Deanery Briefing: Pioneering Parishes: Extending the Church’s Reach into Communities

Shifting energy from the church into your communities

7.30 Wednesday
18 June 2025

Download the Presenttion: here and find out more about how Pioneering Parishes can engage with your Deanery here

City Street Scene

Innovative parishes are essential for bridging the gap between the church and the populations it serves. These parishes address critical social concerns and support the general well-being of society by prioritising outreach, social justice, and community involvement.

The growth of the Pioneering Parish programme underscores the significance of social responsibility within faith.

Pioneering Parishes:

  • Innovate and build a society that embodies the principles of compassion, justice, and belonging.
  • Create meaningful connections between the church and the community.
Rural Countryside with motorway
  • Focus on outreach, social justice, and community engagement.
  • Address social issues and support those in need.
  • Encourage collective action for community improvement.

Becoming a Pioneering Parish

Pioneering Parishes can help deaneries and churches in the deanery move forward with what you have, rather than starting from scratch. It is not a one size-fits-all, quick fix; instead, it provides tools which can be used in an appropriate way for your context and community.

In this Deanery Briefing the co-founder of Pioneering Parishes, Rev Greg Bakker, will introduced Pioneering Parishes and outlined why churches across the country are finding new energy, joy and abundance.

Rev Greg Bakker

Greg is as an experienced parish priest of 30 years and thought leader in the skill of advocating for pioneers, he is committed to creating space for both pioneers and parish churches to thrive in the work of developing new Christian communities. Greg was previously pioneer development officer for the Diocese of Portsmouth.

About Pioneering Parishes

Pioneering Parishes provides tools to help parishes become more outward looking, enabling parish priests and their churches to extend the care of souls into all the parish. As one former participant commented: “Every church wants to be more outward looking and this gives simple ways to be so”.

More about Pioneering Parishes: www.pioneeringparishes.org