Transforming Church Action Planning (TCAP) is a vital part of our People and Places journey together.
Forming a TCAP takes parishes through a journey of reflection, stopping along the way to consider who they are, who their community thinks they are and where God is calling for particular attention over the coming months.
This sense of core identity is particularly helpful at the moment as it gives an anchor for parish ministry focus even as regulations change and opportunities for ministry develop. Understanding and being confident in our parish core identity can help us make wise decisions about the next days, weeks and months.
The TCAP journey is a bit like using Google Maps
We start with where we are and where we want to be. Then Google Maps draws down information about road and rail networks and real-time traffic data to present us with possible routes to our desired destination. We select our preferred route and away we go.
We can even punch in preferences that influence the route - avoid motorways, avoid tolls, take a scenic route, save money or go the most straightforward way.
As we set off new information presents itself, so alternative routes are offered we choose whether or not to change the way we will get to our destination.
The Transforming Church Action Planning (TCAP) process works in a similar way. Put simply, a TCAP is a proposed route to help our church, parish or oversight area on a missional journey from where we are towards where we believe God is calling us to head for.
As part of P&P, every parish will be developing their own TCAP in a wide variety of different ways: some will be refreshing existing plans while others will be creating a plan from scratch.
Resources are available from the Parish Mission Support Team to resource churches as they embark on their TCAP journey. Working alongside parishes, the team can create an individual planning process that reflects your unique context so you can:
- identify your current location and where you want to be.
- creatively and prayerfully reflect and plan your own route, shaped by your values and context of your community.
- travel your own personal journey to plan, implement and continually evaluate your route.
As part of the wider Parish Mission Support team, the dedicated TCAP team are committed to local mission and supporting churches in the faithful work they are already doing to make Christ known.
For more information and to talk about your TCAP, please contact Damian Herbert by clicking here.