The Welsh Mission

Faithfulness, Stability and Preparing the Way Forwards – A Mission Kept by God

As we gather for this session, the Welsh Mission has much to be thankful for. In the past few years, we have experienced growth, service, outreach, pastoral care, better buildings, active departments and faithful acts in our local churches.

This period also brought change. After Pastor Graham Allcock’s sick leave and retirement, the Welsh Mission was led by an acting and then an interim president. Our main goals were to maintain stability, support the ministry, avoid rushed decisions, and prepare information for future leaders.

Revived, Empowered Disciple-Makers

During this quinquennium, we focused on renewal, empowerment and making disciples. This guided the work of all involved in the Welsh Mission. God’s character was evident through various spiritual activities and community service.

Many churches supported their communities in practical ways, such as health events, family fun days, holiday Bible schools, food support, care home visits, warm hubs, night shelters, school support, and outreach through literature and personal contact. When a church welcomes others, helps neighbours, visits the sick, teaches children, supports families, prays together, or creates a safe space, people experience a glimpse of Jesus.

The Welsh Mission has also improved church buildings. Members and leaders have made these spaces more welcoming and ready for service. Our buildings foster worship, fellowship, discipleship and care.

Ministry Has Continued During Transition

During the recent leadership transition, the ministry continued. Pastors preached, visited, taught, travelled, supported churches, addressed challenges, and cared for members.

From October to December 2025, pastoral records showed 574 meetings, more than 160 recorded visits and 15,232 miles travelled. From January to March 2026, this increased to 602 meetings, 195 recorded visits and 15,329 miles travelled. These figures demonstrate the ongoing commitment and reach of our pastors during the transition, highlighting their capacity to maintain active ministry despite the challenges of leadership change.

These numbers do not tell the whole story. They exclude many phone calls, hospital and home visits, prayers, studies, meetings and private acts of care. Still, they show that our pastors stayed active during a challenging time.

Let us be thankful. Despite long travel, small congregations, complex needs and limited resources, our ministry has endured and remained effective.

The Welsh Mission Grows, But There Is a Need for a Clearer Picture

Membership has continued to grow: from 809 at the end of 2024 to 826 in early 2025; from 871 to 894 in late 2025; and from 894 to 915 in early 2026.

Each number stands for a person. Every baptism, profession of faith, transfer and returning member matters. These are people for whom Christ died.

However, membership growth alone does not show the whole picture. Attendance reporting has been weak. While growth is visible in membership numbers, without regular, accurate attendance data, it is difficult to fully understand the actual level of engagement and involvement in church life. We need better information from churches – not just for paperwork, but to evaluate the effectiveness of our mission and provide targeted support.

If we do not know who is attending, who is drifting, who needs support, who is being reached, or where churches are struggling, we cannot serve well.

Opportunity Awaits if Structures Are Strengthened

The recent transition revealed both strength and fragility within the Welsh Mission.

Our strengths are clear. Members have stayed faithful. Pastors have kept serving. Churches have continued to worship, pray, give, care, and reach out. The Mission has stayed financially stable. There is a strong foundation to build on.

Our weaknesses are also clear. The Mission’s work requires more than goodwill and informal communication: it needs clear authority, good records, strong policies, safe practices, and proper relationships with the BUC and other bodies.

The Welsh Mission is, above all, a church community. But it also has charity, employment, property, safeguarding, finance, insurance and legal responsibilities. This does not make the Mission less spiritual. It means our spiritual work must be backed by trustworthy practices.

A mission is different from a local church and different from a conference. It operates through delegated authority. Some matters are handled locally. Some sit with the Welsh Mission Executive Committee. Some require BUC involvement. Some involve sister bodies and partners, including the SDAA Ltd, the SDAT Ltd, auditors, insurers, legal advisers, HR, safeguarding and other support functions.

When these relationships are clear, people are protected and the mission can move forwards. When they are unclear, confusion grows, decisions slow down, and responsibility may fall on people who are not properly authorised or supported.

These issues must be addressed to support future mission success.

At their core, these are not separate issues. They point to the need for clearer alignment between how decisions are made, who is responsible, and how the Mission is supported.

The first is delegated authority. The Mission needs clearer written guidance on which decisions can be made by local churches, which decisions belong to the Welsh Mission Executive Committee, which matters can be handled by officers between meetings, and which matters require BUC involvement or wider legal, property, audit, safeguarding or HR input.

Too many decisions rely on memory, custom or informal communication. Such methods are useful, but they cannot replace proper records. Important conversations should be documented. Decisions should be minuted, with clear owners and timelines. Recurring actions should be formalised in policy or standard procedures.

Policy is not optional, but some wording may need review for practical guidance. Areas needing attention include volunteers, lay preaching, supporting ministries, multiple roles, travel, conflicts, safeguarding, complaints, mediation, data protection, pastoral safety and local decision-making.

Safeguarding involves more than assigning a name. It requires training, reporting systems, good records and a culture for proper concern management. This extends to the safety of all when visiting homes, handling conflict, or serving in trusted roles.

The fifth is complaints and conflict. Not every disagreement is an employment grievance, and not every church conflict is a disciplinary matter. The Mission needs clearer ways to address concerns early, fairly and in a Christian manner. Mediation, facilitated conversations and structured resolution tools should be considered part of the Church’s normal life, not only when matters have already escalated.

The sixth is institutional memory. When too much knowledge sits with one person, one officer, one volunteer or one informal process, the Mission becomes vulnerable. If that person becomes unavailable or leaves office, important background can be lost. Good documentation protects continuity.

Interim Measures Stabilise the Mission

The interim period was not about rushing to find permanent solutions. It was about stabilising the Mission and preparing for the next team.

Pastor Adriana Fodor has taken on the role of Executive Secretary to strengthen administration, record-keeping, and gathering information from churches. This support is important during the transition. The Synergy and Capability Framework is also being developed as a tool for listening and learning. It is not a hidden deployment exercise or a way to judge pastors or churches. Its purpose is to help the Mission understand church realities, pastoral needs, local strengths and support gaps before making future decisions.

An interim safeguarding approach is also being developed. Safeguarding means more than just appointing someone and hoping the system works. Local safeguarding leads need training, support, clear reporting routes and proper guidance.

We have also sought legal and governance advice on property, authority, SDAA matters, finance administration and related issues. The goal is not to make church life more complicated, but to protect the Mission, protect local churches, and make sure decisions are properly authorised.

We have followed one key principle: no irreversible commitments without proper approval. This protects our mission for the future.

Emerging Risks that Must Be Tackled

The next team will inherit clear challenges that require tangible action, not vague concerns.

• Unclear delegated authority: If authority is unclear, decisions may be delayed, duplicated, challenged or made by the wrong people.

• Weak documentation: If decisions are not written down, institutional memory is lost, accountability weakens, and new leaders are forced to rely on recollection rather than records.

• Policy drift: If custom becomes stronger than policy, the Mission may act in ways that feel familiar but are not properly authorised.

• Safeguarding weakness: If safeguarding is not properly supported, the Church may give the appearance of safety without having the systems needed to protect people in practice.

• Single points of failure: The Mission needs systems that do not depend too heavily on a single person remembering, carrying, or interpreting key information.

• Unclear relationships with the BUC and sister bodies: Where the Mission depends on BUC audit, the SDAA Ltd, the SDAT Ltd, HR, safeguarding, legal advice, insurance or other services, there should be clearer working routes.

Recommendations

The next leadership team should focus on making structures clear. The Welsh Mission does not just need more activity: it needs stronger foundations.

First, delegated authority should be clear, written down and aligned with responsibility, so that decisions are made at the right level and with proper support. Churches, pastors, officers, sponsors and the Executive Committee need to know who can decide what, who can sign what, what must be voted on, what officers can handle, and when BUC involvement is needed.

Second, documentation should be the standard way the Mission keeps its institutional memory. Important conversations should be followed by written notes. Decisions should be recorded in minutes. Actions should have clear owners and timelines. Repeated decisions should not be hidden in old customs or scattered minutes. If an issue arises frequently, it should be added to the policy book, guidance notes or standard procedures.

Third, the Mission should review where policies are not yet strong enough for real-life practice. This could include areas like volunteers, lay preaching, supporting ministries, travel, trusted positions, safeguarding, complaints, conflicts of interest, second roles, local church decision-making, data protection and pastoral safety.

Fourth, the Welsh Mission and the BUC should agree on clearer ways of working with the groups that regularly support the Mission’s work, such as BUC audit, the SDAA Ltd, the SDAT Ltd, insurers, legal advisers, HR, safeguarding and other partners. This would help local churches and Mission officers know where to go, who can advise, and what process to follow.

Preparing the Way Forwards

The Welsh Mission has continued to move forwards. The ministry has carried on. Members have served. Pastors have remained faithful. Churches have worshipped, prayed, given, and reached out. God has been with us.

But the next phase will require clarity, trust, good documentation and a careful handover.

Our prayer for the next administration is that they inherit clarity, not confusion; honest information, not hidden problems; wise foundations, not rushed decisions; and a mission that is not just surviving transition, but ready to serve Wales and the border counties with renewed faith, stronger trust and deeper hope in Christ.