How Village Churches Thrive

• Don't stop expecting people to be new - if you build it, they will come!
• Sometimes we say everyone's welcome, but our building says something different. Whether it's good access to the toilet, installing wheelchair ramps or much bigger work, Disability Advisor Katie Tupling can help.
• Different cultures feel welcomed differently - but everyone will value a proper introduction. Give newcomers your name and ask for theirs, before introducing them to someone on their pew.
• Consider the imagery around your church - can you make it more diverse? People will feel more comfortable if they see people like them up front, on the noticeboards, in artwork etc. The UKME Chapter are available as free guest preachers.
• Welcome starts outside the church - can you go out into your community and meet people there? Can you put out useful items for eg cyclists or walkers?
• Extend your welcome to children and families - can they run around and make noise? How would you deal with a member of the congregation upset by the noise? Don't make women breastfeed in the toilet - let them know where they're welcome.
• The work is never 'done'. Everybody is a welcomer, and it's an ongoing journey.
• Little things can have a big impact. Putting out a welcome sign and making sure opening hours are clearly signposted is a great starting point. An up-to-date noticeboard gives a good first impression.

Andrew made the point that there can be many generations of one family associated with a village church.

In Mursley, to have a building fit for the 21st century has been an enabler for much to happen, including hospitality, which can be key to the forming of community and to serving eh wider needs of a parish. To gain grants for development projects, one has to provide evidence of community support. A big opportunity for mission in Mursley came when the village pub closed and the Church Arms was opened. It has been running for just over a year with average attendance of 40 to 60, with 150 folk coming across the whole time. The church received excellent support from the diocese in responding to the objectors.

Activities in the building have grown over time with a monthly soup lunch being one of the regular ones. They have also held a Burns Night and Food and Drink Festival. These events are held jointly with the Sports Association and the Village Hall, with any profits being shared three ways.

In discussion another excellent example was offered by the parish of Wendlebury, where they offered a churchyard wall-building experience during lockdown and 25 people were trained in dry stone walling. Also having the church open with a prayer tree has been significant in a number of parishes. People have been delighted and touched to find they are being prayed for.

Buildings

Sophie Hammond from the DAC Church Buildings team discussed how we can make the most of our village church buildings. Download Sophie's slides.

“Clever planning can save both space and money.”

What can your church offer that no other building in the community can? What does your community need that isn’t currently being offered? Ask them!

Simple A-frame signs require no permission and can be regularly updated to show passersby that your church is active and welcoming.

Often there’s more than one way to do things. Start with ‘what is the least we can do?’ in terms of intervention to meet our needs and go from there.

Sophie shared two interesting case studies - St Michael & All Angels Aston Clinton's Repair Café project, and Baulking St Nicholas' updated toilet, kitchen and vestry facilities.

For more help, consider whether your project would be eligible for a Development Fund grant, and get in touch with your Parish Development Advisor.

For more information, see:

• Church building guidance on permissions;
• Statement of need guidance;
• More resources from the DAC Church Buildings team.

Churchyards

Hannah Robertson gave a brief history of churchyards. It was Pope Gregory the Great who first suggested churchyards become places of burial – with the thinking that passersby would stop and pray for the departed. Now they serve as a welcome area to your church - the first thing people see and interact with.

“Churchyards offer a spiritual place to connect with God without the pressures of entering the building.”

Alison Riggs shared some inspiring case studies and helpful links. Download the PowerPoint and a list of helpful links.

Group discussion

How can we find a balance between areas of our churchyard left to go wild and monument care? Is there a conflict?

Be careful which plants you let grow and where. For example, ivy can cause real damage. Create a churchyard management plan and find a suitable area for wilderness, then the rest of churchyard can be kept maintained – this is important for access too. Consider areas used for wedding photos, graves most often visited etc in your planning.

How do we let things go wild without looking bad or neglected?

Mowing around pavements and mowing paths through long grass to monuments or graves makes the wilded area look deliberate. It can also be best to initially tackle wild areas - for example removing brambles and weeds, and then wait and see what comes up in their space. This way you know you'll only grow native flowers that can thrive in your area.

It's important to not let things look neglected - above all, this is a place of worship, and people may get upset if a wilded area is distracting when they come to pay respects to a lost loved one. There's lots that you can do to benefit wildlife without disrupting ground level though – consider bird and bat boxes etc.

Should/could I get the community involved? How much time should I allow for community discussion?

People from outside the church can bring fresh insights. Get people in for an open day - who knows who you might meet! One church had an architect pop round who ended up being very helpful in their planning.

Community discussion can take a good few months. Everyone has other commitments so you need to give everyone sufficient time to engage, consider and respond. It's worth the time it takes - it can make a huge difference.

Their can be benefits to the church in lots of ways. For example, the church in Mursley got involved with their neighbourhood planning group and town council. They were then able to add questions into a local survey. This meant that the church could be seen within the village context, not just in isolation.

There may be other partner groups you could chat to – consider sports clubs, schools etc. And don't be afraid to approach local media for wider coverage.

How can I use my churchyard to welcome people into the church?

In Mapledurham, the churchyard is visited a lot by families who don't regularly attend the church. They popped a sign on all their churchyard gates inviting everyone to a 'remembering your loved one' service - a gentle way of letting people know they are welcome inside too.

Bishop Gavin on a recent pilgrim path near Charlbury noticed one church had a dog bowl with a tap, and another had a large water drum in church porch for walkers. These little signs show your church is alive and cares about its visitors.

Yvonne Morris, Discipleship Enabler, shared in this final session.

Threaded through the book is something that rural communities don’t seem to believe at the moment: “growth is possible.”

Yvonne shared recent research on church growth from the Church of England which delves into how and why growth is possible.

Focusing on welcome and hospitality cultivates growth – as evidenced in the Diocese of Guildford.

“Relationship is the number one thing that makes the difference – but we all know that that’s messy and time consuming and doesn’t always get us anywhere.”

There’s no one-size-fits-all response, but, as Yvonne says, “You are experts in your own community.” For example, café church may work in one context but not another, some churches have great success with Messy Church where others don’t. If you can only do one thing, and do it really well, what is that one thing in your context?

Leadership matters, but it’s not just the clergyperson. Your whole leadership team set the culture. The recruitment of a strong team, whether paid or voluntary, is key for sustainability and success. Research tells us it doesn’t have to be an employed person – a team of passionate volunteers can be just as effective.

The whole church has a part to play too – everybody has a role in welcoming and praying, and some will of course then take it further.

It’s important to focus on families, says research from Sarah Holmes at Liverpool Hope University, not just children. Very often we forget about the parents, who can leave feeling judged or even excluded. For example, families that arrive late can feel like everyone’s frowning at them, especially in a small rural congregation. Congratulating families on getting everyone out the door can make a difference!

Growth won’t happen by accident, so how can you intentionally go about doing that?

What are the good resources for children’s ministry? Any resource is only as good as how you inhabit it. Whatever resource you use, inhabit it well to get across what you want it to get across – and keep it simple.

What are the connections that you already have with children, young people and families? Think laterally – it’s not just about Sunday mornings, are there schools or sports groups, do you bump into them in town? We have some well resourced ways of connecting with schools, perhaps through Space Makers.

Who might we partner with? Lots of organisations need volunteers, so can we as a church resource the work of other organisations instead of keeping within our church walls?

How can we make our all-together worship the best it can be?

Some members reported that there is an expectation in their local contexts that growth will happen, and that that is as much on the shoulders of laity as the clergy. One person suggested having an interest meeting to test the waters of who is interested as a starting point. 

Charles Chadwick, Parish Development Advisor, shared how it can be helpful to consider the seasons and spend time thinking what ‘season’ we are in as a church, and accepting that – it’s not a bad thing to be in winter, but how can we be preparing for spring? Charles also shared that he is available for discussion on rooting ourselves in the Christian tradition and how that looks in our context.

Do we follow up enough on baptisms? For example, could we offer a social bringing each year’s cohorts together again? Whatever we assume about the reasons families come for baptism, they still came and that’s brilliant! Another suggestion was a card on the first anniversary, or inviting the families along to prepare and to follow up together so they build their own community. Give postcards or flyers inviting families to the ‘next thing’, whatever that is, at their baptism and remember relationship is key. It takes at least six personal invitations to get someone to come to a social in a church building! We can push more than we think we can.

Church schools aren’t always an open door – but it is worth putting the time into rebuilding relationships before launching in with invitations. Cake always goes down well!

Utilise nature – churchyard nature trails, for example, are a low pressure way to get children into church activities. Eco Church also has some suggestions as you work through their framework, and can help keep you focused. Children are often eco warriors!