During the last four months the Leadership Team and Trustees have been conducting a ministry review in order to ensure that the core aspects of our ministry (i.e. growing and serving volunteers, children and young people in local Groups) are given the right priority, time and resources to thrive. Alongside this is the need to scale-back our costs in light of the current economic climate.

We believe that now is the right time to make substantial changes to how the activities programme (events, holidays, community projects, training programmes, emerging leaders) is developed in future years. This will involve ensuring that all activities are primarily developed from the grassroots/regions/nations upwards rather than from the Support Centre downwards. Activities also need to be group-centric (i.e. there primarily to serve Groups), to include specific opportunities and roles for emerging leaders (16s to 25s), and to be financially self funding.

In light of the above, we are entering a time of 'pruning to grow'. This does not mean that the work of Urban Saints is diminishing in any sense! We simply need to ensure that we are focusing our resources and efforts on the absolutely core aspects of our ministry, pausing for breath before we launch any new ministry initiatives.

This refocusing and 'pruning to grow' means that we will be running a slimmed down activities programme for 2009. This will provide space for the Regions/Nations and Support Centre to work together to build an exciting, new, group-centric activity programme to launch in 2010 - which is nationally promoted whilst birthed from the regions/nations.

Whilst this strategic re-focusing creates some new roles in the team, it sadly also means that a number of existing roles will finish at the end of 2008. This will most likely mean that at least six of our team will be moving on to pastures new in January 2009.

As we press ahead we're excited about all that God is doing at this time to grow the movement and yet we're sad about losing good friends from our team. We'd be so grateful for your prayers during this time of transition, trusting together that the movement and the individuals are safe in God's hands.