Richard White traces the story of dream.
Dream was born in 2002 when a group of young adults began meeting together to experiment with worship and discuss what 'church' might look like for their peers. Since then it has grown to a network of groups in the Northwest of England with a much wider age spread. Of the five current groups, one meets at Liverpool University, another at an artist's studio, two in churches, and the fifth at an NHS primary care trust. While diverse in their styles, the groups all seek to express four 'CORE' values through being:
- Christ-centred: We seek to develop a spirituality centred on Jesus, and lives that are formed by following him.
- Open: We welcome and seek to include anyone who is seeking Christ or exploring spirituality.
- Relational: Building communities rather than putting on worship events.
- Experimental: Seeking to re-imagine church through creative experimentation and exploration.
Three of the highlights of the past year have been:
Seeing the network grow
Especially among groups who may not have had the confidence to start a fresh expression of this sort without the support and resources that the network brings.
Increasing numbers of formerly unchurched or dechurched people
Who now count one of the Dream groups as their spiritual home.
Opportunities to take 'Dream' into the market place over the past year
Including:
- A Dream marquee with café and labyrinth at the St Helens show, where we had over 1000 participants.
- The Faith zone at Merseyfest, with chill out zone and installations for all ages.
- Essence courses in homes, a health centre and a community centre.
- Regular 'spiritual spaces' at two of the work places of members of the Dream community.
Perhaps our biggest challenge is now discovering what lasting discipleship looks like in this context.