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Transform your Church

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Because "healthy things grow, and growing things change"

What would it look like to do things differently in order to reach new people in new places in new ways?

That's a question that we are responding to by launching new worshipping communities; new ways of doing and being church which are all about being where people are already...

These communities form around familiar contexts and shared interests like...

A football team

A Café 

A Pub (yep, that's allowed!) 

In the great outdoors!

The one thing these communities have in common is that they exist to help people explore faith and become part of a community that grows together, learns together, and worships together, no matter what their background, previous beliefs or experience of traditional church...

Something New
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An Inspiring Ipswich Initiative - Connecting and resourcing people who want to be involved in starting something to reach new people

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Sign up for monthly inspiration and practical advice on starting something new - straight into your inbox

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4 Week Course for anyone curious about being involved in something new...

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Coaching with our Pioneer team for those interested in starting something new

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Pioneer Developer Team

Pioneering new forms of church isn't easy...which is why we have a team on the ground starting new worshipping communities around Ipswich...and they're here to help you do the same. 

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Hands-on sessions to share learning, inspiration and challenge to get mobilised for mission 

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This is an initiative within the Inspiring Ipswich project to give seed funding to churches/small teams in the Ipswich Deanery to initiate new worshipping communities (or to develop their missional capacity with a view to starting a new worshipping community) during 2021 - 2022.

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Church Planting

Church Planting

"Church planting clearly demonstrates that church growth is possible. When a new church is planted, there is now either a new church community where there had been none before; or a stronger, larger church community than before the plant was started. Moreover, if a team arriving from a sending church initiated the plant, the sending church normally replaces those sent over time, thereby encouraging further growth. This may seem to be stating the obvious but it is important to be clear about this so we are not lulled into a belief that we are inevitably facing a culture of decline."

- Church Growth Research Project, November 2013

"Church Planting is simply about starting a brand new church with a fresh imagination for what that church can look like in its worship and who it can reach. Here in Ipswich we are seeking to help FOUR new church plants to get on their feet and start connecting with people in communities or demographics that currently aren't engaged in Church. Church planting requires generosity from the sending church; prayer and discernment about the right places to plant; vision, planning and funding; a great team who are equipped to serve and get stuck in; and above all a willingness to go into new places and share good news in relevant and contextual ways. Church Planting is also about multiplying; the idea being that new churches look ahead to a future where they too will plant another church...Church planting keeps us all on our toes, always seeking to connect with more people and make room for them!" - Archdeacon Rhiannon

The sending team from St Matthew's to Bridge Church Ipswich

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Planning for Growth

in Existing Churches

Growing Churches

From anecdote to evidence

"The findings of the church profiling survey together with evidence found elsewhere in this report...clearly point to the conclusion that there is “no single recipe for growth” but there are a number of “ingredients” which are linked to growth in parish churches and can be applied to any setting.

"I planted, Apollos watered, but God is the one who has made it grow"

Churches are being much more intentional about how we plant and water, in order to see growth

Since 2019, churches have been preparing and implementing plans for growth. 

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In November 2020, in the midst of the COVID 19 pandemic, Learning Communities from every parish/benefice gathered online for a full weekend of inspiration, challenge, practical exercises and worship led by Leading your Church into Growth

We continued to gather for one day events to inspire churches by sharing stories, and getting further equipped to implement plans for growth...

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Questions we're all still asking...

How do we translate the number of contacts we make into faith explorers and new disciples?

How do we grow younger?

How do we ensure people are serving in the places where they can best use their gifts and passions?

How do we prioritise mission over maintenance?

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