Can nurture courses help your church grow?

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Bob Jackson in his book 'The Road to Growth - towards a thriving church' argues that the regular provision of nurture courses is one of the key changes that can lead to the growth of the local church.  And yet, latest figures suggest that only around 30% of our churches are regularly using any of the nurture programmes currently available. Janet Russell and Andrew Gear, parish development advisers in the diocese look at the four major nurture courses on offer, how parishes have responded to them and how churches can identify the best course for the people they seek to engage with.

What is meant by nurture courses?  If we begin with Bishop Stephen's definition of evangelism as ‘the process whereby people become disciples of Jesus Christ’ then we begin to recognise that for most people, coming to faith is like a journey, but the journey does not end with making a commitment, it becomes a lifelong pilgrimage. The ministry of evangelism is best understood as helping people make the journey. One of the ways in which this happens is through what are known as 'nurture courses'. 

Arising out of the major mission campaigns like Mission England in the 1980s, nurture courses were originally intended to strengthen those who had recently come to faith. But the expression has now come to describe courses ranging from pre-evangelism all the way through to discipleship courses for mature Christians.

We have been looking at the four major nurture courses which are available and have invited parishes to comment on their experiences. These responses can be found on the Diocesan website. 

Melanie Bowker from Hanslope and Castlethorpe sums up why so many people are enthusiastic about the courses: ‘It is the most exciting project I have been involved with and so rewarding. God is so evident in the whole process.’
Probably everyone has heard of the Alpha course. This brainchild of Holy Trinity Church Brompton is now an international phenomenon.  ‘Alpha’ is aimed at seekers, new Christians and those who want to brush up on the basics.  Whether it’s at home or in the workplace, the heart of Alpha is exploring Christianity with a group sharing a meal, using talks and discussion.

‘Emmaus’ is focussed on the understanding of faith as a journey.  One of its strengths is that it has a number of authors, representing a wide cross section of Christian tradition.  It tries to strike a balance between explanation and exploration. There is material for worship and resources to mark the different stages of the journey.  Emmaus seems to start a lot earlier in an individual's faith journey than Alpha and then goes much further as the volume of material available would allow groups to meet over at least a three year period. 

Susie Simpson from High Wycombe described her church’s experience of Emmaus: ‘The course acts as a springboard for discussion and does not attempt to give you all the answers’.

The new kids on the block of nurture course are ‘START!’ from Church Pastoral Aid Society (CPAS) and ‘Essence’ from Kingsway publications.

START! is written by Robin Gamble, a Diocesan Missioner and evangelist. John Westall in Reading describes START! as; ‘a good simple, straightforward, 'pre-Alpha' course’ .  David Scurr in Thatcham agrees, ‘I chose START because it's simpler than Alpha and is more suitable for people who have no previous understanding of the Christian faith.’ 

Its six sessions use a mix of video input, time to chat, simple discussion activities and space for reflection.  Its style is down-to-earth, enjoyable and honest. 

‘Essence’ is quite different from any of the other courses.  Its over-riding objective is to help people who may view themselves as 'spiritual' to journey towards the Christian faith and aims to give an experiential introduction to the Christian faith in a culturally relevant way.  The six part course explores concepts which would be recognisable to those familiar with ‘New Age’ style spirituality.

Essence seeks to help participants look at these concepts and issues from a Christian perspective.
Each session contains a rich blend of biblical material, reflection, and a great range of activities such as crafts, meditation, drawing and considerable use is made of music, poetry and symbols.  

So are nurture courses the answer to guaranteed growth method for all our churches?  In this Diocese we heard from churches such as St Peter’s, Loudwater, St Mary’s, Amersham, St Michael’s, Warfield and St Mary’s,  Bletchley who have been running Alpha for 10 years and from others who tried Alpha or Emmaus once or twice and it ‘didn't work’. 

The evidence is very clear.  Nurture courses work best in churches with a clear strategy for evangelism and a commitment to outreach. 

Any nurture programme has to be available within a context of developing relationships with people outside the church, as highlighted by Ben Beecroft in Warfield: ‘In the summer term we reduce church meetings to a minimum, to give our people a rest, but also to enable them to invest in socialising, barbecues, trips out etc and seek to develop new relationships.’  If church people only know church people, then no nurture programme will create growth!

Finally, there is a danger that people choose a nurture programme based on their own particular experience or church tradition, whereas the main concern should be, what is the best course for the people we are seeking to engage with. 

We are leading a day on Thursday 6 April for any church who has either never run or has struggled to run a nurture programme. 

It is aimed at ordained or lay people and will take place in Diocesan Church House from 10.00am - 4.00pm. 
Information has been sent to your church in a recent mailing, but you can also contact Ruth Wilson on:
01865 208252 for more details.