In consideration of
Edited by Canon Roger Medley – Mission Forum, Bath and Wells from the work of
Mike Chew MAP and Growth Strategy Facilitator
Blackburn Diocese

• M ission
– An outward looking engagement with the world around us
– Living the gospel–not just church activities
– Equipping & supporting church members to live out their faith as Baptised disciples.
• A ction
– Focused, specific actions giving expression to God’s concern for his world, arising out of convictions, gifts, passion & sense of vocation
• P lanning
– Being SMART specific, measurable, achievable, time and target

• Mission has its origins in the heart of God. ‘Missio Dei’
- God is a fountain of sending love.
This is the deepest source of mission.
• There is mission because God loves people.
• It is not the Church that has a mission, but the God of
Mission who has a Church!
• In the new image mission is not primarily an activity of the church, but an attribute of God
Ed from David Bosch Transforming Mission 1991

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe –as the
Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed,
Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow

– Growth takes place spontaneously
– There is order and process in this growth
– All we can do is prepare the way and remove the obstacles to growth

• By being Healthy – in all aspects of individual spirituality and corporate worship/life
– Prayer, Holiness, Mission
• By sharing a Vision of Growth
• By working together – to use our resources effectively and efficiently

– ‘We are told that in order to be a good steward of the household of God, you have to be a good steward of your own household.
– It’s really a dimension of stewardship – you have to plan and organise things. If we are serious about mission and that is the clear priority, then some sort of plan is inevitable.’
– ‘MAPing is primarily a tool to establish a clear missionary purpose and direction for the church’
– David Hope

• ‘For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it?’
• ‘Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand?’
Luke 14.28,31

• Prayer and supernatural guidance are key parts of planning for mission in the early church.
• For example in Acts 13 – ‘While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.’

• Is not easy!
– So much to learn about Mission!
– So much ‘stuff’ to consider!
– So many people to involve!
• But it gets easier with experience
• Learn by using the MAP process

ing
Annual Cycle
Act:
Do/Check
Review
Listen/Values
Prayer
And
Passion
Plan
Deploy
Choose:
Vision/Priorities

• Prayer:
– The starting Point
– Asking God to prepare the leaders for this work
– Individual and Corporate
• Desire:
– Antoine de Saint-Exupéry* wrote “If you want to build a ship, don’t summon people to buy wood, prepare tools, distribute jobs, and organise the work, rather teach people to yearn for the wide, boundless ocean”.
– If we want people to produce a MAP, first, we have to teach people – especially church leaders to yearn to respond (‘missionally’) to God’s love of the world – as Jesus did.
* A famous French writer and aviator (1900-44)

• Listen: Triple listening
– To God
– To ourselves – each other
– To the community
– What are our Values?
– What is our Mission?
• Why are We Here?
Act:
Prayer
And
Passion
Review
Plan Choose:
• Assess: 4 alternative methods
– SWOT.. S trengths, W eaknesses, O pportunities , T hreats.
– “Growing Healthy Churches” (recommended for 1 st year)
– “Discerning your Church Vocation”
– “Natural Church Development”
(Reviewing ones course could be crucial to the journey!)

• Shared Vision Stimulates desire and helps us to focus on God
• Shared Vision gives the whole church a sense of Direction
• Shared Vision draws people to work together

“A picture of the future that produces passion.
Vision puts the match to the fuel that most people carry around in their hearts and yearn to have ignited. Leaders must keep striking that match by painting compelling
Kingdom pictures”
Bill Hybels

• We want our Vision statement to:
– Inspire us to use our gifts for Kingdom growth
– Draw us together
– Enable us to work out Priorities
• Remember:
– Mission: Our Purpose; What we Value
– Vision: Where we are moving to in Future

What we think God is calling our church to do and become
Priority 1
Action 1
Action 2
Action 3
Action 4
Action 5
….
Priority 2
Action 1
Action 2
Action 3
Action 4
Action 5
….
Priority 3
Action 1
Action 2
Action 3
Action 4
Action 5
….

Mission
Statement
Who
Why are we here?
MAP/Strategy
How:
What
When
Vision
Statement
Where we want to be
What will it feel like?

• Document your plans, using the SMART method for each chosen priority:
– S pecific: be clear about the specific goals and who the plan is for - e.g. engage with adults aged 18-30.
– M easurable: agree how you will be able to measure progress, and how you will assess progress.
– A chievable: your people need to believe that it is possible.
– R esourced: ensure that there is sufficient human and financial resources
– T i med: be clear about the timing for starting, reviewing progress and completing.

• Action
– MAP ing leads to Action
• to improve and/or
• to change and/or
• to serve and
• to worship …
– Yet many PCCs produce a paper and return to
‘business as usual’
• Check
– Review progress
• to ensure that the plans are implemented
• to support people
• to recognise effort
• to solve problems

• Facilitators bring a fresh pair of eyes and a critical friend to help think through the church’s situation, strategy and vision.
• They are skilled in the various approaches to conducting a review of church health, and can guide church leaders through the Vision process.
• Many dioceses, now provide such facilitators to their churches on request at no cost
• The School of Formation or Mission Forum can provide these.

1.
Rooted in Prayer
2.
Listen: consulting those impacted by the MAP
3.
Assess: taking a close look at your church
4.
Values : being clear about the church’s main purposes and sources of energy.
5.
Vision: being clear about the future direction
6.
Priorities: the vital ingredients to deliver the
Vision
7.
Goals: being smart with priorities
8.
Actions: planning to succeed
9.
Communication: Keeping everyone informed
10. Checking Progress: Keeping control of the overall plan

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

• “Mission Action Plans, consistently used are an effective tool for enabling the local church to become more authentically
‘mission shaped’, and to grow according to God’s plan and purpose.
• In all churches where the MAP principles are firmly established, they report overall growth, often in difficult key areas such as children and young people, or increased male membership.
• MAPs have helped hundreds of churches to look more closely at how they are serving God, and what it means to be the Body of Christ in their local situation.
• Choosing, planning, acting, and reviewing, draws on the power of the Holy Spirit, encouraging wider use of the gifts of discernment, wisdom, insight, understanding, faith, and knowledge.”

• Neil Evans believes that MAP is now in the DNA of the growing churches in the diocese.
• Those who take in the MAP approach use it organically to grow their mission work..
• He has no doubt that comparing these two groups of churches would demonstrate that MAP has had a very positive impact.

• MAPing is an annual learning process; not an event it’s not about producing a piece of paper.
“Every year we learn more about mission, the community and ourselves”.
• Facilitators can accelerate the learning. MAP should have wide ownership; plans and progress should be frequently communicated
• MAP should appear in some shape or form on every PCC agenda
• Action owners need training and support
• MAPPING: =Mission Action Planning, Implementation and
Growth