Dwelling in the Word is a tool used by the partnership of Missional Church as part of the culture-change process and significantly contributes to church growth. It allows us to listen to scripture, to each other and to God.
It is recommended that groups use the same passage each time they meet over the course of a year because, over time, it encourages the behaviours in the text: working closely together, trusting God’s leading, developing our missional vocation and ordering our priorities. ‘Dwelling in the word’ allows groups of Christians to form a shared sense of the challenge facing them.
- Listen to the passage as it’s read aloud.
- In quiet consider where it struck you, what the Spirit might be saying to you or what question it raises for you.
- Find a person you do not know so well.
- Listen to that person as he or she tells you what they heard in the passage.
- Listen well, because your job will be to report to others (usually another pair) what your partner has said, not what you yourself said.
- Some people even take notes to help them, focus and remember.
Each year a different text is chosen for Dwelling in the Word. This text is used at various diocesan gatherings and frequently in many benefices and parishes which follow this practice. For 2026 the text is Psalm 33. Please download the text: