12 Objectives 2016/17 Discipling the few to reach the many Resources Interns - Identify and recruit at least two graduate interns for September 2017 Governance Much faithful work has taken place, connecting with young people, introducing them to the Lord Jesus when opportunity arises and encouraging some in their ensuing journey of faith. Annual Review 2015/16 Finance - obtain funding for two new Sports Ministers Team development - restructure to accommodate an increased focus on Sports Ministry alongside our existing youth ministry Continue to build volunteer teams for all areas of work Partnerships Sports Ministry - work with the Diocese of Gloucester and Scripture Union to become a Centre of Excellence Youth Ministry - maintain progress through Local Management Groups with existing Partner Churches Prayer ensure monthly prayer groups are meeting in all areas to support and guide the work Mission and Ministry Develop and trial replicable models of Sports Ministry in rural settings Provide training courses and workshops for church leaders and practitioners in the opportunities provided by Sports Ministry Build on the first Leadership Academy, maintaining mentoring and giving the young people leadership experience Ensure missional activities in all areas Increase numbers attending Christian camps and residentials I have come in order that you might have life life in all its fullness. John 10:10 Painswick and Stroud Area Local Ministries, Mynd House, The Highlands, Painswick GL6 6SL Registered Charity 1111077 Company 5505991
2 Chairman s report The Board of PSALMS has felt an increasingly strong sense of God s leading to refocus back onto the original vision of Sports Ministry. PSALMS eleventh year of ministry started with a bang and a wonderful ten-year celebration featuring our newly appointed Bishop, Rachel, speaking to hundreds of people in St Laurence, Stroud and sharing her own faith story and the important part that Scripture Union played in that. What an exciting evening, with Tim and Kerstin Friend, our very first Ministers, and Odele Harding, representing those like Andy and Ruth who had moved on recently and sadly could not be with us as well as lots of our young people, past and present. Review of Objectives (continued) As you read through the area reports which follow, I trust that you will get a sense of how much faithful and ongoing work has taken place, connecting with young people, introducing them to the Lord Jesus when opportunity arises and encouraging some in their ensuing journey of faith. had to step aside during the year because of new church responsibilities, and Graham Collins, one of the original Directors, decided to retire after 11 years faithful service. We are grateful to them all. Rev Dr Canon Sandra Millar, Barrie Voyce and George Collins have joined the Board. It has been a joy to observe our two Interns growing in confidence and ability before leaving PSALMS ready to take up ministry elsewhere. This is a wonderful scheme. PARTNERSHIPS It has also been a significant fulfilment of our dreams and aspirations when PSALMS began to watch nine young people in the Beacon Benefice commit to a twelve-month Leadership Academy, each with a mentor, attending relevant courses and residentials and growing in their faith and experience of leadership. It is so exciting to realise the potential of these youngsters as leaders. In the same vein, it was a joy to share in feedback from the 47 young people and their leaders who attended our second PSALMS Camp at TRAC in the summer. This is where those who attend youth clubs regularly seem to really take a step forward in their faith journey, as well as having tremendous fun, making new friends and observing the witness of slightly older young leaders. The Board of PSALMS has felt an increasingly strong sense of God s leading to refocus back onto the original vision of Sports Ministry, not instead of our existing Youth and Children s Ministry but in a way that complements it. When Ruth Graveling left PSALMS, she conducted a six-month research project for Scripture Union on Sports Ministry and her recommendations included the establishment of Centres of Excellence in key parts of the country. Photo: PSALMS young leaders in training 11 Strengthening the local ownership by LMGs of the local work, monitoring them against their own objectives and building on partnerships with other organisations. Working in partnership with others is at the core of PSALMS, not only with Partner Churches but with organisations like The Door, Kick Off Stroud, Young Gloucestershire and many others. PSALMS has been invited by Scripture Union to become a Centre of Excellence for Sports Ministry in this part of the country and will be partnering with the Diocese of Gloucester and Scripture Union to develop replicable models of sports ministry, particularly for rural areas. MISSION AND MINISTRY Sustainability - prioritise strengthening of LMGs and recruitment, training and retention of volunteers. This remains one of the biggest challenges but PSALMS is now monitoring this closely through its dashboard and it is encouraging to note that in virtually every area and every activity there are regular volunteers. There is undoubtedly progress but this will remain a priority. The LMGs are generally working well and taking responsibility for their local work. Discipleship - increase the intentionality of moving young people and Interns along the One Life scale of discipleship. As listed above this has undoubtedly been true of the Interns this year but the Photo: PSALMS young leaders introduction of the Leadership Academy and the increased numbers on residentials have ensured that it is true for many of the young people as well. The aim is to increase numbers attending a relevant residential experience through PSALMS by 50% and this was exceeded through TRAC (up from 29 to 47) and One Life (up from 3 to 8) but the Pulsar Residential numbers (Years 5 and 6) disappointingly slipped a little. Explore the establishment of a young leaders programme to include mentoring/buddying where appropriate throughout the partnership areas. The Pulse Leadership Academy in the Beacon area was launched in January with nine Year 10s signed up for a 12-month period. They meet each month for an evening (with dinner) to look at and experience leadership with senior people from different fields, They have all attended a One Life residential course and Away Days, and each has an older person from within the church with whom they meet monthly to share. They do the Duke of Edinburgh scheme and most of them acted as junior leaders on TRAC. It has been so encouraging to witness them growing in confidence, maturity and faith.
10 Review of Objectives 3 Chairman s report (continued) The cloud-based system seems to be established and being well used by Directors and Ministers to good effect. Responsibility for updating the website was delegated to the Interns and showed some improvement and the overall feel was brightened up. It is probably true to say that there was limited progress in exploiting the Salesforce database. The PSALMS Board and Ministers on retreat RESOURCES Interns continue to improve the quality of intern training and expectations of them. For a second year, PSALMS recruited only university graduates as interns in 2015/16 which led to enormous benefits for everyone involved. Elliot Grove and Becky Elliott contributed in so many different ways throughout the year as their confidence and experience increased, both stepping outside their comfort zones on many occasions, but feeling well supported in doing so. They benefited from the diverse opportunities within PSALMS and a programme tailored to their gifts. They both separately took increasing responsibility for running lunchtime clubs in schools; together they developed the programme for the Pulse Games in the summer and much else besides. More importantly, they both grew in their faith, their abilities and confidence in a way that was exciting to behold and both have now gone on to Christian ministry elsewhere. Sadly, PSALMS received no applications for 2016/17 which seems a serious waste of a great opportunity. The university placement students also contributed significantly and will (hopefully with two additional students) continue through this year. IT maintain progress in use of cloud-based systems, improve the website, exploit Salesforce. GOVERNANCE Financial Strategy each LMG taking responsibility for its own finance and achieving a budgeted breakeven (other than the cost of the intern programme). All areas other than Stonehouse, which poses a more difficult challenge, managed to increase their income to cover the cost of ministry in their area. Particularly encouraging was Nailsworth where there was a significant increase from the previous year. PSALMS overheads increased somewhat with the appointment of a part-time General Manager and some administrative support but this, and the shortfall in Stonehouse, were more or less covered by general income to achieve a modest surplus. Developing the team - strengthen communications internally and externally. Appoint a part time General Manager. PSALMS carried through with the intention to appoint a half-time General Manager with Fiona Gill stepping into this role to excellent effect, not least in the area of communications. The Board decided in January that, if they were to position PSALMS to become a Hub of Excellence for Sports Ministry following the departure of Andy Harding and Ruth Graveling, they should appoint a Director of Sports Ministry to provide both capacity and experience. Rob French will join PSALMS in January 2017 in this role. Two of the clergy Board members, Helen Sammon and Mike Smith, In order to respond to an invitation from Scripture Union to pioneer this idea, the Board agreed, in a huge step of faith, to recruit a Director of Sports Ministry. Subsequently the Diocese of Gloucester, as part of their visioning for the next five years, were prepared to partner with PSALMS and Scripture Union and, as I write, plans are being put in place to bring it about. It is amazing how God seems to be pulling together all sorts of random threads to make this possible and the Board are currently considering (as another step of faith) the appointment of a further Sports Minister. All this is only possible because we now have a General Manager, Fiona Gill, who can oversee this rapid growth and change whilst ensuring that our existing work does not suffer. It seems that our twelfth year could be pretty exciting and busy too! Thank you to you all who pray and support the work and for those who bravely volunteer. Ian Marsh, Chairman
4 General Manager s Report The future looks exciting with the focus on Sports ministry and the new partnership with the Diocese and Scripture Union. PSALMS is so grateful to the many partners who have faithfully prayed and generously supported the work, and in particular the residentials, which have been so encouraging. This year has seen a large increase in children and young people attending residentials. This is so significant as it gives space for the young people to explore their faith. This summer PSALMS took 47 Years 7-11 young people to TRAC (Tom Roberts Adventure Centre) for five days. This largely non-church group were changed by the experience and the Leadership Academy stepped up to provide valuable leadership as junior leaders. The area-wide Pulsar weekend for Years 5 and 6 was popular again this year. Steve Hutchinson from Scripture Union took Jesus the Leader as his theme. The format included a day at Viney Hill followed by a sleepover in Chalford Methodist Church for affordable fun. Once again it was a rewarding and challenging weekend, which gave the opportunity to get to know the children better. The Pulse Games took the theme of the Olympics and belonging to God s team and ran in nine schools (400 7-11 year olds). The Croft School in Painswick wrote: We had a superb morning, despite necessary last minute changes due to the weather. Flawless organisation and it was a privilege to watch 100 children co-operating, listening, smiling and engaging in all activities. Thank you so much to the whole team. This year PSALMS Ministers met with other local youth leaders and organised three regional events. These are so valuable for encouraging the young people to meet each other. The two interns, Becky Elliott and Elliot Grove, had an excellent year both with the work they did for PSALMS and also in preparing them for their next stage of ministry. One of them wrote you ve encouraged me to do so much that has developed me both in my ministry and as a human being. The value of what you do cannot be overestimated. The future looks exciting with the focus on sports ministry and the new partnership with the Diocese and Scripture Union. One thing is certain: the prayers and encouragement of PSALMS supporters are vitally important. PSALMS produces a prayer diary and would love you to receive it and pray for the work of PSALMS. 9 Nailsworth The prayer is that God will continue to work with PSALMS to constantly make an impact in the Nailsworth community. Nailsworth has seen some excellent work and breakthrough happen this year. The work at Nailsworth Primary School has grown from strength to strength with a successful mentoring programme and growing numbers attending the after-school, basketball and cricket clubs. Through Pulsar and these sports clubs PSALMS has been able to not only run Messy Church throughout the year but also try out a new form of church called Sweaty Church - a form of church based around sport, games and exercise which aims to engage the children and specifically (but not exclusively) their dads to come and join in some physical activity, bond with their children and learn about the importance of faith in their own lives. The whole year of ministry culminated in two major summer events. One of them was the TRAC residential camp for 11-18 year-olds. This year saw a most encouraging growth in the number of participants from Nailsworth, a testament to the hard work and engaging Photo: PULSE games at Nailsworth Primary nature of the activities during the year. The second was the summer holiday club, this year with a record 41 children attending. The impact PSALMS is having on the community is helping build a productive relationship with the town council-run youth club. In May PSALMS partnered with the Nailsworth Festival to put on Footy Fest, an event for young people, which was considered a huge success. PSALMS s relationship with the local churches has really helped the ministry this year and has not gone unnoticed by all who have seen the partnership. The impact of ministry in the school has had a really positive effect on the students. As a new school year begins, the prayer is that God will continue to work with PSALMS to constantly make an impact in the Nailsworth community. Photo: TRAC 2016 Photo: Holiday Club in Nailsworth
8 Stonehouse PSALMS is in a privileged position to have so many open doors in Stonehouse. This past year working in Stonehouse has been a mixture of fantastic highs and challenges. Throughout the year there has been a constant reminder of God s faithfulness in Stonehouse through the work of PSALMS and the local churches. God has opened doors in some parts of the ministry and made everyone think about the re-shaping of others. 5 Hills & Vales Throughout the year PSALMS has partnered with local churches to provide Messy Church with an average attendance of 30. This culminated in a summer holiday club where 37 different children heard about how important it is to share Jesus s message. PSALMS is in a privileged position to have so many open doors in Stonehouse and so make an impact on the community, which doesn t go unnoticed by the schools and the town council. God has blessed and increased the ministry at Maidenhill School, where PSALMS has been publicly thanked on many occasions throughout the year for its impact on school life through the quality of sports coaching for after-school sports teams, a successful mentoring programme and providing stimulating school assemblies. PSALMS presence at the school has been a real stepping-stone in building long and effective relationships with students outside of school. The Christian Union at Thomas Keble School has developed opportunities to grow young people s faith and disciple them in their walk with Christ. This year has been one of change in Chalford following the re-formation of partnership in the village. Chalford Baptist and Chalford Hill Methodist Churches have continued in partnership with PSALMS, allowing for one day a week of work to take place in the village. Despite the reduction in time, much has been achieved in the first year of work. A new Pulsar group for 8-11 year olds was developed. Initially this focussed on the performing arts and allowed for children attending to put on a Christmas production for both churches. Following the Christmas break, the programme was altered to allow for more children to attend by including a variety of different activities each week. The weekly after-school drop-in has continued to be the main hub of PSALMS ministry in Stonehouse. The drop-in has provided a safe place for around 35 young people to come and hang out after school to play sport and chat with the many volunteers. The effectiveness of the drop-in can be measured not only by weekly attendance but also by the ten young people who attended this year s TRAC residential, where they had a fantastic time and were really challenged about what friendship is and how Jesus is the ultimate friend. The year also provided its challenges as PSALMS has struggled to maintain a weekly session at Wycliffe School, working closely with the chaplaincy team there to find an effective way of ministering to the students. Photo: Soul Spaces at Thomas Keble School In addition to this, PSALMS also ran a Prayer Spaces event in the school which was incredibly well received by both pupils and the school. It opened the doors for some really interesting conversations with the pupils as they thought about different aspects of their world, such as their communities, families, school and the wider world. The event helped them to consider their place in the world, what impact they could make upon it and the impressions they leave behind. A weekly Pulsar after-school club at Chalford Hill Primary School was very popular with young people and focussed on sports and also activities such as orienteering. In these sessions the children also considered how the Bible gives Christians direction in their lives. Above: Caption PSALMS secured grant funding from Gloucester Diocese for half a day s work each week in Thomas Keble school, meaning that the school Christian Union has developed opportunities to grow young people s faith and disciple them in their walk with Christ. Photo: Chalford Pulsar club
6 Beacon Benefice Thameshead The PSALMS Prayer and Praise service has provided a great place for those in the Leadership Academy to develop their skills safely and there is a growing sense of community. A core group of young people were actively engaged in leading different events across the Benefice, such as the Pulse Games, and were involved in leading on the summer residentials. The highlight was the start of the Pulse Leadership Academy in response to keeping and developing the Year 10+ young people. Through monthly CPAS leadership training, individual mentors, real leadership opportunities and residentials, this group of nine has grown significantly in commitment, relationships and faith. Through this, a worship group started which is now led by these young people for the family services. Bishop Rachel was one of the excellent leaders who led a training evening. Club Pulse continues to thrive with over 22 attending every session and lots of new Year 7s joining the youth club. The numbers attending Residentials have grown significantly with 19 at TRAC, 10 on the Year 5/6 Pulsar Weekend and 8 at One Life. It has been such an answer to prayer not only that so many came but the impact of these times and the generosity and prayers of supporters that made it possible. Thank you! The Pulsar Games clubs continue to be popular with KS2 in The Croft (Painswick) and Cranham Primary schools where the children have been exploring God s Rescue Plan. The Pulse Games ran as a combined school event for 110 KS2 - a morning where the children explored belonging to God s team through sport. PSALMS also ran an It s Your Move session to prepare Year 6s for their transition to new schools which drew a number to the youth club. Messy Church and Messy Fun Morning continue to thrive with a committed group of families and volunteers. The PSALMS Prayer and Praise service has provided a great place for those in the Leadership Academy to develop their skills safely and there is a growing sense of community helped by bacon rolls before the service! Over the past year PSALMS has focussed on providing regular children s and youth groups to allow better opportunities for community engagement alongside recruiting new team volunteers to support the groups. Pulsar groups have run for Years 4-6 in Sapperton and Kemble schools, supported by local volunteers. Each group has a team talk time, where the children reflect on what the Christian faith may have to say about the particular topic for the week. The Pulse Choir has had great success in encouraging group members into church with the group performing both in the church and also at concerts in the school. Games. They also made a really valuable contribution as leaders on the area-wide TRAC residential, which 47 children from across the whole of the PSALMS area attended. Schools work increased with weekly collective worship events running in all three primary schools and It s Your Move workshops for the Year 6s, helping prepare them for their move to secondary school. Pulse Games, a morning looking at Christian values, ran at all three schools. Club Pulse in Coates was increased to a three-week programme (from fortnightly), and an additional week was added in Kemble, meaning that there was a weekly Club Pulse group somewhere in the Benefice. The regular, weekly, nature of the club helped increase attendance overall, as families could easily identify when the club was running. Pulse+ continued throughout the year with a core group of young people, who were also actively engaged in leading different events across the Benefice, such as the Pulse Photo: Painswick Club Pulse playing crab football 7 Photo: It s Your Move at Kemble School