Nicodemus project launched …
Time for parishes to act
By Jim Morell
“I read what was in the bulletin insert and heard what was said in church on Sunday, but I still don’t really understand the Nicodemus Project. What’s behind it? What is our parish supposed to do? What can I do?”
I heard those words from a friend following the launch of the Nicodemus Project in parishes across the diocese on Jan. 31. I wondered how many other New Brunswick Anglicans were asking the same questions. I hope the following provides helpful answers.
In approving the Nicodemus Project action plan (it’s on our website) Diocesan Council clearly said “... enduring transformational change must begin with individual Anglicans and parishes. If we are to grow in our understanding of the Gospel and in our ability to proclaim it, and if our parishes are to become stronger and healthier – then individuals and parishes have to assume the greatest responsibility for action and change.”
The first step for any parish is for vestry to make a deliberate decision to engage the congregation in an open and honest assessment of the current situation. Many tools are available to help including “10 Marks of a Healthy Parish” and “Natural Church Development.” The important thing is to pray about and talk about our ministries, identify what’s going well and what should be improved. This process puts all kinds of things under a microscope — worship, spiritual growth, fellowship, welcoming and numerical growth, structures, leadership, mission, community outreach and stewardship. A good process will ensure that a vision statement is developed to paint a verbal picture of what the church could be like in three to five years if the necessary changes were made. This vision should be one that will please God, unite and inspire current members, and signal to potential members that our church is alive in Christ.
These self-assessment processes take time. A visioning weekend might get the ball rolling but a leadership team has to be commissioned to follow-up, to develop the priorities, to propose a series of change-oriented action steps and to ensure resources are allocated to important areas. Then the whole congregation has to be involved so everyone fully understands the implications and accepts the changes that may be in store. Ideally, a new vision and transformational action plan would be approved at a special congregational meeting.
We can all be involved in helping our church/parish/congregation to use God’s compass in re-charting its course. We can ask our rector or wardens what plans have been made under the Nicodemus Project and then volunteer to help. It takes many hands and many prayers to help our parishes become healthy, mission-focused, welcoming, growing, and active in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the making of disciples.
One of the golden rules of any major change initiative is “communicate, communicate, communicate.” The planners and the organizers of any major project know well what it is all about and what is supposed to happen, but the experts tell us that much too often those most affected by the changes and those most responsible for action, remain in the dark.
In the case of our Nicodemus Project, the people who will be impacted by the program’s changes and the people most responsible for making those changes happen are the same … and we are those people. We are the people who worship each Sunday and have long ensured the presence and strength of the Anglican Church in New Brunswick by our commitment to the Anglican Church in our community.
