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:excited by the Gospel

:equipped for mission

In January 2004, every congregation within the United Reformed Church is invited to discuss and respond to a new statement of the Church’s vision, to be finalized at Assembly 2004. The contents of the vision statement will become the foundation for detailed proposals for changes in the life and work of the Church. General Secretary David Cornick introduces the proposed wording...

When Mission Council set this process in motion, it did so knowing that for us as the United Reformed Church to remain as we are is not an option. It cannot be an option because our age profile suggests that our membership will probably halve in the next three decades, quite apart from the fact that the mission context in which we find ourselves demands ever greater flexibility. The only question is whether we choose to co-operate with the Holy Spirit and change, or allow current social trends to overwhelm us.

As a first part of the process of ‘Catching the vision for God’s tomorrow’, we offer not a set of detailed proposals but rather a vision of where we would like to be in 10 years time. Only once we are all agreed where we ant to go can we produce a detailed route-map. So, a vision:

The Vision Statement

It is our goal to become a vibrant and sustainable Christian community in the next ten years.

We are called by God to be a church which is centred upon the gospel and the proclamation of its message of freedom and justice. In communities throughout our nations we are called to be diverse and lively, inclusive and flexible, as we strive to share the gospel in ways which are relevant to to-day’s world. We will seek, visibly and recognizably, to make a difference to our communities and our society, in the name of Jesus Christ.

Achieving that goal will require sacrifices and pruning. We have considerable resources – but we must use them in a more focussed way. We can still attempt great things for God but we cannot do all things. Hard choices will have to be made at every level of the church’s life.

Our choices will ensure that power is released to the places where the work of mission is done. We will become less bureaucratic, more ecumenically focussed, and develop the potential of lay leadership.

Working together we can, by the grace of God, be a church that is excited by the gospel and equipped for mission in the name of Jesus Christ.

That vision statement, with accompanying papers, will be sent to churches and ministers in December for discussion at Church Meetings in January. What we need to know is whether we have heard aright what the churches have been saying to us over past year, because a vision will only work if we all want to go in the same direction.

Producing a vision statement is not all we have been doing. We’ve also been praying, dreaming, talking, listening – above all listening – to God (we hope) and to the church (we know). And, doing some research – into the work of our growing churches (yes, just under 10% of them are growing – there is good news too! ) – and into money. That has been hard and complicated, but by Assembly 2004 we hope that we will know how much it costs to run the United Reformed Church at every level, from local congregation to General Assembly. That is vital work, because only when we have that information properly to hand that we will be able to make the hard choices about what we can do and what we can’t.

I’m proud to belong to the United Reformed Church, to be part of fellowship which is passionately committed to the unity of Christians, that digs so deep into its pocket to support Commitment for Life, that can see the potential of young people in FURY and Pilots, that can celebrate diversity and hold all kinds of theologies and styles of discipleship together in its local congregations. I know it is unfashionable to be upbeat about the church and a sin to be proud, but some things are worth celebrating, and its about time we celebrated what God has given us, rather than wrapping God’s gifts in derision and despondancy.

Yet sometimes we turn our Lord’s easy yoke into neck-breaking iron and his light burden into a life-devouring monster so that congregations are overburdened, worn down by guilt and overwork, trapped in ruts that imprison and stifle the gospel. The Catch the vision process is about setting God’s people free – to live the gospel of Jesus Christ and let the good things of our life flourish. We believe that our faithful God has not finished with us yet, and we pray that together we will be enabled to take the first steps towards God’s future.