The church is God’s plan for sharing His good news with the world and, for that reason, we are passionate about the local church. As a ministry, we come alongside local churches to support them in their work to make young disciples; providing training, a supportive community, networks and more. We offer three levels of support, both nationally and closer to home, here in Bedfordshire, from informal gatherings to bespoke long-term support giving every church the opportunity to access the support they need to begin or to develop their work with children, young people and families.
Read below to find out more about these three levels of support and how we can connect to work with you.
Level One: Short-term networking, training and resourcing opportunities
As easy as taking the first step on a staircase; these are our easiest to access opportunities for support as you and your church dip your toe into the water, or inch the door open to The Resources Cupboard.
Level One support may be something which we have put on for you to come along to, such as our monthly ‘Coffee Shop Catch Up’ or occasional ‘Swap Shop’ events, our retreat day (pictured left) or other one-off training events.
Alternatively, a request for short term support can come directly from a church or group of churches, with anything from a one-to-one chat over a coffee to talk about opportunities available to you, to a short training course on a given area of need.
Keep an eye on our social media, or sign up to our mailing list to hear news of any upcoming events. If you would like to discuss your own support needs, please get in touch.
“Becky brought her passion and energy to the training making sure everyone was encouraged and engaged. Highly Recommended.”
Yvonne Campbell, General Secretary, Congregational Federation.
Level Two: Medium-term development programme
We are excited to be working on a brand new medium-term development programme which we will piloting soon.
Keep an eye on our social media, or sign up to our mailing list to hear news as this develops. If you would like to register your interest as a potential pilot church, please get in touch.
Level Three: Medium to long-term bespoke support
Sometimes, a church or group of churches may ask for more specific, longer-term support. This may involve reviewing existing children’s youth and family work, helping to prepare and plan new aspects of their work, training for a team, sharing a vision, initiating, demonstrating and supporting the setting up of new work or tweaking what is already happening to ensure that the focus is on disciple-making.
This work is available to churches in the Bedfordshire area, as it requires more intense engagement.
Since November 2021, we have been working alongside the Sharnbrook Deanery to support the development of what has become the Children’s, Young People and Families Support Hub. This work has been far-reaching and varied and has included: emerging leader training for young leaders, reviews of existing activities post-covid, support in launching new worshipping communities, including Wild Church, sourcing and suggesting resources for individual activities, developing training across the Deanery and establishing a model and framework for project development. In January 2024, this project reached a new phase of development as one of the Growing Faith Learning Hubs and we are continuing to work with the Deanery to facilitate the development of this.
“Becky and Rebecca have brought experience, imagination, ideas and energy to the work in our Deanery, helping us to discover the Lord’s vision for us, whilst enabling others not only to be a part of that discovery but making it a reality! Great partners to have in the work of the Gospel.”
Stephen Liley, Rural Dean, Sharnbrook Deanery