Courageous ways of worshipping

Andy Wilson

Lead Evangelist
Gloucester & Forest Centre of Mission
gro.y1685263743mrahc1685263743ruhc@1685263743nosli1685263743w.ydn1685263743A 1685263743

Three-minute Guides

All the essentials of fresh expressions of church in just 21 minutes!
What are fresh expressions of church?
Five reasons to start a fresh expression of church
How to start a fresh expression of church
How to start making disciples
How to grow mature disciples
Reproducing your fresh expression of church
How to measure fruitfulness

Resources

Mirrors and Windows: Looking back and looking forward: MIRRORS and WINDOWS

A guide to getting started, for those exploring Forest Church: Forest Church booklet

Working with areas of new housing: Small areas of new housing leaflet

Sports ministry leaflet: Sports ministry and Fresh Expressions

Some questions about pioneering answered:

FAQ from CMS

A fresh expression of church looks and feels different from a church that primarily meets in a church building to worship on a Sunday morning or evening.

They grow in response to our changing culture primarily for those who are not yet members of any church. A Fresh Expression of Church may not initially express everything that we might expect in a mature church but has potential to become a mature expression of church, shaped by the gospel, for its cultural context.

Establishing a Fresh Expression takes time; a lot of listening to God and the community to understand the needs, priorities, questions and culture of the people. In all the listening, the priority is to discern God’s purposes within this community, and what an authentic expression of Christian community would look like in this place.

Forest Church

Can we connect with God out in the wilds of nature, rather than in a normal church building? We join Robinswood Forest Church to find out what Forest Church is all about!

Our Youtube Channel →
More FE videos ↓

Fresh Expressions in the Diocese of Gloucester

In 2014, the Church Army released a long-term study of Fresh expressions in all dioceses. This research looks at fresh expressions of Church in the Dioceses of Gloucester from 1992-2012. It is sponsored by both Church Army and the Church Commissioners.
View the Church Army report on Fresh Expressions in the Diocese of Gloucester

What might a Fresh Expression look like?

Some arise as an existing church adapts its regular patterns of life and worship in response to the community it seeks to serve, creating a new initiative alongside the more traditional expression of church. For some existing church groups – such as a toddlers’ group, or a monthly service in a residential home become fully church in their own right, and not a stepping-stone to ‘proper’ church. Others again will see entirely new congregations being planted in response to need. Examples include café church, messy church, or a church in a new housing area.

The primary difference between a Fresh Expression and other missional activities is the intention to build a church, rather than being a project on a journey towards the existing church community. Always present is a desire to be responsive to the local context and to build something that expresses the gospel in a way that is in keeping with that culture.

Fresh Expressions, Pioneer Ministry and mission shaped ministry

The Church of England uses ‘pioneer ministry’ to describe a particular calling to develop fresh expressions of church. Fresh Expressions are sometimes led by an individual pioneer, either an ordained Pioneer Minister or a Lay Pioneer. In other places this pioneering ministry is led by teams of lay people who feel called to engage in mission and extend the boundaries of local church life.

The one year mission-shaped Ministry course equips people for leading pioneer initiatives and for inspiration are occasional visits to local Pioneering and Fresh Expressions projects. For those who are pioneering locally we arrange regular peer support events.

Some types of pioneering are deeply engaged in the local community without a clear sense of how, when or even if a Fresh Expression will develop – the depth of community engagement requires an open mind on this question, at least in the early stages. For this reason, the term pioneer is increasingly also being used for those with a calling to community engagement even if their primary focus isn’t the development of a Fresh Expression.

The diagram below indicates the variety of different kinds of pioneering that are beginning to emerge. As the cultural distance from church increases, the shape of pioneering changes in order to be increasingly sensitive to local context. Pioneers may be called to ministry at any point along the spectrum, and of course in untidy spaces that don’t quite fit the categories!