ISR is a diverse organisation, engaged in a wide range of social, economic, environmental and other activities. Some are described here.

St Pauls Church Southville

Sandra O'Shea
The Mission Support Group is currently working with the St Paul's church to explore the potential for engaging with local residents, and to use the church as a venue for community activities. The church yard is used as a short cut for people walking to and from work each day. During March 2006, members of the congregation, with the assistance of ISR staff, conducted a brief survey of people's thoughts as the journeyed to and from work. Each day we asked people a different question around what they thought about their local neighbourhood: what like, what they thought it needed, whether they would use the church for any activities. The results showed that most people liked where they lived, and would be happy to use the church building for a variety of activities. The work is still in progress and will build on the findings of the survey. Whether or not the church is used for any particular function is still to be decided. Even so, the exercise of asking people the survey was valuable as a means of relating to people, and has given the church community a stronger focus. A copy of the findings can be found here

Total Ministry

Sandra O'Shea
Total Ministry is an approach to church life that takes seriously the Ministry of the Baptised. In brief, the important features are that it helps create a sense of growth and change in the lives of those involved. People are called to ministries within their faith community, and frequently talk of doing things that they had never thought possible, of being recognised and of experiencing profound encounters with others that affirm their faith.

In July 2005, ISR arranged for a group of twelve people from the Bristol and Bath and Wells Dioceses to travel to New Zealand to experience an example of Total Ministry. Funding for the trip was provided by the Temple Trust, The Diocesan Parish Development Team and the Bath and Wells Diocese.

The purpose of the visit was partly to identify whether the approach could work in this country. The group found a great deal of inspiration in the stories they heard, but also recognised that there would be some issues in translating it to our culture. Primarily, these would focus around decisions of local ordination and the shift required in the leadership of our existing churches. Also, some of the parishes visited were still struggling with how Total Ministry contributed to their mission activities.

As well as New Zealand, Total Ministry is happening USA and Australia and also being explored in Scotland. All of these examples require significant resourcing (including appropriate organizational structures) and the same will be true for us. The team continue to meet to see where we go next.

Mission support

The Mission Support Team was created as an ecumenical support resource for churches in their mission work through a network of practitioners with the team at the centre, drawing in others where needed.

In preparation for a focus on mission, the team typically works with a church or group of churches to establish a review of their current model of church and their ministries.

Mission Support is based on the understanding that for any community to be engaged in mission; it needs to be outward moving, relational, renewing, and transforming. We seek to build on an appreciation of existing ministries, developing their stories and experiences.

The Mission Support team seeks to address the limited capacity within churches in being able to engage with those outside the church walls. We recognise that mission is key to growth and the fulfilment of the Gospel imperative to be part of God's Mission to the world.

Mission support offers churches external facilitation in considering the ‘how, what, when and why’ of Mission. The aim of this process is to enable the local church community to revision themselves and clearly define their future.

The Mission Support Group works in churches as they strive to increase their relevance and involvement in the world around them. Typically this means meeting with key church leaders (not just the minister) and taking a group of people through a process that helps to clarify how people think of their church: the purpose and calling of their ministry and the gifts that individuals bring to making these a reality.

Practical approached work best. The team generally encourages churches to tell their story as a worshipping community and to ground this story in their own experiences. Once this has been done, a church can then begin to identify what it is 'for' which in turn can lead to a plan of action -- whether this involves prioritizing their ministries, resourcing and training, developing new work, rearranging their administration, or even changing the pattern of worship to make it more available to others.

Throughout this process, the needs and capacity of the church is the driving force: decisions are taken by the church, not by the Mission Support team.