Agenda Volume 3 - Methodist Conference

57. The Fruitful Field Project
173.2 or church and community
development: challenging and
equipping Circuits and Local
Churches as they change and
grow as mission-focused Christian
communities of faith, hope and
love; supporting and accompanying
those who lead and serve Circuits
and Local Churches as they make
deliberate and planned changes to
enable growth and in response to
the changing context of mission;
supporting and accompanying those
who lead and serve Circuits and
Local Churches as they develop fresh
expressions of church, fresh ways
of being church, chaplaincy projects
and initiatives, evangelism and
Christian witness projects, and social
justice, social action and community
development projects; equipping and
challenging those who lead and serve
Circuits and Local Churches to make
deliberate and planned changes to
welcome and embrace a wide range
of ages (including children, young
people, young families, the ’missing
generations‘ and the elderly) and a
wide range of diverse backgrounds
and cultures (including the widening
range of ethnic, linguistic and cultural
expressions of British Methodism).
174 In addition to the primary focus
described above, we recommend that
each post within the regional teams
should include capacity for some of
the following activities, to which staff
should be able to dedicate between
25% and 50% of their time:
174.1 Discipleship development:
contributing to the Network’s goal of
designing and delivering pathways,
opportunities, programmes and
resources which focus on discipleship
development – including delivering
within the centres a range of
pathways and programmes which
nurture and equip a wide range of
participants to be Christ-like disciples
in the world
174.2 Scholarship, research and innovation:
leading academic study projects,
research projects and innovative and
creative thinking
174.3 Working in partnership within
the Church: nurturing links, in
collaboration with colleagues across
the team, with those who lead
and serve Circuits, Districts and
connexional committees
174.4 Working in partnership beyond
the Methodist Church in Britain:
nurturing links with ecumenical
partners, Partner Churches across
the World Church and other partner
organisations
174.5 Quality assurance and enhancement:
working to enhance the quality
and effectiveness of pathways,
opportunities, programmes and
resources through enhancing their
design and their delivery.
175 We recommend that 16 such posts
should be provided within the centres.
Combined with two coordinating
posts for the directors (principals)
of the two centres (see paragraphs
714 Conference Agenda 2012