FEATURE
IF most of us were charged with creating a Christian presence within the communities across Scotland, I suspect few would come up with our present one size fits all, minister dependent model of church. There can be no doubt that communities have experienced many positives due to a minister living and ministering within a parish. On the flip side it has meant that in many congregations the people of God have, at best, struggled to find ways to use their God given talents, and at worst have been able to sit back and never develop those said gifts.
Innovation within the Church can often be driven by fear and crisis, but as a denomination we need to be more bold in accepting that innovation is at the heart of our faith journey. In 2013 the presbyteries of Lanark and Hamilton began to develop an idea that within every parish there should exist individuals who could lead worship, individuals who could provide pastoral care and lead funerals and individuals who could think and plan new forms of mission.