Background
The Wesley and King's Somborne Methodist Church is one church on two sites. The merging of the two churches has allowed an active Methodist presence in King's Somborne helping to relieve the pressure of maintaining all the responsibilities of a single church. This strategy sets out how both churches will move forward together but in their individual communities.
Our Mission Statement
Loving God, Loving Others, Loving the World.
Our Vision
A thriving Church, an asset to the community, a sign of hope for all.
Our Pathways
Originally called the 'Wesley Pathways' these set a mission focus for the work and witness of the church community, being now Wesley and King's Somborne Methodist Churches, one church on two sites. The way they are presently described is as follows:
Praising - developing our worship and sharing as a growing Christian community.
Listening - facilitating, stimulating, and inspiring prayer life.
Nourishing - nurturing, promoting and supporting small groups.
Sharing - training in faith sharing and evangelism.
Adapting - improving, adapting and modernising our church premises and life.
Caring - identifying, researching, discovering and meeting local need.
Encouraging - church members to have sustainable lifestyles, aiming for the A Rocha ECO Church Silver Award.
Enabling and Resourcing Our Pathways
Like many churches, the greatest challenge is how we enable and resource the agreed and supported pathways, shared across the two churches. In order to have proper governance and leadership the following Working Group Structure is in place.
Each group is chaired by a Trustee and made up of trustees plus other members of the church family. This blended approach allows for a wider participation across the ages, without all involved being Church Council members.
Worship and Fellowship
- Provide worship on a regular and agreed basis in both church buildings.
- Offer a mix of worship styles and formats to suit different situations and needs throughout the church year.
- Offer the Sacrament monthly, in both church buildings.
- Be responsive to worship needs of the individual church communities, working ecumenically when appropriate.
- Be open to new ideas while being aware of the needs of the current congregations.
- Have a vibrant musical element to our worship.
- Be mindful of caring for God's creation and ensure where appropriate, it is reflected in worship.
Mission
- Continue to have a strong and active mission focus for both churches.
- Maintain a set group of mission partners, reviewed annually and agreed by the Church Council.
- Have a programme of charity events throughout the year.
- Be responsive to national and international events with one-off mission giving, working with external organisations.
- Contribute to worship by leading mission focused services.
Property and Finance
- Manage and maintain the building in good order to provide a useable space for our current and future activities.
- Develop the building in order to meet our mission and outreach activities.
- Manage financial resources to meet the day to day finances and to support future mission and outreach activities.
- Actively encourage financial giving, maximise lettings, where appropriate seek external funding opportunities.
- Ensure that governance requirements in terms of returns, schedules and financial reporting are completed in a timely fashion.
Outreach and Evangelism
- Prepare our church family to support outreach and evangelism.
- Become aware of the need of the local community and respond to those needs where appropriate.
- Explore outreach activities in the local area and work with partners where mutually appropriate.
- Continue to build on existing youth activities and ensure that they form part of an intergenerational approach.
- Maintain our church visibility externally through an informative and current website and other forms of communication.
- Use hospitality to support and enhance outreach and evangelism.
King's Somborne
- Maintain a Methodist presence in the village through worship and outreach plus mission activities.
- Work with ecumenical partners in the village to enhance links and support activities.
- Link to the other working groups to support the maintenance upkeep of the building and to enhance the outreach and mission activities.
The work and activities of the groups is underpinned by a total commitment to governance requirements and operating within an eco-positive context.
Reporting and Accountability
Each group manages their routine in terms of meetings but are required to provide a report to each Church Council meeting, and this should include recommendations where appropriate.
This strategy is to be reviewed Summer 2027.