Church Urban Fund has published a study on poverty and fresh expressions – Emerging Forms of Church in Deprived Communities (2012).
Working in deprived areas, many Christians have often tried to set up initiatives and projects that support people materially and also seek to connect people to God and the wider church. Church Urban Fund commissioned the study by the Oxford Centre for Ecclesiology and Practical Theology (OxCEPT) into how this was being worked out.
The report, by Helen Cameron of OxCEPT, looks at the key issues facing emerging forms of church in deprived communities. Six groups were involved in the research:
- The Garden Café, Newham, London;
- The Lighthouse, Bristol;
- Oaks, Skelmersdale;
- Hull Youth for Christ;
- The Ark, Hull;
- Paul and Barney's Place, Quinton.
Six key themes were identified:
Faith in white working class culture.
To what extent are the groups supposed to accept the culture within which they work and show the gospel through it? Is there a role for challenging the culture or is that to impose values taken from a more prosperous lifestyle?
Indigenous versus incoming Christians.
How permeable are the boundaries of these communities? Can they accept incoming leaders or is it essential to develop local leadership?
Mission as presence and empowerment.
Long-term presence in these communities was essential to establish credibility but all these groups moved beyond presence to engage people in conversations about the meaning and value of their lives.
Relationships with parish and diocese.
The initiatives had varied relationships with local parishes, depending on the style and attitude of the local vicar and the expectations of local congregations.
Supporting appropriate models of leadership.
Leadership was often team based, with a much more blurred sense between lay and ordained. How can the traditional church leader model be integrated into a much more informal and complex scenario without damaging the local leadership team?
The reality of reflective practice.
All groups valued the catalyst of an outside facilitator. However many struggled to spend time on action/reflection due to work and time pressures. In stretched and stressful areas, how are people able to free up time to recharge, reflect and learn from their work?
The report is available as a free download from the Church Urban Fund website.