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Thinking Thinking ahead ahead
about...about...sharing the idea
How it came about• What would help churches?• A prompt to start planning sooner• ‘Thinking ahead about... Autumn
Festivals’ in Kirkham URC• Materials hidden on the URC website• ‘Thinking Ahead about... Easter’ in
three venues across NW Synod in January 2010
How might our churches
make fresh connections?
How might our churches make fresh connections?
1. By developing who we already are
and what we already do
How might our churches make fresh connections?
2. By using our existing special
events and special efforts...
How might our churches make fresh connections?
3. By developing people’s existing
gifts and skills
How might our churches make fresh connections?
4. By redeploying our time and effort(not by asking
everyone to do more – unless it energises them)
How might our churches make fresh connections?
5. By reaching further out to more
people and digging deeper into
the story and meaning
How might our churches make fresh connections?
6. By starting thinking far
sooner to allow planning ahead
How might our churches make fresh connections?
7. By thinking outside our
regular organising boxes
How might our churches make fresh connections?
8. By involving the usual people and some who’ll be
surprised to be asked
How might we make
that happen?
How might we make that happen?
1. By organising prompting events
for clusters of churches
How might we make that happen?
2. By trying to ensure that
churches hear about them and want to
use them
How might we make that happen?
3. By encouraging churches to
‘bring a car-load’
How might we make that happen?
4. By trying to get a good mix of
people from each church to attend
How might we make that happen?
5. By starting the time together with telling our stories &
sharing our ideas
How might we make that happen?
6. By offering a chance for shared
re-engagement with the Bible
How might we make that happen?
7. By encouraging everyone to start
working on their own church’s situation
How might we make that happen?
8. By sending people back to their churches to
enthuse and involve others while there’s still time to
plan ahead
What we What we found when found when we tried it we tried it
out...out...
What we found when we tried it
1. People were stimulated by hearing each other’s ideas
What we found when we tried it
2. People greatly appreciated the prompt to think
ahead
What we found when we tried it
3. Over 80 people came to our three
Easter prompt events in January 2010 –
despite the weather!
What we found when we tried it
4. We keep hearing of new things
churches tried as a result of the prompt
What we found when we tried it
5. The event and the meeting with other
churches was central – not just the materials
What we found when we tried it
6. Rolling this out for Vision4Life Evangelism
Year would mean running events for
clusters of churches
What we found when we tried it
7. We could share the idea, our enthusiasm and prompt events -
it would all depend on interested Synods
What we’re What we’re asking you asking you to consider to consider
doingdoing
What we’re asking you to consider doing
1. Check what you and other Synod
movers and shakers think about the idea
What we’re asking you to consider doing
2. Check whether running Thinking Ahead events in January and in May/June would fit into the Synod
programme for 2011
What we’re asking you to consider doing
3. Get a working group working
on the plans for January, NOW
What we’re asking you to consider doing
4. Work together on the when where and
how – and start devising your
publicity strategies
What we’re asking you to consider doing
5. Let the Synod’s Thinking Ahead planning group
plan – but keep in touch
