Growing Our Faith | Pastorates

What is a Pastorate?

Pastorates are groups of 25 to 35 people that normally gather in a home. The groups meet bi-weekly and are open so that anyone new to the church or not in a pastorate already is free to join. Pastorates eat, worship, learn and pray together.

They exist for 4 main reasons:

• Making friends and growing community
• Identifying and developing gifts
• Mission
• Planting/growing (pastorates are encouraged to plant and grow new pastorates)

A typical evening in a pastorate starts at 7:00 pm with supper. There is worship, a short talk by one of the group members (perhaps trying preaching/teaching for the first time) some discussion, then a time of prayer ministry. Pastorates are encouraged to undertake mission together.

Why were Pastorates developed?

Church life happens at various levels:

Celebration is the gathering of the whole church. There is a sense of joy and excitement as the community gathers. Led worship and major teaching can happen in this context, but it is too large a gathering to facilitate the making of friends.

Home groups are smaller gatherings where accountability, intimacy and confidentiality can be fostered.

Between Cell and Celebration is a mid-sized level that allows for face-to-face interaction, the development of friendships and the exercise of gifts.

Pastorates are developing to help with the challenges of:

• Connecting newcomers to the church
• Facilitating friendships
• Developing gifts and ministries. Many gifts are required to run a pastorate properly. Hospitality, leadership, administration, teaching, worship leading, prayer ministry etc. can all be exercised in the context of a pastorate.