Challenges

Two challenges have been issued for the Circuit. The first comes from our Superintendent Minister, Cathy Gale, who has asked us to consider a Circuit thrust of encouraging our members to take the message out of church and to bring people into church with a possible target to increase membership of each fellowship by 10%.

Also, throughout 2011 the Methodist Church encouraged churches and individuals to deepen their discipleship by focusing on the Bible. This particular year marked the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible which brought the Scripture to people in English and, when read aloud, had a dramatic effect on church attendance and people’s lives. It is of similar importance to Bishop Morgan’s translation of the Bible into Welsh in 1588.

It is, then, a good opportunity to celebrate Scripture as a gift from God and take up the challenge of encouraging people to engaging with it in fresh, life-changing ways to become effective disciples of Jesus Christ in the 21st century. We want people to live Bible lives with confidence and compassion in their relationships, workplaces and communities.

This focus on the Bible is a starting point for becoming more serious about our discipleship and reminding us of our roots as a disciple-making movement. John Wesley said we were raised up by God to bring ’Scriptural Holiness’ to the land. We want to learn how to do this in ways that deepen our love of God and neighbour and make the Bible more accessible to others.