Edge Lab: Connecting Church & Community

Service Description

Many churches want to connect more with their local community and its concerns. HeartEdge is all about churches discovering what God calls them to be and do in their local context. We talk about being at the heart of the community and with those on the edge, revitalising the church from the edge, seeking out and welcoming the gifts (abundance) of those beyond the church, collaboration and partnership, finding out what God is doing in our neighbourhood and joining in. But what does all that mean in practice?! This EdgeLab is all about exploring this question together and getting practical.
 Before looking at ‘solutions’, we’ll begin by unpacking and clarifying the ‘problem’ some more: why connecting church and community is important to us, the real challenges we face, etc. This will help to shape the EdgeLab in the future.  There will be space to share what we’ve tried and learnt from ‘failure’ or ‘success’.  We will look into existing approaches to community engagement, which some churches have found helpful, asking how and why they’ve made a difference. We will work out together what the next steps should be! If your church has found a particular process or approach helpful, please come along. If your congregation is on a journey, please come along. If you are stuck, please come along. Come ready to talk, to listen, to explore new things. We will start with two sessions (the second to be confirmed) and see how long the group wants to continue.

Contact Details