Published on: 14/10/2025
Choosing to do something new or different requires a decision. Change requires intentionality. Whether change is large or small it requires a choice to be made and carried through. Recently I decided to reduce the amount of caffeine I have in a day and it got me thinking about how change comes about. What are some of the things we need to make a change work.
Firstly, I think we need a ‘Why?’. For me this is the key component of intentionality and rather obviously so if you consider it. When I told my wife, I wanted a de-caf tea, her first response was to ask me why. The reason I gave is that I often drink seven or eight cups of tea or coffee a day and I find I am very ‘wired’ by the evening. When we think about starting something new in church, a New Congregation or Missional activity, we ought to have a ‘Why?’. One ‘Why’ for that is that Jesus told us to make disciples of all nations and new initiatives in church can be a great vehicle for that. Another ‘Why’ is that research conducted recently across twelve dioceses showed that churches starting a New Congregation grew much faster than churches that didn’t.
Secondly, I think there’s a How. Intentionality can be frustrated by not knowing how to make the change. Fortunately, in my case, it simply involved buying de-caf tea bags! In the case of starting of something new in church, it can seem more daunting but I am always happy to have a chat with you about that. The diocese currently has well over thirty New Congregations up and running, we have some know-how available.
Thirdly, intentional change is really helped by support from others. Swapping to de-caf tea is easy at home as Mrs M is already an aficionado. Its generally easy out and about too, as most cafés will serve de-caf varieties. In church it’s the same way. Deciding to start something through, being intentional, is easier and more likely to happen if it’s supported by others. The first step to make a new thing happen, to bring about change, is to get a team of people together. When Jesus commissioned the disciples to go to the nations, he had already formed them into a team, and taught them how to work together.
Finally, the last reason for being intentional is to bear fruit. My intentional switch to de-caf is powered by the hope that my health and well-being will improve. Intentionality is about change, hopefully change for the better, change to produce fruit. Although fruit grows naturally, and its been a bumper year this year, good crops require some care and attention. When God commands Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply, the clear implication is that intentionality is required.
As Beth mentioned in her blog post it’s easy to drift through church life without being intentional so we need to stop and take stock. Maybe think about ‘Why’ a new thing might be needed and have a chat with me about how. Then find a likeminded group, form a team and, “go and bear fruit—fruit that will last” John 15:16.
This week’s Blog post was written by John Marsh, Mission Development Adviser