The following is the high level summary of the Garth Ministry Area’s Vision and Strategy agreed by the Ministry Area Council (MAC) and then shared with the congregations around the Ministry Area in a roadshow during October/November 2023.
Background / Issue
- The Mission of the Church (our Mission) is the Mission of Christ;
- Steady decline in membership (see charts below);
- We are failing in our mission. (see the Five Marks of Mission below);
- We need a motivating vision of what we want & need to be;
- We need a strategy to get there.
Our ‘Big Gaps’
(as a Ministry Area)
- Not growing in existing communities; and
- Not present in our new communities (Plasdŵr etc.)
Our Overall Vision
where we want to get to / what we want to ‘look like’ as a MA
We are flourishing, active in all our communities, and confident about using our words and actions to share the love of God to all.
See the five elements of our Vision below.
Root Causes of our Gaps
the things that we can address to close our gaps:
- A. Not replacing ageing (increasingly less active) congregation members.
- B. Not effective in attracting all generations / life-stages.
- C. Experience of church (in all its aspects) not sufficiently meaningful/relevant.
- D. Not good at articulating/defending our faith effectively to others.
- E. Insufficiently active/visible in our communities – especially Plasdŵr.
- F. Those responding to a calling are decreasing, so expectation of clergy are becoming greater.
Our Key Strategic Actions
(each with an Action Team responsible for it)
| No | Root Cause | Key Strategic Actions
Aim for “Belonging before Believing” in each |
Who will lead? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | E | Establish a welcoming Christian presence, worship & activity in the new communities in the MA | Amanda Russell-Jones |
| 2. | A, B, C | Establish friendly, accessible worship and activities that appeal to all generations, young families, and children – with meaningful follow-up | Ruth Davies |
| 3. | C, D | Communicate what we do and why we do it and our own faith stories, meaningfully – online, in our buildings and via activities and services | Ros James |
| 4. | D, F | Grow each of our abilities to articulate our faith effectively to others (Telling the Joyful Story) | Rev’d Sandra Birdsall |
| 5. | C, E, F | Grow and develop new leaders to collaborate with the clergy and engage all our people in having a role in the life of the church and its Vision – with succession plans for all key roles | |
| 6. | F | Be always active in campaigning and acting against injustice. Take action to continually reduce the impact of our buildings and activities on creation | Rev’d Ruth Coombs |
Annexes
5 Elements of Our Vision:
We are flourishing, active in all our communities, and confident about using our words and actions to share the love of God to all.
Out Churches are…
- Welcoming, culturally relevant and actively and joyfully sharing our faith
- Confidently & effectively growing our own and others’ faith on life’s spiritual journey
- Engaging with and caring lovingly for, all those in need in the communities we serve
- Campaigning and taking action, collectively and individually, against injustice, globally and locally
- Striving, continually and pro-actively, in caring for Creation
The Mission of the Church is the Mission of Christ – The Five Marks of Mission
- To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
- To teach, baptise and nurture (new) believers
- To respond to human need by loving service
- To transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and persue peace and reconciliation
- To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth
Taken from https://anglicancommunion.org/media/108380/five-marks-of-mission.pdf