Norton, St George and St Nicholas version: 3

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

• After running Christianity Explored courses, we now have 4 House Groups which meet weekly and 2 Bible Study Groups. A monthly prayer diary is produced for all the congregation to use and praying for various needs within the Parish and our world, is encouraged in the House Groups.
• We now have a Stewardship committee which is responsible for running annual campaigns, using the 'Giving in Grace' programme. This has now run for three years, with mixed success, reminding the congregation of our need to use our gifts and talents for the kingdom of God in Norton.
• Norton Nippers, a parent / carer and toddler group, was started during 2014 and now runs successfully every week, during term time, with many children from the local community attending. Also we have a Tuesday Cherubs group, for parents / carers and children under 5, in church.

Things seen about our local community

• There are new homes on the Grange Estate and Blackhorse Road which will enlarge the Parish.
• We continue to engage with families seeking baptism for their children and marriage.
• It continues to be evident that people are searching for spiritual meaning in their life, not necessarily Christian.

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

• We have started to engage with families in the new homes, through baptisms and other church activities.
• We meet with those wishing to have their children baptized and those wishing to get married.
• In our teaching and conversations we make clear that the answer to a meaningful spiritual life is through Jesus.

Vision (for five years' time)

By 2020 we will a beacon in the community: • Where the love of Jesus is seen in all we do. • Where everything is based on teaching and prayer. • Where there is a desire to live and share the gospel.

Current Situation

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

aware that people in the congregation are lacking in confidence to talk about their faith and there is a need for pastoral care, particularly for the elderly.

Priorities (for the next five years)

• Communication through teaching and training
• Outreach, including world mission and Evangelism
• Discipleship and use of gifts to build the church

Goals (for the next year)

• Communication: Between the leadership and congregations, getting the congregation to see themselves as communicators.
• Outreach – Messy church, Baptism visits, weddings, schools, care homes – building on what we do, Nippers, Cherubs. How can we do these better?
• Nurture – helping people to lead and use their gifts in the transformation of God’s church.
• World Mission – How we as a Parish engage with what God is doing in the world