The Board of National Mission New Charge Development Committee Guidelines for New Charge Commissions The Purpose of a New Charge Commission The New Charge Commission exists to create the supportive environment within which life of Christ may flourish in the New Charge. The practicalities of that role will vary from place to place and from stage to stage, but include the elements of strategic thinking, pastoral support and accountability. The purpose of the New Charge Commission is: 1. to offer to the New Charge the strategic oversight appropriate to its formation and its local missional development; and 2. to offer to the minister and staff team the pastoral support and accountability essential for their well-being and personal development. The appropriate nature of this oversight will be subject to review at years 3, 5 and 8 as the charge is being reviewed. Serving on a New Charge Commission Act XIII 2000 constitutes a Commission of seven people with four Committee appointments and three from Presbytery, the Convener and Secretary being appointed one from each body. The following recommendations are made for staffing the Commissions: 1. Commission members should be appointed within easy traveling distance of the New Charge in order to sustain fruitful relationships. 2. Commission members appointed will have some track record in mission and innovative church life to ensure sympathy with the open process of NCD. 3. Commission members need not be ministers or elders. They may recruited from the membership of the church among people of vision and ability with an eye to specific gifts for specific roles at a specific stage e.g. social worker, teacher, counselor. 4. Commission members will include a person with financial/administrative skills to act as Treasurer for the NCD in the first 12-18 months. 5. Commission members will be given a clear indication of time commitments appropriate to nurturing the development the particular NCD e.g. meeting every 4-6 weeks in the early stages, attending worship or some activity of the NCD at least once per term, rotating two new members every two years giving a maximum service of six years to cover the first phase of the NCD. 6. Commission Conveners will serve for three years with the possibility of a second term, realizing that the initiating phase requires intensive involvement, and the second phase may require a different style of leadership. Commission members will to be given a clear induction to the role, and a continuing annual gathering to review and learn together about the developing roles. This induction course will include: 1. The story to date of the local NCD, highlighting specific issues and tasks in hand. 2. The story of one other NCD as a case study on issues that may arise. 3. The practical commitments expected in the different stages of life in an NCD. 4. The areas of life to be nurtured in the NCD using the grid used in the Review Process. 5. The lines of communication and accountability in the wider structures of the Church. New Charge Development: The Early Stages Every NCD is different. Each must be treated as an individual case, but in all cases the early stages are vital. Community Audit The first task of the Commission begins 6 months before any appointment with a proper audit of the community and any existing congregational presence. If the Commission is to understand the mission to the area and the profile of the leadership necessary, then this groundwork will be essential. It will ensure good ownership by the Commission of the initial strategy and help the Commission to be properly supportive of the incoming Minister. The Commission may apply to the Committee for the deployment of a Community Development worker for six months to undertake a professional assessment of the area, from which the Commission will draw up its strategy and profile of the ministry team required. There is a balance to be struck between the knowledge necessary to make the right selection of the minister, and the need to leave the strategy fluid for the minister and Commission to develop together. The relationships established in the process of a community audit are important and the minister will want to establish key relationships personally Greenfield Sites In a Greenfield site, the Commission will be aware of the stresses on the incoming minister and/or staff team. Support will be available from National Mission Staff, but the Commission will meet every 4-6 weeks for the first 6-12 months to ensure close support and active dialogue about the evolving mission strategy. Individual involvement will vary according to time and personal areas of interest. Where support is sought from other congregations for specific projects, the Commission will assist in motivating others to play their part. Brownfield Sites In a Brownfield site, the application for an NCD will be considered only after eliminating the options of Interim Ministry or Parish Grouping within an Area Team Ministry. Only where Presbytery is convinced that a radically fresh approach is essential for the evangelization of the area will a New Charge be created. The decision must be backed by pastoral sensitivity to those remaining loyal to the existing congregation, but with strategic clarity that clears the space for a new initiative. This is the responsibility of the Presbytery who will appoint a transition team to ensure appropriate endings to celebrate the local history before the New Charge Commission embarks on the new beginnings. When an NCD is to be established, the remaining congregation will be dissolved at least one year before the appointment of the new ministry team to allow a fallow period before establishing the new work. 1. Members of the existing congregation will be assisted in relating to neighbouring congregations to ensure continuity of pastoral care. 2. The parish will be temporarily annexed to a neighbouring parish as a temporary Parish Grouping with appropriate arrangements for pastoral cover for reactive parish duties. 3. The buildings will be assessed by the National Mission Property Manager and decisions made about disposal, replacement or refurbishment. The New Charge Commission will be appointed only when the pastoral arrangements for the remaining members are complete and the ground is clear for exploring the fresh possibilities of the new charge. The work will begin with the community audit and will then proceed as though in a Greenfield site. Ministry Team Support When the first minister/staff members are appointed, the Convener of the Commission will meet the minister/staff team as frequently as is helpful as a first line of support. Good relationships of trust and openness are paramount. The early meetings will allow for open conversation with the minister/staff team about the mission area, the spiritual priorities, the appropriate strategy, the mission design and the resources. It is important not to make premature judgments, and to wait for God’s calling. In the first three months, the minister/team will agree with the Commission a strategy and goals for the first 12 months. At the end of 12 months, a fresh strategy and goals will be agreed for the next three years. Leadership One of the goals will be to form a core group as a leadership team within the first 12 months. As the core group develops, meetings of the Commission will include meetings with representatives of the core group and occasional meetings with them all. This will develop trust and a sense of common purpose, while avoiding suspicion or divisiveness. The financial administration will move to the local core group as soon as is practical. Administration The Commission will appoint a Secretary and Treasurer to ensure speedy action on decisions, and excellent liaison with Committee, National Staff and Presbytery. In return the Commission will expect to be supported by efficient response to issues raised and clear communication of Committee decisions relating to the charge. The Commission will submit minutes of all meetings to the Committee. The Commission will report to the Committee twice a year for the first three years, and thereafter will report annually. The Presbytery will be invited by the Commission to hear annually from the NCD (or a representative NCD where there are more than one) as a way of sharing insights and issues. The formation of Commissions may appear to leave less responsibility with Presbytery, but it is vital that the Commission maintains good communication links with Presbytery and nurtures a spirit of goodwill and support for the “child in the midst”. Where an Interim Moderator requires to be appointed, the Commission will be consulted and, if possible, the Convener (or appropriate member) be invited to fulfill that role in order to simplify the lines of communication. In the case of a vacancy in an emerging congregation, the New Charge Committee will ensure that the congregation is fully represented in the process of interviewing and assessing the candidates, including the Convener of the New Charge Commission. New Charge Development: Growing Up Together The role of the New Charge Commission changes as the New Charge Develops. In broad terms we can see that the role of the Commission is very full in the early years, but tapers down as the New Charge finds its own leadership. The aim is to see the local leadership taking full responsibility for the charge, with sufficient people and financial resources to be self-sustaining. The Commission will be increasing aware of its interim and transitional status. At present, the aim is to work to that position in 11 years, though local circumstances may differ. The Charge is reviewed every five years, with an interim review at years 3 and 8 to monitor progress to the agreed goals. The review process involves a team of three trained reviewers and a fellow NCD minister who will visit the charge over a weekend. They meet with the Ministry Team, the core group, members of the congregation, the Commission and attend worship. The Commission must be aware of how stressful this process can be for the ministry team, especially for the five year review which may have to make hard choices about the direction or viability of the charge. Looking for Quality The Commission will be informed of the grid1 by which the review will be carried out as a way of assessing the qualitative health of the congregation: Roots - corresponding to - Fruits 1. Practical Theology/Mission Design 5. Worship 2. Goal-orientated Training and Nurture 6. Visionary Faith/Spirituality 3. Effective Leadership 7. Caring Community 4. Functional Growth Structures 8. Need-Orientated Evangelism The “roots” involve in-depth work in both relationships and reflection. We have to trust the invisibility of much that is being done. For the Commission, this means being patient and taking the long view of how this will unfold over a decade rather than expecting quick results in a few months. For everyone this involves a spirituality of waiting for God which is likely to against the grain of the activists and against the grain of our performance-orientated culture. The life of each congregation is unique. Beware carrying over personal agendas from our own history and imposing them on this emerging community of faith. The missional communities of the next twenty years may look very different from the missionary congregations of the past twenty years. They will grow out of a conversation between the Gospel and the context – both local and cultural. Be ready for the unexpected. New Charge Development is a laboratory for exploring new patterns of church life for the 21st century in the postmodern “mosaic” generation. The criteria of the current reviews may be supplemented by postmodern indicators such as those suggested by Leonard Sweet who advocates “EPIC” Churches – experiential, participatory, image-based and communal2. The Commission will be looking for these Christian communities to express the Kingdom values of the Sermon on the Mount, and pursue Micah’s core spirituality of justice, mercy of faith3. The churches of the future may be smaller but focused more on equipping people for life – building Christian families, affecting the workplace, challenging global injustices. What kind of churches will nurture world-changers? Looking for Quantity The current review process suggests three hard indicators which will be in evidence at 5 years: 1. Leadership – to have a core of 12 people in leadership. 2. Growth – to have 100 in worship, contact with 100 more and a growth rate of 10% p.a. 3. Finance – to be meeting 75% of ministry costs with a growth rate of 10% p.a. There is some ambivalence about these statistical goals, and they may have to be adjusted in the light of experience and in the light of local circumstances. The aim is to encourage the emerging church to take responsibility for its own life, and it is important for the Commission to be aware, among the many others themes of New Charge Development, of the need for a financial strategy that works incrementally over the decade. The purpose of the interim reviews at years 3 and 8 is to adjust these goals to be realistic and motivational rather than a burden that leaves people feeling guilty and pressurized. Looking out for Developmental Health The reviewers have been trained in identifying stages of progress through the life cycle of a congregation as described by Martin Saarinen4. Commissions will be given the details of these insights in induction and in service training. According to this model, as the congregation moves through the stages of birth, infancy, adolescence to its prime, four factors vary in prominence – energy, programmes, administration and inclusion. It is one way of recognizing where to focus. Commissions may find it helpful to draw on insights on “The Lifecycle of Reproducing Churches”5 drawn up by Bob and Mary Hopkins of the Anglican Church Planting Initiative. Their progress chart has been adapted and elements will obviously vary from place to place, but it gives clues to the unfolding process. The life theme reminds us of the patience involved in growing people, not a managing a production line. Conception Strategic Vision Theological Basis Strategic Planning Team and Support Structure Pre-Natal Development Community Engagement/Evangelism Foundational Ministries Group Multiplication Birth Public Worship Family/Children’s Ministry Infancy Prayer Development Leadership Development Evangelism Nurture Groups Assimilation Procedures Adolescence Leadership Development Ministry Development Evangelism/Assimilation Dynamic Worship Maturity Vision, faith, prayer Effective pastoral leadership Clear Philosophy of Ministry Celebrative/Reflective/Participative Worship Network of Cell Groups Mobilisation according to Gifts Effective Outreach Leadership Development Multiplication of congregations Orientated to the Great Commission The changing nature of the congregation (or any organisation) means the need for the style of leadership to change. The leader who is right to start up a congregation, may not be the person to develop it and unlikely to be the person to sustain it in the long term. These realities require a change of leader, a development of the team or changes in leadership styles. These may be described simply as: initiator, developer, sustainer, renewer and finisher.6 It is the role of the Commission to be aware of these changing dynamics. Looking out for Failure to Develop While our hope and prayer is that every NCD will flourish, the purpose of the Review is to be honest and to assess where a church is not developing as it might. The five year review of the charge may highlight a number of issues: the decision to create an NCD may have been inappropriate and other strategies need to be considered, the minister (or staff team) may not have been the right match for the situation, or the particular strategy of the first five years may need to be redesigned. As a result of the review, it may be recommended that a. the strategy be radically redesigned in consultation with the support staff of the New Charge Committee; b. the result of the review of the charge be taken into account at the review of the minister’s Reviewable Tenure with the clear option that the appointment may not be renewed; c. the New Charge be declared non-viable with clear analysis of the reasons for this decision and the responsibility for the future be remitted to the Parish Appraisal Committee in consultation with the Presbytery to determine the future and take steps appropriate steps to discontinue the New Charge. (Act XIII 2000, Sec 20) In the event of the New Charge being discontinued, it will be the responsibility of the New Charge Commission to ensure that the endings are well managed, the congregation is fully informed and an appropriate act of worship marks this stage in the life of the congregation. New Charge Development: Exit Strategy Where a New Charge comes to full maturity, Commissions will celebrate their own redundancy. Nonetheless, there are specific roles to be fulfilled in the latter stages of helping a New Charge to “full status”. That paternalistic language of achievement is theologically inappropriate in terms of affirming the church’s identity by grace from birth, but it remains the current language of legal recognition of being self-supporting. The exit strategy has to be managed carefully as the Commission helps the New Charge to its place of being self-supporting and self-governing. According to Roland Allen, the prophetic missionary of the 1920’s, healthy churches will also be self-propagating – planting beyond themselves. Self-Supporting – Financial Strategy The ministry costs of NCD are met in full by the Board of Ministry, with new charges paying as and when they can. Many have additional staff paid by the membership or from external sources. The difficulty is taking on the full costs of “the minister” while trying to sustain the finances for the “ministry” of the team. The Commission will help to advise on a financial strategy to that end. In the same way, building costs which have been borne by the Board of National Mission, fall to the congregation. Again a sound financial strategy is required. The indicators used at Reviews may need to be altered to have a specific figure in mind at 5 and 11 years. The 11 year figure would need to be based on the amount required not only to sustain, but to develop the local work, aware that on between 40 and 50% of income will be available when they take financial responsibility, the rest being allocated to Mission and Renewal and Ministry. For example, a church with a current expenditure of £30,000 and income of around £35,000 will require to raise income of £65,000 in order to have that amount available locally. That is the measure of the challenge. Self-Governing – Constitutional Flexibility New Charges have operated without elders and Kirk Sessions. Leadership has been based on gifts for tasks for a limited period of time. This is a different culture from elders ordained to an office without job definition for life. However New Charges move to independent legal recognition, it must not be at the cost of the flexible and focused leadership structures which have evolved. The current national discussions about short-term eldership, teamwork in Sessions and a Standard Constitution, offer a favourable climate for the New Charges to continue to evolve without being “regularized” by patterns that others are struggling to throw off. This is an area that merits further thought and discussion – and a real task for the Commission to work with the leadership team to a creative outcome. Self-Propagating – Missional Integrity It is difficult to predict the shape of the wider Church within which this New Charge is growing, and in which it will be invited play its part. On current trends it will be numerical smaller and older, with fewer ministers of Word and Sacrament, possibly working together in parish groupings or ecumenical partnerships. The NCD will have grown from its early stages of dependency on central support and funding into independence, but this final stage is finding a place of interdependence in the wider nexus of the emerging church. Hopefully, along the way, it has encouraged others to be intentional about being missional communities for the 21st century. It may be that one of the last tasks of the Commission is to consider where the next church plant is to be encouraged within the area. It may not be a new housing development, nor a new solution to an old problem area, but rather helping another parish church to see where it might form a network church in the neighbourhood, partnering with the NCD now emerging to full responsibility. The Commission could go out with a bang not a whimper! Conclusion The role of the New Charge Commission is vital. Many lessons have been learned from the early years of their existence. One of the lessons is that we must be adaptable and allow each Commission to offer the oversight that is appropriate to a wide range of situations with different histories, starting points and objectives. The other is that the New Charge Commissions offer a vital link to the wider church – with other congregations, with Presbytery and with the church nationally. The New Charge Commission serves as a reminder that these fragile emerging communities are part of the Church catholic and universal, historic and eschatological, sharing together as one Body in God’s mission to the ends of the earth and to the end of time. That is a job worth doing well. 1 Based on the work of the British Church Growth Association in the BCGA Digest 1999, which is in turn based on the work of the German Institute of Church Growth on Natural Church Development. 2 Sweet, Leonard, SoulTsunami - sink or swim in new millennium culture, Zondervan, 1999 3 Micah 6:8 4 Saarinen, Martin F. The Life Cycle of the Congregation, Alban Institute, 1986 5 Bob and Mary Hopkins of the Anglican Church Planting Initiative, based on material from the New Zealand Baptist Union 6 Ward, Andrew, The Leadership Lifecycle, Palgrave, Macmillan, 2003 1