Profile for the proposed Parish of Bradley Stoke - Are you the missing piece? - CHRIST THE KING

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Profile for the proposed Parish of Bradley Stoke - Are you the missing piece? - CHRIST THE KING
Profile for the proposed Parish of Bradley Stoke

CHRIST THE KING

                                         HOLY TRINITY

                                       Are you the
                                        missing
                                         piece?

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Profile for the proposed Parish of Bradley Stoke - Are you the missing piece? - CHRIST THE KING
Contents
A Shared Vision                                                                           3
     Two distinct churches in partnership
Introducing Bradley Stoke                                                               4-5
     Transport links create a fast-moving population
     Local employment
     Shopping
     Local amenities and activities
     Local Schools
     Other local churches
The view from Christ the King                                                           6-8

     Vision
     Opportunities
     Worship and Services
     Church Attendance
     Service Activities
     Resources
     Church Events
     Childrens Activities and Youth Work
     Church Building
     Finances
     Strengths, Areas for Development, Challenges
The view from Holy Trinity Bradley Stoke                                                9-11
     Holy Trinity Vision
     Ecumenical Partnership
     Shared leadership team
     Growing up with Bradley Stoke
     A worshipping community
     The building provides natural links with the community
     Some of our many opportunities for growth and service within our community
     A focus on young people
     The Church and School
Characteristics and Qualities sought in the new vicar                                    12

                                                                                  Are you the
                                                                                   missing
                                                                                    piece?

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Profile for the proposed Parish of Bradley Stoke - Are you the missing piece? - CHRIST THE KING
A Shared                      Vision
Would you like to apply to be the Incumbent (designate) of the
proposed new parish of Bradley Stoke?
The churches of Christ the King and Holy Trinity in Bradley Stoke are inviting applications from someone who wants
to help them to take the next step into their future. After twenty-five years of building, Bradley Stoke has grown
from open fields to be an established town. The two churches planted during this building phase have settled in,
and in a historic move, the church boundaries are going to change to create a new Parish of Bradley Stoke. There is
huge opportunity for growth within the area, with both churches being located in the centre of large communities.
The churches are committed to missional growth and have a strong desire to see the Kingdom of God reach out in
this area. Both churches have many capable members and are looking for someone who enjoys working
collaboratively, mentoring and enabling others to develop their vision and strategies during this transition. The
appointed person will be assisted by a Transition Minister (the current Priest in Charge at Holy Trinity until 2015).
As Bradley Stoke moves to a more settled community there is a need to help build disciples and to develop mission
as the church members engage with an increasingly all-age community.
Two distinct churches in partnership
Both churches started as church plants and have grown and developed as Bradley Stoke has evolved. The
congregations wish to keep their separate identities and characters, but firmly believe this is an opportunity for
reshaping and rethinking, and are looking at ways to work together.
Holy Trinity is a seamless Local Ecumenical Partnership (Anglican, Methodist and URC), for whose members
denomination is largely unimportant. Worship is highly informal, evangelical and charismatic and regularly includes
All-Age worship, Café style and an informal “messy church”. Holy Trinity has a mission to the VA Primary school that
is an integral part of its building.
Christ the King is a friendly, active Anglican church with a flexible worship pattern for morning and evening services,
from café style ‘Streams’ service, All-Age worship to the more traditional services of Holy Communion. Similarly it
describes itself as evangelical and open to the Spirit. In the first instance the post holder would be Team Vicar at
Christ the King until pastoral reorganisation is complete, which should be within the next 2 years.
Both churches are committed to every member ministry, are heavily involved in youth work with children and
young people who don’t come to church. They are well respected by the local community who make good use of
the modern church buildings during the week for coffee mornings, pre-schools and youth work. The churches are
running a joint Alpha after Easter and both have a vision for local growth and share joint acts of worship during the
year. There have been meetings of the two church councils, leadership teams and one joint congregational meeting
to discuss the way forward.

Please apply
Please apply if you think you can encourage us, inspire us and enable us to fulfil
our vision of reaching out in mission and seeing God’s Kingdom come in Bradley
Stoke.                                                                                          Are you the
                                                                                                 missing
                                                                                                  piece?

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Profile for the proposed Parish of Bradley Stoke - Are you the missing piece? - CHRIST THE KING
Introducing Bradley Stoke                                                                                     Holy
                                                                                                              Trinity

Bradley Stoke sits south of the M4-M5 junction, just to the north of Bristol. It is
a recent development that was planned in the 1970s and named after the local                                            Christ
                                                                                            Parish of                   the
Bradley Brook and Stoke Brook streams. The first buildings went up in 1987, and
                                                                                            Patchway                    King
over the following 25 years the town has grown from a settler community into                            Parish of
one where many of the people who live in the new houses were born in the                                Stoke
town. A 2011 census put the recorded population as 27,805.                                              Gifford

Christ the King and Holy Trinity churches were placed at the South and North of
the development respectively, with Christ the King being a plant from the
Anglican church of St Michael’s, Stoke Gifford, and Holy Trinity being a plant
                                                                                       Proposed
from the Local Ecumenical Partnership of St Chad’s, Patchway. Bradley Stoke has        Parish of
grown to the point that it now makes sense to reconfigure the Parish                   Bradley
boundaries and form a single parish of Bradley Stoke, to be served by Christ the       Stoke
King and Holy Trinity churches. The fine details of the new boundaries are still to
be decided, and the new parish will include some, or all, of the original village of
Little Stoke. While finalising these details will take two to three years, the
people in both churches are keen to see their outreach and impact grow in the
area.
Transport links create a fast-moving population
Bradley Stoke has fast transport links to many parts of the country. Bristol
Parkway station lies less than a mile to the south, with regular fast services to
London, Birmingham, the South West and South Wales. Having the M4 and M5
on our doorstep means that road users can get rapid access to key routes. A
consequence is that many people see the area as a ‘dormitory settlement’ and
commute to work, especially those who live in the south of the area. There are
reasonable bus services through the town, taking people to places within the
town as well as into central Bristol or out into some of the local villages.
Local employment
There is some local employment , including Rolls Royce, RAC, the Willow Brook Centre and business parks at the
north end of the town. Just outside the proposed parish boundary lie the Aztec West business area, Abbey Wood
MOD site, BAe Systems and Bristol Business Park.
Shopping
Bradley Stoke is approximately three miles away from the shopping mall at Cribbs Causeway, which is on the next
junction of the M5. Also in that area is a retail centre of larger stores including Argos, Currys, B&Q, Morrisons, and
Asda.
The Willow Brook Centre in Bradley Stoke opened on 13 October 2008 and has around 18 units. Stores currently
include Tesco Extra, PoundStretcher, Pets at Home, Pound World, Argos, Brantano, Boots, Timpsons, Dominos,
Harvester, KFC, Taylor’s Estate agency, Greggs, Costa Coffee, Subway, Logical Personnel Solutions, Phoenix Dental
Practice, two hairdressers, Carphone Warehouse, Specsavers, Shoe Zone,
Property Centre, Explore Learning, Card Factory, O2, Ocean, Santander Agency,
Giant, Anytime Fitness and Panasonic.
Elsewhere in the town there are two Tesco Express stores, and an Aldi store.
                                                                                                   Are you the
                                                                                                    missing
                                                                                                     piece?

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Profile for the proposed Parish of Bradley Stoke - Are you the missing piece? - CHRIST THE KING
Local amenities and activities                                                 Bradley Stoke has a predominantly
The town was planned around domestic residents and the car, providing                  young population1
less public space and other facilities than are normally found in an area
of comparable size and population, but there are some playing fields,
restaurants and public houses. The Three Brooks Local Nature Reserve is
an area of about 60 hectares (150 acres) in the town and includes
bluebell woods, rough grassland, brooks, ponds, and the man-made
Three Brooks Lake.
There is a leisure centre that has a swimming pool and public library,
gym and beauty salon. The secondary school next door has a large
astroturf area and indoor sports facilities that are used by local sports
clubs in the evenings, and nearby in Cribbs Causeway there is bowling, a
large multiplex cinema and restaurants. The town's local football team is    1. See reference at end of document

Bradley Stoke Town FC. The cricket club is Bradley Stoke Cricket Club.
Bradley Stoke Town Council (www.bradleystoke.gov.uk) organises an
annual festival in June each year in addition to other activities. Bradley
Stoke is twinned with Champs-sur-Marne in France, on the outskirts of
Paris. A modern residential area in Bradley Stoke is named after Champs
-sur-Marne.
Next to the Willow Brook Centre there is a recently completed
retirement complex, which provides 50 one and two bedroom
independent living retirement flats for the over 50s.

Local Schools
There are seven primary schools that fall within the boundaries of the proposed new parish: five are state schools, one is a
Roman Catholic school. The seventh is Holy Trinity school, which is run as a joint Church of England/Methodist VA Church
School and shares the same building as Holy Trinity church.
The secondary school, Bradley Stoke Community School, opened in September 2005 and takes up to 1,080 students. A post-16
centre at the school was completed in summer 2010. The school has just been awarded Academy status.

Other local churches
Other churches form a ‘Fraternal’ with us in the proposed parish - Bradley Stoke Evangelical Church and Bridge Community
Church, which meets in the Community School. The churches of the Fraternal in the town co-operate well in mission initiatives,
open air services (as part of the Bradley Stoke Community Festival), a ‘walk of witness’ on Good Friday, an open air carol
service in the Willow Brook Centre, and regular primary school assemblies.

The Vicarage
The Vicarage is a 20 year old detached house in Cooks Close, a short walk from Holy
Trinity church. It has a medium sized, fenced garden at the back with the front laid
to lawn. The house was extended about 10 years ago. Upstairs, the house has five
bedrooms with en-suites to the main bedroom and Guest bedroom and a family
bathroom with shower. Downstairs is a living room, dining room, kitchen, utility
room, cloakroom, study, office and a WC.                                                               The Vicarage; http://tinyurl.com/cwuywuu

Adjacent to the house is a garage with additional off-street parking.

                                                                                                                          Are you the
                                                                                                                           missing
                                                                                                                            piece?

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Profile for the proposed Parish of Bradley Stoke - Are you the missing piece? - CHRIST THE KING
Christ the King Church
                                                                      GROWING, LOVING, SERVING, SHARING
                                                                      We are a warm and welcoming church that feels privileged to have been
                                                                      placed by God in such a diverse community; where we have the opportunity
                                                                      to grow His kingdom by engaging with people in many different ways. We
                                                                      aspire to be a church that is growing in God, showing God’s love, serving God’s
                                                                      people and sharing His good news, in all that we do.
WORSHIP AND SERVICES
(i) The style of worship within the Church is varied to               Opportunities
accommodate differing age groups (as seen in chart below)
(ii) Participation by the congregation is encouraged in all           OUTREACH AND MINISTRY
services
                                                                      Through a number of initiatives aimed at discerning God’s will for our church, He
(iii) There is private prayer ministry after each morning service     has affirmed in us the need to be passionate and focussed in reaching out to the
 WEEK               SERVICE               ELEMENTS                    community we serve. A major part of this outreach centres around the activities
 1st Sunday         Morning Worship       Worship Band                that take place within the church and are largely run by church members. These
 AM                                                                   include:
 PM                 Evening Holy          Contemplative service
                    Communion                                         Children: Toddler groups, Pre-school, 3 Youth Groups for different ages.
 2nd Sunday         Morning Holy          Prayer Ministry during
 AM                 Communion             Communion. Keyboard.        Adults: 7 homegroups (approximately 40% of Church Family attend), Prospects
                                                                      for adults with Learning Difficulties, Craft groups, ClicktoKnit.
 PM                 Prayer and Praise     Modern format. Small        Retired: Chatroom lunch, Fit4LaterLife.
                                          worship band.
                                                                      All age groups: a thriving Coffee morning where a significant number attending
 3rd Sunday AM Family Service             All age service, youth
                                          band and choir              are from the local community, men’s breakfast, ladies supper, ‘bring and share’
                                                                      lunches.
 PM                 Evening Holy          Keyboard
                    Communion                                         Engaging with the local
 4th Sunday AM Morning Holy               Prayer Ministry during      council, police and
               Communion                  Communion. Worship          support groups and
                                          Band.                       understanding how the
 PM                 Streams               Café style worship. Small   church can play a part
                                          band.                       in supporting what they
 5th Sunday AM Morning Worship            Worship band                do. The church family
                                                                      provides food for the
 PM                 Evening Holy          Keyboard                    Crisis Centre (a friendly
                    Communion
                                                                      place for the homeless) and to the North Bristol Food Bank. We encourage
                                                                      mission partners through monetary aid and prayers.
CHURCH ATTENDANCE
The church has a multi –national, all age congregation. The socio     The church is used by the parish for many other activities, and is a good
– economic structure of the people at Christ the King includes,       opportunity for evangelism. These include:-
the unemployed, those on benefits and retired. Students in full       Children: Baby sensory, Music with Mummy, Twinkle Toes, Jo Jingles, Incredible
time education and the working household constitute                   kids (Families with additional needs).
approximately 30% of the total population. The people within
this 30% are constantly changing.                                     Adults: National Childbirth Trust, Slimming World, Young at Heart (over 50’s club),
                                                                      Local Art club, Music Classes.
We offer a short morning prayer ministry which takes place 3
times a week and a monthly Prayer meeting, both of which take         We are also active in encouraging and developing people’s journey in faith at
place within the church building. There is also an opportunity for    whatever stage they are in their Christian life. Many have benefitted from the
people to have prayers said for them around the parish, by            Alpha courses that we run and this year we will be extending this work by
accessing the Prayer Wheel, or by attending homegroups. Home          undertaking a joint course with Holy Trinity and introducing a special version of
and hospital communion is available. Prayer support is also
                                                                      the course for our Prospects group. Additionally, Network (a course which seeks
offered through the ‘Prayer Wheel’, homegroups and prayer box
– where people can leave prayer requests for inclusion in the         to identify spiritual gifts), Lent courses and homegroups, prove valuable in helping
Morning Prayer service.                                               people to grow spiritually. Church members are also encouraged to connect
                                                                      further with church life through involvement in many other day to day ministries.
The Occasional Services for 2012 were 11 Baptisms for 12 years
and under, 3 Baptisms for 13 years and over, 2 Confirmations, no      We have a long established record of partnership with other churches in our area
weddings and 1 funeral.
                                                                                                                through our Fraternal of Ministers.
                                                                                                                Events are put on jointly by this group
                                                                                                                and it is responsible for organising the
                                                                                                                schools ministry that we undertake.
                                                                                                                We bring the word of God to our com-
                                                                                                                munity through the Easter walk of
                                                                                                                witness, Christmas carols in the town
                                                                                                                centre and major evangelistic events.

              Average Sunday Attendance = 129

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Profile for the proposed Parish of Bradley Stoke - Are you the missing piece? - CHRIST THE KING
SERVICE ACTIVITIES
Children up to the age of 14 Years leave for their
own activities for part of every morning service,
except for the Family Service. Church members
and the Youth Worker lead the teaching of the
young people.

    Creche: Up to 3 Years of age
    Bubbles: 3—School Age
    Sparklers: School Age—11
    Lazers: 11-14.

RESOURCES
There are about 100 members of the congregation
(85% of our electoral roll) involved in church
services each month, from preparing the church
through to organizing the coffee after morning
services.
                                                      CHILDRENS ACTIVITIES AND YOUTH WORK
                                                      Christ the King Church pays an active role in the community and, through
We have 1 Lay Reader and 1 retired clergy, and the
                                                      our youth projects we are in regular contact with around 80 children who
congregation are involved with intercessions, bible
                                                      come to our weekly groups. We strive to continue to develop our already
readings, helping at Communion, preaching and at
                                                      thriving youth group work. We feel that engaging and educating youth in
the moment, leading services.
                                                      a safe environment is key to helping them to develop social skills, life
All morning and some evening services use             skills and confidence. These groups attract a significant number of non-
projected Powerpoint slides.                          church youth and there is excellent opportunity here for outreach.

The Church Administrator supports the work of the
                                                      The three main groups are:-
church 5 mornings a week including acting as an
                                                                  Daring 2B Different (D2BD)           6 – 11 years
ambassador for outreach.
CHURCH EVENTS                                                     4mation                              11 – 14 years
We have social events to encourage fellowship,                    BigWhy?                              14 – 18 years
which includes all ages. From Viney Hill—under
canvas, Spring Harvest, Day visits to places of       All three of the groups are open to any youngster in the community. The
Interest, church weekends away for teaching. We       clubs have attendance from across Bradley Stoke including a large
also take part in ‘The Noise’, an initiative which    proportion from the local social housing families.
seeks to undertake manual work and run social
events within local communities over the May Day
                                                      We aim to provide an integrated youth provision across all age groups
bank holiday.                                         that is to a consistently high standard and that links all of the groups so
                                                      that we do not ‘lose’ children as they transfer between groups.
                                                      Each of the youth groups are run by a large number of volunteers –
                                                      around 20 volunteers across all the groups. These volunteers range from
                                                      15-18 year olds who help as ‘young leaders’ at 4mation to retired
                                                      Individuals. In order that the youth provision is co-ordinated and to a
                                                      high standard the church has a student youth worker who is in receipt of
                                                      focussed training on both the skills required for youth work and exploring
                                                      and developing faith.

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Profile for the proposed Parish of Bradley Stoke - Are you the missing piece? - CHRIST THE KING
2011            2012
CHURCH BUILDING
                                                                                   INCOME
The church building opened in 1991. It has been a focus for worship and a
hub for the community since the early development of Bradley Stoke. Its            Tax Efficient Standing Orders           £57,733         £54,275
flexible floor space has resulted in daily use with the building open from
                                                                                   Gift Aid from HMRC                      £15,454         £15,103
8am until 9pm most days with a weekly footfall of over 1000 people.
                                                                                   Collections                             £8,341          £11,746
There are audio-visual capabilities including data projection, a
comprehensive sound desk and deaf loop system. A kitchen and adequate              Other Donations                         £17,655         £11,310
storage are available. There is a small secure outdoor play area for pre-
                                                                                   Lettings                                £11,398         £14,793
school use, a 22 space car park but no attached churchyard.
                                                                                   TOTAL                                   £110,581        £107,227

                                                                                   EXPENDITURE
                                                                                   Mission Tithe                           £10,597         £775
                                                                                   Parish Share                            £70,008         £71,004
                                                                                   Clergy Expenses                         £2,691          £986
                                                                                   Church Running expenses                 £13,715         £13,087
                                                                                   Other expenses                          £1,474          £846
                                                                                   Support Costs                           £1,359          £851
FINANCES
Over the years we have been pleased to pay the ever increasing Parish              Administration                          £12,834         £13,039
Share to the Diocese because we recognize the importance of it, and we             Reserve Fund                            £1,000          £4,000*
have also given 10% of the previous year’s income to charities as Mission
Tithe. Following the budget predictions during 2012, the DCC had to make           TOTAL                                   £113,678        £104,308
some searching decisions about how the money was spent.

* (see Table) The Reserve Fund had to be topped up to meet the mini-               OVERALL GAIN OR LOSS                    £3,098 Loss     £2,919 Gain
mum reserve requirements of the Charity Commission.

STRENGTHS, AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT, CHALLENGES
Christ the King was established as a church plant in 1987. It has evolved into a
church where both regular members and visitors can come before the Lord in
a warm, friendly and non-threatening environment. Our outreach initiatives,
such as the monthly cafe style service, annual Christmas fair, special Easter
and Christmas services all aim to encourage our community to become
Involved and to regard the church as a place where they can find help and
support in time of need.

Attendance numbers are stable despite a transient working population.
However, we are not complacent and acknowledge the challenge in
increasing our electoral roll. We believe that, through our regular reviews of
strategy and vision, we will be guided by God as to the most appropriate way
forward. We are clear, for example, that more work is needed in following up
non-church families who bring their children for Baptism and couples who
choose the church for their wedding. We pray too for the courage and
confidence to respond to God’s guiding in this area.

Once the new benefice of Bradley Stoke is created, we will be working much
more closely with Holy Trinity church. This can be a time of mixed reaction,
whereby some are very wary of change and, at the other end of the scale,
                                                                                                     The Turf cutting of CTK, stormy weather on the
others relish the challenge of bringing the churches together to deliver an
                                                                                                     day but all present had a sunny outlook!
effective ministry in our community. This transition, therefore, needs to be
progressed very carefully. Aspects such as lay leadership development and
improvements associated with other areas of church life are excellent
opportunities to make the most effective use of resources and engender an
atmosphere of inclusiveness and unity between the two churches.

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Profile for the proposed Parish of Bradley Stoke - Are you the missing piece? - CHRIST THE KING
Holy Trinity’s vision                               Local ecumenical partnership
The Church’s Vision Statement is summed up
                                                    Holy Trinity is a local ecumenical partnership and the
in the phrase, ‘Building up and reaching out
                                                    congregation meet as one, sharing their experiences of
with the love of Jesus Christ.’
                                                    church and worship, allowing all members of the church to
We aim to be a contemporary expression of           feel welcome. The current team comprises:
Jesus’ love, and be a people who share God’s
                                                    Anglican Transition    Rev Bill        Post is paid half-time, and runs
love to each other and to those in
                                                    Minister / Priest in   MacDougall      until Sept 2015.
the neighbourhood.                                  Charge of Holy
                                                    Trinity
                            The build-              Methodist              Rev David Hart Also Superintendent of the
                            ing was                                                       Bristol and South Glos. circuit
                            opened in                                                     and minister of Victoria
                                                                                          Methodist Church in Bristol.
                            1994
                                                    URC                    Rev Stephen     Also leads URC churches in
                                                                           Lewis           Thornbury, Rush Hill and
                                                                                           Welham Green.
                                  Shared
                                  Leadership Team
                                  The church is led by an Ecumenical Church Council (ECC) and the Ministry Team.
                                  The ECC is the formal body, and has delegated responsibility for the church’s
                                  spiritual life to the Ministry Team.
                                  Alongside the ordained staff, the church has one part-time administrator, two
          Are you the
                                  Anglican lay readers, a Methodist Local Preacher and a Methodist Local
           missing                Preacher in training. The church has two church wardens who also fill the role as
                                  Methodist Stewards and URC Elders.              Exciting beginnings at
            piece?
                                                                                         the “Blue hut”.

Growing up with Bradley Stoke
1989   First meeting in front room of newly built vicarage. Three of that first
       congregation are still actively involved in the church.
1990   Moved to portacabin, known as the ‘blue hut’.
1994   Holy Trinity is opened, with the building deliberately linking the church
       and the primary school in a single development.
2000   The members started shaping Holy Trinity into a ‘Cell Church’.
2005   Over time the leadership realised that ‘Cell’ was no longer the most
       appropriate format for Bradley Stoke, but we still use the cell church
       principles of:
            Jesus Christ at the Centre                     Art class on 2011
            Every person in ministry
                                                            Parish Weekend
            Every person growing
            Building Community                             at Brunel Manor.
            Seeking growth

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Profile for the proposed Parish of Bradley Stoke - Are you the missing piece? - CHRIST THE KING
A worshipping community
The majority of members of the church live locally and are below 65
years of age. There are some older members of the church whose
fellowship is highly valued. This year an average of 45 adults and 13
children have attended normal Sunday services, with up to twice those
numbers at festivals and baptisms.
The church aims to use little formal liturgy. The open format of the
worship area enables services to be held in ‘cafe format’ and ‘in the
                                                                      Informal
round’, as well as in more conventional layouts. All services are
                                                                      contemporary
structured to encourage every member ministry and congregational
participation.                                                        worship.

Holy Trinity practises both infant baptism and full immersion of adults
using the baptistery.
Quarterly, on a Sunday HTC offers an open community morning based on
creative activities, which provides a bridge for local unchurched families.
The church worship group (Praise Raisers) provides music for all services
and joins in the role of choosing songs/hymns in collaboration with the                             We strongly
service speaker/leader.
                                                                                                    encourage
Holy Trinity encourages members to also join a mid-week group.                                      service
A monthly mid-week evening service, entitled ‘Sure Foundation’,                                     leaders not
provides opportunity for worship and prayer for church members and                                  to wear
members of other churches in the area.                                                              robes.

                                                   The building provides natural links
                                                   with the community
                                                   Since the church was opened, it has supplied a meeting place
                                                   for various community groups such as St John Ambulance,
                                                   Toddler and pre-school groups, Rainbows, Brownies and
                                                   Guides, as well as being the local polling station. Holy Trinity
                                                   sponsors and oversees Trinity Pre-school, Trinity Tots, a
                            Daily
                                                   Monday evening children’s group and a youth group meeting in
                            flexible use
                                                   the church building on Sunday evenings.
                            by the
                            community              On Saturday mornings the church runs a football club ‘Cosmic
                                                   United’ for children up to age 11, and a drama group ‘Gifted’ for
                                                   children aged 8-12. The school field is used for football
                                                   practices, the worship area for drama, and the church foyer for
                                                   fellowship with families who are on the fringe of our church’s
                                                   extended family.
                                                   The church has recently started a Wednesday coffee morning as
                                                   a way to reach out to the local community.
                                                   Previous Anglican ministers have had close links with these
                                                   groups, and often led worship sessions at events like
                                                   thanksgivings and prize-givings.

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Some of the many opportunities for growth and service
within our community
In many ways we have had a tough          The majority of our first contact is with the more than 1000 people
four years, with multiple changes of         who use the building during the week. This is a natural point of
leadership and uncertainty about             growth that needs thinking about carefully.
the future. Consequently we are           Exploring and extending the link with the school is another natural
struggling in a number of areas of           opportunity.
church life. Some people have left,       We have a number of points of contact with young people
but there are many great people              and families who live on our doorstep that could be
who haven’t because they believe             developed further.
that God has a plan for this
                                          Bradley Stoke has many areas of need, financial, relational and
community, and believe there are
                                             spiritual. These present challenges to us as well as opportunities for
many opportunities for growth. The
                                             reaching out in service.
challenge will be deciding which
ones to prioritise, and which ones to        Church members are keen to develop their faith and live this out in
resource first. Here are just some of        their lives, and we need to constantly assess our approach to ensure
the options.                                 it meets current needs.

A focus on young people                                                                    Our free annual
                                                                                           holiday club books
The church has believed it should have a particular
                                                                                           up fast and gives
focus on serving young people. Throughout its life it
                                                                                           100 local children a
has employed five youth workers in different
                                                                                           great three days,
capacities. There are various children’s and young
                                                                                           with food for life.
people’s programmes for those up to the age of 16 to
engage with.
At the moment there is no youth worker, but there is a
strong desire to employ one.

                                        Young people have
                                        groups on Sunday
                                        mornings.

                                                The Church and School
                                                Holy Trinity Primary School is a Church of England/Methodist
                                                voluntary aided (VA) school, with space for 210 pupils. It has 6
                                                classes in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 plus the reception class. The
                                                staff of the school are expected to support the school’s distinct
                                                Christian ethos.
                                                The church and school share the school hall and playing fields, and
                           An                   the school uses the worship area.
                           integrated
                                                The minister of Holy Trinity is expected to take an active role in
                           primary
                                                the school and become a member of the governing body.
                           school

                                                         11
Characteristics and Qualities sought in the new Vicar
What we are looking for.

We pray for a leader who is passionate about God’s Kingdom, evangelical and open to the
Spirit, ecumenically minded, strategic and collaborative to help us shape and realise our
shared vision for mission and growth in this diverse and predominantly young community
of Bradley Stoke at a significant time of change.

Useful Information:
Addresses:
Christ the King,                    Holy Trinity Church,
Mautravers Close,                   Broad Croft,
Bradley Stoke,                      Bradley Stoke,
Bristol,                            Bristol,
BS32 8EE                            BS32 0BD
Tel: 0117 931 2304                  Tel: 01454 856947
E-mail: admin@ctkchurch.org.uk      E-mail: htcbradleystoke@btinternet.com

Websites:
Christ the King              www. ctkchurch.org.uk

Holy Trinity Church          www.htcbradleystoke.co.uk
Holy Trinity School          www.holytrinity-pri.s-gloucs.sch.uk
Trinity Pre School           www.trinitypreschoolbradleystoke.co.uk

References:
Page 5: Data in the graph is drawn from ”Mapping Mission Opportunities:
Using Detailed Information to Improve Strategic Mission Thinking” by Rev.    Are you the
Leighton Carr, 2012, The Clifton Publishing Company”
                                                                              missing
                                                                               piece?

                                                     12
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