Successful Church Planting: A Case Study by the staff of the (Resource) Strategy and Development Unit in consultation with the Revd Azariah France-Williams, Curate, St Francis Church, Dalgarno Way (Diocese of London) 1. Introduction This case study explores how a church plant from Holy Trinity Brompton has helped to revitalise the ministry and mission of St Francis church, Dalgarno Way. St Francis church is situated in one of the 15% most deprived wards in England. The Dalgarno Way estate is densely populated, ethnically diverse and suffers high rates of longterm unemployment, with 29% of residents possessing no qualifications. Anti-social behaviour by young people is common. The church was commissioned in 1936 as a mission chapel for the Dalgarno estate. Its ministry and mission was effective initially but then went into a steep decline and the church was closed for many years. In the late 1990s the parish boundaries were re-drawn to bring St Francis into the same parish as St Helen s church, North Kensington and, in 2004, a small team of people from St Helen s arrived at St Francis to try to revitalize the church. The St Helen s team embedded itself in the community and laid down a firm base for the church s future ministry and mission, raising substantial funds along the way in order to make the building safe. However, in February 2009, the priest who had led the team moved on to another post and there followed an interregnum of 18 months. During that time the congregation of 25 shrank to about 10. The congregation was led by three lay ministers but all were in full-time employment and the time that they had available to serve the church was limited. The parish had insufficient resources to pay for a priest and there was a sense of losing hope in the future. 2. Church Plant Following discussions initiated by the Bishop of Kensington with Holy Trinity Brompton and St Helen s church, North Kensington, it was agreed that Holy Trinity Brompton would second one of its curates to St Francis for a period of three years. At this time, Azariah France-Williams was completing his training to be an Anglican priest, having previously been a Pentecostal minister and having gained broad missional experience. Azariah knew that he would be going to Holy Trinity Brompton as a curate but, in the event, Nicky Gumbel asked Azariah and his wife, Anna, if they would go straight to St Francis as leaders of that church. Azariah and Anna were commissioned in July 2010. Their ministry was designated as a fresh expression and Azariah highlights the fact that this gave them a level of autonomy. A memorandum of understanding was drawn up which set out that Holy Trinity Brompton would line manage and resource their ministry. The St Francis initiative differed from a traditional Holy Trinity Brompton church plant in the following ways: 1
Azariah was a deacon, not a priest, at the time that he was appointed and was on secondment from Holy Trinity Brompton which, he notes, meant that trusting relationships had to be forged across all the parties so as to promote a common purpose for mission ; Traditionally, church plants from Holy Trinity Brompton have sent a team of at least 40 people and, generally, they know each other very well in essence, a small community. In this case, the church plant consisted of Azariah and Anna and two other couples, none of which knew each other previously; Holy Trinity Brompton had not previously planted a church where the lead minister had no track record with Holy Trinity Brompton. 3. Factors Leading to Growth Azariah has identified the following key factors which have contributed to the success of the church plant. Learning about the demographics Azariah and his wife and the two other couples were planted into a congregation which consisted largely of those who had joined from St Helen s North Kensington and one or two estate residents. Beyond the congregation, the majority of the residents of the estates had no voice in the church and no engagement with it. And beyond the Dalgarno Way community were those who were investing in the ministry of St Francis Holy Trinity Brompton and the diocese of London. Azariah realised that each of these groups had expectations of him and that there was a need for him to translate St Francis church s vision and purpose to each of them. Putting time and effort into making organisational systems fit for purpose The organisational systems at St Francis had ground down and the church plant team had to channel a considerable amount of energy into creating and updating systems so that they reflected the particular ministry at St Francis but also fitted with the systems at Holy Trinity Brompton and at London diocese. This early investment into making the systems fit for purpose helped to enable the church to move forward quickly in its mission. Identifying values. St Francis church has identified its three key values as being: Playful the church s congregation take themselves lightly. They have chosen a kite as the symbol of this value it is strongly built but can soar. Hospitable the symbol here is a cup of tea. The congregation have time for one another and they welcome strangers. Responding to God s love and to God s world. The church is trying to be as close to Christ and to the community as it can. The church has found that these values work very well and it seeks to live them out in ways that are low maintenance and sustainable. 2
Developing leadership. When Azariah asked his congregation the question What would it be like if you were a minister in this church?, the response, overwhelmingly, was that they would care for and love their community. Azariah describes this as a key moment in the life of the church and he followed it up by inviting a number of disadvantaged people on the Dalgarno estate to a leadership meeting. The meeting included a wide range of people, reflecting Azariah s keenness not to port the kinds of hierarchy and prejudices found in society into church, But some of the attendees from the estate felt so inhibited by others present who were university graduates that they felt unable to say anything. Azariah likens the situation to having an art exhibition with too many big and impressive paintings in the gallery. We needed to strip the walls bare and have a mosaic instead. To help that to happen, Azariah consulted with a number of people outside St Francis with extensive expertise in leadership and in church planting. From his conversations with them spawned the system which St Francis has now put in place, namely that the church has a guidance team (as opposed to a leadership team). The guidance team comprises four or five people with diverse talents, chosen by Azariah and including people from the estate. It meets a couple of times a month and each team member has a team of four or five people of their own to assist them in their particular sphere of responsibility. Additionally, a new discernment group has been set up which comprises members who are elected by the congregation. This group will meet a few times a year to reflect on how St Francis church can empower the grassroots in mission. Community outreach St Francis has developed a wide range of community engagement activities. These include, for example, a toddlers group, a parenting course (into which contacts from the toddlers group are feeding); a men s group; Tea at 3 a group which provides for newly retired people to meet up and chat; Alphabet Soup a writer s group which provides a safe environment for people of all abilities and at which everyone s contribution is welcomed as equally valid. Azariah says that the penetrating honesty with which people speak at Alphabet Soup testifies to how safe they feel within it. The leader of the Dalgarno Way community centre is a Christian and Azariah meets regularly with her, and with other community leaders, to pray. The church and the community centre have undertaken several joint projects, including a pantomime. St Francis runs a children s church on a Sunday and has hosted a family Fun Day. A small team of volunteers also engage in outreach with disaffected children and young people. The church also has a good relationship with the local secondary school and is in the process of establishing a relationship with the local primary school. To strengthen further its links with the community, St Francis church is appointing a new member of the guidance team who will be the church s communications consultant. The consultant volunteer is not a Christian but her children go to St Francis church and Azariah envisages that she will be able to introduce a wider perspective and help the church to keep focusing outwards. 3
Opportunities to explore faith Resourcing Mission Bulletin The church has found that the Alpha course for prisons has worked well on the Dalgarno Way estate because it is shorter and more interactive than classic Alpha courses. In addition to Alpha, the church has experimented with having small groups but found that these did not work well because people were uncomfortable with having meetings at their homes. The Deep and Wide group, which meets monthly, has evolved as a replacement to the small groups. Eden Network St Francis church was the first church in London to receive a team from the Eden Network 1 which sends missional teams to live and work in deprived urban communities, with a particular focus on ministering to young people. 4. Impact Since 2010 the congregation has grown from around 12 to 40-50 people, of whom around 80% live within walking distance of the church and about a third are from the Dalgarno estate. Azariah is keen to describe the impact which the church has on the lives of the community it serves. For example, a lady with a toddler whose partner was in prison and who had been evicted from her flat when she fell into arrears with her rent was helped through the people in the church to find accommodation and legal advice. A man who had suffered long-term unemployment joined the church through his membership of the writer s group Alphabet Soup. He has since written a hymn for the church, has found a job and his family life has strengthened. Azariah says that having a priest in place at St Francis s church has given people confidence that they can come to church. Previous occasional attendees are now coming to church more regularly. The various groups that the church has set up are bringing people in from the fringe and those who come tend to stay because they find community, friendship, hospitality and opportunities to become involved in the life of the church. Azariah says that St Francis church is trying to go the extra mile to demonstrate that people are valued and valuable and that it loves them. Looking to the future, St Francis church has recently been awarded a development funding grant of 100,000 by the Archbishops Council and Church Commissioners 2 to pay for an employee to work with young people and families in the local area as part of an ongoing effort by the church to engage with and support young people in an area where there is a high level of child deprivation. The work will include exploring fresh expressions of family friendly church; building on the church s relationships with local schools; and making community provision for children and families using the church building as a base. The work will aim to replicate the success of the children s and families community work at St Paul s church, Finchley (detailed in a separate case study in this issue of the Resourcing Mission Bulletin). 1 http://eden-network.org/ 2 http://www.churchofengland.org/media-centre/news/2011/11/church-growth-in-deprived-areas- %C2%A3100,000-research-and-development-grants.aspx 4
5. Conclusion Resourcing Mission Bulletin This case study has explored some of the factors which have contributed to the success of the church plant at St Francis church, Dalgarno Way. For further information, please contact Helen Simmons, Director of Finance and Operations, London diocese (helen.simmons@london.anglican.org). 5