INTRODUCTION
ROC is unique. Birthed out of a movement of prayer aligned with God’s heart for community transformation, we’ve become an effective broker of partnerships between churches and statutory agencies across the UK.

We’ve earned a strong reputation among Chief Constables, City Council Leaders, third sector organisations and other social groups as a credible catalyst of Christian-led action through models that make sense and produce verifiable results – vital elements in today’s politically sensitive world where activities are highly scrutinised, budgets closely monitored and measurable outcomes are demanded.

VISION
Our vision is to inspire and facilitate large-scale community action and redemption activity all across the UK through radical partnerships between churches and public sector agencies whose agendas have much in common. The ROC brand opens doors for the Church because our proven track record gives us favour to consult at the highest levels within police forces and local authorities. We’ve learned to speak their language, we understand their world and have earned their trust and confidence.

We act as a catalyst for dynamic local projects that follow clear guidelines and produce measurable results, especially in terms of reduction in crime and anti-social behaviour.

Our model of partnership generally follows this pattern:

Consult – we are invited by either a group of churches or a Chief Constable/City Council Leader to discuss possibilities for enabling in their locality the type of partnerships that have flourished elsewhere. Normally, this is as a result of a key person having visited an ROC event in another city. For example, in 2008, 9 Chief Constables from forces throughout the UK attended a high-profile showcase event in Manchester and many of them requested discussion with us about helping them partner with churches in their areas.

Broker – next we convene high level meetings between senior leaders from the police, Church, local authorities and other groups. This is always very challenging as there are so many sensitivities involved. Our reputation and experience helps enormously in negotiating effective partnerships with shared budgets and specific goals.

Inspire – we organise a high-profile, city-wide event that brings together thousands of people of goodwill (a surprisingly large proportion of whom being non-Christians) who have a common concern for their community. At the event we set out a biblical vision for positive social change and showcase many existing local projects, mainly being delivered by Christians and often unknown to the secular authorities. This always raises the credibility of the Church in the eyes of the public sector (and the general public) and inspires new thinking which in turn gives birth to exciting new projects produced by new partnerships that bridge the sacred/secular divide.

Facilitate – following on from the large gathering, we help to organise medium-sized meetings at the level of neighbourhoods (a key term in police demographics), where church members and others meet their local police officers face to face and begin to dream dreams and plan projects together.

Resource – we suggest ideas and give practical guidelines of how to find local funding, recruit volunteers and maintain credibility with the police and local authorities. The ROC national team is always available to offer support and guidance to any local groups.

Communicate – we regularly circulate information and updates from projects all around the country, keeping the ROC community fully informed of new developments, opportunities and resources.

VALUES
Our values are most important in determining the viability of partnerships. We have learned from experience how vital it is that all partners have a wholehearted commitment to the same core principles, even if they agree to differ on other matters. These are the things that matter most to us:

Strong vision for social change – this must be real (as opposed to a veneer that masks another agenda) and recognise that there will be a price to pay. If we are going to see the Kingdom of God advance powerfully in our society we must be prepared to make sacrifices.

Positive focus: seeing the good in people and places. We believe that the image of God has only been marred by sin, not removed completely. God loves cities, towns, villages, estates and the people in them. There is much to applaud and commend in every community and we have seen how powerful it is when goodness is identified and celebrated.

Christian-led, but open to all people of goodwill regardless of their faith or otherwise – in every community there are many like-minded people whose different philosophies of life can separate them from one another. However, when they co-operate for the common good, putting their differences on hold temporarily, the results are always impressive. Our experience has been that people of other faiths (and none) respect us for our Christian “engine”; they don’t expect us to hide our faith away but neither do we parade it. Our role is to serve the Lord by enabling the broadest possible community engagement for his ultimate glory. It continues to surprise us how effective this kind of model is for genuine evangelism (the kind that starts with authentic conversations based on unconditional love and mutual respect and leads gradually into deeper discussions and friendships).

Empowerment: enabling local groups and giving away the model rather than empire building – our heart is to serve not control. The ROC brand has become a powerful tool in the hands of local groups and we aim to give it away as much as we can in order to see the whole nation positively impacted. Our core team will always be “lean and mean” and focus on resourcing the network effectively.

Long Term: community transformation is not realised through events or quick fix solutions, but through long term dialogue, partnership and commitment between statutory agencies and church & Christian leaders.

PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT
Partnership is at the heart of everything we do. ROC aims to inspire and serve not dominate or control. We must, however, protect our reputation at all costs since it is this that enables us to gain access to the highest levels of decision making within the public sector. Therefore, we can only allow our name to be used by groups that agree to follow our guidelines. In general terms, a partnership agreement will include the following:

The National Core Team (NCT) will:

• Consult with statutory agencies and local church leaders to enable a launch event.
• Organise and deliver the launch event in partnership with local church leaders.
• Once up and running, enable handover of working relationships to local church leaders.
• Continue to give clear guidance on how to maintain relationships with police and other authorities.
• Publicise ROC events on the national website and throughout the national network.
• Give advice and support as required.
• Provide speakers for strategic gatherings subject to availability.

Partner churches will:

• Demonstrate positive attitudes to working with statutory agencies and accept guidance from the NCT in how to foster and sustain effective relationships.
• Always include ROC website details and full colour, official logos in all local publicity.
• Follow event guidelines as follows:
  • Large events (e.g. city-wide; 500+ people) need a minimum of 10 partner churches, 12 months’ notice and must involve the NCT.
  • Medium size events (e.g. town/Neighbourhood; 100-500 people) need a minimum of 4 partner churches, 3 months’ notice and must involve the NCT.
  • Local events (e.g. village or estate; up to 100 people) need a minimum of 1 partner church, 6 weeks’ notice and must notify the NCT.

FINANCES
Large events can cost a great deal – typically tens of thousands of pounds when high-profile venues are used. Each one has to be considered on its own merits and involves a great deal of faith and commitment. Police forces and local authorities have often made significant financial contributions to these but negotiations are always delicate and demand patience and prayer.

Medium size and local events can be organised on much smaller budgets but still require careful planning and highly committed local ownership.

Local funding in the form of grants from Trusts is often available for locally launched projects. The NCT can help with advice on how to source this.

Partner churches are expected to contribute a minimum of £25 per month to ROC national. Individual ROC supporters are asked to contribute a minimum of £5 per month.