Seeds – Planting Ideas and Initiatives

S, S & S Appendix

Aims: To identify and implement creative initiatives to engage with the community and grow the church.

Possible themes for local preachers:

• Matthew 13:31-32 – The Mustard Seed: "Small Beginnings, Big Possibilities". Teach about faith in planting small but impactful seeds.
• Isaiah 43:19 – "See, I Am Doing a New Thing". Trusting God to create new opportunities for mission and ministry.
• 1 Corinthians 3:6-9 – "God Gives the Growth". Remind congregations that our role is to plant and water, but God brings the harvest.

Suggested local activities:

• Plant with a purpose: Build from your 'Soil' analysis what need(s) do you feel is 'ours to do' and try to articulate the 'why' behind it. Consider how suited is the soil and the seed to the climate (church culture) – does it align with the core value as identified within Our Calling? If not, what work is needed to prepare the congregation for change?
• Diversity of seeds and sowers: Look for curious, bright-eyed people and invite them to share their gifts and passions. Acknowledge that whilst not every seed will sprout, the planting of different ideas increases the chances of growth and innovation – remember too that what one person sees as a weed, another sees as a flower.

Focus on individual prayers:

• Dedicate a day/week to prayer as part of your discernment process for 'Spiritual boldness' as you try new initiatives asking for God's blessing on the seeds being planted.
• Pray for creativity, collaboration and resilience in the face of challenges.

Suggested circuit actions:

• Abundant sowing: Encourage congregations to be generous in the brainstorming of ideas. Identify those times when new people come into the church (big events/calendar dates). What resonates with people within 'new' patterns/places of worship? Can you experiment easier/creatively outside of a Sunday setting?

Potential Challenges and some Mitigation Strategies:

• Limited resources or volunteers to support new initiatives: Encourage collaboration between churches and use simple, low-cost approaches for new initiatives. District support is available too, including Mission Start Up Grants/NPNP pilots.
• Fear of failure or reluctance to try something new:Highlight the many changes that have happened over time in church worship – two thousand years. Creativity builds on, rather than replaces, the deep roots of the faith.

Conclusion and Next Steps

The journey of discernment has not ended. Rather, it will continue to develop and innovate your next steps, so that through the continued study of seasons, soil, and seeds, congregations, churches and circuits will be strengthened in their mission, equipped to serve their communities, and renewed in their faith.

If you can hold a circuit celebration, and give things for people's insights, engagement, and the challenges shared. Let people know what the next steps will be and agree on a time (12-18 months) for a review of decisions made.