The London Institute for Contemporary Christianity

Imagine Project

The Pilot Project

The backbone of the Imagine Project is a three-year experimental pilot research programme. In this programme LICC and a small number of local churches partner together to learn how practically to achieve the goal of becoming whole-life disciplemaking communities in the context of the UK today.

map of the uk

The 16 participating churches were chosen to represent a range of social, economic, geographical, theological and ecclesiastical backgrounds. They work in partnership with Imagine's Church Life Consultant through their leadership team around the key questions that shape the programme.

Key questions:

  • Can we help form leaders who grasp a vision for making 'whole life disciples' in their communities?
  • Can we help leaders and churches to introduce simple actions that will help to start a change of culture?
  • Can we give them the starter materials to pass it on and start to help people grow?
  • Can we network people together to create a forum that catalyses and reproduces this way of life?
  • Is there a vision that holds it all together?
  • Can we identify and start to tackle the major hurdles that impede growth?
  • Can we identify the key elements that allow this way of life to become a reality in many churches in the UK?
  • Can we demonstrate that focusing on whole life discipleship in an apprenticing culture will lead to a healthy church and ongoing fruitfulness?

The pilot project seeks to identify the key principles, practices skills and resources that enable churches to start to live out a growing whole-life discipleship as communities of believers committed to 'all apprenticing together'. This has led in turn to the development of resources that support their challenge.

With 12 months yet to run, we've seen success and failure and through both have learnt many valuable lessons. We're seeing fruit from the 'one-degree shifts', the series of small changes in the way that churches do life together. Stories are emerging of the difference that this changing culture starts to make in the lives of so-called 'ordinary Christians' who are now being encouraged, indeed provoked, to believe that God really is interested in all of their lives and He will use them, wherever they are and whatever they do.

We're also encouraged by the response of the leaders working with us, who have often come to realise that some of the greatest changes are happening in themselves, their competencies, mind-set and motivation.

Over the next 18 months the learnings from this project will be published more widely.

Going Further

To read more about the process we go through with the Pilot Project churches click here.

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