In my previous blog, I shared how I was preparing for Christmas and making the most of the season to share Jesus with people. I hope you had a good time this last Christmas.

The Christmas clean up and decorating that we did for a local charity drop-in centre went really well. We had 15 people come along and help tidy the place up, do some DIY and put up some decorations. The staff were really blessed by it and we had lots of fun helping out. The mid-week group that I help run has a link with this charity where we look to bless them practically once a term. We want to make sure that we have opportunities to minister and help put our faith into action. It’s helpful having opportunities to do practical things as we don’t want to model a passive Christianity.

I help lead a mid-week church group and recently we’ve been keen to increase our missional agenda. The word missional gets everywhere and feels like one of those buzz words. The fact is, the people in the group aren’t the type that are going to pray for people on the streets. They aren’t that type. As a leader, I don’t want to go on and on about being missional every time we get together. I want it to be a natural part of what we do and what we’re about.

Increasingly, I want our group to have a culture that thinks and talks missionally without the leaders having to mention it from the front all the time.

Whenever we get together we always spend 10 minutes praying for our non-Christian friends. We do this in pairs, using some of the time to share where our non-Christian friends are at and the rest of the time praying. Before this prayer time, we share any encouragements about people or situations that we have been praying for - where there have been answers to prayer or opportunities we’ve had we’ve to share our faith.

My name's Nigel Savage and I’ve been part of the iCQ team for the last three years. My role is Church Coordinator, which means that I keep in touch with the church leaders that we’re working with. I talk through how things are going, look at strategic planning and how leadership development is happening.

When I’m not working with the iCQ team, my main job is working as a leader in a large church in Bristol, which has over 1,000 adults. I’ve been working as a pastor in this church for over 5 years. I oversee all the mid-week groups that happen and I also lead one of these groups.

Philip and I recently led a session for people training for Christian ministry at Trinity College in Bristol. The students were approaching the end of their course and beginning to anticipate some of the challenges of their first ministerial appointments. Several of them were headed for smaller churches which were very traditional in their outlook.

The students had big dreams and  knew what they wanted to do to move their churches into 'mission mode' - but were concerned about the processes of change required to get them there. It's a common problem: all too often a visionary leader gets frustrated by the seeming intransigence of those in the groups that they are leading.

There are lots of helpful books on change processes, but one of our favourites is 'Holy Conversations ' by Gil Rendle and Alice Mann. In the book they talk about the importance of finding the right people to work with when embarking on the change journey (such as that from 'maintenance-church to mission-church mode). According to their analysis, when change is announced:

“Do you remember me?”

It’s the question I fear more than any other. Four words guaranteed to freeze my brain every time.

I’m not trying to make excuses, but it is actually a genuine problem for me. I’ve got a brain that is obsessed with the future, and I find it hard enough to handle the present. The past stands no chance. I remember almost nobody, and my best attempts to bluff it or fish for clues usually end up just compounding the embarrassment.

Last month I heard a great story about the use and impact of publicity...

Jo Poulsom, from The Community Church in Bristol, reported how the church had put out a number of leaflets advertising courses that they, and other local churches, were putting on for the community. The leaflet, a simple double-sided sheet of A4 roll-folded (like you fold a letter to put it into an envelope), was delivered in houses in the locality and left in public venues, such as libraries and cafés.

Here’s a disturbing thought. When it comes to outreach, you might just be praying all wrong. Your church prayer meetings might be emphasising all the wrong things. Your prayers for your community, your friends, your neighbours and family might be focusing on entirely the wrong target.

Praying for people to become Christians can actually be counter-productive. It can hinder outreach, and hold back church growth. It can end up achieving the exact opposite of what was intended.

Yes, thats right - summer time is just round the corner and its time for you, your small group and your church to start thinking how to make best use of those hazy summer evenings, the good weather and all the fun of summer.

There's no better time to invest into building relationships outside the church. Here's the scoop on how you can engage your group in reaching out this summer.

Book Review : Surprised by Hope, Tom Wright

OK. Let’s play word association. I say ‘Heaven’ and you say ‘Hell’; I say ‘Resurrection’ and you say ‘Easter’; I say ‘Left’ and you say ‘Behind’; I say ‘eschatology’ and you say ‘what?’ or cheat and say ‘Second Coming’.

If that’s something (anything) like the way the game would go, then you’ll find Tom Wright’s book challenging, informative, stretching and stimulating. 

The 'Religious Trends 6' report found that adult males constitute just 41% of church goers in the UK, whereas Tearfund's 'Churchgoing in the UK' report put the figure even lower at 37%. Chris Ducker of Redcliffe College carried out further research which indicated that:

A clear majority of men (68%) said they felt women were more "at home" in church.

67% of men thought that church services appeal more to women (54% of women agreed).