CATALYST

We are excited to announce a partnership between St John the Baptist, Clarendon Park and Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication (CCX) to offer an amazing opportunity for those inspired and called to lead and develop new lay-led worshipping communities in their local area.

This partnership will be called Catalyst and is a free high quality programme designed and run by experienced planters, aiming to equip lay church planters in Leicestershire and beyond in growing small teams to start and grow new church communities.

Over two and half years, Catalyst will provide leaders with a range of key tools to accompany you and your teams as they journey with us and seek to plant, establish and grow communities of faith in their local area.

Each planter will be supported by an oversight minister, and this will usually be the recognised leader of the sending church (ordained if within the Church of England). It is a space for anyone who feels called to start a new church community as part of the life of their church but isn’t ordained to receive support, encouragement and training.

You may not yet have worked out what it looks like and would benefit from gathering with other like-minded people to discover how to go about it. Or you may have recently started a new church community and find that you need training and support.

Our aim is to provide a safe space where you can grow and develop as a team. We want to provide you and your team with some useful tools you need to form new worshipping communities.

The hub offers a learning pathway with learning based on five themes:

vision and discernment
leading and teams
formation and core practices
planting and discipling
growth and multiplication.

This programme is designed to be lightweight and can be done alongside church and a busy life. Over the two and half years, we anticipate each six months will include:

Attendance at a gathering over 2 days, engage with online learning, meet with a mentor and

time with your oversight minister.

Each gathering will include eating together, worship, input, reflection and team time; reflecting on the input and working together discussing plans for your new church community. There will also be space for social time and the development of relationships. Plus, a full day's learning programme, ending the time together in prayer.

Please contact us if you would like to discuss Catalyst, Church Planting or know more about us.

Contact: Scott Else - Hub Leader via: catalyst@sjbchurch.co.uk

Taster Event

To help people explore, we are running a taster event at

Tuesday 13th June 7.30-9.30pm

This will be an opportunity to find out more and ask any questions to sign up for this please visit the link below.

Sign-up for a Catalyst Taster

Rt Revd Saju Muthalaly, The Bishop of Loughborough

I am hugely grateful to Catalyst and the Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication for providing the Diocese with, what I believe will be, a blessing for worshipping communities right across Leicester and Leicestershire.

As I have got to know the Diocese, I have seen such creativity and imagination among laity, and lay leaders with a real passion for serving their communities in innovative ways. The Catalyst Church Planting Hub is a fantastic resource for lay leaders and incumbents alike, seeking to harness that energy and put it towards developing a new wave of worshipping communities.

The people of Leicester and Leicestershire are diverse in every way, and so we need the full breadth of God's people to reach, love and serve them. That's why my hope is that the Church Planting hub will help to train and develop lay ministers from across the spectrum of traditions, as a complement to the existing forms of ministry and clergy-led plants.

I would encourage you, whether you're a lay leader or incumbent, to reflect on how the Catalyst hub might help you answer one of our three key questions as a Diocese: How are you enabling growth in the numbers of disciples of Jesus?”