Growing Leaders

Inclusively GROWING evangelistic and justice-seeking LEADERS

Churches of any size are ultimately communities of disciples, growing in faith together.

The most significant tools for nurturing discipleship and vocation often operate at a local level: discipleship bands/ small groups, discernment courses, mentors/ spiritual directors, away days. As a district we encourage churches to prioritise whatever forms of nurturing disciples are most helpful in their context.

Our particular role as a district at this time includes encouraging and nurturing current and future leaders of all ages. We believe this to be a fundamental underpinning of each of our abilities to flourish as the people that God calls us to be – at this time and into the future. Many of those who are formally or informally leaders within and beyond church recognise the importance of the encouragement, support and learning they have received to discover and grow into their vocations.

Implementing our Growing Leaders vision will include

• Theological, missiological and other related study grants overcoming financial barriers to accredited and non-accredited learning, enableing people to follow their vocation as disciples – which may then be expressed as Christian leaders within or beyond the structures of the church.

• Growing our ONE Programme youth/ young adult internship programme, alongside Connexional YAMPS programme. We hope to expand to at least eight youth/ young adult internships each year, with previous interns testifying to the transformational impact of this opportunity. Internships will be shaped around the intern and provide accountability, protection, cohort and developmental teaching.

• Nurturing emerging leaders of all ages through new Growing Leaders Programmes. This will incorporate key success factors from the ONE Programme, but be reimagined to be relevant for people with a wide spread of ages and life experiences (learning and growing is not reserved for the young). It will include access to high quality relevant teaching, individual coaching and commitment to participation in a mutually supportive cohort.

• All ordained ministers and lay staff across the district will be receiving effective reflective supervision and line management as appropriate to their roles. Reflective supervision and line management have been shown to have a significant effect on the wellbeing of postholders and the impactfulness of their roles.

• Facilitating cross-circuit networks learning mutual support in ways which are relevant and helpful for those involved. People will always have the opportunity to connect with some others doing similar in other contexts (where these exist). Networks already exist ecumenically, Connexionally and within circuits. We will complement rather than duplicate these

Implementation of this vision will be overseen by our Growing Leaders Support Team