Chapter Four - Resourcing Ministry

Earlier chapters in this Report have focussed on the theories which underpin a review of ministry in the Diocese of Ely. Everything you have read so far points to the development of Local Ministry Teams, working together as members of the one body, sharing burdens and supporting and encouraging each other. This fourth chapter envisages that the localities for teams are already identified. People are in place? But ideas without ways of carrying them out remain just that - ideas. So how do we move from a group of people to an effective team?

How do we enable a ministry team to function at its best?

1. We begin by identifying gifts already present in the embryonic team. We try to identify them without allowing ourselves to be sidetracked by the role or function people already have within the community. Gifts will need to be developed in those who already exercise a distinctive role, by those who play their part in the local setting. All potential team members will have gifts to be identified and developed.
   
2. Fellowship and worship - as well as formal and informal learning - will all contribute to this development. We are not filling up empty vessels - rather encouraging natural growth. We are not prescribing actions nor enforcing learning, but seeing all these aspects as part of the regular diet we need for healthy community life.

How do we assess the development needs of each team member, and relate them to the needs of the church - locally and regionally?

3. Each team member will need to answer the key question "What can be my distinctive contribution?" As well as existing competencies the answer should include a new area of ministry. Team members should be encouraged to consider their priorities for development and to value experience, integrating it with new learning.
   
4. Teams should be built to include both lay and ordained members, stipendiary and non-stipendiary, paid and voluntary, with differing kinds of authorisation. Among the shared experience of such teams will be knowledge and understanding of our faith, communicating the faith and the building up of communities. Every team member is both learner and teacher, for everyone has valid experience.
   
5. Team members will need knowledge and skills to perform the tasks allotted to them, a continuing growth in the understanding of the faith, and suitable interpersonal skills.
   

How will all this learning and teaching be resourced?

6. Local experience is invaluable. The Diocese will build on experience already gained by providing suitable training courses in the areas of expertise required. Many such courses already exist within the Diocese and others will be established. We should also look for suitable courses offered locally by schools, colleges and universities, and at the availability of distance learning opportunities.
   
7. Learners will use the opportunities offered by some television programmes, the radio and the internet. Books, magazines, videos and CDs are available on a whole variety of subjects, and the Diocesan Resources Centre can help with both materials and advice. "One-off" training days and evening meetings can be arranged to meet specific needs; details of these can be found in the Diocesan Mailing, Manna and The Ely Reader and on the diocesan web site. Both "shadowing" and "mentoring" can be arranged as appropriate for the individual and the team. However, there needs to be continuing assessment of the effectiveness of these opportunities and analysis of success in meeting the priorities already identified.
   
8. We need to remember that local ministry teams will be based in a variety of situations; the parish, the workplace, hospitals, schools, colleges and prisons; and possibly in less familiar settings such as chaplaincy in shopping malls and leisure centres. Our resourcing must take this into account. We must reflect the range of learning styles, the varied settings for ministry and take a flexible approach to training, in the delivery and facilitation of opportunities.

How can we identify the distinctive contribution of each team member and how does that relate to the calling of the whole church to minister?

9. Ministerial Review for all licensed ministers (clergy and Readers) will help identify both skills and needs. By the same token, Parish Review can help acknowledge the skills of all church and community members. We therefore commend the initiatives currently being undertaken in these areas. It needs to be continually stressed that those in authorised ministry represent and enflesh the calling of the whole church to minister.
   
10. Team members need to regard training as an investment, and to maintain their own motivation and personal development, through study, learning and prayer. Diocesan educational resourcing needs to provide consistent opportunities and assistance. Furthermore, what works well needs to be highlighted, celebrated and repeated. We need to share across communities in order to build on each others experiences.
    
11. The issues surrounding the costs of training and the time investment are not dealt with here, but will be considered as part of the implementation process.There will need to be continual monitoring of the need for resourcing, and this will be part of the discussion in Chapter Five of this Report, to which we now turn.

Contents

• Foreword by the Bishop of Ely
• Introduction by the former Bishop of Huntingdon
• Chapter One Context and Challenges
• Chapter Two Licensed and Authorised Ministry
• Chapter Three Local Ministry Teams
• Chapter Four Resourcing Ministry
• Chapter Five Structures
• Recommendations
• Bibliography
• Appendix

Downloads

• Report in PDF Format
• Report in Word Format