If you were at the Benefice service on 30th January you would have heard Revd Sarah mention a conference which she, Revd Tracey and some others attended called Leading Your Church Into Growth. We would like to share with you a prayer for growth which came from that conference;

God of mission

Who alone brings growth to your Church,

Send your Holy Spirit

to give Vision to our planning,

Wisdom to our actions,

and Power to our witness.

Help our church to grow in numbers,

In spiritual commitment to you

and in service to our community,

Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen

We think you will agree it is a beautifully worded prayer and we would like to encourage everyone in the Benefice to commit to pray this prayer every day over the coming year. We will also be using it in our services, in our PCC meetings, Bible Studies, and at every available opportunity! In the coming weeks and months you will be hearing more of what we learnt and the ideas for growing our church community that came out of the conference. Our hope is that 2022 will be a fresh start for the Blackwater Benefice, after the last couple of years overshadowed by the pandemic.