What is a Pastorate?
A pastorate evening starts at 7.30pm and ends at 9.30pm
Perhaps the best place to start is with the definition from HTB’s website:
"The pastorates are not one programme amongst many that the church supports; the pastorates are the church. The congregations that meet to worship on Sundays are essentially a collection of different pastorates, so, if you want to get involved at HTB, the best way to do it is by joining a pastorate.
We have been running pastorates at HTB since 1978, and in that time have found them to be the best way for people to get integrated into the heart of the church, to make friends, to have fun and to develop individual gifts and ministries."
So a pastorate is really a space to grow in the Christian faith and to make and build good friendships at HTB. Sundays at HTB are brilliant for worshipping together with 800 people, celebrating and praising God and getting a sense of the wider perspective of all God is doing at the moment.
However, as noted above, HTB have always felt that it is important to encourage members of the congregation to meet on a regular basis in much smaller and more intimate settings, which is where homegroups and pastorates come in. A pastorate is really a collection of smaller homegroups.
The Moravian Close pastorate meet during term time every other Tuesday. The evening starts with food at 7.30pm. About quarter past eight we move into a time of worship, followed by a short talk or presentation, and a chance to discuss the talk in small groups. There are three pastorate terms each year and we try to develop a biblical theme for each term. We always finish with a time of prayer and a chance to minister to one another. We aim to finish promptly at 9.30pm