Mission Resourcing Network - Fresh Expressions

Searching for fresh expressions

fresh-rain 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 (Rob Stoner, Ruthmary Bond, Andrew Robertson, Trevor Whitney, Alan Dutton and Heidi Harding) 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.

A new way of expressing community for people with intellectual disability : a L’Arche community in Adelaide

Proposal
To explore the possibility of the Uniting Church in Australia, Presbytery and Synod of SA, working ecumenically to help establish and resource a L’Arche community home in Adelaide.

What is L’Arche?
In 1964, Jean Vanier, a French-Canadian Catholic priest, through the mentoring of a Dominican priest, moved to Trosly, France, where he established his first faith community for adults with intellectual disability. He named the community L’Arche after the ark Noah built to save God’s creatures from the Flood. Over the following decades he has established 138 of these communities in 30 countries on all continents. As an adjunct to this ministry he established 1400 support groups for the families of people with disabilities called Faith and Light.
In the slums of Calcutta, the ghetto communities of Sao Paulo (favelas), in maximum security North American prisons, and in places of dictatorship and asylum in Africa and Asia, Vanier forged a deep engagement with the poor and needy of these places. Such experiences reinforced his commitment to those socio-economically marginalised because of their intellectual disability which, in his writings, he came to refer to as “the excluded.”
The L’Arche communities are small, faith-based communities which comprise of a small group of adults with intellectual disabilities who are cared for 24 / 7 in a residential housing context by a group of Christian carers, usually ecumenical in membership. By the commitment the carers offer to those for whom they care, and, through the love the residents also offer in return, a model of inclusive and mutually enriching relationship is expressed that describes a sense of welcome that people with an intellectual disability often don’t experience.

Fresh Bread

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.

Letter to those becoming unchurched

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.
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Fostering New Faith Communities

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.

Beginning a Fresh Expression of Church

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.

IDENTIFY THE HEARTBURST: Look for where God is calling you
RAISE A TEAM: Share your vision with others to identify like minded people to be part of a team (3-4 people)
GET PRAYER SUPPORT: Share the vision with people and have them pray for you
IDENTIFY HOW YOU ARE GOING TO CONNECT TO THE TARGET GROUP: Dont be afraid to be specific in nominating a target group. Do you need an advert in the paper, flyers in letterboxes etc..?
DREAM AND PLAN THE 'WHAT COULD THIS LOOK LIKE': what might be some strategic steps? If this Fresh Expression takes off what is it's potential and what steps might you put in place to get there? Be ready for things to vary or change as you develop. Plan to develop eg. might meet monthly to begin with but progress to weekly
PLAN A LAUNCH: This needs lots of preparation. start with a 'bang' not a 'whimper'
SET MEASURABLE OUTCOMES:be sure to set down some measurable outcomes to help you evaluate how things are going eg. numbers attending, money coming in, responses, phone calls etc)
RAISE UP LEADERS: this happens all the way through the process. Look for those who are getting actively involved. once you identify them make sure they are equipped to do what is required. Have an idea of the kind of leaders you are looking for, set some criteria)

Ruth Mary Bond
April 2009

Church Fresh Out of the Box

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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-shaped Church (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'.

Fresh Expressions - Local Stories