"Our vision is to be a welcoming, Christ-centred church, where everyone is valued and nurtured, actively sharing the joy of Christ in our communities."
GAP Year 4
Come and be a part of the 2020 Vision on Saturday 11 October 2014, 9.30am - 12.30pm at St Luke's Willaston.
The diocese are asking us to think about what we want our churches to look like in 2020? And perhaps more importantly what God longs for them to be like in 5 years time.
To help us do this we have Ian Rumsey, Diocesan Parish Development Officer, joining us for a GAP4 Focus Morning at St Luke's and I hope that you will be able to come along and join us.
More details re GAP can be found on the Chester Diocese website: http://www.chester.anglican.org/page_pdt.asp?Page=384#.VDZUmSldUpo
The diocese are asking us to think about what we want our churches to look like in 2020? And perhaps more importantly what God longs for them to be like in 5 years time.
To help us do this we have Ian Rumsey, Diocesan Parish Development Officer, joining us for a GAP4 Focus Morning at St Luke's and I hope that you will be able to come along and join us.
More details re GAP can be found on the Chester Diocese website: http://www.chester.anglican.org/page_pdt.asp?Page=384#.VDZUmSldUpo
GAP Year 2
After much discussion and prayer we have decided up our Growth Action Plan (GAP) goals for the coming year and they have been agreed by Bp Robert.
We have shortened our Vision Statement:
"Our vision is to be a welcoming, Christ-centred church, where everyone is valued and nurtured, actively sharing the joy of Christ in our communities."
Our goals are:
You can download a Prayer Calendar by clicking here
We have shortened our Vision Statement:
"Our vision is to be a welcoming, Christ-centred church, where everyone is valued and nurtured, actively sharing the joy of Christ in our communities."
Our goals are:
- Looking to the Future - ensuring we encourage, support, nurture and help our young people
- Working with and in our Local Community - serving our community and showing God's love through our actions
- Developing Discipleship - praying together, worshipping together, learning together, living out our faith together, growing in faith together
You can download a Prayer Calendar by clicking here
| Seven Marks of a Healthy Church.pdf |
GAP Year 1
GAP stands for Growth Action Planning.
GAP is primarily a way of helping parishes to listen and discern the will of God. It is about seeing what is happening in our wider parish, it is about listening to scripture and it is about asking church members the direction they think the church should be heading. From this listening comes the setting of two or three goals for our church in the coming year. Once we know our goals for the coming year GAP then requires that we put in place specific, achievable and measurable steps to implement our goals. At the end of the year we will be asked to review our action to see what we have achieved and reassess our goals.
Vision Statement
Our vision is for a warm, welcoming, Christ-centred church where everyone is valued and nurtured, inspired and equipped to fulfil their God-given calling and to make full use of their gifts. We will strive to share the joy of Christ in our communities through our prayer, witness and service. We intend to be responsible stewards of all that God has given to us and to contribute to Christ’s mission to all people.
Voting Slip Results
Thank you to all who completed the GAP voting slips. It was a great response with over 90 people filling in the slips. The results are as follows
- Looking to the Future
- Working with and in our Local Community
- Developing Discipleship.
Bishop Peter Writes.........
I am writing to express my pleasure and gratitude at the impact which the Growth Action Planning initiative has had throughout the Diocese. The GAP initiative was launched at Pentecost last year, and as we prepare to celebrate Pentecost this year we can align ourselves closely with the Apostles and the early Christians at the first Pentecost. The same faith, enthusiasm and courage which they exhibited is alive today.
The majority of parishes in the Diocese have put in place creative and well thought-out plans for growth. It has also been heartening to receive news that in various places new shoots of growth are already evident, and imaginative ways of presenting the Gospel are taking root. Pentecost reminds us that the Holy Spirit not only draws us to God in Christ, but also thrusts us out into the world in which He is already at work. We live in times of both challenge and opportunity. Through GAP, churches are better prepared to take hold of the opportunities God prepares for us.
Let us pray for the Holy Spirit to continue to fill, embolden and empower us all, as He did the Apostles, so that we may see the Name of Jesus proclaimed, and lives changed by the power of the Gospel.
Bishops Keith and Robert join me in wishing you and your parish every blessing in our Lord Jesus Christ.
+Peter