So What is 'Pioneering'?

I get asked this question a lot! And several people have asked me to share what it is that I actually do as a pioneer minister for the Church of England. Well let me start with one of my favourite Bible verses that seems to sum it up really well:

“Do not remember the things that have happened before.

Do not think about the things of the past.

For I am about to do something new.

See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?

I will make a pathway through the wilderness.

I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”

(Isaiah 43:18-19)

Pioneering is, by its very nature, quite difficult to define, as it tends to look different in every community because it’s all about helping people to connect with God in the context where they are at. The Church of England has however recently put together a working definition of pioneering (taken from www.cofepioneer.org) which provides a helpful starting point:

“Pioneers are people called by God who are the first to see and creatively respond to the Holy Spirit’s initiatives with those outside the church; gathering others around them as they seek to establish new contextual Christian community.”

For me, pioneering is all about doing something new; it’s about going out and taking risks; it’s about finding opportunities to connect with people outside of church; it’s about seeing where God is already at work in the local community and joining in. It’s not about getting people to come to church on Sundays but about discovering and creating new ways of being ‘church’ with those who don’t go to church and probably never will. For this reason, pioneer ministry often remains unseen by the regular church congregation as it tends to take place outside of church buildings and services.

At the moment, pioneering in my context involves running a weekly after school Lego Club for families at a local primary school, which starts with a Bible story or theme, followed by a 'so what?' section to draw out the relevance of the story to today's world, followed by 3 or 4 timed Lego challenges based on the story (e.g. for Noah's Ark, the first challenge was to build an ark big enough to fit some Lego figures/animals inside) and a simple challenge for the week ahead (e.g. be kind/forgive others/say sorry etc). I also head up our monthly Messy Church and run Lego Church once a month, which is like Lego Club but in the church hall and also includes things like videos, group discussions, drama sketches and Lego prayers, plus fresh coffee, cakes and pastries! I am also currently exploring the opportunity to train as a volunteer chaplain with Hampshire Constabulary and am interested in developing a kind of chaplaincy/prayer spaces offer to two local primary schools and an FE college where I am based.

I hope that helps create some kind of picture as to the kinds of work I'm currently involved in. Do contact me if you have any questions or would like to know more about anything mentioned above...!