A NEW training programme for resource-church leaders in the north of England will play a “pivotal role” in revitalising parishes that are facing decline — estimated to number 40 per cent of the total — its leaders suggest. Among the aims is to increase the diversity of resource-church leaders and to instil a healthy leadership culture, avoiding a “hero” model.
The Camino programme, to be delivered by St Hild College, in partnership with the Office of the Archbishop of York, has been awarded £437,000 by the Church of England’s Ministry Development Board to train for five cohorts over the course of five years — a total of 70 participants — from next September.
In addition to the grant, the Strategic Mission and Ministry Board has awarded a £1.76-million grant for a five-year “northern enabling strategy” to help northern dioceses to launch up to 600 “additional new worshipping communities”, a press release from the Archbishop of York’s office said on Thursday. The funding will make small grants to parishes that are “working with a training partner” to launch a new service, congregation, or community, “where other funding is not available”.
New worshipping communities in estates and low-income communities will be prioritised, while money will also be allocated to “increase the capacity of churches to revitalise other parishes through sending church-planting teams”. The press release refers to a goal to establish 3000 new worshipping communities across the north. The national Vision and Strategy includes a goal of 10,000 such communities established by 2030.
A proposal paper for Camino by the Dean of Church Planting at St Hild, the Revd Dr Christian Selvaratnam, and the Archbishop’s Mission Enabler for the North, Canon Mark Powley, describes resource and church-planting churches as “crucial” for reaching this national goal. It also speaks of the importance of preparing and training those tasked with leading such churches, and sets out plans for an “enriching environment” for participants which addresses “burnout and stress”.
It says that the Camino will “intentionally avoid leadership models emphasising individual charisma or dominance”, and that candidates will develop “critical awareness of the risks of a ‘hero’ leadership model”. They will be offered a professional psychometric assessment, reflecting the leaders’ observation that “self-awareness is a critical factor in the success of resource-church leadership”.
“We can see the strains in some church leaders. . . It’s almost as if the normal journey of maturing as a leader is accelerated, perhaps even too quickly,” Dr Selvaratnam said last week. “Suddenly, you are leading a booming church of 300, and everyone is telling you that you are amazing, and deep down you think ‘I have no idea what I am doing.’” There was a need to avoid waiting for people to “crash”, by “doing a better job of preparing them”, he said.
The programme will seek to diversify the leadership of resource churches. Currently, just 19 are led by women, and three by individuals from a UKME or GMH background. Targets have been set for 40 per cent of Camino participants to be women, and 15 per cent of UKME/GMH heritage. While candidates will be nominated by their bishop, the paper also refers to attracting “those who may have been previously overlooked”. Dr Selvaratnam said that “not everybody is on a bishop’s radar.” A key aim is to engage what are described as “underrepresented Anglican traditions”, including Anglo-Catholics.
Each cohort will train part-time for 16 months, attending a mixture of residential and online sessions. The curriculum includes training on safeguarding (there have been discussions with the National Safeguarding Team), governance, and fund-raising. Recruitment will begin in the New Year.
It is estimated that, over the next ten years, resource churches led by graduates of the programme will generate 148 new Christian communities, or revitalised parishes, engaging 16,435 new adults and 21,490 children.
The paper states: “With at least 40 per cent of parishes facing decline and nearing unsustainable sizes, Camino will play a pivotal role in revitalising these communities through effective resource church engagement, seeding hope for a parish system revitalised for mission.”
The estimates for growth are based on a report by the Ven. Bob Jackson and Dr Bev Botting, New in the North: New worshipping communities in the Province of York (2023), an analysis of the 2023 Statistics for Mission which is due to be published this month. This report estimates that, last year, adult attendance at resource churches increased by 11 per cent, and child attendance by 19 per cent — more than double the average adult growth, and triple the average child growth.
In 2023, resource churches accounted for 29 per cent of the provincial adult attendance growth, and 42 per cent of the child attendance growth. St George’s, Leeds, a resource church, has consistently produced a steady stream of new ordinands in the diocese.
There are currently 135 designated resource churches in England, of which 57 are in the Northern Province. The paper speaks of an “urgent need” for a “regional training pipeline”, describing this as “crucial to the plans of every northern diocese”.
Responding to news of the SMMI grant last week, the Bishop of Newcastle, Dr Helen Ann Hartley, wrote on social media: “My own view (as bishop of a Northern diocese) is that initiatives like this must be paused until the recommendations of Makin and Scolding [two recent safeguarding reviews] can be implemented and urgent matters of culture and governance in the Church can be attended to.”