The Report of the Special Commission on Review and Reform encourages the Church to return the ministry of the Gospel to the people of God. The aim is to give them the tools and the trust to shape a vision for the church in their own area. 

The Church 'works' where people join together, building relationships with each other and the community to which they belong. It is through these relationships that the Gospel is spread. In each place the church is different. There is no one model that fits all. We rejoice in the diversity within the Church. We celebrate and encourage it. 

This is achieved best by allowing congregations the space and opportunity to develop their own patterns of ministry, mission, worship and leadership that best suits the people and situations where they are.  

Structures require to be flexible, not rigid. It means that nationally and as Presbytery we require to listen to the local voice and to serve the local church. This may mean a U-turn, so that the local church dictates the agenda and is served by Presbytery and '121'. At present many perceive things to be the other way round.  

Churches - within new-sized Presbyteries - will plan together the best way forward for their location and be supported by the Presbytery.  

We believe that it is important that the local church is allowed to flourish and grow in its own unique way with all possible resources at its disposal. The Commission therefore believes it is vital that we trust our congregations to be good stewards of their resources and to give them increased flexibility of choice on funds held centrally for their benefit, while challenging them to increased stewardship of local giving.  

In order to help and support new ideas, where local resources are not available, we propose the creation of a Community and Parish Development Fund. This fund will give financial backing to new and imaginative forms of ministry and mission. 

To enable and encourage these proposals, the report outlines a process of change that will assist the church on this road. The Commission is well aware that Church is not changed by recommendations or deliverances. The Commission is not placing into the hands of any one group or Committee the responsibility for implementing these recommendations. Rather, we place them into the hands of everyone who has any responsibility and concern for the future welfare of the church.  

We place into the hands of God's people the opportunity to live out our faith, each according to our uniqueness, made in the image of God. It is our hope and prayer that the report, together with the many other initiatives within the Church at present, will stimulate the Church to face the future in faith and hope.