A7 Local Ministry and Mission Review: Pastoral Reviews

Local Ministry and Mission Review: Pastoral Reviews

Local Ministry and Mission Review (LMMR) brings together Ministerial Accompanied Self Appraisal (MASA) and Pastoral Reviews of local churches. 

The proposals for the new style Pastoral Review were brought to the meeting of Synod in March 2005 and accepted overwhelmingly.  This guidance on Pastoral Reviews has been amended in the light of practice over the last few years and because of the introduction of Local Ministry and Mission Review. 

The Pastoral Review approach is essentially a form of ‘accompanied self-appraisal’ for churches.  They are encouraged to reflect on their achievements, their current life, and their hopes and aspirations for the future.  The churches themselves:

• write a report and agree an action plan for the next few years which could include Local Mission Pledges;
• share drafts with the visitors who are known as Companions; and
• revise them in the light of the discussions. 

The report will be prepared by each Elders’ Meeting and agreed by the Church Meeting.  They will be updated every three years.  When there is a ministerial vacancy it will be reviewed and form the core of the Pastorate Profile prepared for a prospective minister.  It will contain additional information, such as photographs.  The Pastoral Review report will usefully form the basis of a more frequent review for the church’s own use. 

PASTORAL REVIEW REPORT

The report may be presented in various styles but would normally contain five elements: 

1    The mission of the church:

• acknowledged strengths and weaknesses;
• hopes and fears;
• dreams for new life and work;
• the local community setting. 

2    The current life and work of the church:

• the worship life of the local church;
• its programme of education for children and adults;
• community outreach in witness and service;
• social action;
• any environmental activity or concern. 

3    The resources of the church:

• number of people attending services and other events and activities;
• the number, roles and election procedures of Elders;
• the structure of committees and other groups;
• its finances (last year’s accounts, note of investments and budget);
• the availability and suitability of its buildings for worship and other activities and events;
• (NB not the survey report – see note at the end of this guidance.)
• the provision of ordained ministry. 

4    The links of the church including its Mission Partnerships:

• with other United Reformed Churches;
• its ecumenical relationships;
• its world church (or Commitment for Life) links;
• its links with people of different faiths. 

5    An action plan giving a response to the report. 

[Recently produced Pastorate Profiles could evolve into the Pastoral Review Report.]  

PASTORAL REVEW

The Pastoral Review is in three stages.  These are: 

• a briefing session for the officers (Minister, Secretary & Treasurer) and as many as possible of the Elders from each church due to participate during the following year, plus as many of the Companions who will be involved as possible;
• a meeting some months later when the Companions would meet the Elders to share the draft report and action plan which the Elders had written since the briefing session, and forwarded to the Companions prior to the meeting.  Following this the Elders would finalise the report and action plan. The action plan would include aims and goals for the local church with requests for help from Area or Synod, where necessary, to achieve those goals.  During this time there would be further consultation with the Companions as appropriate;
• a presentation session at a Church Meeting to agree the revised report and action plan prepared by the Elders.  The Companions would attend this meeting if requested. 

The church will send copies of the report and action plan to the Area Pastoral Review Co-ordinator.  This is later shared with the Area Pastoral Committee.  The Committee may wish to share a summary or some highlights with other churches in the Area as part of ‘Sharing Our Stories’. 

COMPANIONS

A pool of trained Companions has been established, but more are needed.  They work in pairs, ideally mixing ordained and lay, male and female, older and younger partners.  They are recruited and deployed by the Area Pastoral Review Co-ordinator who is a member of the Area Pastoral Committee.  Members of Pastoral Committees and ministers help to identify people who are suitable for training as Companions. 

Companions will need skills in listening and interpretation, and experience in gently challenging churches to help the process of honest self-appraisal which is both supportive and critical.  They should be able to help if editing or re-wording is required. They will know how to help churches access human and financial resources for their plans (from United Reformed Church, ecumenical or other sources).  In order to use the most suitable people in the Areas, they will not necessarily be church representatives to Synod or Area meetings.

SPECIAL CASES

1          In a shared or group pastorate (wherever there are separate Elders’ Meetings) each local church will undertake pastoral reviews in parallel. 

2          Where a church is in a Local Ecumenical Partnership (LEP) it is expected that the Pastoral Review will still apply; an appropriate non-URC Companion will be part of the team in such cases. 

The monitoring of the ecumenical arrangements remain the primary responsibility of the Sponsoring Body of each county Churches Together; because the status, constitution and circumstance of each LEP varies, the Pastoral Review will be adapted to each one. 

Note:  The regular surveys of church buildings and manses is undertaken under the auspices of the Synod Resources Committee: see Section E1 of this Policy Document.