tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6068903.post-1108843286716059632005-02-19T19:51:00.000Z2005-02-19T20:22:18.636Z[71.1] MAJOR NEW MISSION INITIATIVE LAUNCHED <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk">Ekklesia</a>, UK, today: Churches in Britain are gearing up to renew inherited structures and embolden ‘fresh expressions of church’ through a major new initiative and training course launched this week. A certificate and diploma in ‘mission accompaniment’ has been pioneered by Cliff College in association with the ecumenical Churches’ Commission on Mission (CCOM). The course is validated through the University of Manchester and its originators say that it will help to shake up church life in the UK. The <a href="http://www.cliffcollege.org/college_diploma.html#dma">Diploma in Mission Accompaniment</a> (DMA), which allows people with full-time occupations to study part-time, is aimed at all those who want to use their listening and consulting skills to help local churches and Christian organisations engage more effectively in witness and action within their communities. [For general enquiries about the Diploma in Mission Accompaniment write to <a href="mailto:p.m.phillips@cliffcollege.ac.uk">Peter Phillips</a>; for application forms to <a href="mailto:prin.sec@cliffcollege.ac.uk">the principal's secretary</a>.] The <a href="http://www.cliffcollege.org/">Cliff College</a> DMA has been developed out of the <a href="http://buildingbridges.blogspot.com/">Building Bridges of Hope</a> programme established over the past ten years by the <a href="http://www.ccom.org.uk/">Churches’ Commission on Mission</a>, part of the official ecumenical body, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland. “Mission accompaniment is a new way of thinking about activating and supporting churches as they seek to become more effective channels for the Gospel,” says Churches’ Commission general secretary Simon Barrow. “To be an accompanier in mission is to be someone rooted in prayer and theological vision,” Barrow adds. “But it also to possess an eclectic range of skills, including listening, consulting, coaching, mentoring and signposting to the right resources. It’s about long-term commitment rather than quick fixes.” Cliff College is a world-renowned Methodist training institution with its roots in the Wesleyan holiness tradition. It has a proven track record of providing practical and academic courses in the areas of Christian mission and evangelism, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level. The Rev Dr Peter Phillips, Cliff’s dean of students and New Testament tutor, has expressed “much enthusiasm and anticipation” about the Diploma in Mission Accompaniment, which will enable evangelicals, those in the ecumenical mainstream and Catholics to work together. There is also an intention of engaging with ‘new churches’ and ‘new expressions of church’, such as those considered in the recent headline making Church of England report, Mission Shaped Church. “Building Bridges of Hope, which is accompanying churches at local, regional and national level as they pioneer in mission, shows that Christians of very different backgrounds can work creatively together,” says BBH director Terry Tennens, a Baptist minister. “Those involved in delivering the Diploma in Mission Accompaniment will initially be from Methodist, Anglican, Catholic, Baptist, Reformed and Mennonite-related traditions”, he explained. “It is open to all those who want to discover how to animate the Gospel afresh in a changing world, and who are prepared to put some real backbone into it. The Diploma in Mission Accompaniment begins in September 2005 and is recruiting students now. It will be highlighted at the forthcoming Churches Together in Britain and Ireland Assembly, which takes place in Swanwick from 21-25 February. Also to be launched at the CTBI Assembly is a new Grove Booklet on ‘Mission Accompaniment’, written by the Philip Walker, who is the founder of <a href="http://www.the-park.net/bcga/magazine.html">Healthy Church UK</a>, an ordained Elim Pentecostal minister, and the Natural Church Development partner for Britain and Ireland. Priced £2.75, it can be obtained post-free through <a href="mailto:sales@grovebooks.co.uk">sales@grovebooks.co.uk</a>. Building Bridges of Hope, which bases its work on the most extensive research survey of local mission initiatives ever carried out across Britain and Ireland, stresses that the Diploma in Mission Accompaniment is “not a tool of one approach or package.” Rather, it is designed to be an open resource for all the churches. BBH is also looking at partnership opportunities with learning institutions in Scotland, Ireland and Wales to encourage and develop mission accompaniment as a methodology. It co-sponsored a recent London conference on mission consultancy, and it has worked with the Catholic Agency to Support Evangelisation (a body set up by the Bishops of England and Wales) as well as with evangelical, Anglican and Free Church bodies. Comment on this post: <a href="mailto:buildingbridgesofhope@yahoo.co.uk">BuildingBridges</a> [Nb. Content is not necessarily the view of CTBI/CCOM]Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14398935752431672581noreply@blogger.com