Creative Church Leadership


Two grant-funded ARC training programmes to help rural churches to develop their mission and ministry are underway. A leadership development programme to encourage entrepreneurial social action in rural churches and training to encourage a more collaborative approach to church ministry and mission in the countryside will welcome their first invited cohorts shortly.


National Training Reviewed


A major grant-funded piece of work for the ARC, Rural Life and Faith, has published national research into resourcing and training provision for rural mission and ministry. ‘Resourcing & Training for the Rural Church: surveying


the experience of contemporary practitioners & churchgoers’ identifies the need to empower and equip rural lay people. There is a lack of effective signposting and evaluation of relevant resources and training. The report highlights the very valuable network of local rural officers, paralleled by widespread denominational failures to affirm and support rural churches and ministers. ARC has already addressed a number of the key problems with new online resources, such as the new ‘library of rural good practice’. Training tools for local rural church evangelism, mission and community engagement... especially for lay people, are all on the way.


Funding Helps Mission


Arthur Rank Centre has been blessed in the last 9 months to receive major grants for our core work programmes from three grant making trusts: The Henry Smith Charity, the Garfield Weston Foundation and the Joseph Rank Trust. This income, totalling £130,000 (some over 2 years) has helped secure the ‘rural and farming’ and ‘rural ministry’ support programmes short term.


Our central mission, to support and resource the rural church and the communities connected to it, is expressed through these programmes. Ongoing work such as the provision of training and resources for mission and ministry or running the Rural Stress Helpline fall under this heading, as well as new initiatives that respond to a particular need, for example new measures to alleviate great distress and hardship in the uplands farming community.


Because this work is part of our core activities it does not attract separate funding but adequate income is vital to ensure ARC can continue to respond to issues of concern and contribute non-funded time and expertise to pieces of work that other organisations are taking forward.


New Website Live


We have hugely improved access to our many services, tools, resources, discussion, connecting and sharing for rural churches of all denominations, and their communities via a new ARC website: www.arthurrankcentre.org.uk. The Jerusalem Trust and the Mercers Charitable Foundation contributed generously to this initiative which went live on 3rd October.


The Arthur Rank Centre Stoneleigh Park,


Warwickshire, CV8 2LG


Tel. 024 7685 3060 Fax 024 7641 4808


e-mail: info@arthurrankcentre.org.uk www.arthurrankcentre.org.uk


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