‘Go and make disciples...’

Investment and support for new church growth – with the national serving the local

Over the past few years, we have seen many changes in the Church and in our world. We have also encountered great challenges, one of the biggest being the decline of our membership and attendance – something that we are not alone in experiencing.

Throughout my time in the role of Chief Officer where I have been focused on the national supporting the local, I have sometimes heard it said that as a Church we are ‘managing decline’. The pain of the change we are navigating through is the result of not having tackled enough of the serious issues we have faced and have articulated for 50 years. We are at this point of transition, change and experimentation because what we currently do is no longer working for us and those we seek to reach out to in the way that it did in the past.

Our priorities are changing with the goal of building for a future full of hope. The infographic above highlights some of our key intentions with significant investment from reserves. Over the next seven years, our Seeds for Growth Fund will make £25m accessible for mission initiatives aimed at growing local churches and creating new congregations with the goal of establishing 100 new worshipping communities.

As a Church we are also working hard to enable and equip new forms of presbytery, with the reduction from 46 to around 10 presbyteries whilst progressing what is acknowledged to be the very difficult and at times painful task of Presbytery Mission Planning to reshape our Church for the future. Our buildings, which can take up so much of our time and money due to their age and condition, also need to be looked after and the overall number significantly reduced. As a Church we must also work towards a Net Zero 2030 strategy.

From our strong foundations, we must remain effective in our witness, nurture and service. Making disciples and renewing and growing the Church – this is our top priority and really must be our focus. I have no doubt that there is a future with hope for our Church. To achieve this we must work together, not just to survive – but to thrive.

Dave Kendall, Chief Officer, Church of Scotland