Diocese of Exeter > Ministry > Parish Development Questions

First Bishop's Mission Order
The first ever Bishop's Mission Order formally authorizing a new form of church is being made for Exeter Network Church, a thriving 300 strong group of Christians who meet in a school in the city.

The Bishop of Exeter, the Rt Revd Michael Langrish, will sign the order on Sunday 8 November. It will authorise the new Church as being part of the Church of England, but not within the parish system.... More >

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Update on swine flu.
24/7 Prayer for Exeter event.
Songs of Hope and Creation.

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Ministry > Parish Development Questions
Debate and discuss David Muir's regular Diocesan News column here.

Welcome to PDQ
Welcome to PDQ – the Parish Development Questions column of Diocesan News. Each column deals succinctly with a question or issue that affects t ... more >

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Will churches continue to exist in the countryside of the future?
Church and countryside used to work together in almost idyllic harmony. Traditional Britain was rural, and the traditions of the church have retained ... more >

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Why do so many people pray - but not come to church?
Recent research from Tear Fund and others has shown just how many people pray in Britain today. Nine million pray every day! That is more than ... more >

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As the old die, the young leave, what will happen to the church?
As a favourite retirement location Devon’s proportion of over 60s is growing all the time. That means a higher percentage of our population dies of ol ... more >

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Should churches to take government money to run welfare services?
The Church in Britain is used to a close relationship with government. The overlap between Church and State, clearly evident in church schools and in ... more >

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Isn’t public worship a vital witness in today's secular world?
Yes – if it’s truly public. The Church of England has a noble history of commitment to ‘public worship’ – public not just because anyone could ... more >

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How can the church be at the centre of our community again?
As Christians we are used to living in Christendom – where Christian faith is promoted by those in power, and life revolves around the church. You jus ... more >

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How is a Mission Community different from a Team Ministry?
In this Diocese we have agreed to reshape the work of our churches around the vision of Moving On in Mission and Ministry. Central to MOiMM is ... more >

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How can we keep our youth in our rural churches?
Once rural churches were at the centre of the community, and village life gravitated around them. The young related to the church almost as easily as ... more >

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Isn't prison ministry just as important as parish church work?
Many Christians are involved as individuals in caring for the needy. God cares about the lowest of the low, and here the mission of God in the world i ... more >

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With fewer clergy, can lay people get trained to run the church?
The European church was so successful over many centuries, that they were able to ‘professionalise’ Christian ministry – not just in cities and towns ... more >

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What’s the solution for our historic rural church buildings?
Devon is a treasure trove of rural churches. Each is a valuable piece of heritage, expressing the Christian faith through the best art and craftsmansh ... more >

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Our church visits the needy. But we don’t attract new members.
The popular image of the ‘church-goer’ has hit a very low ebb. The Vicar of Dibley succeeded in presenting female vicars in a positive light, b ... more >

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People just don’t want to come to church any more. What can we do
The current plight of the traditional parish church is certainly bewildering for many long-standing church members. Once people naturally gravitated t ... more >

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Will it help our church if we run an Alpha course?
There is no doubt that Alpha courses have contributed significantly to the life of the church. Over the last seven years nearly 100,000 people in Brit ... more >

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Aren’t evangelicals just growing at the expense of other churches
There is half a truth here. Most people who ‘join’ a church have had a Christian background. But they want a church that meets their personal and spir ... more >

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Don't we just need our Sunday Schools back?
Many church members today remember their Sunday Schools years. They were happy times, when we learned the stories of the Bible and became committed to ... more >

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Why do so few people get married in church these days?
Of course, it’s partly that less people are getting married – almost halved in the last 40 years. As the divorce rate has risen, marriage has come to ... more >

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We'd love more young adults in our church. Why won’t they come?
Figures for adults in Britain a few years ago showed that 10% are regular at church (at least once a month), another 10% are irregular (a few times a ... more >

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How can our church reach out to tourists in Devon?
For many busy people, the only time they get to think about the big issues of their lives is on holiday. And that’s exactly when they are away from th ... more >

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Our village congregation is so small now. What can we do?
Many rural churches are painfully aware that they are a shadow of their former success. Parish records show many more baptisms and weddings than today ... more >

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I find it hard to argue the truth of Christianity. What can help?
In years gone by, people in Britain held heated debates about what was ‘true’ in the Christian religion. That’s how we got our different denominations ... more >

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How can we help new Christians from Just10 fit into our church?
The Just10 series of evenings at Crealy Park is just starting. Thousands of Devon people will attend over the coming weeks. Some of them will be commi ... more >

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How can we help others to share our love of worship?
It is natural to want to share our enthusiasms with others – particularly when we know it will be so good for them. And what could be more ‘good for t ... more >

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Why do many people find it so hard to come to church?
My home church was built in the late 1800s. Its pews seated 1000 people, and you had to arrive early to get a seat. People were proud to go to church. ... more >

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We know things need to change, but why does it feel so hard?
We live in a society where ‘comfort’ is a big priority for people. Our world runs on the ‘feel good factor’. The danger is that we cannot face major c ... more >

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The Future of the Church
I have had a few reactions to the recent series of four articles in Diocesan News (Sept - Dec 2005), some positive, some negative. If you would lik ... more >

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