1 This fund arose out of a desire to place the control of some additional financial resources under the control of each member church. It was decided by the Council that churches should be encouraged to provide for some of their own financial needs rather than rely on grants from abroad.

1.2 However it was also recognised that all member churches should learn to be receivers as well as givers. Therefore the Fund (£7.5m) was apportioned between the member churches using a formula that took account of the relative economic strength of the country, the size of the church and the number of sovereign nations in which the church was set.

1.3 The amount allocated to the United Reformed Church under this formula is £366,043. This does not have to be spent on a single project and all applications will be assessed by CWM before funds are released.

1.4 The Self-Support Fund is for projects that

• represent the church’s long-term strategy to become self sufficient;

• can support the church’s mission priorities;

• are economically viable and sustainable, taking into account the country’s economic situation and showing good business practice;

• will generate profits in the short and medium term;

• use safe investment options;

• create jobs, especially for unemployed people in the church;

• will increase the member church’s contribution to CWM’s common pool of funds.

Annex D
Discipleship, Stewardship and Witness Committee

The Mission Council, having noted the suggestions in Appendix 1 (9.1) and Annex C, the Review of Church Related Community Work (10.3); and the proposals for the Discipleship, Stewardship and Witness Committee in Appendix 1 (12.4) recommend that:

1. the Committee be given the additional responsibility for the work of the local church in the community with a revised remit:

The Purpose of the Life and Witness Committee is:

1. to enable the local church to capture the vision of God’s mission for itself and to plan its life accordingly;

2. to encourage growth in faith among people of all ages;

3. to challenge members in their stewardship and witness;

4. to encourage the local church to engage with its community in evangelism, if possible ecumenically;

5. to enable each church to engage with its local community in partnership and service;

by gathering ideas and experience, including best practice, and advocating these to the local church;

by monitoring and assessing relevant government policy and advising the local church accordingly;

6. to support the work of elders and the work of the district councils in their oversight of the local church;

7. to stimulate district councils and synods in the development of their own strategies for mission;

8. to support the work of the Windermere Centre and of the Rural Consultant;

9. to enable ongoing reflection on issues related to the Community of Women and Men in the Church.

2. the Committee be increased in size from eight to ten members;

3. the Committee to continue, for the time being, with separate sub-committees for Stewardship, and the Community of Women and Men in the Church. The Committee may also commission task groups for specific work;

4. the Committee to be named the Life and Witness Committee.

5. Staffing. The Revd John Steele will be the Secretary for Life and Witness. He will work with the newly appointed CRCW Development Worker, whose job description includes some responsibility for the local church’s community work. With regard to a proposal for a second post in the field of community work, the General Secretary has been asked to convene a meeting of the officers of the Life and Witness, Ministries, Training and Church & Society Committees to explore this and report to the Mission Council. Such a meeting should take place approximately nine months after the CRCW Development Worker has been in post.

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