Monday, 11 August

An introduction to Governance Models for Festival Churches

Join us for this informal session to learn all about the different Governance Models currently available to Festival Churches!

By Association of Festival Churches

Date and time

Location

Online

About this event

Event lasts 1 hour

Welcome to "An Introduction to Governance Models for Festival Churches"!

The Festival Church Model is being widely adopted as a way of rejuvenating churches and parishes across the country. At its best, it has been shown to work as a "turnaround strategy" for rural parish churches. Established by the Church of England in 2015 the model is both simple and flexible and boils down to two fundamental changes in the way that the church operates:

Worship - doing less, but doing it better: Festival Churches no longer hold regular formal worship services but instead concentrate on pooling their resources into fewer "festival" services that need the needs and rouse the interest of local people.
Management - enabling more people to be involved: Festival Churches adapt their management structures to enable anyone with an interest in the building to take on an active role in its care and management, regardless of whether they are regular worshippers at the church or not.

This informal and informative session aims to introduce you to the different Govenance Models currently being used by Festival Churches to help you discover what might be the best structure for you. The sessions will include:

An overview of what it means to be a Festival Church;
The current legal requirements for your church;
Setting up a Friends Group;
Other mechanisms and structures for involving the wider community;
Pros and Cons of merging PCCS;
Alternative uses for your church building;
Potential sources of funding for your church;
Resources that can help you in your Festival Church "Journey";
An exploration of where you can get further help;
A chance to ask specific questions about your church;

Frequently asked questions

Who is this event for?

Anybody who is curious about the Festival Church Model but specifically churches that want to explore a different way of "doing church" that makes the most of their resources. The event will therefore appeal to churchwardens, PCC members, congregation members and church support officers.

Is the event specifically for rural churches?

No. Whilst the model will appeal to rural churches it can be used by all churches

Does exploring the Festival Church Model start a formal process?

No. This is just an informal event to enable you to explore your options and where to get further information and help. The Festival Church model might not be right for you but we believe that exploring it as an option will put your church in a better position to serve your community moving forward.

Organised by

Association of Festival Churches

The Association is a Registered Charity (Charity No. 1191777) and is managed by a Board of Trustees comprising of individuals with experience and expertise in the management of church buildings, particularly in the context of rural ministry.

The Association has recently received support from the Church of England's Buildings for Mission Fund and the Benefact Trust. As a result the Association have been able to appoint Nigel Mills as their Festival Church Development Officer. Nigel was formerly Head of Church Support at the National Churches Trust. Over the next three years the Association aims to develop the following:

A national strategic approach which will promote a clearer understanding of the Festival Church model with key indicators for operating as a sustainable Festival Church;

A range of easily accesible resources and information that will support the implementation of the Festival Church model locally;

Working with key partners to deliver a range of training which will cover such topics as community consultation, identifying revenue streams, tourism and Church Building Maintenance Partnerships;

Free