Plans for the year ahead
Looking ahead into 2012
In the early autumn last year the Church Council met to consider our vision as a church. What was God calling us to do over the next few months and years? Through a succession of meetings we sought to come up with some aims which were Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timed (SMART) and at our last Council meeting we agreed on two aims:
One of the things that came to the fore in our discussions was the desire to develop men’s ministry through events such as sport, dinners, breakfasts and so on. The aim would be to focus on men on the fringe of the church, not least husbands of women who come to Christ Church, and to try and help them go forward in faith through these events and through a mission. This is a period of three/four days when we will provide opportunities to present the gospel message to friends we have invited to various events and activities. It will take place in March 2013 and will be led by a team from Oak Hill Theological College. In the end we came up with the aim: to see a Christianity Explored group, coming out of the mission, which has 10 non- Christian men on it We do, of course, also hope there will be women who wish to join a Christianity Explored Course but this aim specifically draws together the twin threads of working with men and our mission.
The other main thread in our discussions was about prayer. In our discussions on prayer three strands emerged, namely prayer partnerships, individual prayer targets and a full 24/7 prayer event. In the end we agreed that our aim should be: a mission led by prayer in which we see 120 non-Christians being prayed for and a 24/7 prayer event which is 85% covered This we hope fulfils those three strands. Firstly, it gives each of us a target of having one or more non-Christian friends for whom we are praying. Then, as we move towards the mission, we can pray for our friends on our own but also in prayer partnerships or triplets. Finally, another 24/7 prayer event, which have been such a blessing to us recently, can also focus upon praying for the mission.
In terms of our evangelism, there is a team being drawn together to head up the mission, its preparation and the actual events of the mission. In relation to prayer we will look to Becky Cassini, our prayer co-ordinator, and those who join with her, to guide us through the outworking of our aim. In addition, in the autumn we will have a time when we focus as a church on prayer. I trust you will join me as we pray for the two aims mentioned above. More information will be available about each venture as time goes by, but in the meantime if you have any comments or questions please do not hesitate to contact me or one of our Church Wardens, Veronica Tyrrell and Howard Roughley.
May God bless us all richly in 2012, Ian Bentley |
