IMAGINE….

Question? If you had to describe the essence of what a church is in short phrase what would it be?

Bible Metaphors Body 1 Cor 12:13 Household Eph 3:19 Flock Acts 20:28 Field 1 Cor 3:9 Temple Eph 2:21 Eklessia= called out ones

Machine or Organism? Are we alive?

MRS GREN Heptagon Movement Respiration Sensitivity Growth Reproduction Excretion Nutrition

Movement Plants move in response to the sun. We should be moving in response to the son

Respiration We need to be breathing in God’s Spirit to release energy with in the church

Sensitivity Are we willing to change in response to our surroundings, culture, people’s needs, etc.

Growth Growth happens in seasons. What limits growth in the church?

Reproduction Have we forgotten God’s first command to man? “Be fruitful and increase in number.” (Gen 1:28)

Excretion Excretion is the removal of substances which were good but all nutrition from them has been used.

Nutrition Do you have a balanced Diet?

Fresh Expressions "Fresh expressions are new and different ways of being church in a changing culture." A fresh expression of church is not normally seen just as an additional activity or simply a stepping stone for people to Sunday services but as something with the potential to be or become church for those who take part."

Elements A fresh expression is a form of church for our changing culture established primarily for the benefit of people who are not yet members of any church. It will come into being through principles of listening, service, incarnational mission and making disciples. It will have the potential to become a mature expression of church shaped by the gospel and the enduring marks of the church and for its cultural context.

MY STORY

Cultural context Discuss how culture in Britain has changed over the last 50 years. If you are younger compare your Grandparents culture to your own.

Some of those changes include Mobility Family life – divorce Employment (esp. increase in women) Free time Media, and Internet Communication Fragmented Society Church attendance

Changes in thinking Word based  Image based Learning through  Learning through thinking experience exploration for  exploration for wider truth my truth Rational as worship  Heart as worship Head & Individualistic  Feeling & Shared Is it right  Does it work

Hay & Hunt 2002 Frequency of report of religious or spiritual experience in Britain for years 1987 and % increase A patterning of events/transcendent providence 29%55%90% Awareness of prayer being answered 25%37%48% Awareness of the presence of God27%38%41% Awareness of a sacred presence in nature 16%29%81% Awareness of the presence of the dead 18%25%39% Awareness of an evil presence12%25%108% CULUMATIVE TOTAL48%76% Postmodern p

Things have changed So what are we going to do about?

Fresh Expressions a solution? There is no one solution Many cultures/sub cultures calls for many different types of churches. People for the most part will not come to us, we have to go to them. Gives us an opportunity to use our God- given creativity

What is a Fresh Expression? Alternative worship communities Base Ecclesial Communities Café Church Cell Church Churches arising out of community initiatives Multiple and midweek congregations Network focused churches Schools based church Seeker church Traditional church plants New monastic communities Youth Congregation/church

Examples

How do you start? Who are you trying to reach? What is there culture? Where are they already? What do you enjoy doing? Where are the points of connection? What is God already doing? Are there people already interested?

What Culture Get into groups if possible with either people who live in town or in a village. Discuss what the culture of the town/village is. –Who lives there (age, class, employment, how long,) –How do they relate to each other and where –What points of connection are there –What do people believe

Where to start? Worship Community Mission

Question and (maybe) answer session!

Resource Mission Shaped Church, Cray et al Church house Publishing Emergingchurch.intro M. Moynagh, Monarch Post-Christendom S. Murray, Paternoster Church After Christendom, S. Murray, Paternoster. Messy Church, L Moore, Barnabas The Passionate Church, M. Breen, NexGen Emerging Churches, E. Gibbs R Bolger, SPCK

Resources Cont. Expressions: The DVD – 1and 2: N. Ivison Church House Publishing, A New Kind of Christian (trilogy), B. Mclaren, Velvet Elvis, Rob Bell, Zondervan Planting Churches, Stuart Murray, Paternoster Evaluating Fresh Expressions, Croft et al. Canterbury Press Emerging Evangelism, J. Finney, DLT Irresistible Revolution, S. Claibourne, Zondervan The Prodigal Project, M. Riddell, SPCK