Day: 17 September 2015

They clearly are reaching people who have not been part of a church or who left church a long time ago in a number of cases – on housing estates, among young people, in schools and in many other contexts. Research amongst one group of fresh expressions suggests that 40% of those attending had no significant experience and a further 35% had some former (but not current) church experience.

However, the term 'fresh expressions' is often used so widely that it includes almost any kind of new church initiative, such as splitting a Sunday morning congregation into two. In these cases, a 'fresh expression' is just something new for people who already attend church.

We think these initiatives should be welcomed, but they shouldn't be described as fresh expressions. Otherwise the label will become so broad that it means almost nothing. That is why in our definition we have put an emphasis on new forms of church that exist for people who are not currently part of the church.

We know that some individuals' lives have been transformed. Some fresh expressions have a strong commitment to social justice and the environment. JustChurch, for example, focuses its worship on writing letters on behalf of lobby groups like Amnesty International.

God seeks to transform society

We believe that increasingly fresh expressions will start with some form of loving service to a neighbourhood or network and build community round that. This starting point puts working for society at the heart of fresh expressions.

How do fresh expressions develop?

Having said all that, many fresh expressions may appear socially conservative, like so much of the British church in practice. We pray that they will become increasingly engaged with society's needs in the years ahead.

Fresh expressions can grow into mature church and some do that more quickly than others.

Church can be understood as what happens when people gather round Jesus. Archbishop Rowan Williams has described church as

…what happens when people encounter the Risen Jesus and commit themselves to sustaining and deepening that encounter in their encounter with each other…

What happens when people gather round Jesus has been described in Mission-shaped Church in terms of four dimensions:

• UP (in worship to God);
• IN (in fellowship with one another);
• OUT (in mission to the world);
• OF (belonging to the whole church throughout the world and through time).

These correspond to the four historic marks of the church in the Nicene Creed: one, holy, catholic and apostolic.

There's a spectrum. Some are trying to engage those who are on the fringe of church life and have some kind of church background. One example would the all-age services springing up at different times, particularly on a Saturday afternoon.

Some are setting their sights firmly on reaching out to those who know almost nothing about the Christian faith and learning how to do that.

An authentic fresh expression will start by listening to those whom it is called to serve outside church.