Month: March 2012

New Horizons Christian Fellowship

New Horizons in Hemel Hempstead was featured on the first Fresh Expressions DVD (expressions: the dvd – 1). They provided much in the way of social action. Have things changed since then? Pastor Arno Steen Andreasen tells of the current state of play.

We are very much moving ahead even in these difficult times. Our Sunday worship service takes place at Woodhall Farm Community Centre and New Horizons is now offering CAP debt counselling, two Sure Start Children's Centres covering over 1,500 families, the Ignite special needs school, an international degree programme, management of a community centre and support for an orphanage in India where we have also started two churches. We have another church in Sri Lanka and we will be starting a human rights project there in April.

The last few years have also seen us providing:

  • adult learning to 500 people a year, including offenders and people with learning difficulties/disabilities;

  • accelerate youth leadership training;

  • DreamKeepers mentoring programme for primary children with behaviour problems.

New Horizons - BBQThe development of emerging church, fluid church or fresh expressions of church language means that Christians sometimes lose sight of what church is all about. For me it's crucial that we constantly look to Acts 2:42-47. Some people describe what they're doing in a community as being radical but I see many of those things – such as having a meal together – as an expression of mission, not church.

The other concern I have is that the poor and vulnerable need structure to make sure that they have access to discipleship, training, etc. If things are too fluid, they easily lose out. I might have the inner strength to take the initiative in order to learn, develop and train but not everybody is proactive like that. We need to make sure we cater for the people who do not so easily take the initiative or have the drive to move forward in faith and life.

If churches get involved in social action, as we do, people need to make a decision as to whether they want to be able to evangelise directly or not. If they receive public funding, then they are restricted in what they can do and how they do it. If they want full freedom, then they need to self-fund it or have individual donors. If they receive grants, even from Christian grant makers, they typically will have to do some monitoring or have some objectives that fit the funder.

I want to be part of a fresh expression of church in some respects but we are also quite old-fashioned in the way we approach things because we base our understanding of church on Acts 2. One chap wanted to come here on a placement because he had seen it as a fresh expression, but when we explained that a lot of what we did could be seen as traditional he didn't want the placement at all. We are a fresh expression with an old gospel.

New Horizons - waterI think it is important to have a clear picture of what church is all about. New expressions of church could easily be used by people who do not like accountability and just want to do their own thing. There are a lot of powerful initiatives around, but do they carry the Spirit of Christ? We try with our staff team to discern how we should work with people and which methods to use. We will then discard even powerful methods if we do not think they fit the Spirit of Jesus.

I think it is easy to copy structures when we learn about each other's projects but it is the values behind the structures that are important. We had this discussion when we started the churches in India and Sri Lanka. They asked us if they also had to sit around tables and have breakfast at their Sunday services as we do. My response was that it is not the structure/style that is important but the value behind the structure. The value is fellowship and they need to find ways to implement that in their services.

Our work has been recognised by the local authority and we were asked to extend that work into a different borough but we said no because we didn't have a church in that area. Our community work flows from church and not the other way round; an incarnational ministry must mean we are right here, on the spot. I don't have a local connection there. It would be all too easy for us to become a high quality social provider rather than an expression of church.

I was also asked if New Horizons could start things in nine districts across Hertfordshire, as well as our own. They would have covered the whole of the county. The projects had funding put aside for them and it was all very tempting because the tendency is to think, 'I could reach an extra 500 or 1,000 people by doing one such project or another' but the fact is that you're not reaching them because you are not reaching them for church.

New Horizons - football playersWe need people to fall in love with the local church, for it to be the most exciting and supportive of places. As part of that, I have been really impressed by Christians Against Poverty and its debt counselling service because they don't start something unless it's part and parcel of the local church. They become an empowering ministry within it.

If you have the backing of a traditional church or denomination and are looking to develop new ways of being church in a community, the most important thing to slot into place is the funding and the awareness of how that funding stream will affect what you do.

I will always be 'grilled' as a church leader when I apply for funding. I do not think that is right but it is what I have had to get used to and learn to accept. There are always some outside funders who don't want anything to do with church but I can point to the quality reports from independent assessors and relevant bodies which prove that we are good at what we do. I have evidence to show that we are more diverse, that we have the biggest reach and so on. I would not get involved in setting up new projects if I did not keep on fighting for them – even if I am rejected by funders.

Springfield Church – in the spotlight with Rowan Williams

Will Cookson, of Springfield Church, Wallington, Surrey, reports how a long-planned visit from the Archbishop of Canterbury became a once-in-a-lifetime experience. In his first visit to a church since the announcement of his resignation, Rowan Williams discussed the practicalities of the announcement and why he believes God persuaded him to take fresh expressions of church seriously.

Sometimes events just present themselves. Months ago, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, accepted an invitation to the 20th anniversary celebration of our fresh expression of church. This took place on Sunday (18th March) – just two days after Rowan had announced he was standing down!

His press officer spoke to me about how she was trying to keep the media away from the service (seemingly the BBC had expressed an interest). It had always been the plan that I would interview him but there suddenly felt more pressure – especially as he only gave one interview to the Press Association and wasn't giving others – and I felt a real concern not to embarrass him.

The day turned out to be an amazing one. He arrived for a youth breakfast prior to the service of celebration. His new chaplain commented to me that he (the chaplain that is) found it a bit of a 'culture shock but that shows how marvellous the Church of England is'. There were so many wonderful highlights and memories to take from it. The enthusiasm of Rowan with the young people, the handing out of flowers to the children and his obvious joy in blessing the youngsters, his sermon without notes, his obvious humility and warmth and his tangible holiness.

I believe that the service will be remembered as a key event in the life of Springfield. No-one can ever again say that they don't feel Springfield should be part of the Church of England (externally or internally). I believe that it has given our church a confidence in its place and its mission that has been deepened by his visit.

My planned 5-10 minute interview in front of the congregation actually turned into 20 minutes because my clock broke!! I can't say I was sad about that… it was a great privilege and Rowan said some important things as part of it.

In his resignation he said that one of the two things that gave him most satisfaction was the launch of Fresh Expressions. So I asked him about what had convinced him of the need for Fresh Expressions.

His answer was initially brief: 'God'. He went on to describe how as a Bishop in Monmouth he was aware of so many different things happening outside the church and when he became Archbishop that

there ought to be some way of connecting all that with the mainstream of the Church more effectively and more intentionally.

He then said that it felt like Graham Cray's report [Mission-shaped Church] was

one of those moments that God had prepared – things slotted together.

His visible commitment to Fresh Expressions around the country has ensured that they have been given the space to thrive and grow. It gives places like Springfield and others space to come into being and to be reminded that

the Church is always being restored and renewed from unexpected places.

A marvellous, wonderful, life-giving day. Thank you Rowan for being such a prophetic Archbishop!

Springfield - Rowan Williams

A full transcript of the Archbishop's address can be found on the Archbishop of Canterbury's website.

An interview with Dave Male

The Fresh Expressions Canada team interview Dave Male – what is a pioneer, what led you to start the Net, we would like to start something new…, what is church, how soon do we start public worship, how are new Christian communities formed, how do we form community outside the church walls, what is Christian love, is there hope for the future and is it possible to wait too long?

Rural fresh expressions

The Arthur Rank Centre maintains a list of examples of rural fresh expressions of church (mostly from this site and from Country Way magazine), as well as resources for those exploring fresh expressions of church in a rural context.

You can find the rural page on the Arthur Rank Centre website.

If you know of other rural stories or have other information, please contact Simon Martin, Training and Resources Officer for the Arthur Rank Centre on tro@arthurrankcentre.org.uk.

You can also submit your rural story to us for consideration to feature on our website.

Café Lite

A fresh expression of church meets in Droxford village hall, Hampshire on the third Sunday of the month. Launched in September 2011, it now attracts up to 100 people to its informal sessions. Rev Stuart Holt explains how it has developed.

As Rector here I was very fortunate that my parish released me from services in Droxford, Exton, Meonstoke and Corhampton twice a month so that I could be involved with mission events on the ground. I felt that it was time to stop talking about mission and actually do some!

Retired priests Canon Anthony Hulbert, Canon Marion Mort and the Ven Barrie Hammett are helping to lead services and offer pastoral support to regular worshippers in our four churches while I'm fronting Café Lite and a puppet ministry in schools.

We decided to set these things up for a year and see how we got on. It all started in September; it's really encouraging to see that new people are coming in and they're bringing their friends with them. We've never seen these people before. Things are developing too because some of them are now wanting to be baptised and have their babies baptised.

Café Lite - mother and babyMy other project is a Sunday morning puppet show at Meonstoke Infant School on the last Sunday of the month, called Puppets and Praise. This means that I now have two fresh expressions of church in these ancient, rural benefices.

Café Lite runs on the third Sunday of the month in Droxford Village Hall and we have most of the Sunday newspapers, bacon rolls, worship and chat. No money came from church funds to support the café church or the puppet shows. Instead we have made them self-supporting with private individuals funding different components so – for instance – someone has sponsored the bread for a year, somebody else has paid for the bacon and another person buys all the papers.

I thought it important to offer excellence which is why we've also got a professional Gaggia coffee machine for all those 'flat whites' we have to prepare! The numbers at Café Lite have reached 96 which is quite something for a tiny little parish of 1600 people in the middle of Hampshire.

When deciding what resources to use, I finally went for what was around when I came to faith in 1967, Norman Warren's Journey into Life – mainly because it's very clear and simple. I ended up buying 100 copies from the States. Again, for worship, I had previously used Youth Praise and I use it again now because it really deals with key issues of faith; I found that it was as powerful now as it had been all those years ago.

We started from the beginning with the music because it's for the dechurched as well as the unchurched. I know it can seem strange to many people involved in fresh expressions that we would focus on worship and singing at such an early stage in the life of this community but the people really wanted the music to express some strong messages about God and Christianity. It doesn't seem to be offputting because we're drawing in a huge cross section of people, including those from a local social housing estate, an equine horse healer and an international tea taster from Twinings teas.

Café Lite - guitarsWe also have those recovering from drug and alcohol addictions at a nearby rehab centre. They are accompanied by a staff member and it's great to see them there. We are now also actively involved in Christians Against Poverty and have CAP money coaches there.

Almost as soon as we started in the hall, I was asked, 'What is your strategy for these people?' My answer was, and is, 'Preach the gospel and be open to the Holy Spirit. That's it.'

Our immediate challenge is that the hall is licensed for 120 people and we have already got up to 96 coming along; if everybody in the Café Lite community turned up we would be over the 120. It's a wonderful challenge to have because we had no idea how it was going to go or if anybody would turn up at all. We're also having fantastic conversations. People have asked if I could do a wedding blessing for them because they got married in a register office but would love a blessing; others have asked about preparing for baptism for themselves or their children.

Again, when it became clear that people had taken up the idea of Café Lite, I was asked what my strategy was going to be for discipleship. I said the answer was definitely not to make them go on some sort of organized course; people wouldn't want that – especially as they had never been to church anywhere before and had actually turned up because we offered them a bacon sandwich! We are now developing a nurture course to help them tackle some key issues in a way that's relevant to them.

Puppets in Praise runs from 9.30am to 10.30am in the hall at Meonstoke School. It is something that's definitely encouraging people to take that step into Café Lite. Families are invited to watch and participate in the event with parents then being able to do follow-up work in the classrooms with the children. We have had 75 coming along to that. When I did a pilot for the show last year, I asked four of the young people to download new worship songs to their iPods and learn them over the summer so they could help with the singing.

Café Lite - singing

We also have lots of children at Café Lite, usually around 29. It was suggested that we should 'do' something for the children as a separate entity but I said we needed to ban the words 'ought', 'must' or 'should' in our Christian lives and that I didn't want Café Lite to be turned into a Sunday school in the village hall. It's a church in its own right.

Interestingly some people got very indignant about seeing kids with i-Phones at Café Lite. It doesn't bother me because that's what kids do, they text each other. What was wonderful was the fact that they were actually texting, 'I'm at Café Lite, it's brilliant.' Another girl filmed it on her phone and sent it to a friend to say how good it was.

Some people also come along to regular gig nights at The White Horse pub in Droxford when I and the Rev Andy Bridgen play music from the 60s and 70s as The Rockin' Revs. We always invite people to Café Lite from there!

The churches here have been serving this stretch of the Meon Valley for hundreds of years and we are glad that Café Lite and Puppets in Praise are also helping to meet the spiritual needs of those around us. I've no idea what will happen or who will come week by week but I want us to take some risks in spreading the gospel.

Fresh Expressions is a highpoint of Rowan Williams’ primacy

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has said the establishment of Fresh Expressions has been a high point of his primacy.

Speaking on the day he announced his resignation and his move to Cambridge as Master of Magdalene College, Dr Williams said:

I think the two things I look back on with greatest satisfaction are that we've managed in the Church of England to launch this very new mission outreach programme Fresh Expressions, and get the Church of England to recognise the possibility of new styles of congregational life and new styles of training for ministers to go with it. I think that's really begun to build itself in to the life of the Church.

Speaking in an interview recorded by the Press Association, Dr Williams added:

And in the last couple of years we've also managed to launch the new Anglican Alliance for Relief and Development worldwide.

Rowan Williams, along with the Methodist Council, established Fresh Expressions soon after the publication of the Mission-shaped Church report, and described it as

one of the big positives of the last 10 years.

The full transcript of the interview and the related video can be found on the Anglican Communion News Service website.

Complete Share booklets pack: 01-11

In recent years, hundreds of new churches have been formed. These 'fresh expressions' are aiming to create church among people who have never belonged to a church, or who once did, but belong no more.

Share booklets want to encourage good conversations about starting these new churches, without telling you what to do.

This pack contains one each of every Share booklet, the first eight as the Starting and sustaining a fresh expression of church omnibus, plus additional single booklets for the rest of the series.

01-08. Starting and sustaining a fresh expression of church:

9. How can we encourage a fresh expression?

10. How should we teach and preach?

11. Self-supporting ministry

08 How can we finance a fresh expression? (Share booklet 08)

How can we finance a fresh expression? is about how to put down strong financial roots to allow for both start-up costs and long-term sustainability, helping you to weather the storms of economic instability.

This Share booklet is one of a series which aims to help you to think about how to start, support and sustain a fresh expression of church. Buy multiple Share booklets for a discount (applied automatically at checkout): other offers and packs are detailed on the Share booklets page.

Should I be an entrepreneur for Christ?

Revd Michael Volland, Director of Mission and Tutor in Pioneering at Cranmer Hall, Durham, is conducting research into entrepreneurial clergy as part of a doctorate at Durham University. He is a co-author of Fresh! An introduction to fresh expressions of church and pioneer ministry where he looks at what it means to be a missionary entrepreneur.

Watch Michael Volland explain what makes a good entrepreneur below.

Should I be an entrepreneur for Christ?

The guidelines for selection of ordained pioneer ministers are clear, 'Bishops' Advisers should watch for candidates who have the necessary vision and gifts to be missionary entrepreneurs.'

What are the sorts of images that come to mind when you consider the word 'entrepreneur'? Is it a word that you are generally comfortable with or one you instinctively recoil from? Maybe you are content for it to reside in the world of commerce but have an issue with its use in relation to Christian ministry and mission.

I suggest that the Church of England stands to gain a great deal by using the word entrepreneur and by drawing on the concept of entrepreneurship. However, the entrepreneurship I am considering does not have the generation of money as its focus. Instead, I say that we use the concept of entrepreneurship – of thinking and acting entrepreneurially – as an aid to reflecting on the ways in which Christians in the UK might approach the task of mission.

In my experience the word, entrepreneur, draws a mixed response when it is used in relation to Christian ministry. Although some are happy with it, more often than not it prompts anything from discomfort to fervent objection. This is in no doubt due to its association with greedy self-interest – an association that can be seen to be fostered by such TV favourites as The Apprentice and Dragons' Den.

While the instinctive reaction of many Christians might be to steer clear of the word and its apparently worldly connotations, it is nevertheless true that a good number of the characteristics associated with entrepreneurship are those that we see displayed in Christians who are catalysts for imaginative change in communities and churches. These include 'pioneers' – but it is certainly not limited to those with this label and in fact it takes in a range of people serving the Church in parishes all over England who may never have heard of pioneer ministry! Not all Christians are natural entrepreneurs, but a good deal more than we imagine have entrepreneurial potential and when this potential is nurtured and given space to breathe, a pioneering approach to mission and ministry is often the result.

As my own fascination with entrepreneurship has grown I have spoken enthusiastically to those who would listen about the possibility of an entrepreneurial approach to Christian mission. The problem I've often encountered is that people just don't seem to be able to get beyond the 'get-rich-quick' stereotype of entrepreneurs. With this in mind I set about trying to find a suitable definition, realising that whatever I ended up with would need to retain something of the essence of the entrepreneur in commerce while stripping away the associations with greed and self-interest that make the notion of entrepreneurship unpalatable to some Christians.

It transpires that there is no widely accepted definition of the word entrepreneur. What I noticed as I read about entrepreneurs was the reoccurrence of words such as: creative; innovative; energetic; focused; visionary. In short, things that I would hope to see to varying degrees in those involved in Christian mission.

During my reading I discovered a definition constructed by Dr Bill Bolton and Professor John Thompson. Of all the possibilities on offer, theirs was the most helpful and has shaped my thinking in this area enormously. According to them, 'An entrepreneur is a person who habitually creates and innovates to build something of recognized value around perceived opportunities.'

As I have set out this understanding of the entrepreneur in conversations with Christians it has generally been well received. One parish priest, initially uncomfortable with the prospect of associating her ministry with that of being an entrepreneur, commented after a long discussion, 'When I look at it like that, I'd like to be more entrepreneurial!'

I propose that the language of entrepreneurship offers the Church a useful lens through which to imagine the shape of mission for our emerging culture. The concept offers a way of thinking about the missional task to which we are called and the kind of approach that some Christians might take towards it. Which is all very well, except the question inevitably comes back, 'So, what should we do?' In the course of my research into entrepreneurship I've been asking lay people and clergy what factors they feel encourage and enable the exercise of mission-minded entrepreneurship in the parish. The responses are inspiring.

The list begins with things like prayer, encouragement, outward focus and the tangible presence of faith, hope and love. It goes on to include the need for vision, trust, strong teams, the sharing of stories, experiencing fruitfulness and high levels of personal discipleship. It also includes the importance of having positive entrepreneurial role models and being given opportunities to build confidence by attempting new things. A curate in the Diocese of Durham cited gaining experience of other parishes, churches and even other cultures as a way of broadening horizons and mindsets and grasping not just fresh ideas but an entirely new kind of creativity. Perhaps most importantly, one priest spoke of the importance of understanding that the Holy Spirit is opening up opportunities all of the time and that part of what the Church must be about is responding to those opportunities entrepreneurially rather than ignoring or missing them.

Enabling more Christians (including clergy) to recognise their entrepreneurial flair and to exercise entrepreneurial ministries requires that, as a Church, we make a priority of striving to do at least some of the things listed above. As we do so we will be putting our shoulder to the task of building a culture in the Church of hope, permission, communication, collaboration, ideas-sharing, mutual encouragement, strategic thinking, and proper recognition. A Church with this kind of culture will be well suited to sharing the Gospel faithfully in twenty first century Britain.

River in the City – update Mar12

Keith HitchmanKeith Hitchman is Pioneer Minister for Liverpool City Centre (Diocese of Liverpool) and Force Chaplain with Merseyside Police. Keith explains how his work has evolved in the city over the past two years.

The vision for River in the City is to explore new ways of being and becoming 'Church' for people who work, relax, and live in Liverpool city centre and beyond. So it was that my focus shifted away from the Liverpool ONE shopping and leisure centre to wider work in the city centre as a whole.

I was asked by Fr Steven Brookes at Liverpool Parish Church if I would partner with him in helping to regenerate a City Leaders' Breakfast that had been hosted by the Rector of Liverpool for over 50 years.

Prior to my appointment in April 2010, the Rector of Liverpool had joined forces with Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral and the Metropolitan Cathedral to give this event more weight and impetus. In 2011 the City Leaders' Breakfast was re-launched with high profile speaker, Philip Blond – Anglican theologian, political philosopher and head of the ResPublica Think Tank. The event was a great success with over 80 business leaders in attendance. In October last year we had another breakfast at which Lord Boateng was the guest speaker. On March 19 we will welcome Peter Price-Thomas, global expert on sustainable business and founder of the Eco Church initiative.

River in the City - artsIn organising these events I have worked closely with the Aurora Media PR Consultancy and have been asked to be a member of a city network committed to forging a shared future vision for a sustainable and prosperous Liverpool City Region.

In another development we have seen the launch of RiverArts, a network of people who are interested in the interface between the arts and faith. I co-lead the network with Rev Ellen Loudon and we meet about six times a year for a presentation, a practical workshop or an act of worship.

In the city centre I work closely with Tim Meadows, Liverpool city centre minister for the URC. Together we have started a fortnightly Sunday gathering, The Portal. Our aim is for it to be an open and inclusive expression of church, yet currently The Portal is a gathering of missional leaders from various denominations who are interested in exploring emergent forms of church. Tim and I spoke about our work at the Service of Reconciliation, Healing of Memories and Mutual Commitment for the Church of England and the United Reformed Church at Westminster Abbey.

Riverforce

One of my remits when I arrived was to assist and nurture the leadership of Riverforce, a Christian support network for Merseyside Police. The Chief Constable, Jon Murphy, had approached Peter Owens, a former Chief Inspector and now part of the Merseyside Police Occupational Health Trust, and asked him to help form a multi-faith and ecumenical chaplaincy service for Riverforce. Peter then approached me and over a period of a year we put in the necessary structures for this to happen. In July 2011 the Merseyside Police Chaplaincy Service was formed to provide practical and spiritual support to Merseyside Police staff regardless of their personal faith or belief.

River in the City - bannerI am the force chaplain and the service comprises a team of 11 volunteer Chaplains, including a Muslim chaplain and a Jewish chaplain, covering each of the force's six Basic Command Units/Policing Areas.

Christians are meeting regularly in small groups within the force but these meetings tend to be organic rather than structured in the current economic climate due to the rapid deployment of officers and civilian employees. There are four larger gatherings a year, some of which are celebrations. Our next meeting will be a panel discussion on restorative justice in Easter week. These events have anything up to 100 people coming along, including police officers, civilian staff, street pastors, probation officers and members of Prison Fellowship too. So we are talking in terms of the wider police family.

The Chaplaincy is involved in regular pastoral care and we have also started a listening and coaching service working with other support networks in the force.

Street Pastors

Liverpool City Centre Street Pastors was initiated by Merseyside Police Inspector Greg Lambert, Neighbourhood Inspector for the city centre. He approached Nick Tissot, Ascension Trust Representative for Merseyside about setting up Street Pastors; Nick then came to me and the Rev Jane McKelvey of St Mark's Childwall, The three of us got it going and we now have 40 Street Pastors working alongside Merseyside Police and the Council in Liverpool City Centre, patrolling every Saturday night into Sunday morning. Our goal is to train and commission 100 Street Pastors for city centre work which would include working on Friday nights and on Saturday afternoons with youths who congregate in certain areas of the city centre. We are also looking at the potential for Club Angels.

River in the City - flip flopsIn its structure it reflects the idea of the 'River in the City', in that MPCS is based at Police HQ in Canning Place (Liverpool ONE), and flows out from there to the rest of the city, and beyond.

The Diocese of Liverpool has adopted the imagery of Lake and River to highlight not only mixed economy but of a working closely together, hand in hand, merging together in ministry and mission. Lakes tend to form in settled places, where they become an oasis to the life around them. In the same way, our parish churches offer an oasis and source of life to the community around. Rivers are often still connected to lakes, but are free to flow wherever the ground gives way into many more and different places. Very often new forms of church flow beyond the neighbourhood and into various networks, such as the workplace and the night-time economy.

The Christian chaplains are ordained and lay ministers in churches in the areas in which they are deployed as chaplains – that's pure 'lake' and 'river' working! Police officers have already attended churches in these areas as a result of the chaplains being there. The way we have set up the Street Pastors is as the extended church, it's Christians working together cross denominationally with members of the other Abrahamic faith traditions. The emphasis is on unity and diversity with a strapline of Serving the Force, Serving the City.

I have been greatly impressed by the openness of Merseyside Police Force to the Chaplaincy; this openness can be seen in their approach to faith, equality and diversity. Police officers often feel misunderstood and marginalised in the course of their work. To follow Christ is to care for the misunderstood and the marginalised.