Latest News
Church Planting Intensive (residential), 11 to 13 October. A fully funded course for those planting NPNPs (30 places), book your place on this page Church Planting Intensive (you can also use this link to book for the 15 March 2025, online only course). We’re really pleased to have this quote from one of the course participants: ‘Our story so far is so exciting in how we have moved from unchurched community on the margins to a community of faith - on our annual community seaside trip in August we are baptising 4 people in the sea !!! Hallelujah and praise God for this - ps your prayers will be appreciated as the North Sea even in August is blooming cold without a wetsuit lol.' Terminus Community, Sheffield
Faith-Rooted Community Organising 8 to 10 November (Cliff College). Bookings for this year and 2025 (January, April, October) on this page: Faith-Rooted Community Organising. Faith-rooted organising offers a way to resource and enable people to find out where God is at work in their communities, and join in (see the feedback photo).
Read the full July/August New Places for New People Update.
June 2024 New Places for New People Update
May 2024 New Places for New People Update
April 2024 New Places for New People Update
Getting started
Beginning an NPNP is different in each context, but there are common practices that will give you the best opportunity to be fruitful. Read more here How to start a New Place for New People.
God for All identifies significant match-funded resources to help districts and circuits start NPNPs and Church at the Margins communities with the expectation that starting new communities becomes the norm in your mission planning. Resources will be distributed to each district, enabling decision-making that comes from missional readiness, not rushed urgency and encouraging sustained collaboration between circuits and districts to be bold, dream, pray, plan, and test ideas together. Planning will be rooted in the slower, spiritual practice of mutual discernment. It encourages honesty about resources that circuits and churches can contribute and celebrates a wide diversity of approaches to pioneering and planting emerging from the wisdom and contexts of local communities and leaders.
NPNP funding process
The Evangelism and Growth team, which has no project funding authority, will equip and support district/circuit teams in building pioneering and planting strategies. A Project Funding Officer (outside the Evangelism and Growth team) coordinates the funding of the process, reviews project proposals, and makes recommendations to the Mission Committee. The Mission Committee will make decisions on recommendations and provide official oversight. This process seeks a culture change in the way districts and circuits access and steward funding for new Christian communities.
Starting new Christian communities: A practical guide (click this link to open, download or print, 78 pages) contains a range of materials, including theological foundations and core practices which we believe are crucial to developing an NPNP. You can read, download and print individual chapters of the guide on this page.
We have also produced a new district Funding Submission Form to enable districts to claim their share of NPNP funding. We are currently receiving submissions from districts in Tranche 2 of the NPNP programme. For convenience, the district funding chapter from the guide can be accessed here. You may also find this simple budget template helpful.
Deadlines for submissions (these are indicative, you can agree specific submission dates with Julian Bond, Project Funding Officer, and ask him any funding questions: bondj@methodistchurch.org.uk):
- Mission Committee meeting, 24 October 2024. Submissions/presentations deadline mid-September. Report due to Committee on 4 October.
- Mission Committee meeting, 14-15 February 2025. Submissions/presentations deadline mid-January. Report due to Committee on 27 January.
- Mission Committee meeting, 12 May 2025. Submissions/presentations deadline early April. Report due to Committee on 25 April.
When thinking about an NPNP, remember Armed Forces communities which might be in or near your circuit/district. What might an NPNP community look like that responded to them? Check the map here to discover if an Armed Forces community is near you.
