Venturing on new ground

The Methodist Church is investing £7,000,000 over 10 years in a major new initiative designed to reach out to young adults who have no contact with the Church.

Venture FX will recruit 20 lay and ordained people who demonstrate vision, motivation and the ability to inspire others. Over the next 5 years they will be appointed to pioneer new Christian communities among the 20s to 30s age range in 20 different locations across the Connexion. They will be offered support and training to build new, viable independent Christian congregations rooted in the Methodist tradition.

“Increasing numbers of people have little or no understanding of the Christian story and might find the idea of going to church strange or irrelevant,” said The Revd Ian Bell, Pioneering Ministries Coordinator. “This is the challenge that the Church is facing and we have to develop new models of Church that speak to people about where they are in life and the issues that matter to them. Venture FX is about tackling this head on, meeting people where they are and challenging perceptions of what ‘Church’ should look like.”

You can hear Ian talking about the scheme in the latest Fresh Expressions podcast. There is also more information about venture FX with a list of frequently asked questions on the Methodist Church website.

Churches tackle credit crisis issues

Christian thinkers came together at Methodist Church House in January to talk about how the Churches could lead the way through the economic crisis.

At a day conference they examined the root causes of the current crisis from a faith perspective and gave their thoughts on what the Churches’ role in addressing the global financial meltdown should be.

John Ellis, Secretary for Team Operations for the Methodist Church Connexional Team and Treasurer of the United Reformed Church, who previously worked at the Bank of England, made the connection between HSBC’s relatively safe riding of the economic storm and its chairman’s Christian faith.

“It is fairly safe to assert that HSBC has been the most robust during the recent economic troubles,” he said. “It is also safe to assert that the chairman of HSBC is an Anglican priest. Is that a coincidence?”

John also pointed out the growth of credit unions in recent years and the possibility of a return to basic banking.

Bob Goudzwaard, Professor Emeritus of Economics and Social Philosophy at the Free University in Amsterdam, said he hoped Churches would be willing to take part in a discussion on changing economic structures.

Paula Clifford, Head of Theology at Christian Aid, told the conference she thought the view that the economic crisis served a higher purpose was deeply offensive to poorer people who are now experiencing cuts in aid. Niall Cooper, from the Get Fair campaign against poverty, said the Church should not be afraid to take sides, get political and stand up for the poor.

John Reynolds, an investment banker and chairman of The Church of England’s Ethical Investment Advisory Group, laid out a five-point agenda in which Churches would have a stronger voice. “Ethical pressure must be applied both on companies and stakeholders at the same time,” he said.

Parliamentary Liaison Officer for Quaker Peace and Social Witness Michael Bartlet summed up the panel discussion, “We face today a choice between a political economy based on greed and consumption and a way of life which is based on sustainable and just relationships with our neighbour. This conference is an example of the practical kind of way we can work together in the future towards building a more sustainable economy.”

Audio files of the keynote speeches and the panel discussion are available online.