Circuit Mission Action Planning
Circuit Scope
Circuits share the same broad mission as churches as articulated in Our Calling. However, they need to hold together the specific missions of a diverse set of individual churches. In addition to this, the mechanisms available to the Circuit are more specific. The key when it comes to Circuit Mission Action Planning is to focus on the things which are possible to do which will have the maximum impact.
The fundamental aim of a Circuit MAP is to improve the Christian network serving a given location. That would point towards a planning process that is collaborative – the circuit community audit is a summation of its congregations’ audits and many of those audits will be informed by circuit-wide data analysis that can be done once and shared. It is very likely that a co-creation approach to MAP production will make best use of scarce human resources and simplify the eventual adoption and delivery activity.
Levers
In his book Seven Levers: Missional Strategies for Conferences: Missional Strategies for Leading Conferences Bishop Robert Schnase outlined seven “levers” for conferences in the UMC which could be utilised to encourage and promote a missional culture. These levers cannot be applied directly in Circuits or Districts in the British Methodist Church, but they do highlight the things which broader groupings of churches can bring effect to.
A translated British version of five levers for Circuits could be:
A strategy for starting New Places for New People
A strategy for team working and leader (ordained and lay) wellbeing
A strategy for finance
A strategy for stationing
A strategy for making the most of Circuit Meetings and CLT meetings
A Circuit Mission Action Plan which outlined strategies in the five areas listed above could be a powerful way of moving forward. At the bare minimum these five core areas should be part of the discussion process leading to a Circuit Mission Action Plan.
An example of a comprehensive Circuit Mission Action Plan from the Birmingham District is for the Coventry and Nuneaton Circuit. They have kindly made it available here.
If you would like to take some of these ideas further speak to Adam Sanders, Mission Advisor for the District.
