Small church stories
All the stories shared here are true, but most have been anonymised. They are told as far as possible in the words of the person who shared them.
Story one: A circuit with eight churches becomes one church on eight sites
“It gets very messy before it gets better… don’t panic!”
Story two: Moving into a village hall leads to growth
"Since moving to the village hall, we have gained three new attendees"
Story three: the joys and challenges of creating three multi-site churches
"I really see my role, not about managing decline, but about pruning an outdated system ready for where God’s leading us next. And hopefully that will be a place of more energy; a stronger place and a growing place."
Story four: two town churches respond to God's invitation into something new
"One of the Church Councils was brave enough to write to the other Church Council, saying 'We’re going to think about our future. Shall we think about it together?'”
Story five: A Superintendent offers seven top tips for merging for mission
“I’m enthusiastic and excited for the future of Methodism. These changes are giving us the freedom and flexibility to embrace, rather than fear, the future.”
Story six: nurturing the potential of a chapel in a fast-growing village
Seeing the mission potential, the Superintendent has given a year of focused time and attention. A renovation project has already led to growth, and has opened up further mission possibilities.
Story seven: ten churches into one
Ten Methodist churches in and around Northampton have come together to form one multi-site Northampton Methodist Church. This page includes links to resources that you might find helpful where you are.
Story eight: a new circuit frees churches up for mission
The Bridge Circuit draws together four non-adjacent circuits in the Yorkshire North and East District, with a circuit employee taking care of governance.
Ten top tips for merging churches
We asked two groups of Methodist Superintendents involved in merging churches what advice they would give to others. This is what they said.