We believe the local church is the primary way God acts and works to reach our region. In the years to come we want to see more communities of faith, led by a variety of people called by God and equipped by the Spirit to lead this mission.
The Senior Leadership have spent time discerning the way forward for church planting at St Mary’s and Sale West and believe we now have a clear vision of what this might look like for us. Recently we shared this vision and were encouraged by so many coming along to hear more and find out how they can get behind church planting at St Mary's in prayer as well as ways to be more involved. If you were unable to join us you can hear a summary about all that was shared by watching the summary video below or read on for the key takeaways.
If you would like to watch the full recording of the 'Church Planting: The Way Ahead' event please CLICK HERE
We'd love to know how you'd like to be involved so please prayerfully consider how you can support this vision and then complete the short form at the bottom of this page.
The Why
"Planting new churches is the most effective evangelistic methodology known under Heaven." (C. Peter Wagner)
We live in an area that seems saturated with churches, do we really need to plant more? We believe we do, we believe that church planting is about who God is and his heart to see people's lives changed by the life-transforming news of the gospel. God's heart has always been about building worshipping communities and Jesus' command to go and love others calls us to step out into the world to build God's kingdom more.
Church planting is part of St Mary's story; we started as a church plant by St Martin's, later we replanted back into St Martin's and we have planted a daughter church in Sale West. Research shows that the younger, "missing" generation is disproportionately found in new congregations, new residents are reached by new congregations, sociocultural groups are better reached and new churches are best placed to reach the unchurched. New things attract new people and we want to reach the people are aren't reached.
The What
"Church has to be planted, not cloned." (Bishop Graham Cray)
What is a church plant? What does it look like? There are many ways to plant churches; the mother/daughter style church plant, the pioneer model of finding a niche and launching a church based on that (workplace church, messy church etc), fresh expressions, revitalising shrinking churches, or sending out a team with some money to start up a new community. Church planting doesn't have a "one-size fits all" strategy, what works in one place may not work elsewhere. We wanted to explore what church planting would look like for us and our Senior Leadership, after spending time exploring the many different ways we could plant, now believe we have found the direction God is calling us to and the way He wants us to move forward.
The How
"Great discipleship happens when we step up and step out"
The Senior Leadership spent time exploring different ways forward for church planting, talking to others have journeyed church plating already, and pushing doors to see where God might be leading us. It was at a New Wine Leadership Conference that we found
Myriad, part of the Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication (CCX), and conversations with them brought the team alive! Myriad aim to support the Church of England vision to plant 10,000 new churches by the end of the decade but aren't exclusively working with the Church of England; they serve the national church regardless of denomination. Through local hubs Myriad resource and equip everyday people to plant churches.
We believe that Myriad provides a sustainable and flexible model for church planting and are excited to be partnering with Myriad to become a local training hub, hosting teams from St Mary's, and other churches, who want to plant into their local communities. Each team will be made of lay people who feel called to lead a church plant but who have the oversight of their church minister. Over the course of 2.5 years these teams will journey a learning pathway together which includes in-person gatherings, with training on the core principles of church planting, and online training that is more tailored to each team's context.
The Next Steps
We are the only church in the diocese to have a 'Church Plant Associate Vicar' and Nathan, in this role, will journey the Myriad learning pathway with our teams and have oversight of the churches being planted by St Mary's. Over time the Church Plant Associate will also oversee the Myriad hub, facilitating the training of teams from other churches for whom we would be their local hub.
Our vision is for St Mary's to form two core teams for two initial church plants - a revitalisation of Sale West and a new church community in Sale Central, right in the heart of the town centre. Each core team will be made up of 4-6 people who have a heart to see God move and who feel called to extend His Kingdom in our area. We are aiming to launch the first learning community with Myriad in January 2024 with a vision to see these two churches planted by Summer 2026.
What about me?
Church planting is a whole-church venture. Some of us will be called to be sent out, some of will be called to send them out. Everyone can be involved in growing the Kingdom and launching new worshipping communities that reach the unreached. Please pray and consider how you would like to be involved:
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Support - can you get behind the idea and support & pray for the teams being sent out?
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Prayer - we encourage everyone to pray for this vision, but perhaps you'd like to commit to receiving updates and praying regularly for all this involves?
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Team - does the idea of being part of the team being sent out from St Mary's to plant excite you?
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Core Team - do you feel called to be part of the core, strategic teams who will journey the Myriad training and lead our church plants?
Please let us know what level of commitment you can offer this new and exciting vision.
If you are interested in being part of a team planting a new worshipping community please
click here to watch the recording of our first Myriad Taster evening.
Or if you want to get behind church planting, praying for us and supporting in different ways please complete the form below and we'll be in touch!