The Parish Profile of Christ Church Cockfosters
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The Parish Profile of Christ Church Cockfosters “Faith comes through hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ” Romans 10:17 !1 !2 WELCOME & CONTENTS WELCOME Welcome to our Parish Profile Thank you for showing an interest in the position of Vicar at Christ Church Cockfosters. We are excited and expectant as we move towards a new season in our life as a church community. We pray that this Parish Profile will give you a flavour of our church and encourage you to seek God’s will as you consider applying for the position. We shall be working with Rt Revd Rob Wickham, Bishop of Edmonton and Revd John Fisher of CPAS (our Patrons) to appoint the man of God’s choosing. Contents Celeste Tilley - Parish Representative Page Welcome and Contents 3 About our Church 4 Our Values and Vision 5 Strengths and Opportunities 6 Our New Vicar 7 Our Staff 8 - 9 Gathering 10 - 14 Children and Young People 15 - 18 Reaching Out 19 - 22 Praying and Caring 23 Our Buildings 24 - 25 Our Finances 26 Matt Lanstone - Parish Representative The Parish and Local Area 27 - 29 !3 About our Church We are a vibrant evangelical church situated in a pleasant As will be detailed in this Parish Profile, a large number of suburb of North London with excellent transport links to groups and activities encourage our members to become Central London, the surrounding countryside and the M25 better disciples of Christ and also welcome and share the motorway. Our church was founded in 1839, has a conservative Gospel with those who do not yet know and love the Lord evangelical tradition and is known for strong Biblical teaching Jesus. We are far from complacent though and recognise and expository ministry. that there are broad areas for development and some Our congregation includes people with a broad range of specific opportunities which are highlighted in this Profile. Christian experience and conviction who respect each other’s views, while remaining concerned for unity, evangelism and We are expectantly looking forward to the appointment of outreach based on the authority of Scripture. We are situated in the man of God’s choosing to be our new vicar to lovingly the Diocese of London, Episcopal Area of Edmonton and lead, teach, challenge and care for us. Deanery of Enfield. We have around 475 members on our electoral roll and, although the majority would consider themselves white British, we have a significant number of members from other backgrounds. Whilst our Parish is relatively small (only 22% of our members live within its boundary), we gather members from a wide geographical area. There are three large new residential developments either recently built or planned within our parish, which will provide a wonderful opportunity for future outreach and growth. We have an excellent Church school and good links with Oak Hill Theological College which is nearby. In recent years we have seen a number of significant developments in the life of our church including the planting of Grace Church Highlands in 2007 and a major refurbishment of our church hall (Christ Church House) in 2011, including the opening of The House Café which has provided us with a tremendous outreach opportunity. ABOUT OUR CHURCH ABOUT !4 OUR VALUES & VISION & VALUES OUR Our Values and Vision As a conservative evangelical church we affirm wholeheartedly the Christian faith as expressed in the Bible, the Creeds of the Church and the prayers and services of the Church of England. We want to express God’s love for the world in the way that we live and relate to others and we find the Bible a trustworthy guide in discovering God and His will for our lives and our community. Faith for us means a transforming and trusting relationship with God through Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit. Our core values are: • Word: the Bible as the source of the good news about Christ which gives faith, hope and love to those seeking God and those who follow Christ. • Welcome: the Church is a worshipping community of people of equal dignity and status in Christ in which each one is precious to God regardless of age, ethnicity, social standing or gender. • Witness: in obedience to Christ’s commission, the Church exists in the community and the world in order to share the good news about Jesus and to baptise and teach in His name, and so to make disciples of Christ. Our current Vision Verse is “Faith comes through hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ” Romans 10:17. Our vision for this year is to: • Connect people with God through reading the Word and studying it together, praying and worshipping together. • Equip people with the gospel through building confidence in the gospel, identifying and developing skills and recruiting volunteers. • Send people as gospel workers through praying for friends who do not yet know Christ, training gospel workers and by gospel-sharing events. !5 Our Strengths and Opportunities Following discussions with a number of members of our Small Groups, we have identified areas of strength which we wish to build on, and also opportunities to improve or develop ministries. Some of these are outlined below. We are also very much praying that our new vicar will help us shape our ministry and mission as is God's will. Our Strengths • We have a high standard of Biblical expository teaching • We enjoy a rich variety of corporate worship • We are good at attracting newcomers to our services • There is a wide range of activities and groups to cater for many different age groups • We have a strong network of Small Groups • Our Connect courses are an effective way of reaching out with the gospel to those seeking to learn more • We have an excellent staff team • We have an “outstanding” church school • Our finances are sound • We strongly believe in the importance of mission beyond the parish through prayer and financial support for our Mission Partners serving in the UK and abroad Opportunities for improvement or development • Whilst many newcomers attend our services, not all become church members • Our large electoral roll includes many who are on the fringe, do not attend regularly and who are not in a Small Group • There is scope for developing our corporate prayer life and pastoral care • There is currently no specific group or activities for those in the 18-30 age group • We wish to further identify and develop the God-given gifts of every member of the church family • Our church building needs significant work • New housing developments in the parish provide an opportunity to reach out to newcomers • There are opportunities for us to be more fully engaged with local churches within the Deanery of Enfield and to get more involved in local projects STRENGTHS & OPPORTUNITIES STRENGTHS !6 Our New Vicar Our prayer is for a vicar who will lovingly lead, teach, challenge and care for us. We are looking for: OUR NEW VICAR OUR NEW • A conservative evangelical with a deep personal conviction in the truth and authority of the Bible and who is open to God’s leading through His Spirit. • A Biblical expository preacher, able to demonstrate a commitment to preaching sermons and providing other Christ-centred teaching, faithful to the gospel of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. • A visionary and inspirational leader and team player with good interpersonal skills, a proven track record of being able to lead and release a large team of staff and work in conjunction with the churchwardens and PCC. • A pastor who is able to engage with, support and care for individuals within the church family and wider community whatever their backgrounds and further develop our pastoral team within the church. • A man of prayer and integrity who will teach and lead us in the necessity of prayer and encourage the prayer life of all church members. • An evangelist with a passion to reach out with the gospel to all those in our parish and beyond who do not yet know and love the Lord Jesus, working with local churches and other agencies as appropriate. • A discipler and encourager with a proven ability to develop structures which promote mutual discipling within a church family and encourage every-member ministry so that all church members are able to fully use their gifts regardless of age, ethnicity, social standing or gender. • A man who welcomes the ministry of male and female deacons, priests and lay members, including preaching to mixed congregations at Sunday services, and who supports the training of both female and male curates while being at ease with the resolution passed below. We believe that, at the present time, the unity of our congregation would best be preserved by appointing a male incumbent and so the PCC has passed the following resolution: “This PCC requests on grounds of theological conviction, as well as the need to support its clergy and maintain congregational unity, that arrangements be made for it in accordance with the House of Bishops’ Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests” Our commitment to our new vicar: we shall love, support, nurture and encourage our new vicar and seek to enable him to fulfil his calling at Christ Church. We shall commit ourselves to fulfilling our responsibilities and bring energy and enthusiasm to the work of mission and ministry under his leadership. !7 Our Staff Team and Lay Leadership Revd James Knowles: Revd Jon Featherstone: James Morrey: Michael Andrews: Glenn Mewton: Associate Vicar Curate & Director of Office Manager Director of Music Site Manager James joined Christ Youth & Student James joined Christ Church in Michael joined us in Glenn has been on Church in September Ministry February 2016 as the Office January 2014 after two the team for thirty 2016 as Associate Vicar, Jon joined Christ Church Manager.