West Derby and St Helens cohorts start to get Fit for Mission

First published on: 29th September 2022

Work has started in our first Fit for Mission cohorts as we support the local deaneries in this important area for us all. So we will be following their progress over the next months and years seeing what we are learning as together we become fit for mission. This week we hear how people across St Helens and West Derby set off on a journey towards growth!

Over 150 people across both St Helens and West Derby have started the Cultivate course. Cultivate is a local missional leadership programme, centred around equipping lay people for and clergy mission – to start new worship communities and refresh existing ones. The Cultivate pathway is a core part of Fit for Mission, and the first part consists of an 8-week course for those who want to grow as disciples of Jesus, focussing on the individual response to the missional call. 

The Cultivate team has welcomed people from various churches, ages, backgrounds, professions and stages of life. The huge response reflects the commitment and excitement that has being going around the churches that are part of Fit for Mission. Seeing the number of people who have joined the course and their relative diversity is very encouraging.

For the next 2 months these people will be learning together, supporting each other, dreaming, praying and seeking God for what he has planned for them, corporately and individually. This is just the start of their journey, because everyone is invited onto one of three outcomes at the end of the course:  Start (for those who will lead new worship communities); Join (for those who will engage with new or existing worship communities); and Explore (for those who will grow further in their missional discipleship). 

Frank Hinds (Cultivate Lead) shared that in the first week of Cultivate, they have seen God move in people’s lives and hearts, in sometimes unexpected ways. Frank said “one participant told him that they were able to pray out loud for others for the first time during the session.  Another said that they were so inspired that they were going back to their church to tell everyone that they need to get involved!”.

In one of the activities during this week’s Cultivate session, the participants were asked to share some of the highlights of the discussions they had as a small group. One encouraging and challenging discussion came from a group that shared “if our message (as Christians) is true than it should change the way we see everything. If what we preach about is true, then we should be excited about the future”.

When asked about a central message for Cultivate, Frank stated that “God calls unlikely people, the essential qualities of a missional disciple are not strength and talent but devotion and dependence”. Having this in mind, the vision of Cultivate according to Frank is “we want to ensure ordinary people all across the diocese are equipped, empowered and encouraged. We want to see growth in lay local missional leaders, new worshipping communities starting and thriving, and justice initiatives making a bigger impact in society. We are excited to see what God will do through each individual and the amazing stories they will have to tell.”

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