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An inspirational afternoon was held after our Spring Conference to consider how we can develop our ministry area life.The session began with a lively, and thought-provoking address from the Rt Revd John Lomas, Bishop of Swansea who talked about ‘Moving at the Speed of God’.With personal examples of where he was out of step during his military days, to a time when he very much felt “the internal rhythm that God sets within us” his talk reminds us all of the power of being in the right place, at the right time.He says: “How many articles have you seen in the newspapers, Church Times, or whatever else, that say by the year 2033 there will be nobody left in the Church of Wales, or the Church of England, because that is the point in decline where we hit the bottom line and that it’s all over?“It’s not true, it never has been true and it never will be true, and all we have to do, I believe, as a church, is to move into that place where God acts and to hit that mark at the right time, in the right frame of mind, with the equipment to carry out the job that He has told us to do. In the right frame of mind that we can love each other as we love ourselves and we can be a team that works together.”You can watch the full address here.The session was then lead by the Ven Stella Bailey, Archdeacon of the Gwent Valleys and Director of Mission, with discussions with representatives from each of our 16 ministry areas and our cathedral.Archdeacon Stella, said:“Bishop John offered some outstanding input into what it looks like to walk at the pace of God.“We are at a significant point in the shaping of our ministry areas where we are setting up our processes and ethos around what it means to join God in mission together - that holds the balance between the strength of unity, and engagement with the local.“Ethos setting does not happen overnight, but requires us to think, pray and plan together so that good habits and relationships of trust are formed.“It was good to have time to listen to each other in talking about the health of our churches.”Archdeacon Stella, along with the Ven Ian Rees, Director of Ministry, are both keen to join others on their journey of development and recommend three courses that they could use as tools of support.PCC Tonight is a CPAS course around the role and responsibilities of our ministry area council’s and how they can be places where God’s mission becomes the start of our conversation.Leading your Church into Growth (LyCIG) is a course that helps a church set a culture that enables growth principles to be part of its DNA as people are equipped and motivated to play their part.Faith in our Future Planning is a process to journey with a ministry area into evaluating their shared life and activities and to let go of that which is potentially no longer fruitful, and seek new ways in reaching our communities in a contextual way.Please get in touch with either Stella or Ian to explore your needs and how they might be able to walk with you in laying the solid foundations for the future.Please get in touch with either Stella or Ian to explore your needs and how they might be able to walk with you in laying the solid foundations for the future.Stella Bailey - archdeacon.gwentvalleys@churchinwales.org.ukIan Rees - archdeacon.monmouth@churchinwales.org.uk