Is your church facing a period of change? Are you overwhelmed with too much to do? Or are you searching for a new vision?

If you are looking to take your church in a new direction, then How to Develop Your Local Church can help you decide which path to follow. Written by an experienced practitioner, it will help you to understand your congregation better: how it operates, what its members take for granted, what their priorities are and what the ‘character’ of the congregation is. The book then explains some of the reasons for frustration and conflict in church life, and points to positive ways forward, giving guidance on planning and decision-making.

Just as no two churches are the same, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ answer to how your church might develop. Rather, it is only by drawing upon the collective wisdom of the local congregation that worthwhile change will begin to happen.

Richard Impey is Bishop’s Adviser for Parish Development in the Diocese of Sheffield. He has served as an ordained priest in parishes in Birmingham, Blackpool, Norwich and South Yorkshire, and been Director of Training in the dioceses of Bath and Wells, and Norwich.