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Parish Needs Process

The Parish Needs Process (PNP) focuses on a listening process; where we are seeking to listen to God, through all aspects of a parish - the church, the schools and the wider community. What this looks like will vary from parish to parish who will be each visited in turn on a deanery by deanery basis.

The goal of the PNP is to support parishes as they listen and identify their top priorities for mission and growth, which will form the heart of their Church Development Plan. The Mission Enabler Team, with its range of specialisms, will then work with each parish to help them confirm and implement their plans.

Watch to the video to learn more about what to expect:

The PNP has been phased in between 2021 and 2023 and has begun to shape how the team at Church House Guildford pro-actively support the work in the parishes in the diocese. It underpins our Transforming Church Transforming Lives vision and strategy by providing the tools to support our parishes in the actual work on the ground. 

The PNP is overseen by two teams: 

  1. the Mission Enabler Team, who meet with parishes, help them identify their priorities and form their Church Development Plans and then work with them on a consultancy basis as they implement them
  2. and the Parish Co-ordination Team, who co-ordinate the process. 

If you have any questions, please do get in touch with us – the best place to start is with the Parish Co-ordination team, and you can email them directly via parishcoordination@cofeguildford.org.uk

Listen to leaders in some parishes who have already been through the process:

FAQs

How much work is the Parish Needs Process going to be for me?
How will I know when the Parish Needs Process is coming to my parish?

Each deanery begins the process at a different time. The Parish Needs Process started in Guildford Deanery in April 2023 and will start in Dorking in June 2023. All the other deaneries have either finished their PNP or it is underway. The cycle will then begin again.  

What’s the outcome of the Parish Needs Process?

The outcome will take the form of a Church Development Plan, but what this plan looks like will be different for every parish. The plans will be as varied as our parishes. Each plan will be discussed by the Archdeacon when he comes to visit about three months after the process begins. He will listen to all the plans for a deanery, and also identify any areas of shared need or work. The process will conclude with a Deanery Action Meeting, led by the Bishop, which will identify areas of collaboration between parishes and also confirm the consultancy support that the Mission Enabler Team will provide for parishes as they implement their plans.

Our parish has completed the Parish Needs Process, what happens next?

The Parish Needs Process is a cycle that repeats every two years – and we are revisiting each parish regularly to see how things are going, and to listen again to God. We know that God is often on the move, and we want the process to reflect this, and the way that parishes and contexts vary too. This means that plans evolve and change. If you would like some support from one of the Mission Enablers as you implement an existing priority on your Church Development Plan – then please do contact the Parish Co-ordination Team (parishcoordination@cofeguildford.org.uk).

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