The South England Conference (SEC) leadership reviewed the progress of their Inspired for Mission strategy during 2024, reflecting on milestones and outlining plans for 2025. Focused on bringing “Christ to our hearts, homes, churches, and streets,” the strategy seeks to deepen connections, grow presence, and impact communities through collaborative, innovative efforts across all church levels.
Carrying out a big plan without reviewing progress is like taking a long journey without looking around you to check you are going in the right direction. That is why reviewing progress on reaching goals certainly goes a long way if you really want to meet them! As the New Year begins, one key plan for each of us to consider is the South England Conference’s Strategy, entitled Inspired for Mission. To chronicle the Church’s journey with the plan so far, some significant milestones are outlined below.
An Inspiring Inception
The plan was devised by the newly elected President, Pastor Dr. Kirk Thomas, and the Directors of the S.E.C, at the start of their quinquennium in office in 2023. In sessions facilitated by advisors Anthony Belgrave and Mfakazi Ndebele, together the team prayerfully outlined a vision based on “our core identity as a prophetic movement, preparing the world for Christ's return by proclaiming the Three Angels' Messages”. It was designed to “reignite our passion for outreach, driven by love and the hope of preparing people for eternity” so all are “mobilised” This led to the Spiritual Mission to see “Christ in our Hearts, Christ in our Homes, Christ in our Churches and Christ in our Streets.” The process for doing so was broken down into Strategic aims of “Impacting our Communities, Growing Our Presence, Integrating our Operations, Listening to Understand and Deepening our Connections.”
Since the Strategy was launched in January 2024 and it has moved through church circles, awareness has grown. It has been well received by Pastors and many members who expressed that it stirred them to be “inspired for mission.”
Reflections of Directors and Area Coordinators
One year after they first met to establish the Strategy, the President and Directors gathered again, this time, to be re-energised, to review progress made on the strategic plan in their first year and lay out departmental activities for the year ahead.
This took place from the 23rd to the 25th of September at the Hay’s Wood Centre in Kings Lynn. Together with Area Coordinators who were present for the first time, they discussed not only what had was going well and specific achievements in relation to the strategy. They also reviewed what could be improved and how to work with local churches so the strategy and mission can be achieved by everyone working together at all levels.
The atmosphere was one of earnest, purposeful reflection on the task at hand of working alongside local churches to realise the vision of Christ in our hearts, homes, churches and streets throughout South England Conference
What followed were stimulating conversations facilitated by Antony and Mfakazi that yielded important content for us all to think about.
“The Urgency of Now”
To overcome challenging realities, we must first come to terms with their existence. Mfakazi’s presentation “The Urgency of Now: the State of Christianity in the UK” was certainly eye-opening in this regard. Highlighting the example of the sons of Issachar who understood their times (1 Chronicles 12:32), Mfakazi highlighted critical features for us to understand about the context in which the Seventh-day Adventist Church carries out our mission today.
Mfakazi began with a powerful reminder that “God is calling the South England Conference to rescue the perishing.” Yet our world has changed since the days when Christianity was taken for granted as the dominant worldview. He highlighted phenomena that have become part of the scene since then like the rise of evolution theory, the effects of digitisation on how we communicate and the Covid-19 pandemic which has led to more worship taking place at home.
Among the most startling figures were those concerning a rise in non-religious identity and the numbers of Adventist young people leaving our church. Mfakazi shared that for the first time ever, over half of people in the UK under 40 now identify as not being affiliated with any faith[1] and in figures more close to home, sadly, 60% of Adventist youth leave the Church according to G.C statistics because they now have a different worldview. “Do our methods of communication resonate with the ‘tick tock generation?”, he asked.
Mfakazi referenced Esther 4:14 in pointing out that if everything is changing and our approach remains static this is not sustainable. We need “radical”. “innovative” measures to respond to the urgency of today.
Directors responded by saying this is why we cannot afford to be sluggish, institutionalised or a monument to the past but must instead be a movement for the future.
Turning to evaluation of our work on the strategic aims, Anthony Belgrave also did great work in leading the group in key discussions. This time was also punctuated by prayer as the Directors discussed key observations.
The aim of “Listening to Understand” was important for informs our approach to mission. Directors identified that it was very important to listen with compassion and establish environments where people can communicate their needs safely.
To do so, surveys were suggested and more town Hall discussions have already taken place, for example, by both the Women’s and Family Ministries Departments and more will follow. Members’ requests for Camp Meeting to be held during the school holidays were listened to and this has since been implemented.
They also recognised members’ responses Area Camp Meeting Revivals. While this was an experimental program which sometimes held challenges, the Revivals came together and were uplifting experiences identified as a strength. Some churches were thinking about making these a regular part of their yearly calendar.
"Deepening Connections" was a strategic aim that involved building meaningful, lasting relationships within the SEC and “fostering a supportive church community”, from which we can establish effective outreach.
Directors discussed how this necessitated understanding and meeting needs with compassion but this can be lacking in some church communities because of ideas about right and wrong. When we are emotionally healthy, we naturally have compassion. We need safe spaces where we listen intently with care and grace, demonstrating the character of Christ.
An idea for deepening connections was prioritising time purely for fellowship. Related suggestions were organising small groups and reestablishing the practice of Sabbath classes functioning as a units. These help us really know about one another’s welfare and do outreach together.
The group felt that rather than church becoming places to view performances without making real connections, such practices can deepen our connections.
The strategic aim of “Integrating our Operations” was designed to unify our efforts. Directors called for more collaboration and less competition within church circles because territorial mentalities have no place in the work. Better use of IT and more training, including by young people, was also called for.
The next aim: “Growing our Presence” emphasised expansion and visibility. Churches need to be relevant to play a significant role within their communities who need to know we have innovative solutions. A point was made that we need to balance being “peculiar”, distinct people with awareness of wider society so we can connect, empathise and respond to needs.
When many members are commuters who don’t live in the locality of churches they attend, this presents a challenge to the aims of “Growing Our Presence” and “Impacting our Communities”. Directors discussed the need for churches to have strategies to counteract this situation.
Also in terms of presence in the community, some buildings are dilapidated so the President identified opportunities to work on how we acquire buildings used by local churches or the Conference and make them places the public can also use. In this way, represented churches and other buildings across the Conference could become hubs open to our communities.
“Impacting our Communities” refers to active, compassionate service in innovative ways that make a difference. This category generated the most enthusiastic conversation Among Directors. Some remarked on the great need for impacting communities and that it could be done in simple ways, such as offering a warm space for people to come for tea.
They mentioned an area that needed improvement was truly being friends with people from the community even if they may not “have it all together”.
Also on making an impact, the group identified that lunchtimes at churches can be rather cliquey. Yet they present an opportunity for inviting people from the community to come and share Sabbath lunch with us which some groups have done successfully. They discussed needs to ensure all activities: prayer meetings, Sabbath Schools, fun days, etc are open to the community. Furthermore to find ways of supporting people in making the journey from attending events to having a relationship with God.
Achievements within the SEC were varied community efforts such as health expos, counselling, food banks, pathfinders and chaplaincy to name a few but the group wanted to see activities like these happening in more churches.
Pitfalls to Avoid; Risks to Mitigate
Examples of these were given which were important to note because of the potential for minimising our effectiveness, relevance and our general impact In mission. For example:
running on autopilot without engaging with the strategy meaningfully.
holding community events once a year with no ongoing connections.
failing to inclusively serve all in society, including neurodiverse and marginalised people.
fear of innovation and procrastination regarding decisions, that delays action and hinders us in making the most of opportunities.
Internal opposition to necessary improvements, causing stagnation.
Conflict and competition that can impact our focus.
Impatient, judgemental mindsets towards visitors which has been flagged repeatedly due to potential harm to impact if we are perceived as unwelcoming.
The Directors appreciated recent work the Church as a whole has carried out and that we are beginning to move from an awareness of the Inspired for Mission Strategy to exploring it. However, it was time to go further so it becomes embedded in the life of our Church. The hope is that the Church as a whole will become a leader in mission with a lasting influence that stands the test of time.
To this end, there was a desire for everyone in the SEC to be engaged with the Inspired for Mission Strategy in 2025 and beyond. A plan was made to engage local Pastors so we could all “be on the same page” before the year was out.
Additional Workers’ Meeting
The plan materialised on November 7th 2024 when Ministers and other workers of the SEC gathered for a meeting about the Strategy. Attendance at this additional meeting was acknowledged as an encouraging demonstration of commitment.
Like the Directors, ministers enthusiastically discussed the idea of making the 4 mission areas (Christ in our hearts, homes, churches and streets) themes for each Quarter and a plethora of ideas.
Finally, Some Words from the President
Here are some thoughts regarding the strategy President Thomas shared at these meetings that will encourage us all for the task ahead. He assured everyone that if we can catch this vision, it will revolutionise our churches and to “think possibilities, not constraints”. Pastor Thomas also emphasised the importance of trusting our teams, believing there is power in prayer, committing to the mission and having faith like Caleb and Joshua.
We were not to allow fear to dominate. If something didn’t go well, try again because this is a learning process. It was not going to be “an overnight thing”. We can’t expect to engage people in the community without a relationship with them: “making an impact in communities is always built on relationships and takes time, sometimes years”… “There are no shortcuts”. We are now starting to understand. “Let’s see where we can go next year…. Put the work in and we will see the rewards.”
The Story Continues…
This exciting story continues to unfolding before our eyes and it continues by each of us playing our part.
Next Steps We Can All Get Involved In:
Personal Reflection- while we transition to a New Year, it is a great moment to evaluate ourselves regarding our mission both individually and collectively. Some statements made at the Directors’ meeting is so relevant for us all: “Everyone’s responsibility becomes No one’s responsibility” so this must be shared by all. As the facilitators said, there is a need for a group of people that will run with the vision to ‘rescue the perishing’. Is this you? Is this your local church? How can you and I play our part in our churches running with the vision?
Getting Informed- perhaps you feel the need to read the Strategy more closely, discuss it further in local church meetings or make sure it is reflected in local church planning. Copies are available on contacting the Administrative Secretary to the President, Anna McLarty, and the Personal Ministries Department can inform us of useful training and available resources.
Collaborative Action- work with local church leadership in carrying out mission areas to promote Christ in hearts, homes, churches and streets.
To aid us in reflecting on the Strategy, generate a groundswell of ideas and motivate each other in 2025, the SEC Media Team has a simple activity through which churches can join in with the discussion. They will be asking churches to produce short 3-minute mobile phone videos in which local ministers and leaders share what the 4 mission areas mean to them and how their churches are fulfilling these on the ground with practical examples.
The leadership also hopes as many people as possible will make every effort to attend the Evangelism Expo on Sunday the 12th January entitled Proclaim! and that we will start the year by getting fully involved. So let’s all say it together: GO SEC: Inspired for Mission!
by Divinia Reynolds
[1] Office of National Statistics, 2021.