Mowbray Community Church

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MCC is a dynamic church. If you are an established Youth/Children’s worker looking to grow your ministerial career in these areas and beyond, we want to hear from you.Job Description

Overall purpose of the post:*

To lead, oversee and grow an effective children’s and youth ministry at MCC.

To develop the children’s ministry and also the youth ministry such that young people of all ages can both come to faith and flourish as enthusiastic disciples. He or she will be expected to model a lively and committed faith in Jesus Christ, that impacts all areas of life and be an active member of the worshipping congregation at MCC (please refer to list of current activities at the end of this job description).

To lead, develop, encourage, and coordinate a committed and able team of volunteers and individual ministry leaders to accomplish these goals – providing an overall vision and leading a strategy to achieve this.

Specific responsibilities for children and youth:* To be responsible for the established Sunday morning teaching programme across the children and youth ministries, including ‘Kidstogether’ on Sundays during school holiday times. * To organise the rota of volunteers for each group, typically two to three months in advance, and the monthly family slot in the main service. * To maintain close contact with the individual groups by leading on a regular basis and no less than two weeks in six. * To plan and organise a successful programme to include Holiday Bible Club, the Light Party, special Christmas and Easter events and any other appropriate events.

Generic responsibilities for the role(s)

Lead: To oversee an effective and growing children and youth ministry. The Children’s and Youth Ministry Lead will have responsibility for the vision of the work and implementing a strategy to achieve this goal, working closely with volunteers and ministry leaders, as well as the Leadership Team of MCC. He or she will be part of MCC’s Ministry Operations Team (MOT), an important decision-making body within the church.
Care: To ensure excellent pastoral care for the children and youth. Being part of and overseeing a pastoral care team for the children and young people and providing support and encouragement to the ministry volunteers and leaders.
Plan: To work with the volunteer leaders to plan and organise successful programmes of groups, events and residentials, ensuring necessary administrative tasks; record-keeping; budget-management and communication are undertaken to the necessary high standard.
Initiate: To create and deliver new events and initiatives as appropriate that cohere with the wider vision and strategy of the Church and children’s and youth ministry.
Motivate: To encourage the large number of volunteers that enable the ministries to function effectively. This will include recruiting new volunteers; running relevant volunteer training and managing volunteers.
Witness: To develop initiatives and cooperate with others in Harrogate as appropriate to reach out to unchurched children and youth in Harrogate.
Administrate: Ensure all children and youth ministry activities are well organised, properly administered, and relevant legislation and MCC polices are adhered to (such as Health & Safety, Safeguarding and GDPR) and relevant Risk Assessments completed.
Communicate: To regularly update the young people and their parents making them aware of any relevant information. To ensure good lines of communication with the volunteers, ministry leaders and other staff. The Children’s and Youth Ministry Lead will update the Leadership and MOT on a monthly basis and will meet weekly with his or her line manager.
Cooperate: To maintain and develop links with other Churches and Schools. Liaising and where appropriate partnering with other youth leaders and supporting networks such as Netmakers and HG8 Youth. To undertake other tasks, commensurate with the post as required by the Pastor, Operations Manager or SLT.

MCC is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The post holder(s) will be required to take care to safeguard their own safety and that of others with whom they work and to co-operate with those designated with responsibility for health and safety. The successful applicant(s) will be subject to checks with the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Person SpecificationPost: Children’s & Youth Ministry Lead

| Criteria | Essential | Desirable | | General | * A mature Christian, who values the authority of Scripture, prayer and worship. * A person committed to their own ongoing walk with God, and excited about encouraging young people in discipleship. * Someone who is passionate about youth and children’s ministry and has a vision and strategy to take the work at MCC forward. * A strong desire or “calling” to serve God in this position. | | Experience | * Experience of involvement in leading children’s and or youth work in a Christian/Church context. * Experience of recruiting, training and working with teams of volunteers. * A proven leader who can recruit, train, lead, manage and motivate a team of volunteers. | * Experience leading a large Church based youth group or ministry. * Experience of leading and managing large groups of volunteers. * Experience of working in a large church or Christian organisation. * Experience in teaching and discipling. | | Qualifi-cations | * Children’s or youth work or theological qualifications to degree level or equivalent. * A current driving licence. | | Specialist Skills | * A working knowledge of current legislation, best practice guidelines and safeguarding relevant to children and youth work. * IT skills (Microsoft Office). * AV / multimedia skills. * Social media literate | | Personal Skills / Character | * Well organised with good planning and time management skills. * A skilled communicator, who is relational and approachable. * An inspirational and creative leader. * Someone who can work well with people of all backgrounds and different ages, including the parents and families of children and young people. * A person who is hard-working, perseveres and enjoys a challenge. * A person who is open to change and flexible about working hours. * A team player, with the humility to learn from the insights and wisdom of others. * Someone who multitasks and is able to delegate and co-ordinate effectively to spread the workload and achieve goals. * A person with a professional approach to their work, accepting of their accountability to the Leadership Team and responsibility to the wider church. * Someone who has basic budgeting skills |

MCC children & youth – current activitiesCreche (up to and including 2 years old).

Pebbles (age 3 to school year 1).

Gems (school years 2 and 3).

Rocks (school years 4 to 6).

All of which meet every Sunday morning except in holiday times.

Blast (Building Lives Around Solid Truths; reception to school year 6) which meets monthly currently on a Saturday.

Reaction (school years 7 to 13) Sunday morning.

Catalyst (school years 7 to 13) Youth fellowship Friday evenings.

When applying for this role, please state clearly whether you are applying for the full-time role or part-time role, and if a part-time role, which area you are applying for i.e. children or youth work.

Applicants must have the right to work in the UK.

For more information or to request an application form, please email:

recruitment@harrogate-mcc.com

The last date for applications is Monday 14th April 2025.

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Mowbray Community Church (MCC) is looking for a motivated and committed Christian with a heart to see young people understand the Kingdom of God and a passion to grow a the youth ministry in a large and expanding church.

Purpose of the Role

Overall purpose of the post:* To lead, oversee and grow an effective youth ministry at MCC. * To develop the youth ministry such that young people can both come to faith and flourish as enthusiastic disciples. He or she will be expected to model a lively and committed faith in Jesus Christ, that impacts all areas of life, and be an active member of the worshipping congregation at MCC. * To lead, develop, encourage, and coordinate a committed and able team of volunteers and individual ministry leaders to accomplish these goals – providing an overall vision and leading a strategy to achieve this.

Key Responsibilities:* Lead: To oversee an effective and growing youth ministry. The Youth Ministry Lead will have overall responsibility for the vision of the work and implementing a strategy to achieve this goal, working closely with volunteers and ministry leaders, as well as the Leadership Team of MCC. He or she will be part of MCC’s Ministry Operations Team (MOT), an important decision-making body within the church. * Care: To ensure excellent pastoral care for the young people. Being part of and overseeing a pastoral care team for the young people and providing support and encouragement to the ministry volunteers and leaders. * Plan: To work with the volunteer leaders to plan and organise successful programmes of groups, events and residentials, ensuring necessary administrative tasks; record-keeping; budget-management and communication are undertaken to the necessary high standard. * Initiate: To create and deliver new events and initiatives as appropriate that cohere with the wider vision and strategy of the Church and youth ministry. * Motivate: To encourage the large number of volunteers that enable the ministries to function effectively. This will include recruiting new volunteers; running relevant volunteer training and managing volunteers. * Witness: To develop initiatives and cooperate with others in Harrogate as appropriate to reach out to unchurched youth in Harrogate. * Administrate: Ensure all youth ministry activities are well organised, properly administered, and relevant legislation and MCC polices are adhered to (such as Health & Safety, Safeguarding and GDPR) and relevant Risk Assessments completed. * Communicate: To regularly update the youth and their parents making them aware of any relevant information. To ensure good lines of communication with the volunteers, ministry leaders and other staff. The Youth Ministry Lead will update the Leadership and MOT on a monthly basis and will meet weekly with his or her line manager. * Cooperate: To maintain and develop links with other Churches and Secondary Schools. Liaising and where appropriate partnering with other youth leaders and supporting networks such as Net Makers and HG8 Youth. To undertake other tasks, commensurate with the post as required by the Pastor, Operations Manager or SLT.

MCC is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The post holder will be required to take care to safeguard their own safety and that of others with whom they work and to co operate with those designated with responsibility for health and safety. The successful applicant will be subject to checks with the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Knowledge, qualifications, skills and expertise:Person Specification

| Criteria | Essential | Desirable | | General | A mature Christian, who values the authority of Scripture, prayer and worship. A person committed to their own ongoing walk with God, and excited about encouraging young people in discipleship. Someone who is passionate about youth and children’s ministry and has a vision and strategy to take the work at MCC forward. A strong desire or “calling” to serve God in this position. | | Experience | Experience of involvement in leading Youth Work in a Christian/Church context. Experience of working with teams of volunteers. | Experienced leading a large Church based youth group or ministry. Experience of leading and managing large groups of volunteers. Experience of working in a large church or Christian organisation. Experienced in teaching and discipling. | | Qualifi-cations | Youth work or theological qualifications to degree level or equivalent. A current driving licence. | | Specialist Skills | IT skills (Microsoft Office).AV / multimedia skills. Social Media literate. | | Personal Skills / Character | Well organised with good planning and time management skills. A skilled communicator, who is relational and approachable. Someone who can work well with people of all backgrounds and different ages, including the parents and families of young people. A leader who can recruit, train, lead, manage and motivate a team of volunteers. A person who is hard-working, perseveres and enjoys a challenge. Flexible: Open to change and flexible about working hours. A team player, with the humility to learn from the insights and wisdom of others. Someone who can oversee several tasks at once and be able to delegate and co-ordinate effectively to spread the workload and achieve goals. A person with a professional approach to their work, accepting of their accountability to the Leadership Team and responsibility to the wider church. |

Interested?If you are interested in being the Youth Ministry Lead at MCC, please reply to recruitment@harrogate-mcc.com with your CV, and a covering letter that addresses the following:

Why you believe you would be a good fit for this role, including how God has led you and been shaping you up to this point in life.
The strengths, skills, qualifications, experience and expertise that would equip you to perform the role well.
What most excites you about taking on the role and what would be your key priorities.

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An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Pastor to join a well-established community church.

Mowbray Community Church (MCC) is a grace-based community church in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, seeking to freely worship God, love one another and serve our neighbours both locally and globally. MCC has been established for over 100 years. Presently we meet in person and online with a combined attendance of @300 regular attendees.

MCC is an active community church of all ages with a vibrant children’s, youth and young adult’s ministry, outreach to toddlers and parents, over 55’s group, host to CAP debt centre, Foodbank and other community outreach activities.

We are looking for an engaging teacher who is grounded in God’s word and able to communicate effectively to all ages. In addition to having comprehensive experience of Bible teaching and application, the person will also be experienced in listening to God’s voice and being open to the work of the Holy Spirit within the life and ministry of MCC.

We are looking for someone with a pastoral / servant heart who is able to co-ordinate a team of pastoral carers.

We are looking for someone who has a heart for world mission as we seek to fulfil the Great Commission.

We are looking for someone who is passionate about growing disciples and leaders.

We are looking for someone to engage with, motivate and work alongside our staff team and who has the relevant administrative and operational skills to achieve this.

Does this sound like you? If so, we would love to hear from you!

Purpose of the jobThe Pastor is to serve Mowbray Community Church as a teacher and member of the Senior Leadership Team, and co-ordinate and integrate all aspects of the work of MCC. The Pastor will be accountable to the Senior Leadership Team under God.

Principal DutiesStrategic Oversight

Work with the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), staff and congregation to help define and implement the vision and strategy for MCC;
In conjunction with the SLT, oversee, co-ordinate and integrate all aspects of the work of MCC;
Propose, develop and lead the introduction of innovative ministries.

Preaching and Teaching

Take a lead role in the preaching and teaching of the church, consistent with the church’s “Statement of Faith”, that is meaningful, relevant and full of practical application;
Propose the preaching plan, incorporating the preaching team, and including an annual programme of events;

Pastoral Care

Take overall responsibility for the co-ordination and implementation of pastoral care across the church, especially to those in leadership roles;
Develop, integrate and manage the use of spiritual gifts in MCC;
Conduct baptisms, weddings, baby thanksgivings and funerals for MCC members;
Interview, approve and welcome new members.

Mission

In conjunction with the Mission Action Team, oversee and develop MCC’s mission activities and provide pastoral care for our mission partners at home and/or abroad;
Engage with the community of Harrogate and develop relationships with other churches and like-minded organisations in line with MCC’s vision.

Discipleship & Leadership

Help MCC grow as intentional followers of Jesus through worship, prayer, learning, service and outreach;
Encourage, equip and train MCC to make new disciples and leaders for Christ.

Administrative / Operational

Collaborate with the staff to promote the ministry plan of the church, including the facilitation of regular staff meetings;

Personal Care

Be willing to attend supervision (mentoring/counselling) at regular intervals with a local Christian counselling agency for reflection, debriefing and self-care;
Maintain accountability in all aspects of life: spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotional, relational and financial;
Model healthy self-care through patterns of prayer, retreat and work/life balance.

Person Specification/QualificationsThe Pastor will be able to demonstrate the following:

Be a baptised believer with a personal commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ;
Be a man of good character whose life displays the fruit of the Spirit;
Hold the highest standards of personal integrity and accountability;
Effectiveness at delegating and empowering those in their purview;
Have a deep knowledge of God’s Word, how to communicate it and how to apply it;
Have experience of, and sensitivity to, the guiding, teaching and healing work of God the Holy Spirit;
Have the ability to manage their own time, incorporating space for prayer and retreat;
Have formal theological training;
Preferably have a minimum of 3-5 years’ experience at Associate Pastor or Pastor level;
Ability to work effectively in a team led church culture, being able to find consensus and unity within a team leadership;
Relates well to people of all ages and different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds;
A clear and demonstrable passion for mission – local, national and international;
Passion for leading a growing church to achieve its God-given vision to grow leaders, disciples and mission impact locally and globally;
Demonstrates creativity and innovation of approach to their vocation in communications, teaching, problem solving and novel approaches to evangelism and outreach.
The Pastor shall engage in continuing professional development, as well as ensuring all MCC leadership have development opportunities.

Interested?If you are interested in being the Pastor at MCC, please reply to recruitment@harrogate-mcc.com with your CV, and a covering letter that addresses the following:

Why you believe you would be a good fit for this role, including how God has led you and been shaping you up to this point in life.
The strengths, skills, qualifications, experience and expertise that would equip you to perform the role well.
What most excites you about taking on the role and what would be your key priorities.

Church ProfileMowbray Community Church, Westmoreland Street, Harrogate, North Yorkshire. HG1 5AT.

www.harrogate-mcc.com

Introduction

MCC is a church with almost 200 members with 300 participating in our Sunday worship. We’re situated in the heart of Harrogate and have a well-established and well-regarded presence in the local community. Our mission statement, which is clearly visible on the wall of our glass-fronted building to all who pass by says, we’re “building a community of God’s people to love and to serve.” We’re pursuing this mission within our church community, in Harrogate and the wider district, and across the world. You will see this in action through our times of lively worship and Bible teaching, home fellowship groups and leadership huddles, the many community outreach ministries, the vibrant and growing children’s, youth, and young adults ministries, and the global mission partners we have sent out across the world. MCC is growing in number, depth of discipleship, and ethnic diversity.

MCC – The past

Our roots go back to Christ Church on the Stray, the first parish church to be built in Harrogate in 1831 (and a great church it is by the way!). However, by the 1840’s some of the common folk were struggling to afford the ‘pew rents’. The renting of pews was the primary way that churches in many denominations collected funds prior to the twentieth century. This entitled a person to use a given place at any of the divine services in that church. The closer a family sat to the altar or pulpit, the higher its social or economic position. The occasional provision of free seats (in less desirable places) underscored the problem and the strict class structure.

So, in the 1840’s a bold group of worshippers decided to meet outside on the Stray itself and worship God in his natural environment. This was not a break away from the church, more of a common person’s protest against a system. Over time however, this gathering of Christians that met ‘outside the walls’ took on more of an evangelistic life of its own and by 1847 alternative accommodation was sought. At first rooms were rented on Tower Street, an unruly area at the time, and soon after a Committee was established to oversee this new move of the Spirit in the town. Within a couple of decades the Town Mission was born. A building was purpose built on the corner of Strawberry Dale and Mayfield Grove especially for outreach to the railway labourers and poorer classes. This was in full use from the 1870’s until 2011 when it was sold and the current larger premises were purchased on Westmoreland Street, the former town bus depot no less! While the name of the fellowship may have changed over time (from the Town Mission, to the Evangelical Free Church, to Mayfield Community Church, to its current name Mowbray Community Church), the same purpose remains. We continue to ‘build a community of God’s people to love and to serve’.

MCC – The present

The People

We have almost 200 in the official church membership at the moment, however, on any given Sunday, you will find many more people in the church services, with on average around 300 people participating, including children and youth. There are numerous non-members who participate actively in the life of the church as well as others who consider MCC to be their spiritual home. We use Churchsuite to manage church life and there are well over 300 adult individuals in the contacts list. There are over 200 children participating in the life and ministries of MCC each week.

Demographically, the church is uncharacteristically ethnically diverse considering the area of North Yorkshire we’re in, which has traditionally been mostly white and middle class. We celebrate the fact that we have over 30 nationalities represented and participating actively in the life and ministry of MCC. You will see, experience, and be blessed by this in our worship, teaching and outreach activities.

We’re around 50:50 in terms of male: female ratio and all ages are well represented. Before the pandemic we were concerned by the relatively low number of families with younger children who were joining the church, as well as younger single or married adults. There was prayer for this as well as action taken in how we structured our services and church activities. Post-pandemic we are praising God for a rapid turnaround in this situation with a significant influx of families and younger adults.

We have people from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds, from those struggling with debt and accessing services like Christians Against Poverty or Food Bank, to hospital consultants and everything you can imagine in-between!

The Leaders

MCC has three core teams that work together. First of all there is the staff team, currently with 6 employees. The areas they work in are communications, church operations, children’s work, youth work, Christians Against Poverty, and community outreach. Then we have our Ministry and Operations Team (MOT), with 3 male and 5 female members. This team consists of some staff, volunteers and at least one representative of the Senior Leadership Team. It essentially functions as our deaconate with responsibility for the practical areas of church life. Finally, we have the Senior Leadership team (SLT) consisting of seven people. Our constitution states, based on biblical principles, that our elders are male. Further, our current core teaching team is also male, although we do frequently have guest speakers from other ministries who are female. Many women are involved in other areas of church leadership at MCC and a discussion of the biblical principles for female elders and preachers is something the church would like to explore in the future.

In addition to this we have a number of other ministry leaders, assistants and volunteers, all dedicated to the running of a wide range of internal and outward facing ministries.

The Services

Our main service is on a Sunday morning and the 300 seat auditorium is frequently packed to bursting! The service is live-streamed to YouTube where we have a growing online following. Typically, we have 30-60 people joining us online for the live stream and up to 200 people will access the service on catch-up during the following week(s). Whilst we fundamentally believe community church should be an in-person activity, we recognise that an increasing number of people are connecting with MCC virtually before joining us in-person. Having our services available online also helps those who may be away traveling or ill for example.

We love to have a varied service format to keep things fresh. We’re blessed with a large, committed and capable worship and audio-visual team who lead us in lively worship each week. We typically lean towards contemporary worship but also value the importance of the many wonderful older hymns that are timeless. Expect to sing these in beautifully reworked ways! In any given service we might sing between six and eight songs each week. There are over 30 people of all ages and nationalities involved in the worship and audio-visual ministry.

Bible-based teaching is extremely important to us. We are a Bible-based church. Our times of teaching and preaching in the Sunday service typically are around half an hour and are a balanced blend of theological depth and practical application. We build in times of reflection and response, because we are expectant of God to speak to us.

We’re also a Spirit-led church and we give time and space to the Holy Spirit to move among us, speaking, ministering, healing, encouraging etc. If appropriate, some weeks we will give space to people to share a word, picture or testimony that they think will bless the church. The Pastor would act as a filter for this so that there is order at all times. As a church we’re open to prophetic words and these are considered and weighed by the SLT. We’re not typically a church where tongues are spoken out loud in our services and the leadership tends not to encourage this because of the diversity of the congregation, where some people are open but cautious when it comes to some of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. There are many people in the church who do speak in tongues, and we would not discourage anyone from exercising this gift quietly as they worship, or in their personal devotional times for example.

The Sunday service is also an important time to invest in the spiritual health of our children and youth. A typical Sunday will see two creches in action, for babies and for toddlers, allowing parents to be spiritually refreshed in the church service. We love having our children and youth be part of the church community and they usually stay in for the first part of the service before going out to their respective activities which include:

Pebbles – age 3 to primary school year 1
Gems – primary school years 2 to 3
Rocks – primary school years 4 to 6
Reaction – school years 7 to 11

We run numerous services and meetings at other times. Prayer is the engine room of our church! On the first Tuesday of each month, we have a monthly church-wide prayer meeting, preceded by a meal together. There are other prayer gatherings at different times of the week and with different foci too, such as the Friday morning prayer meeting and Praying Parents.

The Activities

We are truly blessed to have such a spacious and versatile building, which is used for many and varied activities throughout each week. There are also various activities that run off the premises such as our home fellowship groups.

‘Life-groups’ are a key part of church community life and these fall into three categories. Firstly, there are Bible study based home fellowship groups. Secondly, we have ministry focused life-groups, centred around areas of church life like the worship and audio-visual teams, kids and youth work, and the Christians Against Poverty ministries. Finally, we have interest-based groups, such as the faith and environment group and the men’s group. Much of our more routine pastoral care takes place via these groups.

Evangelism and discipleship are of course vital activities at MCC. We regularly run Alpha courses as well as training events and other thematic discipleship related courses. As a church we’re passionate about investing in our people. The Growing Leaders course from CPAS has been run no less than five times now with at least 10 to 15 participants each time.

Being a presence and a force for the Kingdom in our local community is what MCC is known for in the town. We are a Christians Against Poverty (CAP) church, employing a CAP centre manager and with other volunteers serving through activities like CAP job club and life skills training. We’re also a Foodbank church, playing a key role in the district. Harrogate Women’s Project is a women’s drop in centre, run by women for women. Expect talks, crafts, advice and friendship here! Tots and Toys is a weekly session for pre-school children with an accompanying adult. We’ve seen many families join MCC and people come to faith through this essential ministry. We’re also known in the north of England for hosting Deaf Church, a monthly service for the deaf community that sees people coming from a wide area to participate.

Friday evenings see our Catalyst youth fellowship in full swing with more than 40 young people participating. Each week there’s an action-packed programme designed to accelerate a young person’s relationship with Jesus by exploring the heart of God whilst building friendships. Solomon’s Porch is a gathering of young adults (18-25 ish) from churches across Harrogate that meets with one goal: to deconstruct what we know about God, scripture, and Christianity to get to the real Jesus. It’s a place to ask the hard questions while studying the Bible verse-by-verse with others who want to do the same.

The Building

MCC moved to its current location in 2011 having outgrown its long-time home on Mayfield Grove. Our building used to be the Harrogate bus depot but has been skilfully converted into the multi-purpose space that it is today. The vision to move to this location and make the building what it is now has, by the grace of God, grown the church in number, maturity and faith over the last 12 years. You enter the church through the large glass front of the building, deliberately designed to be open, inviting and visible to all. We have nothing to hide and desire to be a welcoming space. From the foyer you gain access to a number of spaces on the ground floor.

The main auditorium seats around 300 people and has a raised stage at the front with banks of speakers and a well-equipped lighting rig. At the rear we have the audio-visual control desk with computers, mixing desks and other equipment.

We have a well-equipped professional kitchen that is in constant use as food regularly features in the life and ministry of the church! The ‘cosy corner’ is a recently renovated warm space, designed to feel more like your living room, than the cloak room it used to be! This is an excellent multipurpose space used for counselling, youth ministry, the community café, meetings and much more.

Heading down the corridor to the left you will find the stairs to the first floor, a buildings maintenance office/store, the men’s and women’s toilets, and two further rooms that have been recently renovated into inviting living room like spaces where a multitude of ministry activities take place. You can also gain access to our sports hall, a large high-ceiling multipurpose space that is used for children’s and youth activities as well as a host of other purposes.

Heading down the corridor to the right you will find the side hall which is a reasonably large room where we hold smaller church services, prayer meetings, training sessions, children’s ministry and the like. Beyond that you will find our baby and toddler creche rooms, class rooms, and a toilet with disabled access. There is also another entrance to the sports hall.

Heading up the stairs, on the left you gain access to the pastor’s office. Turning right takes you into an open plan office area. Moving beyond that are several other rooms, including the counselling room and other offices.

Outside the building we have parking spaces for 7 or 8 cars but also an arrangement with the nearby Mowbray Medical Centre to use one of their car parks in the evenings and at weekends which provides ample parking for those attending MCC. There is also on-street parking on the surrounding streets.

The Area

Harrogate is known for its spa heritage, floral gardens and historic buildings. One of its most striking features is the Stray, or 200 acre as it is known, for obvious reasons! The town and district is known for having a high level of socio-economic prosperity. Nonetheless, there are plenty of areas of the town where there is significant socio-economic need. There is substantial spiritual need among rich and poor alike. MCC draws church members and visitors from every socio-economic demographic. Much of our outreach is focused towards the lower end of this, financially speaking.

MCC is situated just a short distance outside the main shopping area and centre of the town. It is close to the Stray mentioned above and to Skipton Road (A59), one of the main roads that runs through Harrogate. The immediate area around MCC is a mix of residential flats and shops. There is a vibrant buzz to the street and we have good relationships with nearby businesses and cafes.

The wider connections

MCC is a member of the Evangelical Alliance and also places a great deal of importance on networking with and being connected to churches and multi-church activities in the Harrogate district. We regularly participate in and also host town-wide events for churches, including the Harrogate School of Theology and Mission, worship events, concerts, and productions, making use of our well-resourced auditorium and other spaces in the building. Our preaching team goes out to other churches in the area and we also invite guest speakers from around the country.

Members of staff, leaders and volunteers are connected to a variety of Christian and secular groups locally and nationally that feed into the life of the church.

Global mission is an essential piece of MCC’s Kingdom impact beyond Harrogate. We have five ‘mission partners’ that are supported and sent out by the church to serve across the UK and the world. Our mission partners serve with partner mission agencies including Operation Mobilisation, Reach Beyond, UCCF, UFM, and People International.

MCC – The future

MCC is a church on the move! Our tagline, which is in large letters on the wall of the foyer states that we are ‘Building a Community of God’s People to Love and to Serve’. Whilst remaining committed to this, the church has embarked upon a strategy we’ve called ‘Vision 2030’. The senior leadership team prayerfully identified three particular strategic aims to focus on – deepening discipleship, leadership development, and boosting the impact and integration of our local and global mission engagement. The rest of this section is our ‘Beyond the Horizon’ vision description which provides a great idea of where, in the Lord’s strength, we want to go…

MCC’s Beyond the Horizon Vivid Vision Description

MCC is advancing as one movement with one mission: to make Disciples, develop Leaders and reach Harrogate and far beyond.

As we look to 2030 we want to become the people God is calling us to be, across all our generations. So often our modern lives are fragmented and scattered. We see MCC as a gathering place for both young and old, a church where each person’s identity and actions are motivated by who he or she is in Christ. Where the raw and broken places in our lives can be healed. Where each individual, whatever their age, is in a growing relationship with God and is encouraged to express a life marked by the Word of God and the presence of the Spirit. We see a church that is a vibrant, loving and grace-filled community.

In a culture of soundbites and competing voices, we see MCC as a place where each person understands the significant themes of the Bible and is able to apply them to his or her own life. Where every individual understands, develops, and utilises the gifts that God has given him or her to serve and to grow. We see a church that is able to clearly hear and discern God’s voice and walk in His ways. We see a church of passionately committed disciples.

As we look to 2030 we also see an overflowing church that replicates Jesus-centred leadership, direction and guidance across all our ministries. In a society that is crying out for honourable leaders, we see MCC as a place where we help each other to lead like Jesus, lead with Jesus and lead people to Jesus. We see a church that apprentices, mentors, equips and releases spiritually strong leaders within the church, and that encourages Christ-centred leadership to flow out into the workplace and wider society. We see a church spilling over with God-dependent, pioneering, robust, adaptable and servant-hearted leaders.

And as we look to 2030 we also want to extend our influence, impact and outreach in Harrogate and far beyond. In a world that seeks for purpose and meaning, we see MCC as a place that understands and implements God’s mission in the world. We see a church that is able to effectively connect and communicate with those who are not yet Christians both locally and globally. We see a church that invests deeply into the lives of people wherever we serve, in practical and spiritual ways, to help them come to know Jesus for themselves. We see a church that is a welcoming, hospitable and serving community that shows the unconditional love and truth of Jesus that genuinely transforms lives. And we see a church that actively sends people out as ambassadors of the Kingdom of God to fulfil His mission in the wider world.

In all of these ways and more we see a church that is called to ‘Build a Community of God’s People to Love and to Serve’. And we see you as part of us! Welcome on board.

This ‘Vivid Vision Description’ document was produced by the senior leadership team and first presented to the church in early 2022.

To Finish

So, there you have it! We hope this ‘church profile’ has provided a helpful insight into the flavour, culture, practice and future of MCC. We’re looking for a lead pastor who will both join us in this journey but also lead and continue to shape the path MCC is on.

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Who?JP Sivertsen-Wright is a Regional Team Leader with the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF) directing the Central Region which encompasses the Universities in and around Oxford, Cambridge, Norwich and Essex.

Where?After serving in student mission in the North East and Yorkshire for 5 years with UCCF, JP moved to Cambridge with his wife, Bente. JP is primarily responsible for developing the team of staff working in the Universities across the Central Region, investing in stronger links with local churches and leading the training of student leaders regionally.

What?Our aim is give every student the opportunity to hear and respond to the good news of Jesus through equipping students to live and speak for Jesus on their campuses. This investment in student leaders is richly fruitful during the University years, but also seeks to grow wholehearted disciples who will serve Christ for their whole lives.

Please pray for JP and Bente as they continue to settle in marriage and life in Cambridge. Pray for the work of UCCF and the Christian Unions as they see Christian students grow in their love and knowledge of Jesus and for unbelievers as they hear of Christ and trust Him.

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Who?We are an international family: Flavio comes from Brazil and Cinzia from Italy. We met while working with Operation Mobilisation (OM) ship MV Doulos. After we married we made our home in the UK. We have three beautiful children: Nair (2008), Lucas (2014) and Marco (2018). We have been mission partners with MCC since 2016, right after completing our studies at All Nations Christian College. In September of the same year we rejoined OM Ships as a family on board the Logos Hope, working initially in the Help and Relief department and then with the HR team. We had the privilege to serve in various ports in West Africa, the Caribbean, Central and South America from 2016–2020. Where?The Ship Ministry began in 1970 and since then OM’s ships have visited more than 480 different ports in 151 countries and territories, and welcomed over 47 million visitors on board. An international crew and staff of volunteers live and work on the ships. Teams from the ships go into surrounding areas to supply aid and community care. In each port, the ship’s crew join local organisations to bring hope and show love to people whatever their circumstance, culture or background.What?Since 2020 we are no longer on board ship but we continue with OM Ships serving with the onshore team. We are based in Harrogate, UK and Flavio works remotely as the HR Manager for overseeing recruitment and personnel processes on board the ships.https://www.om.org/ships/

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Who?We are Martin and Ruth Harrison and we have been mission partners with MCC since 2003. Both of us have had a lifelong commitment to mission that began with short term assignments. Ruth spent a year in Kenya after her A-levels and Martin served in Argentina, Nicaragua, and Guatemala during and after his time at university.

In 2003 we took a large step of faith by leaving our UK-based careers and going to Redcliffe Bible College with our young family to study and prepare for cross-cultural mission. 2005 saw us arriving in Costa Rica to learn Spanish and by 2006 we were serving in Ecuador. During our time there Martin led the Latin American Region community development team of Reach Beyond and Ruth helped develop and launch a missions preparation programme for Latin American Christians.

Since 2012 we have continued to serve in the areas of community development, training, and pastoral care of mission workers, with an emphasis on Europe and Central Asia. More recently we have been developing refugee response projects as there are more people on the move around the planet than ever before.

We have two adult children, both of whom are studying at university in the UK.

Where?The UK is our base from which we go out to serve globally: we serve and support ministries in Latin America, Central Asia, Europe, and North Africa.

Martin is the International Ministry Leader for Reach Beyond. His focus is on Christ-centred community health and development. He facilitates and implements projects that bring physical and spiritual health transformation among refugees and marginalised communities around the world. “When I’m not away you will find me cycling in the Yorkshire Dales, playing drums at MCC, or cooking tasty meals from around the world!”

Ruth is an International Ministry Coordinator and as such works alongside projects with Martin. Her responsibilities include recruitment, training, and pastoral care of mission workers around the world. Ruth says, “I’m a keen ornithologist and horticulturalist and when relaxing you will either find me on my allotment or drinking good coffee with friends!”

What?Reach Beyond is a Christian mission organisation committed to sharing Christ among unreached people through creative media, healthcare, and community development. We work with our own staff and with partner organisations to develop and implement projects that proclaim and demonstrate the gospel through compassionate healthcare, life skills and capacity building, and community development. Projects include community water systems, rural healthcare outreach, medical clinics, and refugee response initiatives. We also train and mentor others to do this.

Reach Beyond also uses radio and creative media to share Christ among people who have never heard of Him. This work is achieved in conjunction with local partners and radio stations all around the world.

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Who?We are Barry and Susana Davis and we have been mission partners at MCC for over 20 years.Our vision for Christian education in Nicaragua started partly through our own children’s experience in Christian pre-school; we were also convinced that if the Gospel was going to impact Nicaragua in any meaningful way then preparing the next generation with biblical foundations was well worth the long term investment.Our two grown up children are Joshua who is in the British Army and Esther who is at university in the UK.Where?We are working in Nicaragua. This country is the largest of the Central American republics. Nicaragua can be characterised by its agricultural economy, history of autocratic government and its imbalance of regional development. Almost all settlement and economic activity are concentrated in the western half of the country. There is no official religion in Nicaragua, but about one half of Nicaraguans adhere to Roman Catholicism. Nicaragua is one of Latin America’s poorest countries and suffers from high unemployment rates and a large external debt.What?We have built two schools; they are Christian, private and bilingual. We try to recruit Christian teachers from various local churches, we prefer university graduates. CCA opened in 2007 with four students and five teachers. We finished that first year with 16 students and began the second year with 45 students. CFA started in 2016. We have around 400 students in both schools, and we have never advertised since 2006! We have total freedom to share the Gospel and teach the Bible each day in a closed country. Over the years we have been able to invite teachers and leaders from the UK and USA to help in training the teachers. Another large part of our work is with mission teams and volunteers — this has a massive impact on parents, teachers and students in the cross-cultural setting.Parents are drawn to our alternative bilingual system and the Ministry of Education praises our academic results. The Christian life and faith of our teachers is key and essential for the future.We hope to hand over the first school to national leaders very soon, so as to dedicate more time to the second school. We have opportunities for missionaries to step into parts of this ministry as it has become too big for us. There are other major cities in need of a Christian school.Workers are the problem, prayer is the solution — could it be you who helps to send others or is sent yourself?

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Tim will be starting work with UCCF as Relay Worker in August 2021. Tim is doing Relay in Leeds, supporting the Christian Union in Leeds Beckett University. Relay is a ten-month discipleship, training and mission programme run by UCCF, a charity which aims to give every student in Great Britain an opportunity to hear and […]

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My Testimony Although my cultural environment was Christian, my parents were non-believers. I was baptised as a baby, but that was only a tradition based on superstition. I did believe in God though, but to me He was some sort of remote person who did not really have any positive personal relationship with me. I saw […]

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By Peter Ingham 10th July 2018 Hi my name is Peter Ingham and I work within Mowbray Community church as an Evangelist. That is someone who takes the message of God’s love out onto the highways of life. My faith journey started in 1979 when I asked God to heal my wife who had been close […]

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This Autumn at MCC our main teaching series has been on the Apostles’ Creed. The Apostles’ Creed is a short statement of faith that has been used for thousands of years by Christians around the world to express the foundationalbeliefs of Christianity. The Creed is based on truths drawn directly from the New Testament, written […]

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JP Sivertsen-Wright is a Regional Team Leader with the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF) directing the Central Region which encompasses the Universities in and around Oxford, Cambridge, Norwich and Essex. After serving in student mission in the North East and Yorkshire for 5 years with UCCF, JP moved to Cambridge with his wife, Bente. JP is primarily responsible for developing […]

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Sharron Catton has been sent by MCC, in partnership with Cambodia Action, to work with a local NGO in Cambodia called M’lup Russey. M’lup Russey is working to develop and extend foster care in Cambodia and to return children from orphanages to living in local communities. Sharron works in their Head Office as an Organisational […]

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Martin & Ruth Harrison are missionaries sent by MCC in partnership with Reach Beyond. They have served for over 15 years spending time in Latin America and Central Asia. Martin currently leads medical and community development initiatives in some of the most unreached and challenging areas of the world. Ruth is involved in training, recruitment and […]

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Currently serving with Operation Mobilisation on board the Logos Hope.

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The Davis family live in Nicaragua in Central America.Barry is from the UK and his wife, Susana is from South Korea.They met while he was in Costa Rica learning Spanish and have two children – (Joshua and Esther).For several years now Barry and Susana have been building and running a bi-lingual (Spanish/ English) Christian Academy near […]

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Currently working in Northern Cyprus with the Turkish Cypriot population.

Mowbray Community Church: Recent Episodes

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