Statistics for Mission

At the Methodist Conference in a couple of weeks time there will be a debate around the Statistics for Mission report, which looks at returns churches have made with regard to activity associated with their congregation. find the report here These statistics are then compared over a ten year period to examine trends and on an annual basis to see how things have changed over the year. The report makes for uncomfortable reading. The reason I refer to the report is the way it reflects what is happening at my local Methodist church. I should add that I do not have pastoral charge of the congregation as I have full-time responsibilities as a hospital Chaplain. However, I am committed to its future as it seeks to serve God in this village.
Overton is a chapel built 177 years ago with a current worshipping congregation between 18 and 25 adults, of which up to 5 are under 60. A new family came to the village last September and have started worshipping at the chapel with their 5 year old daughter.
Like most village congregations we are facing huge decisions about our future. The building is in need of some serious money being spent on it so the Church Council asked the superintendent minister and the circuit property steward to look at all options concerning the site. The conviction of the meeting was that there should be some continuing Methodist presence on the site which is centrally placed within the village. My wife and I run a home group and at our meeting last night I prepared a powerpoint to consider how the understanding of the church as a movement might help us explore the way forward. This is close to my heart as it was part of my research for my masters dissertation in 2007. Power Point here

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