Teach / Talk / Pray - 3 Significant Encounters
Added to site 07.02.12

• Pray: Prayer is the key to the heart of God, inspiring our Vision of Him, whilst hearing, answering and changing us on the journey. Meeting together, learning from each other and sharing our burdens are part of the Creed prayer workshop. This is a vital aspect of the Creed Pro-VISON programme and one that builds Kingdom in our hearts and lives. The intention is to allow us to focus on the things we can’t do so that God can breathe His life in these areas. It may be engaging with a youth group or a Sunday school class just as easily as praying for a heart change in generosity. We are grateful to the Churches who have prayed with us, to Beryl and Gordon who facilitated our evening and to our Great and Beautiful God who met with us.
   
• Teach: Despite 2,300 injunctions in the Bible about money we sometime struggle to address the issue of how to teach on the subject. A teaching workshop just a couple of weeks ago, helped us think through the issues and equip us to deliver a teaching series in the Creed Pro-VISION programme. Creed very much appreciated the work of John McCammon in preparing and delivering this seminar and resourcing us for the future delivery of good biblical teaching on Money, and generous giving.
   
• Talk: Malachi 3:16 ‘those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard.’ That’s how it seemed when some of us got together this month with Dr John Preston the stewardship and resources officer for the Church of England. The goal was to share some of what’s happening across a broad spectrum of local churches in the area of generous giving. The connections made will be built on and we are grateful to God for the opportunity to meet together. Thanks to the small network of folk who accepted our invitation and we are looking forward to greater partnership in the future.

A Creed Baby & A New Staff Member!
Added to site 12.12.11

We have been delighted by the safe arrival of baby Rachel Kay Brown on 10th October. Rachel is a genuine Creed baby with both Mum and Dad (Nicola and Simon) a vital part of the Creed team.

With Nicola on maternity leave we welcome Jan Peach into the family! Jan is doing an excellent job in the Creed office but she still remains camera shy. This will change shortly!

Creed Pro-VISION
Added to site 12.12.11

More than ever, the need to be generous givers has been impressed on us.
We have valued the support and input of several key people in recent weeks.
Bishops Alan Abernethy and Harold Miller, John Truscott shared his time and heart with us on a recent visit to Belfast.

Coming soon is the opportunity to spend time with Dr John Preston who heads up the Stewardship programme in the Church of England.

"Money Follows Vision"
Added to site 14.10.11

With the recession proving a challenge for local churches as much as for any other part of the community it is very difficult for congregations to keep themselves not only inspired by a vision but also to find the money to pay for it. It is with these challenges in mind that CREED Ireland has produced ‘Pro-vision’ a new and easy-to-use resource for the local church.

From L-R: Creed members Cyril McEllhinney, Beryl Whitehead and John Shannon.

‘CREED Pro-VISION’ is a creative resource to help churches work through the issue of finance. The title is a clever play on words that helps capture the purpose of the resource. It recognizes that it can be difficult for churches to stay motivated by a vision to serve and engage with the need of their local community whilst struggling to meet their running costs – with the result that vision can be stifled. That is why CREED Pro-VISION will help the local church to rise successfully to the financial challenges of today and still realize the vision.

CREED Ireland has a deep reservoir of experience helping churches to engage creatively with the needs of their local communities. Its skill lies in helping churches find ways of identifying their vision and then helping them find the means to make things happen. Simon Brown, the Secretary of CREED, said “We have been encouraged by the support of senior church leaders to develop Pro-VISION. We believe it will be a resource helping churches find the means to make even more difference in their communities”.

The first phase of “CREED Pro-VISION” will see the engagement with and the use of this unique program by trained facilitators in ten different churches in every part of the country. This will take place over the coming few months.

CREED is inviting expressions of interest from Churches and Organisations who may wish to participate in CREED Pro-VISION from Spring 2012.

To find out more, please contact us on +44 (0)28 3832 4578 or email john@creedireland.com.

Start the day with a CREED Breakfast!
Added to site 21.09.11

There’s nothing quite like an Ulster fry (or a full Irish for that matter) to get you going on a Saturday morning.

Seventeen of us took the challenge on Saturday 10th September to get ready for the CREED Pro-VISION launch.

From L-R: Tea is a serious business! John and Ian check out the Facilitators Manual. Issues facing the church.

Apart from the breakfast we will remember the inspiration from Cyril and Liz McElhinney, plus the sense of unity and support we established from the outset. The group represented a good cross section of denominations and it was fascinating to capture some of the challenges facing the church. Finance, Biblical teaching, Prayer and leadership were on almost everyone’s list.

Getting to grips with the detail of CREED Pro-VISION followed but the purpose of our time together was primarily represented by three ‘i’s: Inform, Inspire, Impart.
The feedback suggests we achieved our goal and we are looking forward to our meetings with the nine churches province wide who have partnered with us on this step of the CREED Pro-VISION journey.

We are grateful to our volunteer facilitators on whom the development and delivery of Creed Pro-VISION depends.

New Resource Launched: The Extra Mile
Added to site 08.06.11

The Extra Mile is a resource to help churches and volunteers engage with the local community, written by Robert Miller and Earl Storey. Find out more at www.the-extra-mile.com.

Creed Pro-VISION - New Church Finance Scheme Under Construction
Added to site 07.06.11

Finance and giving is an emotive subject. Early in 2010 CREED reflected on the issue of finance as a major inhibitor for churches seeking to fulfil their missional and local community goals. It is estimated that more that 50% of churches are struggling to meet recurrent running costs, and as a result vision is stifled.

We are developing a pilot scheme to assist local congregations cope in the tough financial climate - determining where there are lessons to be learned, where best practice can be adopted, to create a concise way forward for those struggling with this issue, all underpinned with prayerful reflection and good teaching on tithing/giving.

We look forward to partnering with local congregations to engage fully with this model and together we can help bring vision into life.

After piloting the scheme in Q4 of 2011, the plan is to roll out the programme to a wider audience. If you would like to receive further information about Creed Pro-VISION please contact john@creedireland.com.

John Shannon Appointed As CREED Development Officer
Added to site 07.06.11

John joined CREED in June 2011 in the new role of Development Officer. This is rooted in the context of the local Church where John is an Elder in Kings Fellowship Bangor. Key involvement is in Pastoral Care; the development of team based leadership; Community outreach and CAP. John is also a trustee of FONIC TRUST, supporting mission projects in Nepal through a ‘business as mission’ model. Formerly in Sales and Marketing with Unilever for over 20 years, John will focus on the Creed Pro-VISION project, designed to help Churches bring Vision to life. He is married (happily) to Liz and they have two adult children.

CREED Ireland Regional Seminars (2011)
Added to site 01.04.11

After a very encouraging regional seminar in Derry in November 2010 - ‘Going Local’ - we are hoping to run these half day events throughout 2011 in specific areas.

Our regional Seminars will be facilitated by CREED committee members, including workshop speakers Gordon McDade and Paul Betts speaking on subjects such as ‘Making it happen on the ground’ and ‘Keeping Kingdom values in community engagement’. Dates and venues to be announced soon.

Past CREED Events

Make it Happen Conference (2009)

This conference provided practical help to encourage churches to reach out to their communities and neighbourhoods in realistic ways.

Keynote Speaker was Bishop Ken Good and the seminars included:

- What are you waiting for
- Growing volunteers and leaders
- Engaging the Facebook generation

... “The conference gave me a realisation that there is so much more to be achieved in our church, parish and community”

Glory to God in the High St - 1st Annual Conference (2008)

This conference aimed at facilitating church groups and Christian organisations to engage and extend God’s kingdom in the High Street and local community.

The key note speaker was Bishop Ken Clarke and the seminars included:

- I’ve started so I’ll finish
- Developing programmes and implementing vision
- Project funding
- Relationships and networking

Over 250 people attended the conference... “Inspiring, timely and relevant”, “The conference has helped us see more clearly the way forward”