Churches serving estate and low-income communities play a vital role in the Diocese’s mission.
The Strategic Mission Programmes support churches to strengthen their presence within these communities by investing in local leadership, developing apprentices, creating new worshipping communities and building on existing outreach. The focus is on enabling ministry that is rooted in local communities and shaped by local people.
A key part of this work is the Estates Apprenticeship Scheme, which is helping develop the next generation of leaders from within estate communities by providing practical ministry experience, training and support.
Alongside this, the programme is supporting churches to strengthen ministry through local estates workers, shared learning across the Estates Network and awareness and skills training for clergy and lay leaders. It also encourages churches to build discipleship pathways off the back of outreach and community ministry already taking place, starting new initiatives as appropriate and exploring opportunities to establish new worshipping communities where they are needed most.