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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:

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
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?

The parish needs process is not designed to take up a lot of parish time, but to fit in with the strategic planning each parish engages in. The amount of time each process takes will depend on where the parish is in the planning cycle. Some parishes will already have and will be implementing a Church Development or Mission Action Plan. They may not need to give much time to the process. Other parishes will be right at the beginning of the process and may want to take more time.

The meetings offered through the Parish Needs Process are:

•A Deanery Strategy Day – an opportunity to bring a group of people from the parish together to consider priorities for a new Church Development Plan, or if one is already in place any changes that might need to be made to the plan (especially if a plan has been in place for over a year). This meeting is optional but is open to all that wish to attend.

•An initial meeting with a Mission Enabler – an opportunity for an incumbent to talk through their vision and priorities for the next few years. This is a key part of the PNP.

•A follow up meeting with a Mission Enabler – an opportunity for an incumbent and their wardens and/or leadership team to meet with a Mission Enabler to get into more of the detail of the plan. If there is a specific ministry area that the parish wishes to discuss we can arrange a specific Mission Enabler to attend. This meeting is optional but the majority of parishes take it up.

•An Archdeacon’s Visitation – the archdeacon will spend most of the visitation discussing the Church Development Plan with the parish but will also briefly view those things which an archdeacon is tasked by law to inspect. They include: (i) Safeguarding Policy; (ii) Insurance Policies; (iii) Health and Safety Policy; (iv) Electric Certificate; (v) Gas Certificate; (vi) Log Book and Inventory; (vii) Service Register; (viii) Baptism Register; (ix) Marriage Register. This meeting is not optional.

•The Deanery Action Meeting – an opportunity for the clergy and lay leadership of parishes to come together to share their plans for the future and hear of synergies emerging across the deanery.

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).