Newhills Church

My dear friends,

We are already into the steady and busy swing of Autumn with adult, youth and children’s activities. These articles demonstrates the variety, the old and the new, of events and weekly programmes organised for all ages. We are blessed with many willing people who go the extra mile on so many occasions.

But the danger is that we rely upon them, and we bask in the glow of their work. The recently produced brochure given out at the IMAGINE event as part of our Stewardship Campaign illustrated vividly such a variation. In contrast to the committed expression of some of our members, 45% were shown to have contributed NOTHING to the Church’s life. 45% of those who have insisted on remaining on the church’s roll have given NOTHING to the Church’s life over this past year, and in some cases for much longer.

A few weeks ago I was speaking about the “Pareto Principle”, or “the law of the vital few”, where 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people. This economic principle has been used within government and business policy making, but it is staggering that it might also be applicable to the church. For me the sadness is the loss for the 80%, for it is clear that personal growth and satisfaction deepen for those who serve. But that 20% (and it is much larger at Newhills) produces some remarkable results.

Already our Stewardship Campaign has seen the whole congregation visited more often, has brought together an impressive Exhibition of work, and has spawned new initiatives, like “Messy Church”, an extremely popular Community Fun Day and the raising of the profile within the wider area. We are setting in place a number of fund-raising events and programmes to help build up finances to pay for the renewal of the church roof. The cost of this already is around