Our vision.
Creating communities of wholeness with Christ at the centre – what’s it all about?
Our vision
is to play a part in realising what Jesus
called the
“kingdom of God” in the part of south west England
covered by the Diocese of Bristol. There are various ways we
feel we are called to do that.
First,
we believe this is best done with each other in
communities. These might be as part of a local parish church
or a church school, a community action or youth group inspired by
Christian faith, in the work place or in social networks. We
see the Trinity, where the diversity of the Father, the Son and the
Holy Spirit relate to one another in the unity of God, as our model for
community.
Secondly, we believe that these communities must aspire to
wholeness. In whole communities, all are accepted and valued,
everyone plays a part and we take a holistic approach to health and
life. It is through Christ’s death on the cross,
where he took on our brokenness, that we can become whole.
Thirdly, we believe that Christ must be at the
centre. It is
not about us but the Lord we serve. He is our model and
authority, our resource and inspiration. It is His presence
in the world that will make the difference.
Finally, we believe that God’s initiatives are
inspired by
the Holy Spirit so there is a part to creating these
communities. We want to encourage not only the creation of
new communities and initiatives but creativity within those with
hundreds of years of heritage. This will involve thinking in
terms of fresh possibilities and risk taking, being focused and
purposeful in our activity – and should also involve lots of
vibrancy and fun!
This is going to look different in different places but we
believe that
these sorts of communities will be growing in four key ways:
commitment,
partnership, influence
and
numbers. This is the
basis of the Diocesan Growth Programme that we would like all
communities that are part of the Diocese to engage in.