About us

This is our mission statement.

We are the Methodist people of God in North Lancashire responding to God's loving challenge as we promise to:

• Energise discipleship
• Enable leadership
• Encourage risk
• Employ buildings
• Embrace technology
• Enrich communities
• Engage all

Energise discipleship

We will reaffirm our commitment to discipleship with Christ as the principal goal of our Circuit Policy.
We will support and challenge members of all ages within the circuit with a range of discipleship encounters which can build a real spirituality for daily living.
Our approach will place a strong emphasis on personal and social holiness.
We commit ourselves to use at least 15% of our resources to work with children, young people and families.
We will ask the Holy Spirit to re-energise our collective and personal commitment to prayer in each church.

Enable Leadership

We will review the roles and responsibilities of lay and ordained leaders in the circuit.
We will follow the circuit leadership development plan, as set by the district, which describes how lay and ordained leaders will be identified, mentored, and equipped, including a specific emphasis on young leaders.
We will seek the use of time-limited task groups to offer more opportunities for involvement and leadership within our churches and circuit.

Encourage risk

We will create opportunities for innovative, high quality examples of worship, learning and caring, service and evangelism across the circuit. Working in partnership with the district on pioneer projects (e.g. church plants, mission communities)
We will remove unnecessary bureaucracy and reduce business meetings to create the flexibility for innovation and faithful risk-taking.
We will encourage innovation and risk taking in the circuit through our grants policy.

Employ buildings

Each church will look at the following
How we are using His existing buildings for worship, fellowship and caring,
What plans we have in place to offer His buildings back to local communities in a spirit of service,
What opportunities we have identified to work with current ecumenical partners to use each other's buildings.

Embrace Technology

We will encourage our churches to investigate the use of a range of technologies, and to take up the training opportunities available within the district, which will enable the circuit to
Enhance our experience of Worship
Communicate more effectively
Support pastoral care
Reduce our carbon footprint
Help us to share the gospel

Enrich Communities

We will be salt and light in each of our communities, expressed in ways which meet their diverse needs.
We will seek ways to celebrate and develop more connections between each church and its global and local community by people becoming more involved in politics, schools, charities and other voluntary groups.
We will encourage each church to use a community audit to identify a specific local need to which they can respond, and as a circuit we will ensure that resources are available to sustain this work.

Engage all

We will strengthen our ability and confidence to engage in conversation and activities with local people of other faiths, agnostics and people of no faith, asking the Holy Spirit to guide us.
We will identify practical opportunities to work, learn and share with other people, using the natural abilities and interests of lay and ordained members. We will place particular emphasis on our work with children, young people and families.
We will take advantage of the training, provided by the district, to increase our awareness of, and confidence to challenge issues of equality and diversity. This will help us to reach out to people who find it difficult to have their voices heard.
We will promote the active involvement of the Methodist people in the local and national political process.