Ordained pioneer ministry
Ordained pioneer ministry O.P.M is the future of ordained ministry within the Anglican communion. The Church of England is now developing fresh expressions of church which also means needing new and different forms of ministry for a changing society. Most O.P.M are already developing fresh ways of doing church and are presenting the gosple so that it engages with contemporary culture.
Most ordained ministers are priests (also known as presbyters). Their work is to build up The Body of Christ in the Church and in the world through the celebration of the sacraments, teaching, preaching and pastoral care. It is a ministry of leadership and mission, enabling all Christian people to realize their potential as they witness to Christ in the world. But priesthood is not only AbOUT what a person does. It is also about what a person is. Through the lives they lead, priests point to the life of Christ crucified and risen, encouraging all God’s people to show love, care and compassion and to strive for justice and peace. As they do this, priests share in people’s sorrows and joys as they walk with them on their individual journeys. For some this ministry is exercised full time, for others ministry is exercised as they continue in their on-going occupations.
In the Common Worship Ordination Services, the ordaining bishop says these words which express the heart of the ministry of a priest:
Priests are called to be servants and shepherds among the people to whom they are sent. With their bishop and fellow-ministers, they are to proclaim the word of the Lord, and to watch for the signs of God’s new creation. They are to be messengers, watchmen and stewards of the Lord; they are to teach and to admonish, to feed and provide for his family, to search for his children in the wilderness of this world’s temptations, and to guide them through its confusions, that they may be saved through Christ for ever. Formed by the Word, they are to call their hearers to repentance and to declare in Christ’s name the absolution and forgiveness of their sins.
With all God’s people they are to tell the story of God’s love. They are to baptise new disciples in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and to walk with them in the way of Christ, nurturing them in the faith. They are to unfold the Scriptures, to preach the word in season and out of season, and to declare the mighty acts of God. They are to preside at the Lord’s table and lead his people in worship, offering with them a spiritual sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. They are to bless the people in God’s name. They are to resist evil, support the weak, defend the poor, and intercede for all in need. They are to minister to the sick and prepare the dying for their death. Guided by the Spirit, they are to discern and foster the gifts of all God’s people, that the whole Church may be built up in unity and faith.