A new strategy to rejuvenate the Church of England locally will see dozens of brand new congregations launched in churches and schools over the next five years.
They will include more informal family-oriented services, midweek worship for children based in schools, and congregations based around new children’s choirs across south-east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The aim is to enable new generations to experience a life-transforming encounter with Jesus, alongside faithful and valued older worshippers.
£1m a year for the next five years
The national Church of England has now endorsed these plans, and will invest around £1m a year in them for each of the next five years. This will help to fund the recruitment of new people and the revamp of the buildings needed to help C of E parishes and schools to thrive.
The vision is for the diocese to become “a rejuvenating community of Jesus-centred, Kingdom-seeking disciples”. And the strategy to achieve this aims to double the number of children and young disciples in C of E churches and ensure there is a thriving ministry to children, young people and families within reach of every household.
Some of this work already begun
Some of this work has already begun, with church planting over the past eight years creating new and growing churches in central Portsmouth, Southsea, Gosport and Ryde. Hundreds of children, young people, students and young families have already joined congregations at Harbour Church in Portsmouth, St Margaret’s in Southsea, Haven Church in Gosport, St Mary’s in Rowner, and All Saints in Ryde.
One of the newest church plants in this area is at All Saints Church, Ryde, where a new contemporary congregation was launched this year to cater for children, young people and families – alongside a weekly traditional service. Dozens of worshippers now meet there at 11am each Sunday for guitar-led worship and children’s work.
New rejuvenating projects
This new investment will allow the Diocese of Portsmouth to expand this kind of work, and to start new rejuvenating projects, including:
- Cairns, a network of local clergy and lay leaders, meeting regularly to deepen their own faith, study together and inspire each other in mission;
- Pathways to discipleship, in which parishes will be given funding to create ways of engaging and evangelising their communities, and equipping brand new disciples for mission;
- Choir Church, a way that churches can use a love of singing to create new worshipping communities;
- Flourish, the creation of midweek, voluntary worshipping communities for children and families, based in their schools. Four pilot groups were launched in September in Horndean, Sandown and Bembridge;
- Major mission projects in Paulsgrove and Leigh Park, to create new worshipping communities with young people and families as the heartbeat of each congregation;
- Church plants, both in urban Portsmouth and suburban Fareham, moving towards a brand new church in the new major development of Welborne; and
- Training in youthwork from Youthscape, establishing expertise and new leaders to work with children, families and young people.
For more details about our diocese’s vision and strategy, see the website.
News shared by Neil on behalf of Portsmouth Diocese. Ed
