Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long
as ever you can.
John Wesley
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Visit the Venture FX blog for up-to-date news and information |
The criteria by which projects from circuits or districts will be considered and the criteria by which potential pioneer mission leaders will be assessed are all available. They can be downloaded here or hard copies are available from Ian Bell.
Selection Criteria for Projects (pdf)
Selection Criteria for Pioneer Mission leaders (pdf)
The closing dates for the next Project Selection Panel will be 15 October 2010, and 15 April 2011. The application form can be downloaded here.
The next Pioneer Assessment Conference will be held on 14-15 June 2011, and the closing date for applications is 10 May 2011. Further details and application forms will be posted here on 1 April 2011.
About venture FX
The Methodist Church has always taken seriously the need to make the good news of Jesus Christ known to all people and especially those who don’t easily connect with the church. The Pioneering Ministries Scheme is a bold and exciting initiative to reach young adults with no Christian heritage. Over the next five years it is planned to identify 20 people with the gifts to pioneer new Christian communities among people of this age group, and 20 locations where this can happen.
The scheme is named venture FX to reflect its objective, which is to establish fresh expressions of church in new places and in new ways within a culture of holy risk-taking. The scheme is intended to complement the grass roots development of fresh expressions throughout the church and will add a strategic dimension to what is already happening, by focusing on this age-group and by releasing those who are identified as having pioneering gifts to devote their energy and vision to this task.
Ian Bell, the coordinator of the scheme, says, "I believe that the connexional Pioneering Ministries Scheme has the potential to release people with the appropriate gifts to establish new models of church and to offer an alternative pattern for creating Christian communities among some of the people who are hardest to reach in our contemporary culture. I am excited that the Methodist Church has the vision and determination to pursue such a ground-breaking and risky project."
The Revd Dr Martyn Atkins, General Secretary of the Methodist Church endorses venture FX by saying, 'A stated priority of the Methodist Church is to seek fresh ways of being church, particularly ways which enable groups of people largely missing from very many local churches today to encounter Christ, and his community of followers, and be invited to become Christian disciples. The Pioneering Ministries Scheme is an intentional attempt to pursue this priority in sensitive, authentic, apt and culturally appropriate ways.'
You can hear Ian talking about the scheme in an interview with Anna Drew, Lead Media Officer of the Methodist Church, at www.freshexpressions.co.uk and listen to the February 2009 edition.
Keep in touch with the latest developments by visiting the ventureFX blog.
Further information about venture FX can be found on the Frequently Asked Questions page and you can download a leaflet here with information on the scheme and how to get involved.
Ian will be happy to receive enquiries at any time. He can be contacted at:
Email: belli@methodistchurch.org.uk
Tel: 020 7467 5193
Post: Methodist Church House, 25 Marybelone Road, London NW1 5JR
