It is very exciting to hear about all of the wonderful things the church is doing in the area of fresh expressions of Church, fresh expressions of worship, evangelism and outreach. Ruthmary Bond is the new Fresh Expressions and Evangelism Officer and her job is to encourage and resources these activities where needed.
She would love you know what you are doing, so please contact her via
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and share your vision.
Outlined below are some steps, a strategy for beginning a 'fresh expression'. This is not an exhaustive list, just some points to consider. One of the characteristics of 'fresh expressions' is that we need to be ready for the unexpected to happen and to go with it when it does.
One thing is certain about the church of the future - it will have forms of "church" that are different from the conventional model of church we are used to. These new models are becoming known in many countries as "fresh expressions".
Our presbytery has a Fresh Expressions Team (Ruthmary Bond, Alan Dutton, Steve Taylor, Sarah Agnew, David Hoffman and Di Price) who are interested in both stirring up conversation about fresh expressions and discovering what new ideas are emerging across the UCA in SA.
What is a "fresh expression"? It's not something that can be defined clearly and precisely, so our team is committed to stirring up "muddy conversations" about what might be understood by "fresh expressions of church". We particularly want to engage those on the edge of existing congregations who may be looking for the fresh expression that will captivate their yearnings.
Despite the fact that most people who attend our churches for worship think that their church is warm, friendly, and inviting, it is quite clear that many of our existing forms of church are unattractive to those who don't currently attend. It is also clear that one of the best strategies for attracting the attention of those who don't currently participate in church is to plant new forms of church or to develop new faith communities. Frost and Hirsch's book The Shaping Of Things To Come and the work of the Forge Mission Training Network provide insight into this movement in the Australian context.
The Anglican Church in the U.K. has, for the past couple of decades, done some significant work in the area of church planting and fresh expressions of church. At their General Synod in 2004, the Church of England received a report entitled Mission-shapedChurch (Church House Publishing 2004). This book presents a comprehensive review of their journey to this point and some salient guidelines about theology, methodology, and frameworks for the future. But the centrepiece of the report is a critical assessment of the variety of fresh expressions of church which have evolved to this point in time illustrated by stories of those who have 'had a go'.
How can 'fresh expressions' of church be part of an evangelism strategy?
It has been tempting to attribute both the drift away from the church, and the failure for new people to connect to the church, to factors beyond our control, e.g. changing work patterns, Sunday sport, the rise of liberalism, the post-modern predilection towards "personalised" spirituality, and so on.
Somewhere Else is the name of the church that is not afraid to engage with people who struggle with the idea of church yet still have an inner sense that God is up to something.
The story of the bread church in Liverpool City Centre is a sign of hope that the church can be different. This account of the life of Somewhere Else is a story of encouragement that challenges unconventional people of faith to risk living out of their own experience and be wonderfully surprised by encountering God on the edge.
Barbara Glasson is a Methodist minister in Liverpool City Centre, working with an emerging church community that bakes bread.
In mission-shaped church, the seminal report of the UK Anglican Church describing the development of what they call "fresh expressions of church", they give a helpful analysis of the spectrum of association with church to be found in today's culture.
Fresh Expressions 
Fresh Expressions Application for funding (
One thing is certain about the church of the future - it will have forms of "church" that are different from the conventional model of church we are used to. These new models are becoming known in many countries as "fresh expressions".