STRETCH 25 Update
We are currently reviewing our Stretch 25 Strategy. It has been running since 2019 and much has been achieved over the past 3 years, namely:
Changing Lives
The restrictions caused by lockdowns forced us to explore and take advantage of the opportunities afforded through online ministry. We adapted quickly and our weekly online services continue to be used by people across Scotland, the UK and, to our surprise, around the world. Some of these were people who had never been part of a church before.
This led to us being able to develop online courses – Alpha, Pre-Marriage, Marriage, Bereavement Journey, Sanctuary (Mental health) – were all moved online with encouraging results
Connect groups came to the fore during lockdown – with the result that we have more people in Connect groups than ever before.
We appointed a Student Worker – with this ministry area now overseen by Jo Twigg, our curate.
We have run three Ministry Development Programmes with 10-15 church members on each course.
Transforming Society
We have continued to develop our partnerships with organisations like Bethany, World Vision, Tearfund, Home for Good and Safe Families for Children
We have developed new relationships with Edinburgh City Mission, Open Doors, Eco-congregations Scotland, Sanctuary Foundation, Welcome Churches UK and Hong Kong Welcome
We have developed our Caring for Creation ministry to influence our Children’s Ministry (Mossy Church) and other areas of church life
We continued to run Saturday Meal throughout the pandemic
Deepening Influence
We have supported the development of leaders locally and nationally through our Core Leaders events and support for the Scottish Public Leaders Programme.
We have begun strategic conversations with denominational leaders around church planting.
The following was written in 2019:
What is STRETCH 25?
After much prayer and discussion by the church leadership, three strategic strands have emerged from our core vision for the next five years: changing lives, transforming society, and deepening influence. These then lead naturally to an ambitious programme of church planting.
Our society is increasingly anxious, fearful, divided and uncertain – and the church in Scotland continues to decline. But people are still spiritual, and we want the people of Scotland to know Jesus, experience God’s unconditional love, and live in supportive, caring relationships with each other.
Stretch 25 is not business as usual. This is a strategy to help change Scotland.
Changing lives
We believe that, as we help people to deepen their relationship with Jesus, we will see lives changed.
We will become more confident and effective in our evangelism.
We will establish new creative entry points for people into the church.
We will offer varied and age-appropriate pathways to help people grow in their faith.
Transforming Society
We want to see our society – our city, our nation and our world – changed as we show people the practical love and care of Jesus.
We will strengthen relationships with existing partner organisations and agencies, for example, offering free use of the church building.
We will offer a more comprehensive and holistic service to marginalised people.
We will continue to partner with agencies such as Bethany, the Care Van, Social Bite, Edinburgh City Mission and CAP to feed and serve people wherever there is need.
We will establish a ‘caring for creation’ ministry which will address issues including environmental damage and climate change.
We will establish a new centre to focus on physical, emotional and spiritual wholeness.
Deepening Influence
We want Christian voices to be heard, respected and amplified in our city and our nation.
We will invest in the training and development of leaders, people who will work both within the church and in other areas of society, to influence our city, our nation and our world.
We will support those who work in positions of influence to be Christian voices at all levels of debate and decision-making in our nation.
We will be a public Christian voice on key issues in Scotland.
We will develop resources for use by other churches and organisations that will influence our city and Scottish society.
Church planting
We’re excited about the three strands of our strategy – excited about the possibilities, the lives that can be changed, the broken parts of our world that can be mended, and the influence that we can have by speaking truth to power.
But we want to do more of it than can be achieved by Ps & Gs on York Place alone. Alongside the work of other churches, we want to reach out, to change lives in new areas of our city and nation, and make a difference in communities we don’t yet know.
That means a programme of church planting.
By 2025, we will have planted three churches or services as part of the Ps & Gs family.
For more detail on each of these bullet points and to see what we acheived in our last strategy dowload the full Stretch 25 document.