The Rev'd Preb Simon Franklin, priest in charge of the Bovey Valley Mission Community, spent his Sabbatical earlier in 2017, exploring the model of "Local Shared Ministry" in the diocecese of Auckland, New Zealand, with a view to understanding what we might learn from it for our ministry and mission in Devon.
The model draws from the work of African missionary, Roland Allen, who said “every congregation has within its own membership sufficient gifts for its own life and mission” and understands the church as arising from its local community, with all the gifts and talents that are already there.
From their website ...
‘Local Shared Ministry’ (LSM) is the term used to describe a particular theology and structure for being church within the Diocese of Auckland. The emphasis is on being a ‘ministering community’, rather than being a community gathered around a minister. An intention is to find ways to express all the varied gifts of the people who are part of the community.
This link will take you to their website where you can find out more
See diagrams of how the model works in NZ and how it could be adapted for the UK (coutesy of Simon Franklin) here
or you can contact Simon here
Please also see the report from our November 2017 Devon Churches Forum Meeting where this subject was the main item (coming soon!)