SEVEN KEY FACTORS FOR MISSION


1.Focusing Vision
·Knowing ‘what our church is for’, what God is calling us to be and to do
·'Joined up thinking' among the different areas of the church’s life

2.Building Local Partnerships
·Finding out where can the church work together with other groups and agencies in the community

3.Sharing Faith and Values
·Providing opportunities for church people to share and explore together what we believe and what we hope and long for
·Working out how to tell our story beyond the bounds of the congregation

4.Nourishing Daily Living
·Making sure church life builds in ways of relating what we believe to our life at work, at home and in society at large

5.Developing Shared Leadership
·Building a Team to work together in the responsibilities of leadership
·Identifying and using different people’s diverse gifts

6.Becoming Communities of Learning
·Emphasising that we are all ‘on the Way’, learning and growing as disciples
·Helping all sections of the church’s life to spend some time learning together

7.Willingness to be Accompanied
·Welcoming the contribution of partners from outside the parish who can help the church evaluate its life and introduce fresh perspectives


(Adapted from ‘Key factors enabling local Christian communities to engage effectively in mission’, developed by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland and available in Jeanne Hinton, Changing Churches: Building Bridges in Local Mission, 2002)