LyCiG was again a great success with 180 parish leaders from 36 parishes finding inspiration, encouragement and the tools to lead our churches into growth.

Many of us will have watched the All Blacks versus Argentina last weekend. However, to experience the passion and emotion of being present in the crowd must have been electric!

It was a little like that at the Leading your Church into Growth conference two weeks ago. Just being in a room with 156 other people as well as 24 online, from around the Diocese, with the same vision and desire to see their churches flourish and grow was amazing. One person said, “The conference was inspirational, entertaining, and informative and a great step forward in encouraging church growth.”

Another person who’d been away from the Diocese for some years but had come to the conference and was surprised at the renewed depth of unity, teamwork and impulse toward mission. That’s good news!

Our speakers Ven. Rhiannon King and Rev. Harry Steele were once again engaging, entertaining and informative. They really understood the wide range of ministry settings of our parishes and gave examples and shared their experiences from both large and small churches as well as urban and rural. Despite their different theological perspectives their commitment to the mission of the Church was unmistakable. They shared with humility but were full of optimism for the future of the local church.

36 of our parishes were represented by the 180 registrants – 156 physically present at St Christopher’s and 24 others by livestream in Timaru, Temuka, Hokitika, Oamaru and even Franz Joseph! That’s an average of 5 people per parish! As a result, parish teams experienced great bonding and the opportunity to dream and plan together. One person wrote “I went on my own last year and was able to facilitate the implementation of our PMAP. This year [other] parishioners came and together we have been able to hang doable ideas off the PMAP and give more energy and commitment to making it happen.”

Participants noted down three action points they would undertake when they returned to their parishes. A duplicate set was offered by everyone in baskets before Bishop Peter. These represented out best intentions to put into practice our learnings from the conference. Bishop Peter prayed that we would know God’s strength and resolve to follow through and implement the principles of ‘Leading your Church into Growth’.

So, what should we do with the momentum that is building around the Diocese? One idea is to have another conference next year that all parishioners would be invited to – a major Diocesan Conference. This would focus on building our confidence in the good news of Jesus and helping us to continue to engage with what it means to be a church in mission.

Survey Results

Conference participants were invited to complete a 15-question survey and 29 responses were received. Registrants were in the following age bands; 26-39 years (10%), 40-59 years (21%), 60-79 years (69%). 96% either strongly agreed or agreed that the conference was an enjoyable and positive experience. 96% either strongly agreed or agreed that the conference would make a positive difference to their parish’s ministry and mission in the future. 97% either strongly agreed or agreed that St Christopher’s worked well as a conference venue. 100% either strongly agreed or agreed that the presenters Harry and Rhiannon were interesting, accessible and engaging speakers. 76% said that they would like to run a shortened parish version of ‘Leading your Church into Growth’ called LyCiG Local. Finally, 100% said they would recommend that others attend a Leading your Church into Growth Conference.

LyCiG 2023 by the Numbers

• Attendees - Physically Present - 115 in 2022, 156 in 2023
• Attendees - Remote Livestream Hub - 0 in 2022, 24 in 5 locations in 2023
• Total Attendance - 115 in 2022, 180 in 2023
• Clergy - 39 (34%) in 2022, 51 (28%) in 2023
• Lay - 76 (66%) in 2022, 129 (72%) in 2023
• Parishes Represented - 32 (58% of 55 parishes) in 2022, 39 (71% of 55 parishes) in 2023
• Representatives from other Dioceses - 11 from Dunedin, Nelson, Wellington and Te Waipounamu in 2022 and 5 from Dunedin and Oamaru in 2023

Testimonials

• “The networking within a parish and among parishes strengthened the whole diocese. Thankyou heaps.”
• “A positive and motivating conference. Injected enthusiasm for growth in a place of low energy. Good fun.”
• “I thought it was an awesome experience. The presenters were amazing and engaging, and it was great to meet with people from other parishes around the motu.”
• “I encourage every parish to send a team, and to go with an open mind. In each of the sessions, I met with ideas that stood out as possibly applicable to my own setting. The presenters are really grounded - they have walked the talk - and they're funny and engaging. The networking with other parishes was invaluable too. Give it a go!”
• “LyCiG is a great foundation for preparing for you church to grow. You may feel that you are doing a lot of what is talked about but this is an opportunity to reflect on that and ask if you really are doing it as well as you can and decide how you can do it better.”
• “I have been energised by LYCIG both times I have attended. Getting a wider range of attendees from the parish would be helpful for implementation of ideas.”
• “The event recharges the enthusiasm for rebuilding the parish. Although we have such a small base, with God’s help, our prayers and this event there is hope for the future.”

Final Thanks

I close by expressing my gratitude to the following people - thanks to those who were interviewed before each session – Jack Hollis (Avonhead), Martz Witty and Brenda Bonnett (Linwood-Aranui), Annette Moore (Akaroa-Banks Peninsula), Paul Hegglun (Dio Youth and Young Adults), Jacqui Stevenson (Bryndwr) and Nathan Muirhead (Fendalton). We were also blessed to have Carolyn Robertson (Shirley-Burwood), Steve Dunne (Woodend-Pegasus), Indrea Alexander (Ashburton) and Peg Riley (Upper Riccarton-Yaldhurst) speak about their ministry experiences – thank you. Many people found the local input very positive indeed because it offered a difference set of voices and experiences to learn from.

My thanks also goes to the Musicians; Paul Hegglun, Andy Dickson, Alex Summerlee, Liz Yeoh and Geoff Bevan, Technical Crew; Emma and Lance McBride, Caterers; Country Feasts and Venue Management overseen by Vicar of Avonhead Michael Brantley.

Final thanks to Veronica Cross (Bishop’s EA), Nicky Lee (ARM Assistant) and Edwin Boyce (Dio Manager) for helping to manage the conference, Sammy Mould and Indrea Alexander for helping with the concept and planning of the conference and Bishop Peter for his presence, encouragement, inspirational sermon and his leading of the final Eucharist.