Tuesday 27 April 2010

Ready ... steady ... grow!

Well, we're nearly ready for the official launch of "Growing Disciples".

Since I last wrote on this blog, we've had feedback from 9 church groups who piloted a sample of the materials, with some really positive responses, plus some very useful constructive criticism which we've been able to act on. The common themes, in positive terms, were these:
  • it helped people to talk together, drawing a range of people into the conversation
  • it felt timely, in the sense that churches were ready for something like this, to help them reflect on where they are at and to look to new possibilities
  • it felt flexible, with people enjoying the creative resources as well as the discussions
  • it seemed to draw people together, to build a sense of cohesion between one another
  • it prompted churches to consider things they might otherwise have taken for granted, and to be more purposeful in their discussions and vision
In the light of all that we have learned through the pilots, we have made some changes, and improved the way in which we describe what the resource is for -
  • it's focused on growing in relationship and purpose and confidence, rather than being for individuals and their knowledge
  • it's focused on open questions, which stop people thinking they're supposed to be led to secret answers and enables a wider range of people to contribute to the conversation
  • it's focused on being a resource to help different people develop the skills in leading discussions and creative activities
  • it's focused on being ambitious (after all, the challenges we face cannot be addressed in '3 simple steps') so we are unapologetic about the comprehensiveness of the resource with its 15 sessions covering a wide range of issues in the life of our churches)
  • it's focused on being flexible enough for churches to shape it to suit their situation, challenges and people - and we urge churches to make it their own!
We've produced a sample booklet (which includes one session), to be given out at the May Assembly. Also, the Phase 1: Introduction booklet will be available for people to have a look at - and Phase 2 will be shown on a laptop, so people can see how things are shaping up ...

Phases 3, 4 and 5 will be produced in the next couple of months - so churches can start ordering the packs, ready for sending out over the summer and using in the autumn!

So - ready, steady ... grow as disciples together!

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