BuildingBridges

[71.1] MAJOR NEW MISSION INITIATIVE LAUNCHED

Ekklesia, UK, today:
Churches in Britain are gearing up to renew inherited structures and embolden ‘fresh expressions of church’ through a major new initiative and training course launched this week. A certificate and diploma in ‘mission accompaniment’ has been pioneered by Cliff College in association with the ecumenical Churches’ Commission on Mission (CCOM).

The course is validated through the University of Manchester and its originators say that it will help to shake up church life in the UK.

The Diploma in Mission Accompaniment (DMA), which allows people with full-time occupations to study part-time, is aimed at all those who want to use their listening and consulting skills to help local churches and Christian organisations engage more effectively in witness and action within their communities. [For general enquiries about the Diploma in Mission Accompaniment write to Peter Phillips; for application forms to the principal's secretary.]

The Cliff College DMA has been developed out of the Building Bridges of Hope programme established over the past ten years by the Churches’ Commission on Mission, part of the official ecumenical body, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.

“Mission accompaniment is a new way of thinking about activating and supporting churches as they seek to become more effective channels for the Gospel,” says Churches’ Commission general secretary Simon Barrow.

“To be an accompanier in mission is to be someone rooted in prayer and theological vision,” Barrow adds. “But it also to possess an eclectic range of skills, including listening, consulting, coaching, mentoring and signposting to the right resources. It’s about long-term commitment rather than quick fixes.”

Cliff College is a world-renowned Methodist training institution with its roots in the Wesleyan holiness tradition. It has a proven track record of providing practical and academic courses in the areas of Christian mission and evangelism, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

The Rev Dr Peter Phillips, Cliff’s dean of students and New Testament tutor, has expressed “much enthusiasm and anticipation” about the Diploma in Mission Accompaniment, which will enable evangelicals, those in the ecumenical mainstream and Catholics to work together.

There is also an intention of engaging with ‘new churches’ and ‘new expressions of church’, such as those considered in the recent headline making Church of England report, Mission Shaped Church.

“Building Bridges of Hope, which is accompanying churches at local, regional and national level as they pioneer in mission, shows that Christians of very different backgrounds can work creatively together,” says BBH director Terry Tennens, a Baptist minister.

“Those involved in delivering the Diploma in Mission Accompaniment will initially be from Methodist, Anglican, Catholic, Baptist, Reformed and Mennonite-related traditions”, he explained. “It is open to all those who want to discover how to animate the Gospel afresh in a changing world, and who are prepared to put some real backbone into it.

The Diploma in Mission Accompaniment begins in September 2005 and is recruiting students now. It will be highlighted at the forthcoming Churches Together in Britain and Ireland Assembly, which takes place in Swanwick from 21-25 February.

Also to be launched at the CTBI Assembly is a new Grove Booklet on ‘Mission Accompaniment’, written by the Philip Walker, who is the founder of Healthy Church UK, an ordained Elim Pentecostal minister, and the Natural Church Development partner for Britain and Ireland. Priced £2.75, it can be obtained post-free through sales@grovebooks.co.uk.

Building Bridges of Hope, which bases its work on the most extensive research survey of local mission initiatives ever carried out across Britain and Ireland, stresses that the Diploma in Mission Accompaniment is “not a tool of one approach or package.” Rather, it is designed to be an open resource for all the churches.

BBH is also looking at partnership opportunities with learning institutions in Scotland, Ireland and Wales to encourage and develop mission accompaniment as a methodology. It co-sponsored a recent London conference on mission consultancy, and it has worked with the Catholic Agency to Support Evangelisation (a body set up by the Bishops of England and Wales) as well as with evangelical, Anglican and Free Church bodies.

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[70.2] NEW 'MISSION ACCOMPANIMENT' BOOKLET PUBLISHED

Building Bridges of Hope is delighted to anounce the publication of a ew resource booklet, Mission Accompaniment, written by Philip Walker (Grove Booklets, £2.75, ISSN 1367-0840). The booklet is available post-free from the Grove office on 01223 464748, or email sales@grovebooks.co.uk. It will be lauched at the forthcoming Assembly of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, at Swanwick, Derbyshire, on Wednesday 23 February 2005.

The booklet is an ideal introduction to the subject, and goes well together with the new Diploma in Mission Accompaniment developed by Cliff College and Building Bridges of Hope / CCOM / CTBI. It begins in September 2005.

Mission accompaniment is a practical way of encouraging churches in effective mission through the accompnaiment of someone who is invited in not as an expert but as a fellow-traveller. It is rooted in prayer, listening, theological vision, a varied range of skills, and long-term commitment to change and witness.

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[70.1] BUILDING BRIDGES RECRUITS DYNAMIC NEW CHAIR

The Building Bridges of Hope development group, which coordinates and oversees the activity of the mission project across England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, has a dynamic new chair. He is the Rev Dr Philip Walker, an Elim Pentecostal minister, who is also the founder of Healthy Church UK. Philip, who has served on the development group for a number of years, is also the UK and Ireland partner of Natural Church Development (NCD). He has been Executive Director of the British Church Growth Association since 1999.

Philip Walker served as an Elim minister in York and is committed to ecumenical mission cooperation and is an active member of the Group for Evangelization of Churches Together in England -- whose new website he has put together.

Philip succeds the Rev Roger Whitehead of GfE, currently (until March 2005) also moderator of the CTBI Churches' Commission on Mission. Roger has done extraordinary work for BBH, and was a founding figure in the project. He will be much missed.

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[69.1] BUILDING BRIDGES IN THE NEWS

Building Bridges of Hope, the ecumenical mission initiatives project, been in the news this week -- because of its parent body CTBI's association with Christian Aid, and their new initiative to launch a financial appeal specifically geared for the ‘new churches’ – independent and networked evangelical, charismatic and pentecostal congregations.

The reports on Google news, on Ekklesia and on Christian Today point out that although "Churches Together n Britain and Ireland has had no direct involvement in the Christian Aid initiative... CTBI’s Churches’ Commission on Mission has been working with new and ‘emergent’ churches for some years as part of its Building Bridges of Hope missionary congregation project."

The full story is here. The ‘Act Justly’ appeal (which takes its title from a phrase coined by the ancient Hebrew prophet, Micah) will be launched at Christ Church and Upton Chapel, London, on Friday 18 March.

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[68.1] BBH AT THE CHURCHES TOGETHER ASSEMBLY

Building Bridges of Hope, represented by Terry Tennens, Roger Whitehead and Philip Walker (among others) will have a major presence at the forthcoming Churches Together in Britain and Ireland Assembly, which takes place in Swanwick, Derbyshire, from 21-25 February 2005.

In addition to launching a new Grove Booklet on Mission Accompaniment (ISSN 1367-0840) and two new videos, BBH will be promoting the new Diploma in Mission Accompaniment in association with Cliff College and running a seminar on the topic.

Terry Tennens says: "Building Bridges of Hope (BBH) has addressed the subject of how we transition churches from maintenance towards mission engagement in 21st century Britain and Ireland. Distinctively using 'ecumenical mission accompaniers', the skilful outsider journeys alongside listening, asking questions and signposting - from local churches, regional associations, and national denominations.

He continues: "Could mission accompaniment benefit your church or organization? Come along to this seminar and find out."

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[67.1] BBH VIDEOS IN THE PIPELINE

We have had a bit of difficulty, mainly due to staff shortages, in getting the new Building Bridges of Hope videos into circulation. These are called Leadership Stories and Developing Shared Leadership. They come with study leaflets.

Some copies have been mailed out, but we are sorry if yours has been delayed. Copies of these presentations -- packed with examples and advice from churches engeged in prcatical Christian mission -- will be available at the Churches Together in Britain and Ireland Assembly, which takes place at Swanwick from 21-25 February 2005.

Watch this weblog for further news.

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