Linslade, St Barnabas (inc. St Mary) version: 2

What progress have you made with the Goals from your previous MAP, and what do you want to celebrate?

• The church hall has been restored and is widely used by the community.
• Messy Church is celebrated regularly.
• 'Church Chatter' - our newsletter - is distributed regularly.

What Goals did you set where you saw less progress than you would have liked?

• Our Messy Church has declined in popularity because there are many more now in the town. It has not reached families in our parish who were previously un-involved in church life in the town.

Things seen about our local community

• There are a lot of young families moving into the town.
• Most families have two parents working outside the home, and weekends are pressured.
• Our culture and society are materialistic and consumerist.

How have you begun to engage with these concerns / needs / issues?

• By resourcing a Part-time Outreach worker.
• By making the church building more flexible and welcoming in appearance.
• By trying to offer an alternative outlook; that of loving faith.

Vision (for five years' time)

As a community where God is loved and worshipped, and where His love is shown and magnified. We want to live up to this calling as far as we can. We want to know God's love in our worship, and witness to Him in our life as a community, and in our engagements with those around us. We want to help more people to know God's love and respond to Him with joy.

Current Situation

From our Parish Statistics for Mission, we see that we are / have...

apparently stable numerically, although the figures are visually hard to read and to untangle from the rest of the Team.

Priorities (for the next five years)

• To engage with more young families.
• To attract more people into the church building without their feeling threatened.
• To widen opportunities for worship and for exploring faith.

Goals (for the next year)

• Resource an Outreach worker to engage with young families.
• Form a Worship Committee to consider the style, content, structure and time of our worship.
• Maintain our churches as houses of prayer, where the Eucharist is celebrated, and we are held in God's love.