In brief, here are the three core elements of MAP for Derby Diocese.

Element one: the stages

You can see an overview of the stages of MAP for Derby Diocese in the leader's guide and introductory leaflet, downloaded from the top of this page.

Sometimes there is a temptation, when using a process like MAP for Derby Diocese, to skip over some parts of that process if the church believes that they are too difficult, unnecessary or needlessly time consuming.

To get the best out of MAP for Derby Diocese, it is essential that the church completes each stage carefully and in the right order.

The stages of MAP for Derby Diocese are:

1. Explore the purpose and character of the church God is calling you to be
2. Reflect in your journey toward God's calling so far
3. Discern the areas in which God is now calling you to grow and change to meet His call
4. Prepare how you will make the changes God requires of you
5. Journey toward making the changes God requires of you

Each Stage contains a simple set of questions that help the church engage with the issues that are important for that stage.

Element two: the characteristics

You can download a separate resource that gives more information about the about the MAP for Derby Diocese characteristics, including theological reflections and questions to help churches, groups and individuals reflect on them:

• MAP for Derby Diocese Characteristics

The MAP for Derby Diocese process is designed to help the church become the healthy, flourising church that God intends them to be. The process isn't focussed on doing more things, but rather being God's church.

To do that, we need to understand what that church looks like. In other words, we need to understand its characteristics.

MAP for Derby Diocese is therefore based around a set of eight characteristics of God's church. Those characteristics are:

• Christ-centred in life and worship
• focused on God's mission and purpose
• loving, servant-hearted and generous
• welcoming, open and inclusive
• willing to adapt for God's purposes
• encouraging in Christian vocation and service
• Christ-like in leadership
• valuing children, young people and families

The characteristics have been carefully developed, starting from the work of several different research projects and bringing them to Scripture to ensure that they represent a complete picture of the church God calls us to be.

Element three: the church health check

If you would like to use the MAP for Derby Diocese Church Health Check in your church, you can download all the resources here:

• A5 Introductory Leaflet to the MAP Church Health Check
• Church Health Check Leader's Guide
• Church Health Check General Survey (Short)
• Church Health Check General Survey (Full)
• Church Health Check Leaders' Survey

The MAP for Derby Diocese Church Health Check is the only essential tool in the MAP for Derby Diocese process. It works alongside the characteristics and is threaded through the first four stages of the process, as follows:

1. Explore the character of the church od is calling them to be by explaining each of the characteristics in a theological reflection.
2. Reflect on the church's journey toward God's calling so far by helping them to examine honestly the evidence we should expect to see in churches exhibiting His desired character.
3. Discern the areas in which God is now calling them to grow and change to meet His call by helping the church to see in which characteristic(s) the church most needs to develop.
4. Prepare how they will make the changes God requires of them by showing in which areas of each characteristic the church will specifically need to develop and grow.