The North Kent Methodist Circuit lies along the south side of the Thames Estuary between Dartford and the Isle of Sheppey and stretches south along the River Medway as far as Maidstone. It includes the conurbation of the Medway Towns and the towns of Gravesend, Northfleet, and Swanscombe to the west with Sittingbourne and the Isle of Sheppy to the east and the Grain peninsula to the north.
The Circuit has a population of about 650,000 people, concentrated mainly in the large towns along the Thames Estuary and in Maidstone.
The countryside of the area is very mixed including the beautiful hills of the North Downs around Maidstone and Medway and the flood plains and marshes of the Thames and Medway valleys. The farmland is mainly arable and there are extensive areas of woodland on the hills.
The North Kent Methodist Circuit has 22 churches and 5 ecumenical partnerships. These range from several very small, rural churches to the larger town centre ones of which Gravesend, Gillingham, Sittingbourne and Union Street, in Maidstone, are the largest with over a hundred members each. The total membership of all our churches in about 1200 people.
Our vision is to build a discipleship culture in our churches which, with God's grace, will grow throughout our communities in North Kent so that God's love will reach out to all.
We believe that as the Churches of the North Kent Circuit we are called by God for the following purpose:
Every church member is encouraged to be part of a small group where they grow and develop as disciples of Jesus.
Our churches and our small groups are where we find the strength, the encouragement and the teaching to grow as disciples. We will continue to support and care for our church families so that they might fulfil the mission of God in their communities.
We know that God is already at work in the world and as we grow in discipleship we will be able to discern what it is that each one of us is called to do in His mission.
These priorities for mission are based upon the understanding that God is already at work in the communities of North Kent and we are called to be a part of this.
Matthew 9: 35-38
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and illness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.'