Multiply Away Day at Bishopthorpe Palace

Growth Fund Leaders and their team members gathered at Bishopthorpe Palace.

In November we had our final annual Multiply gathering at Bishopthorpe Palace with a welcome from Archbishop Stephen and Bishop Barry Hill as our guest speaker. 30 of us gathered for worship, prayer and sharing experiences of the joys and challenges of pioneering new worshipping communities in our contexts.

It was a great joy to spend the day with Multiply leadership teams as we heard together so many stories of God at work and considered what the scriptures, research, theories and our experience say sustainability looks like in new churches and at times of leadership transition.  As we discussed how fragile most new churches (and perhaps many time-honoured churches too) feel, we recalled that most of the images Jesus shares of the Kingdom are of something which starts small, vulnerable and precarious.  Such feelings are not a sign of failure but a testimony to the faithfulness of God.  It was a day of much testimony and so much to give thanks for.  Whilst some of the specifics entitled Multiply come to an end, the work and call continues.”   

Barry Hill  - Bishop of Whitby