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Growth Action Plan 2016 - 2019
Our Mission statement
As members of Abington Church, we are committed to nurturing and encouraging all people in their journey of faith, and to reach into the community with Christian love and grace.
What we have achieved from the last plan in 2012
In the last plan agreed in 2011 we have made significant progress by:
- Appointing a Parish Administrator
- Carrying out a survey of our worship
- Supported youth ministry and Abington House of Fun.
- Opening the church as a resource for prayer and quiet.
- Reviewing Stewardship.
- Properly supporting the ministry team
- Improving the website
- Carrying out a feasibility study on the church rooms
- Exploring other forms of worship and developed a new form of evening worship
- How might all be involved in prayer, fellowship and study?
The following were in the plan, but here we made less progress
Worship: Understand better people's expectations of worship; Teaching - learning – growing, engage more with seekers and identify learning needs of different groups.
Outreach: Raise the profile of the church and how it relates to the wider community, ministry with those with disabilities - 'Faith and Light'.
The PCC has six sub-committees. Outreach, Fundraising, Buildings, Footsteps, Children and Families, and Stewardship with worship and pastoral care co-ordinated by the Ministry Team and music through the choir.
The Sub-Committees have reviewed their work and developed proposals and the PCC has reflected on these and drawn out major themes with the aim of promoting a growing church both spiritually and numerically, and has set out priorities and a budget.
Sub-committees will then develop a plan to implement these based on PCC priorities
We have identified three main areas for growth and development
- Growing in faith
- Reaching out and serving the community
- Welcoming and accessible worship and church building
Our focus over the next 3 years will be:
- Growing in faith of all members of the church
To continue nurturing and growing in our faith, through prayer, study of the bible, children and young people, visiting those in need, Christian giving and sharing with other churches
Prayer
- Helpful Habits Lent Groups.
- Prayer resources in Church – Lady Chapel.
- Moving on in Prayer Day – August.
- St. Christopher’s Prayer Group.
- Exploring Prayer and Pastoral Prayer groups.
Bible study
In order for the Church to grow we feel that as
all scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work 2Timothy 3v16
All members of Abington church must be encouraged to open and study their bible and to grow as a community in our knowledge and understanding of the Bible, as Gods’ word in our lives through personal reading, small group study and as a church.
- To continue to reflect on the Psalms:
- Through their use in Sunday worship
- Lent study course
- We aim to encourage all members to take ‘a new step in faith’ during 2016 through a Lent Group, Prayer Group, Bible Study Group
- For people who have just joined the church, a course looking at the history and structure of the bible, combined with teaching on how to study
Footsteps and Pilgrim courses cater for more established Christians but from different approaches.
Nurture and development of children and young people
- Continue a programme of YC activities for young people
- Tots and Teddies weekly group
- Toddler Bible Brunch (monthly meeting)
- Messy Church (monthly meeting)
Growth within the church family
- use of Bible Box in Sunday School
- Preparation of next group of children age from 7+ for holy communion (to start in March 2016).
- Reaching out to and serving the community
We want everyone in the parish and around to know about Abington Church and what it offers as a focus for Christian life. This will include:
Improving publicity
- Advertising Christmas services in ‘Abington Around’
- Development of ‘Welcome to your New Home’ leaflet, (primarily for the new homes at Abington Chase).
- Personal welcoming visits to new homeowners in Abington Chase.
- Producing and circulating leaflets at regular events – use the Abington Chase ‘welcome’ flyer approach to distribute at our regular events such as the antiques fayre.
- Publicising events better so they reach people outside of the existing congregation leafleting the streets surrounding the Parish Rooms.
- Update notice boards and signage with an attractive image
- Revising the website and using social media
Continue to promote events in the church which make a link with the local community
- Identifying if there is enough interest to run an Alpha Course
- Establishing Friends of Abington Church – with dual purpose of fundraising and outreach
- Widen the scope of existing events for the quiz i.e. to include families
Serving the local community
- Monthly services at Abington Park View Care Home.
- Monthly meetings at Abington Lodge.
- .Continue to support Abington House of Fun with the aim of increasing the number of volunteers and the young people who use this facility
- Supporting the uniformed organisations linked to church
Growth within our local schools
- offering the Experiences programme - Harvest, Christmas, Easter, Remembrance
- taking Christingle into schools
- welcoming visits from schools into church to support RE curriculum
- Develop a Junior Church choir through links with Bridgewater and St Peter’s Schools
Sharing with other churches
We aim to work actively with other Christians in Abington, to pray for the people who live and work in the area
- Through continued involvement with Abington Churches Together to proclaim the Gospel (e.g. Walk of Witness on Good Friday)
- A joint musical performances as part of the involvement with Abington Churches Together
Pastoral Visiting
Pastoral visiting (Rector/ Lay Pastoral Minister) by maintaining contact with and praying for church members who are in need.
Christian giving
- Regular teaching on Christian giving
- Following the Church of England guidelines of giving to God 10% of our income of which half should be for the local church.
- Establishing a standing Stewardship sub-committee who will:
- Providing regular reports to the PCC and congregation on our level of giving
- Ensuring all members of the church understand and have the opportunity to join the Christian Giving Scheme
- Thanking members of the Christian Giving Scheme annually
- Exploring how to promote giving by legacy
Review
To develop and use a simple questionnaire at the end of 2016 to identify ‘individual growth’ and use this information to plan for the forthcoming years.
- To promote a welcoming and accessible and church
Making the Church a welcoming and effective space for worshippers and visitors
- Install a projector and screen
- Carry out repairs as recommended in the Quinquennial Inspection
- Review and remove unnecessary items and clutter
- Review the contribution pew cushions might make
- Maintain the churchyard, review links to the Museum
- Maintain and update the Church Rooms including the kitchen
Enhancing worship through suitable music of all styles
- Using a wider range of imaginative approaches in services with music to make worship more accessible
Focussing on contact points, developing links and ensuring that all are welcomed
- Review our contact with and follow up of baptism families
- Looking at the content of all-age services to make them accessible to all
- Reviewing work with wedding couples and bereaved families
Maintaining the programme of open church with welcomers
- Church opening – May to October and New Year’s Day.
- Continuing to develop the team of welcomers when the church is open
Improve communication among the church community
- Implement Churchdesk
- Strengthen and develop links with people that have contact through the ‘occasional offices’.
- Baptismal Families(Children’s Worker)
- Wedding Couples(Licensed Evangelist, Mothers’ Union),
- Bereaved Families (Lay Pastoral Minister)
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