Prayer - Study - Growth
Study groups are held Weekly or Fortnightly during the Autumn, Winter and Spring. There is also a house group that meets.
The Church Growth Task Group met during the last year. Its role is that of raising issues regarding church growth and the following concerns have been discussed:
Creating a culture of welcome
When new people arrive at a church their first impressions are vital. We have read, 'Creating a Culture of Welcome' by Alison Gilchrist, and have felt that her analysis does apply to St Andrew's and whilst it is important to identify people with the gift of 'welcoming', building a culture of welcome is much more demanding. Perhaps we are all too busy doing church business after worship instead of concentrating on people. In consultation with the Welcoming Task Group we propose that there should be a full discussion at a future Church Meeting — perhaps in September.
Prayer Diary
We have discussed ways of increasing the use of the Prayer Diary and, seeing it as a tool for growth, we would propose that a Prayer Diary be produced for 2011. The left hand pages of this year's diary can be updated and perhaps put in a different order, but we propose new material for the right hand pages and would like to recruit writers for this work. Anyone interested in joining a writing team should simply speak to a member of the group.
Fresh Expressions
We will keep a watching brief on Fresh Expressions which is a national interdenominational agency that monitors and encourages new ways of being the church. Messy Church, which is proving valuable here at St Andrew's, is one such fresh expression. We must all be concerned about the spiritual, social, and physical growth of the church. The task group welcomes any issues or ideas that anyone wishes to raise. Please simply speak to one of the group.
