A reflection by Fr Ben Vertannes from St John’s Church in Walworth on his experience of the *Mission Action Planning foundation training.
Last week I joined a diocesan Zoom session on preparing to lead a Mission Action Planning (MAP) cycle. The support I received from Jo and Charlie was tailored to the context I began to describe for them, refreshingly honest and genuinely encouraging.
The presentation was helpfully clear in laying out the different ways a church might approach a MAP process. I was grateful for the invitation to think flexibly about timescales. Is this the moment in our parish for a three- or five-year plan? Or might a one-year MAP be needed? And I appreciated the emphasis on beginning from gift, not deficit. I was encouraged to help ground our planning in the gifts God has already planted in the church.
There was also some gentle and welcome challenge in our discussion. When I mentioned that our latest parish profile had stressed not wanting to become too inward-focused, I was invited to reflect on what might be good and necessary about our ‘inward’ life: how worship, prayer, and formation sustains and shapes our outward mission. That conversation resonated strongly with the diocesan vision of being ‘Christ-centred and outward-focused.’
I came away from the session with a strong sense that there is a wealth of experience in accompanying parishes on this journey. The support on offer felt like the presence of a critical (and praying) friend. I left the session encouraged to view our mission planning as an act of stepping forward in faith and trust.
* A Mission Action Plan (MAP) is a process of strategic planning that allows local churches to reflect on the opportunities and resources available to them, and helps them to direct their activities and decision-making over the coming years.
If you do not have a Mission Action Plan or perhaps it has expired we welcome you to attend one of the monthly Mission Action Planning (MAP) Foundation training sessions to equip and enable you to run and facilitate a MAP away day with your church.
Mission Action Planning Foundations Training – The Diocese of Southwark
Dates
- Tuesday 24th Feb, 2pm-3pm
- Tuesday 24th March, 2pm-3pm
- Thursday 23rd April, 7:30pm-8:30pm
- Tuesday 12th May, 2pm-3pm
- Tuesday 30th June, 2pm-3pm
- Thursday 16th July, 7:30pm-8:30pm
- Tuesday 8th September, 2pm-3pm
- Tuesday 13th October, 2pm-3pm
- Thursday 26th November, 7:30pm-8:30pm
