Mission Action Planning

Making a difference

Mission is a key component of the national Evangelism & Growth strategy God for All which advocates seven strands of renewal. It also aligns with District Development Plan in the Birmingham District. Both of these documents encourage the production of local Mission Action Plans for both Circuits and congregations. Churches across the denominational and theological spectrum have been using Mission Action Planning as a tool for over 20 years.

Mission Action Planning is the process of discerning vision, and engaging in planning in order to implement change through a continuing process of action and reflection. It is an on-going, dynamic process which is about joining in with God’s mission in the world.

There are a number of different models, tools and techniques which can be adopted. It works best when the process, and the subsequent decisions and actions, are owned by the local church or circuit and underpinned with prayer. The key leaders (Ministers, Stewards and Lay Workers) will need to be fully on board and committed to investing in the process and the outcomes. You will get out from it as much as you invest into it.

It is not a silver bullet to growth, but will help to bring clarity and make longer term, sensible and missionally focused decisions.

Mission Action Planning can be used in both a Circuit or Local Church conext. However, the issues and opportunities are quite different. Most of the generic tools and models from outside the Methodist Church work best in the context of the local church. This is because the levers for change available to a Circuit are focused on areas such as staffing/stationing, resources and the “plan”.

Gathering the tools

Next steps

The Evangelism and Growth section of the Connexional website has a lot of great information and resources which is referenced throughout the material here.

If you would like some bespoke assistance to address your situation do get in touch with Adam Sanders (District Mission Advisor) or Geoff Bond (Learning Network Coordinator).