Have you heard of the Five Marks of Mission?

I believe they originated with the Anglican community, but a number of other denominations, including our own have adopted them as a good guide against which to measure our church life.

They are:

To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
To teach, baptise and nurture new believers
To respond to human need by loving service
To seek to transform unjust structures of society
To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.

Conversations, research, observation will all help me draw a picture of church life in Dunfermline and Coaltown, which we can then look at together as we set about planning the next few years. Although I already have lots of ideas myself, I would love to hear yours too.
Where do you see the church in five years time?
What is your ministry in the church (everyone has one!)?
What are your hopes and dreams?
What should be my priorities?

We will pray about this, setting before God our ideas and listening for the inspiration of the Spirit, spending time with Scripture and discerning God’s word for our day, learning from the ministry of Jesus and the disciples and making connections with our own context. We will take our time – God’s kingdom has been over 2000 years in the making, so we do not need to rush. But above all, we will do this together, for together we are the Body of Christ.