IT was as if everything to do with Kairos had been summed up in one sentence: take seriously Jesus’s command to “love your neighbour”.

The Rev Steve Chalke speaks at Portsmouth's RC Cathedral

Baptist minister the Rev Steve Chalke reminded us that the way to put our churches at the heart of their communities was for us to serve people. If we did so, we could build up a reputation as trustworthy Christians.

He was speaking to more than 350 worshippers at the latest event in the bishop’s Kairos process, the diocesan-wide drive to rethink our ministry, mission and resources for a new era. At the heart of that process is the desire to serve our communities more effectively.

“There are thousands of people who have no one to trust,” said Steve. “We are living in a society where trust in the police, the royal family, big business and many other institutions has broken down. People don’t trust the Church as they used to.

“People will only trust us if we can demonstrate behaviour that is trustworthy. That trust has to be earned. It evolves over a long period of time. And it involves relationships – you can’t trust someone you don’t know. And how do we build trustworthy behaviour? By serving others.

“Remember, it’s because God so loved the world that he gave his only son, not because God so loved the church. We have beautiful church buildings, but they are only to provide bases from which we go out and serve our community.

“Do we have the courage to leave our beautiful buildings and go out and love our neighbours?”

Steve leads the Faithworks Movement, which aims to empower churches to be at the hub of their local communities. He spoke at the ecumenical service at Portsmouth’s RC Cathedral last month to inspire us as we get to the nuts and bolts of the Kairos process.

The service also involved powerful, contemporary worship led by a high-quality band from Holy Rood Church, Stubbington, and thought-provoking drama from Top Cat Theatre Company, both on the theme of ‘trust’. The congregation heard how Steve was engaging with politicians of all parties who were taking seriously the idea of working alongside Christians to deliver improvements in people’s lives.

Faithworks was started four years ago after Steve had coffee with the Chancellor Gordon Brown, and aims to show that faith communities can work in partnership with secular organisations to change societies. This echoes our Kairos theology.

Steve had written his latest book –Trust: A Radical Manifesto for Change – before the concentration on the issue of trust at this autumn’s party conferences. He hopes it will affect the thinking of politicians ahead of next year’s expected general election.

Before the service, Steve also spent an hour talking to church leaders from all denominations. He told them their job was to empower people who didn’t necessarily understand the jargon about funding applications or business plans.

The event came at an opportune moment for parishes. They are in the middle of the research phase of Kairos at the moment, gathering the raw data about people’s social, physical and spiritual needs that will guide their planning for the future.

That planning phase, which starts in January, will involve churches finding new ways to minister to their communities in the light of the research they have done. Deanery-wide five-year plans may include the development of youth work, new ways of using a church building, or new arrangements to deploy clergy and laity.

Workshops to help those involved in the planning phase will be held during November in deaneries. Contact Kairos manager Mike Pye on 023-921137 or kairos@freenet.co.uk for details of dates and venues. A planning handbook will be available at those sessions and can also be downloaded from www.portsmouth.anglican.org