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The Norfolk and Norwich Christian community website

Who Cares? mission set to launch across Norfolk

A county-wide mission called Who Cares? gearing up to reach thousands of people across Norfolk in 2014 had just launched its new website so that churches can find out more about getting involved.

 
 
WhoCaresWeb400Who Cares? is all about challenging Norfolk churches to find out what issues hurt the people in their local communities and then respond with compassion and the gospel. 
 
Unique to this mission is the opportunity to work with thousands of young people from the Newday Youth Festival who are going to help local churches connect with thousands more people than would otherwise be possible.
 
Rob Tervet, from Who Cares? Explains: “Effective evangelism often begins with listening to people and hearing about their deepest needs. In 2014, Who Cares?  aims through a simple survey to ask the people of Norfolk one question ‘What hurts the most?’ and then respond with the hope of the Gospel. Many people feel like no one truly cares about their deepest pain – we want to show them that someone does.”
 
This unique ‘survey style’ evangelistic approach was piloted in one Norfolk church in the summer of 2011. They received hundreds of heartfelt responses including one who wrote simply ‘what hurts the most is not being loved’.  The church saw increased media coverage, and many more opportunities to share the gospel as a result of the survey. 
 
One couple, who have now joined the church, said when they saw the church was addressing the pain of family life in their teaching series ‘we knew we had to come’.  Since coming to faith the wife has described how she now ‘feels like a brand new person’.
 
Churches will demonstrate compassion by responding to their local survey and shaping existing community activities around the results.  Examples include; running an evangelistic teaching series on the most common survey answers, or running specific support groups or events.
 
Key to this initiative is a website where people can complete the survey online and discover the different ways local churches are helping people to face the issues in life that hurt the most. We anticipate excellent opportunities to engage with local media and run a successful publicity campaign.
 
The campaign has already been endorsed by Roy Crowne, Executive Director of Hope 2014, who said: “Hope is thrilled the Who Cares? resource will provide churches with a tool to enable them to impact their community, coming out of caring and loving relationships, this provides a great opportunity to communicate the Gospel. It is one of many that Hope would recommend and we’re thrilled to be partnering with this in the summer of 2014.”
 
The Rt Rev Graham James, Bishop of Norwich said: “Who Cares? is often said by those who have grown cynical about our society. This mission initiative is a very simple means of enabling churches to make fresh contact with the communities of which they’re part and to show that they care for everyone because God cares for them. It’s a practical initiative, achievable and worthwhile, and which I hope will bring people who’ve never known of Jesus Christ’s care for them to hear his name and discover his love.”
 
Ian Savory, Senior Pastor of Oak Grove Chapel in Norwich, said: “Who Cares? gives the Church together in Norfolk a real opportunity to engage with the issues people are facing. Mission always involves a risk and the risk here is: will we listen to the answers?”
 
www.who-cares.org.uk


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