Will you join us in Growing Good?
Growing Good is a FREE six session course helping churches explore the connection between social action, discipleship and growth. Through six flexible, interactive small group sessions, we explore how our churches can be faithful and fruitful in our local communities.
Together your group will reflect on scripture, learn more about your local community, discover their gifts, and find inspiration for putting ideas into action. Join hundreds of churches that have deepened their connections with their neighbours, stepped out in service and grown in discipleship.
Six Sessions
Presence
Being seen and known for doing good
Consider how your church can be an active and visible presence in your community, and hear from an inner city church that has become a beacon of hope in its local community.
Perseverance
Being faithful in the long-term
Explore the value of investing in communities, even when it's hard and slow, and find out how one church has invested in local schools over the long-term, and seen fruit.
Hospitality
Building a culture of giving and receiving
Discuss the importance of offering a welcome that goes beyond offering food, and learn how a church worked with its local community to start a vibrant café and build relationships.
Adaptability
Being open to challenge and change
Explore how being open to doing things differently can encourage new growth and find out how one church has adapted their worship to involve people of different ages, cultures, ethnicities, and backgrounds.
Participation
Inviting everyone to be part of what’s going on
Consider how participation in social action can be a way for people to become part of the life of your church and hear what this meant for one family after they had a faced a difficult time.
Next Steps
Reflect on the practical next steps you might take
Reflect on the things you have learned from the Growing Good sessions and the practical next steps you might take individually and as a church.
Tried and tested by churches
Growing Good is helping hundreds of churches grow in knowledge about their community, confidence for mission and connection with their neighbours.
Toolkit resources
Each 90 minute session comes with a guide for group leaders and includes questions for discussion, a scripture reading, case study film and group activity. Optional takeaway activities help groups put their ideas into action through the week.
Flexible & easy to use
Group leaders tell us that the Growing Good sessions are flexible, practical and easy to use. Our Training Hub for group leaders provides everything you need to get started, from an overview of each session to top tips from churches who've used the course.
“I would really recommend the Toolkit to a church that wants to plug into the local community, understand the local community and serve the local community.”
Lent resources from CUF
Two new sessions to help your church group reflect on Jesus' teaching about the kingdom of God, discover the gifts in your community and grow new connections.
We provide an easy-to-follow guide with all the information you need to run a 45-minute session including an introduction, scripture readings and questions for discussion.
Growing Good helps churches flourish
Our recent evaluation shows that the Growing Good Toolkit is helping churches grow in three key ways:
1. knowledge about their local community
2. confidence in their local mission
3. hospitality and relationships.
NEW! Training Hub for group leaders
Our new Training Hub equips group leaders to feel confident choosing and using the Growing Good Toolkit. Learn about how the sessions are structured, find out how to prepare sessions and activities, and discover top tips from other churches.
Log in or sign up to view the Training Hub resources.
A place to connect
The congregation of St Peter’s Church, Wawne, outside Hull, love where they live, and wanted to reach out to their community. A team of congregation members worked through CUF’s Growing Good course, which prompted them to consider needs in the village – including those that may not be obvious.
Building lasting relationships
Rev Clive Hamilton, vicar of St Barnabas’ Church in Knowle West, describes how the Growing Good Toolkit has helped the congregation to recognise they had persevered in being present to the local community through a difficult time.
Growing Good: Serving Hope
Kath is a lay leader and volunteer at St Paul’s Church in Staybridge. The Growing Good ‘Presence’ session helped them identify that they wanted to strengthen the church's relationship with some of the local schools, and particularly the local high school, which sits right behind the church.
Our experience of using the Growing Good Toolkit
In this short conversation between two church leaders from the diocese of Chester, they discuss how they have used the Growing Good resources to explore the links between social action, discipleship and growth. Both churches are part of the Transforming Lives Together network of parishes in Chester diocese whose joint aims are physical and spiritual transformation
Giving and receiving God's love
Revd Melanie Burnside is a curate in the Diocese of York, where she ministers to five rural churches. Growing Good helped Melanie’s church reconnect with the community after lockdown, which was particularly difficult in rural communities where lack of transport often prevents different people from coming together.
Growing Good makes a difference
Tim Jones is a Pastor at Emmanuel Church, Brighton, part of the New Frontiers network. “Growing Good encouraged us to keep our love for the city visible throughout everything we’re doing with and for the community across different contexts."
Many local churches want to engage with social action, but need support and resources to get started. Please donate today to help equip more churches to grow in faithfulness and fruitfulness.
