Living Christ’s Story is how we live and share the story of Jesus today – joining in God’s mission of love in and for the world, rooted in every community across our diocese.
As the Church of Jesus Christ, we have two stories to tell: the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, and the continuing story of what Jesus is doing through his Church by the Holy Spirit.
God writes this story on human hearts. We live it through worship, prayer, service, generosity, welcome, and the everyday choices we make as followers of Jesus.
Living Christ’s Story is not simply a diocesan programme. It is our shared vision for who we are becoming and how we are called to serve God and our neighbours.
‘You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all; and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.’
2 Corinthians 3.2-3
Our four vocations
We want to see a flourishing and sustainable church in which more people are following Jesus, more communities are being served with love, and more churches are confident to share the good news in ways that connect with today’s world.
Rooted in Jesus. Changed by grace.
We begin by receiving the story ourselves. We want people to know the love of God in Jesus Christ and to grow as his disciples through prayer, worship, scripture, service, generosity, and everyday faith.
This is the foundation for everything else. As God changes us, our lives together can point more clearly to Christ.
Open doors. Clear invitations. Real welcome.
We want to be present for our neighbours in cities, seaside towns, market towns, villages, and rural communities.
We want to reach people who are not yet part of church life, helping them experience welcome, belonging, and the good news of Jesus in ways that make sense in their context.
Disciples making disciples who are younger and more diverse.
We want people of every age and background to encounter Jesus, grow in faith, belong to a Christian community, and take part in God’s mission.
This means strengthening existing churches while developing different ways of being church: on Sundays and during the week, in buildings and online, in schools, workplaces, and communities.
We want to use our people, buildings, money, and structures wisely, so that the Church can be simpler, stronger, and better equipped for mission in every place.
We want to find a new story that will not just be about sustaining our life as the church, but also about recognising that our lives need to be transformed to become agents of God’s transformation in the world.
One story with many local chapters
Living Christ’s Story will look different in York, Hull, Middlesbrough, Scarborough, the East Riding, the North York Moors, and the many communities between them.
There is no single model to copy. Each church is called to listen to God, understand its community, recognise the gifts already present, and discern its next faithful step.
Together, we are one body: learning from one another, sharing what we have, and living Christ’s story with humility and hope.
Part of a bigger story
This vision sits within the wider calling of the Church of England to be a Church in which people follow Jesus with their whole lives, new ways of being church are formed, and that welcomes younger people and people from many backgrounds.
This calling matters most when it takes shape in real life: in parishes, schools, chaplaincies, community projects, food banks, Messy Churches, and all the places where we live and share the good news.