How can the Joshua Centre help you?

First published on: 5th March 2021

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What Kind Of Help Is Available?

The Joshua Centre provides all new congregation leadership teams with some initial training and orientation to their task, ongoing coaching, bi-annual support and annual funding.
 

Who Is This Help For?

This help is available for lay leadership teams who are starting a New Worshipping Community ‘NWC’, or Congregation. This should be in a previously under-reached group of people, with the aim of making 30 new disciples there within a five-year period. They will also seek to develop more new leaders from among that group and eventually starting another NWC somewhere else. This is why the tag-line of the Joshua Centre is: ‘Multiplying Congregations’.


Do You Have Any Examples To Share?

StoryHouse’ is a vibrant NWC, in the heart of Crosby village, which was started in the upstairs room of a Coffee Shop of the same name. Run by Dave and Lizzie Lowrie (who both worked in the Coffee Shop to begin with), the congregation was formed simply by making connections with customers, and then inviting them to other activities like an Alpha Courses and/or Sunday gatherings. StoryHouse has fully embraced being online during the Pandemic, and have had lots of opportunities to connect with new and different people through doing so.

Sunday@6’ was started in the Parish of St. Gabriel’s in the Dingle by members of the Parish Foodbank team, who were always looking to encourage the people whom they met there. They found that inviting these people to Sunday morning services didn’t often work for them, so they started a meeting on Sunday evenings instead, which worked much better. They also run a prayer and bible study group on Thursdays, and a Thrift Shop on Saturdays and Mondays, as being able to say “come along tomorrow, or in a couple of days’ time” has been far more helpful than only saying “see you next week”.


How Do We Access This Help?

There is a simple two-stage application process for this help, which involves completing a single A4 sheet with half a dozen questions on it each time. Decisions about these applications are all made, with minimal fuss, by the Joshua Centre Steering Group, which meets on a monthly basis. The funding for all successful applications is issued to the Parish PCCs, who are able to ‘ring-fence’ it for the sole use of that particular NWC and also to distribute it to them appropriately, according to their practical and missional needs.

 

For more information visit the website – www.joshuacentre.org.uk

or contact Dan Rogers, Joshua Centre Director

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