Pilgrimage of Renewal – Journey to the MCSA 2025 Mission Congress.
The Methodist Church will be hosting a Mission Congress in September.
We are all invited to an engagement and a conversation that is aimed at helping us become an alternative community.
We encourage you and all small groups to be part of this conversation.
CONVERSATIONS BY THE PEOPLE FOR THE PEOPLE
God calls the Methodist people to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ for healing and transformation.
PRAYER OVER THE PROCESS
The conversations about the Pilgrimage of Renewal are to be bathed in prayer as The Mission Congress itself is a focus of prayer.
WHY EMBARK ON THIS JOURNEY?
At Conference in 2023 it was noted that MCSA has the symptoms of a dying church, i.e.
- Slow Erosion.
- The Past as the Hero.
- A refusal to Look like the Community.
- Inward Looking Budgets.
- Death of Evangelism and Disciple making.
- Lack of Prayer.
WHAT IS THIS PILGRIMAGE?
It is aimed at allowing God, through all His people and the discernment of the Holy Spirit, to set the agenda for the MCSA:
- 2023 – we focused on awakening a prophetic urgency and agency Community.
- 2024 – revive the denomination by becoming an alternative community.
WHAT WE HOPE TO ACHIEVE
- Revival and Renewal: Initiating a journey towards spiritual revival and renewal, emphasising deepened spirituality and Christ-centered discipleship;
- Mission Engagement: Encouraging the church to be more engaged with local community needs, ensuring missions are contextually relevant and transformational;
- Leadership Strengthening: Strengthening leadership through effective monitoring, evaluation, implementation, and accountability;
- Enhanced Relationships: Fostering unity, effective conflict resolution, and celebrating diversity to become a more welcoming church and
- Strategic Communication and Inclusivity: Developing strategies for better communication, promoting inclusivity, and uniting the church through shared goals and values.
PILGRIMAGE OF RENEWAL
Open and Constructive Conversations About:
- Work that God has been doing.
- Work that God is calling us to.
- What is our understanding of Mission in this era?
TIMELINE FOR THE PILGRIMAGE
- Society Conversations in April.
- Small groups to submit summarised conversations weekly from 7 April 2024.
- Submission of conversations to circuit by 30 April 2025.
- Submission from these conversations via District to Connexional Mission Unit 4 May 2025.
- Feedback from March/April meetings and Synods will be collated by the Mission Unit.
- Days of the People of God in July/August: This will be used to finalise the agenda for the Mission Congress, which meets in September.