Breaking through the Glass Ceiling

30/01/08

170 people from 20 parishes in the Kensington Area of London Diocese met on Saturday 26th January to hear about the glass ceiling that prevents church growth in congregations. Focusing on parishes with a usual Sunday attendance of 80 - 140 the Venerable Bob Jackson, Archdeacon of Walsall, spoke on how churches must be prepared to develop a different model of being church if they are to grow beyond the glass ceiling.

Speaking on how the Diocese of London is bucking declining trends of church attendance, Bob Jackson went on to show how developing a strategy for changing the model of church that a parish is working with can help to break through the glass ceiling that naturally prevents further growth.

A series of workshops explored welcoming to worship, helping people to tell their story of faith, re-thinking the working of the PCC Growth in the context of a catholic parish and the need for a small group network in parishes.

Speaking at the end of the day, Lawrence Smith the Director of Training and Development who had arranged the day said, ‘This has been a fantastic day but rather than an event it is the beginning of a process and we shall hopefully meet again to share stories and to learn from each other how different parishes have broken through the glass ceiling’.