Our vision at KBC is "Striving to follow Jesus"

If we are striving to follow Jesus we will:
• be engaged in holistic mission
• be part of an authentic community
• be committed to lifelong learning
• be offering glorifying worship

In 2009 we agreed that our key priorities over the next five years would be as follows:

Holistic Mission



1) equipping / enabling individuals:

• we long to be a church where each person is equipped to share the ‘good news’ about Jesus.
• to that end we will seek to provide training that will enable and release people to be effective in their work and social environments, and among their family and friends. In addition we will seek to equip people to be more actively involved in world mission including issues related to poverty and injustice.

2) multiple connecting points between the church and the community:

• we long to be a ‘church for others’; a church that engages with the local community at a number of different levels.
• to that end we will seek not only to develop existing relationships and activities but also to initiate new contexts that allow genuine engagement with the wider community; in so doing we recognise the need to be integral and incarnational in our approach.

3) multiple connecting points between the church and the world:

• we long to be a church that is committed to the mission of God in the wider world;
• to that end we will seek in conjunction with the Christian Service Council to provide a range of opportunities so that considerably more people are actively involved in world mission. In so doing we aim to see people coming to know Christ; having their suffering and injustice alleviated and their quality of life improved.


Authentic Community



1) welcoming one another:

• we long to be a church where every person is welcomed and affirmed;
• to that end we will seek in conjunction with our existing welcome team to do this more effectively so that people move comfortably from the ‘edges’ to the ‘centre’ of our church community. In doing so we hope to minimise the numbers of people who leave by the back door!

2) relating to one another:

• we long to be a church where every person feels that they truly belong;
• to that end we will seek to connect everyone in a smaller group. As the church grows larger it needs to grow smaller at the same! In addition we will encourage the development of relationships through a range of other activities.

3) supporting one another:

• we long to be a church where everyone feels cared for and where God is meeting real needs.
• to that end we will seek to develop a climate where people look out for one another. In addition we will further develop our pastoral care structures and, where possible, put in place a range of specialist support groups.


Lifelong Learning



1) growing disciples:

• we long to be a church where every person is growing in their relationship with Jesus.
• to that end we will seek to encourage a commitment to life-long learning and character development; we will seek to encourage this by providing a range of learning opportunities at different times and in different formats. This will include Sunday services and our small-group programme.

2) identifying / releasing gifts:

• we long to be a church where people are actively involved in ministry.
• to that end we will seek to help people discover their gifts and their passions. We will seek to connect them to opportunities for ministry and service and at the same time support and value them by encouragement and ongoing training.

3) equipping for life:

• we long to be a church where people are equipped to live life to the full.
• to that end we will seek to provide tailored input for specific learning opportunities. This may include courses in marriage preparation and enrichment, parenting skills, financial management or other current ethical or life issues.


Glorifying Worship



1) spiritual formation:

• we long to be a church where people are being transformed inwardly through their purposeful interaction with the grace of God and as a result are being increasingly conformed to Christ.
• to that end we will seek to encourage people to ‘guard their hearts’ through the development of daily spiritual practices. In addition we will seek to develop a ‘mentoring’ scheme for those who would find it helpful.

2) greater commitment to prayer:

• we long to be a church that, recognising its complete dependence upon God, takes prayer seriously and makes it an integral part of every aspect of our life together.
• to that end we will seek to encourage prayer throughout the congregation both individually and corporately. In particular we will create additional opportunities for corporate prayer as well as encouraging more prayer within the ‘services’. We will also seek to establish a prayer triplet scheme.

3) development of worship services:

• we long to be a church that recognises the value of different approaches and styles of worship services.
• to that end we will seek to develop a ‘multi-service’ approach that recognises not only the wide variety and rich heritage of worship forms, but also the opportunity to explore new approaches to worship that are particularly relevant to the mission context in which we find ourselves.