Back in 2011, we had a series of church members meetings and an way day to tackle the theme “Space to Grow”. The Chapel building holds about 100 people, we can get up to 120 in at a squeeze with some overspill into the foyer. In reality the true, comfortable capacity of the building is… Continue reading The Accidental Planter (part 1)
Category: church planting
“I think I’ve just shipwrecked the Church”
It was September 2012, we were a week or two away from moving from one Sunday morning service to two congregations and I was sat to the side in our main hall looking across the assembled church family. Since we had confirmed the decision to make the move I had noticed a drop off in… Continue reading “I think I’ve just shipwrecked the Church”
Please support a church plant in Rochdale
The Christian world is a small one and so every so often you find that a friend from one context has made a connection with another friend leading to Gospel partnership. Here is one fantastic example leading to an urban church plant in Rochdale. I met Stephen Watkinson at Oak Hill Theological College. Stephen was… Continue reading Please support a church plant in Rochdale
Urban mission is both urgent and longterm
As our time at Bearwood Chapel comes to a close, we wanted to take time to listen to others to find out where the need is and where we can best help in terms of urban Gospel mission. Over the past few weeks I’ve been having lots of conversations, some have been with people I’ve… Continue reading Urban mission is both urgent and longterm
If you are going to revitalise you need to be good pastors to the existing congregation
Something struck me the other day as I was talking with a friend who is involved in supporting church revitalisation. His love and care for existing church members shone through. He saw them as showing evidence of being baby Christians even though they were old in years and had been in the church for a… Continue reading If you are going to revitalise you need to be good pastors to the existing congregation
40*40 The cost of urban mission
One of the things that Sarah and I have been considering is the possibility of pioneer church planting work. If we go for this option then we will need to be looking ourselves at the support and funding needed for this. At the same time, I have been committed to seeking to help raise up… Continue reading 40*40 The cost of urban mission
New Horizons update – the vision
Thank you to everyone who have been sharing with us your prayers, thoughts and good wishes as we seek the Lord’s will for our next steps after Bearwood. I wanted to give you a little update on how things seem to be developing in my mind. Really, this is not about a new direction but… Continue reading New Horizons update – the vision
The one real reason for church planting
I have attended my fair share of conferences and read my fair share of blogs, articles and books about church planting over time and I’ve heard a lot of reasons given for church planting. These include It will increase capacity in your own church leading to further growth It will provide greater choice of churches… Continue reading The one real reason for church planting
Focus on the desired outcome
I had an intriguing conversation with someone about lockdown this morning. As readers will know, I’ve argued that it makes little sense to require even stricter lockdown measures for those already under strict measures whilst those not under the same level of restriction continue without any change. I’ve particular focused on the way that schools… Continue reading Focus on the desired outcome
Can you cope with the mess?
The other day, I shared an article about the need for generous Gospel partnership if we are to reach the unreached parts of our urban areas, our towns and the cities. I noticed today that someone had added a comment after a friend shared the article on Facebook. The point was that as well as… Continue reading Can you cope with the mess?
Faithroots 