Lord, Teach Us to Pray
The first step to a healthy and thriving church is prayer, so we will make prayer integral to all our events and activities in 2025, to help the spiritual life of our churches to flourish. We have selected two excellent prayer course resources to help us explore and expand our prayer life throughout 2025.
Commencing 10 March, the Mission Team will lead two Lenten Diocesan prayer courses online, using the Pilgrim Prayer Course national church
resources, and The Prayer Course. Sessions will include simple liturgy, reflection on passages of scripture, video content, time in breakout groups to discuss, questions, and of course, prayer.
A course for the twenty-first century, Pilgrim offers an approach of participation, not persuasion. Enquirers are encouraged to practise the ancient disciplines of biblical reflection and prayer, exploring key texts that have helped people learn and grow in faith since the early Church.
Assuming little or no knowledge of the Christian faith, Pilgrim can be used at any point on the journey of discipleship and by every tradition in the Church of England.
Diocesan Pilgrim Prayer Course Online: Mondays 10, 17, 24, 31 March and 07 April 2025 19:00-20:300h. Click here to book your place.
The Prayer Course is split into eight sessions and is easy to run in any small group or church context. The Prayer Course has been created by 24-7 Prayer. Recommended equally for beginners and "experts". Each session will include video footage from Pete Greig and Poppy Williams, time for questions, prayer and breakout groups for discussion.
Diocesan The Prayer Course-Online: Wednesdays 12, 19, 26 March and 02 & 09 April 2025 19:00-20:30h. Click here to book your place.
Thy Kingdom Come prayer events 04, 05, 06 June 2025 at Bouverie Court (Northampton).
The Mission Team invite you to join us in prayer for our parishes across the Diocese of Peterborough, and also for the five people we are hoping will draw near to God. Praying with others can be a great way to energise and focus prayer. Please join us at Bouverie Court (Northampton) for all three sessions, or whichever one suits you best.
We will be using Thy Kingdom Come resources and will pray in various ways, using silence, activity and art, to aid our prayers for your church and the five people we have each chosen.
If you cannot attend in person, please send us your prayer requests relating to mission and growth in your parishes.
Click here to book your place-be quick, spaces are limited!
Run Your Own Prayer Course.
In order to prepare those who value the opportunity to share the bounty of prayer with others within their own church family and beyond, the Mission Team were pleased to conduct two preparation courses in January (online using Zoom). These were well attended by both lay leaders and clergy who wanted to explore the content of the two prayer courses being offered to all by the Diocese during Lent. Attendees were able to familiarise themselves with the free resources available for both events, and the breakout discussions in smaller groups challenged and encouraged participants to “Keep it simple, keep it real and keep it up.”
We are pleased to offer two further opportunities to learn how to lead a prayer course, with sessions taking place online on Wednesday 09 July 2025 and on Thursday 10 July 2025 at Bouverie Court (Northampton). The training introduces two popular prayer courses and provides useful information on how to run an event for your own church or worship group. The Pilgrim Prayer Course and The Prayer Course both use The Lord's Prayer as a basis to help all of us reach deeper into prayer. Both courses are easy to present and these events will connect you to all the details and downloads that you need.
Click here to book your place for online training on 09 July 2025
Click here to book your place for training at Bouverie Court on 10 July 2025
Zoom recordings from January training events:
How to run a Pilgrim Prayer Course-(Took place on Wednesday 22 January 2025)
How to run The Prayer Course-(Took place on Monday 27 January 2025)
Contact Charlie Nobbs or Louise Skinner if you need help getting started with your preferred prayer course.
Leading your Church into Growth (LyCiG) 2025 Spring National Conference 02 - 04 June 2025
This highly-regarded residential course is an open seminar with interactive talks, practical exercises, workshops and time and space for personal reflection. There will be opportunities for LyCiG team members to answer
questions and to explore the profile of individual churches. This event is designed for clergy and lay leaders from across different denominations who are looking for help in leading their churches into growth.
This year, the LyCiG Spring National Conference is taking place within the Diocese of Peterborough at Highgate House, Creaton, Northampton NN6 8NN. There are a limited number of day attendance places available, in addition to the full residential experience.
Contact Charlie Nobbs by email or phone 07532 013599 for more information on bookings and funding assistance.
See the Events Calendar for more details.
Leading your Church into Growth (LyCiG) 2025 Autumn National Conference 13-15 October 2025
The LyCiG Autumn National Conference will take place at The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick, Alfreton, Derbyshire, DE55 1AU.
Referencing over 25 years of experience, this residential course is designed for clergy and lay leaders from across different denominations who are looking for help in leading their churches into growth. As a ‘mixed economy’ mission-shaped church, we work with Fresh Expressions as well as ‘Re-freshed’ Expressions of Church!
Contact Charlie Nobbs by email or phone 07532 013599 for more information on bookings and funding assistance.
See the Events Calendar for more details.
Evangelism Training
One of the most effective ways to help people come to, and grow in faith, is through an enquirers course. These are simple gatherings where people can ask questions, discuss their opinions and listen to simple explanations about aspects of Christianity - usually done in a comfy, safe environment often with food. While many of of our friends and neighbours may not come to church, a surprising number are keen to talk about life, the universe, God and everything else, when in a place or with people they feel comfortable with!
This training explores some of the 'off the peg' enquirers courses (Alpha, Christianity Explored, and Start Course), how to go about organising, inviting and running a course; also the key principles of listening, generous hospitality and faith journeys.
Research shows that churches which regularly run enquirer's courses - even with only 2 or 3 attending, see consistent growth in their numbers and depth of faith.
Learn how to lead an enquirers course by joining one of the following training sessions:
- Wednesday 17 September 2025 7:00-8:30pm Online Click here to book your place
- Thursday 18 September 2025 12:00-2:00pm Bouverie Court, Northampton Click here to book your place
- Wednesday 12 November 2025 7:00-8:30pm Online Click here to book your place
- Thursday 13 November 2025 12:00-2:00pm Bouverie Court, Northampton Click here to book your place
Pioneer and Church Planting Training
Jesus the Pioneer led by Revd Tina Hodgett 08 May 2025 - 10:00am - 1:00pm
Join the Diocesan Mission Team at Bouverie Court, Northampton as we welcome Revd Tina Hodgett, a pioneer, teacher, speaker and leader with a reputation for inspiring hope and a sense of possibility in congregations. Tina co-authored the pioneer spectrum and birthed the Pioneer Project in the Diocese of Bath and Wells.
At this event, aimed at ordained pioneer curates and emerging lay pioneers, we will consider our Saviour's qualities and practices, spirituality etc. This focus on the life of Jesus is different from that of church planters, who tend to focus more on Paul’s missionary journeys. We will also explore what pioneers tend to be called to do and the desirable qualities of pioneers. This is often where people see themselves revealed. Our goal is for all those attending to feel seen and have their intuition and instincts affirmed and encouraged.
Limited places available-Do not miss this opportunity!
Click here for more information and to secure your place.
Lay Pioneer Training Course
A 3 module course for anyone exploring or wanting to get better at starting things that reach out to people who won’t walk up the path to the church. If you are interested we’d love to hear from you.
Contact: Rev. Dave Battison
Church Planting
Individual or team coaching. Contact Revd Charlie Nobbs, an experienced church planter and coach, or phone 07532 013599 to talk about how we can support you.
Sharing Faith Stories Workshops
During the Autumn of 2024, we offered a variety of courses which provided a great way to learn how to share our many and diverse faith stories in simple and accessible ways. If you would like to participate in future Sharing Faith workshops, please contact Louise Skinner (Mission Team Administrator).