FIXED TERM POST

Southampton Deanery has begun an ambitious and exciting journey to grow a diverse range of fresh expressions of Church across the city. A new Bishop’s Mission Order (BMO) called ‘Southampton Pioneer Connection’ has been established to provide a framework for resourcing lay pioneers and growing fresh expressions of church across the deanery.

We are looking to recruit a Lead Pioneer Minister for Maybush. The successful applicant will be invited to:

• Engage in fresh-start pioneering in Maybush, and grow a fresh expression of Church;
• Oversee a small residential community of trainee lay pioneers based in Maybush;
• Share the leadership of ‘Southampton Pioneer Connection’.

The parish of Maybush incorporates a large urban estate with a population of 26,000 people, originally built to house those moving out of the city centre after Southampton had been extensively bombed during the Blitz. This area has significant levels of deprivation, where issues associated with poverty are common – including child poverty, social housing, single parent households and single occupancy households. This parish has the lowest attendance per capita in the diocese; two smaller congregations have recently joined a third to meet at St Peter’s Church. All Saints’ Church has a well-used community hall with good facilities, where a brand new café church congregation meets.

The Lead Pioneer will be based in Maybush in a three-bedroom house with study and garage.

The lay pioneers will be share another house in the parish.

Our Vision and Priorities

Our vision is that within three years, twenty pioneering initiatives will have started on their fresh expression journey, in partnership with local pioneers, churches and communities. We anticipate that each of these initiatives will look and feel very different, although we aim to prioritise the unchurched, to engage significantly with the missing generations, to nurture sustainable lay leadership, and to develop excellent support structures. This vision will be resourced by two Lead Pioneer Ministers, two Pioneer Advocates, a team of voluntary Associate Pioneers, a wider community of pioneers, and a very supportive deanery.

Our vision is to resource and release a network of lay/ordained pioneers, to grow and lead fresh expressions of church which emerge organically from within their contexts, as we engage intentionally, missionally and relevantly in our communities.

With this in mind, we hope that over the next three years of this project we will see:

• 20 new fresh expressions of church start the fresh expressions journey;
• 20 participants in each fresh expression of church;
• 35% of participants to be unchurched;
• 25% of participants to be aged under thirty;
• 70% of fxC to be lay-led;
• Support provided for new fxC to be consistently assessed as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’.

Closing date: 30 May 2019 at noon

Tour and interview: 19 June 2019

We are looking for a person who:

• Is an experienced pioneer with a heart for mission;

• Has a passion to help others reimagine church and grow authentic disciples;

• Is an inspirational leader who is able to engage, communicate well and enthuse others;

• Is able to create a safe place for openness and shared learning, encouraging curiosity, playfulness and creativity;

• Can able to think and plan creatively, innovatively and strategically;

• Has high emotional intelligence and ability to build strong working relationships with a range of people in different contexts and stages in their journey;

• Is a skilled organiser able to effectively manage resources;

• Can manage conflict well;

• Has a flexible approach to work, and ability to adapt within changing environments;

• Can take initiative; is able to work independently, as part of a team or with some direction.

Winchester Diocese

At the heart of our life is the desire to be always Living the Mission of Jesus. We are engaged in a strategic process to deliver a mission-shaped Diocese, in which parochial, pastoral and new forms of pioneering and radical ministry all flourish. Infused with God's missionary Spirit we want three character traits to be clearly visible in how we live:

• Passionate personal spirituality;
• Pioneering faith communities;
• Prophetic global citizens.

The Diocese of Winchester is an exciting place to be right now. With a grant of £4.3m from the strategic Development Fund, we are investing in missional projects across the diocese which are aimed at strategic growth for the common good. We pray that, if God is calling you to join us in his mission here, he will reveal this to you clearly as you consider this post