When two Christians meet at a bus stop, is that a fresh expression of church?

A fresh expression is more than just an occasional meeting. Fresh expressions are about working with those who don't go to church in a way that has the potential to grow into mature church.

Any new community will to be outward-looking from the very beginning, not just a different way of meeting together for Christians. It will also have the goal of growing in the UP, IN, OUT, and OF dimensions of church.

What training is available for those wanting to start or be involved in fresh expressions?

A number of organisations offer training of one kind or another.

Fresh Expressions offers:

vision days

Introductory days for you to discover more about fresh expressions of church.

mission shaped intro

A six-week freely downloadable course exploring mission-shaped thinking and the need for new ways of being church.

mission shaped ministry

A one-year part-time learning journey in a supportive community to equip you for a lifetime of good practice and learning in growing fresh expressions of church.

The Guide

Online free advice on starting, developing and sustaining fresh expressions of church.

What statistics are you basing your activities on?

Our work isn't solely based on statistics but, we hope, rests on the person and teaching of Jesus. However there are several relevant sets of statistics for those developing fresh expressions of church.

The first are the statistics about the decline in membership of the churches in Britain over many years. These are collected by the denominations and by Christian Research. They show the need for fresh and creative thinking about mission.

The second are two sets of work done on the segmentation of the whole population which shows how many attend church, how many have a church background but no longer come and how many in our country have no church background at all. Initial research on this was done in 1996 by Philip Richter and Leslie Francis and adapted for the Mission-shaped Church report.

  • Gone but not Forgotten

    Philip Richter, Leslie Francis, DLT, 1998, ISBN 978-0232522365

  • Mission-shaped Church: Church planting and fresh expressions of church in a changing context

    CHP, 2004, ISBN 978-071514013-2.

A much more substantial piece of research was undertaken by Tearfund in 2005 and 2006 and revealed a similar picture to that painted by Richter and Francis. A large and growing proportion of the UK population is beyond the reach of the traditional congregations. The gap is too wide to be crossed. Christians need to go to where these people are in love and service and begin new communities: fresh expressions of church.

We are beginning to see research on how many fresh expressions of church there are and how many people are involved. We have statistics from fresh expressions that contact us directly. The Church of England and Methodist Church carry out an annual census with a questionnaire to every parish/circuit. This research shows that a significant proportion of these two denominations are beginning to actively engage with the fresh expressions movement.

Finally, the Church Army Research Unit is undertaking a detailed research project into fresh expression of church in the Church of England.

You can find details of all of these on our research and statistics page.

What part do the sacraments play in fresh expressions of church?

As in most of our inherited models of church, the sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist (or Communion, Lord's Supper, Mass) are seen as central to being part of the universal catholic church. Baptism plays a central role in many fresh expressions and, following Jesus' instructions in Matthew 28, new converts are baptised in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, where a person is made one with Christ and received into the fellowship of the Church. In many denominations, this sacrament of initiation is open to children as well as to adults.

Amongst the many forms of fresh expressions there are a variety of approaches to the celebration of Holy Communion. For some that stem from a catholic tradition this sacrament will be central to their worship. For others, the leaders may have discerned that communion is either not yet appropriate, or conversely, just right for the people they seek to reach. Sometimes, this comes as a surprise, as in the case of 'Moot' in Westminster, London. Some will celebrate every week, whilst others offer the sacrament less frequently.

Video story: Moot

The issue of administration affects the approach of many lay-led fresh expressions, and creative ways of addressing this are a part of many leaders' work. It is important though to be faithful to the tradition of the denomination or stream to which the fresh expression is affiliated, whilst questioning how things have always been done.

The Methodist Church has now created the framework to authorise lay ministers to preside at communion services in cases of 'missional need' – and this permission has been given to some lay fresh expression leaders.

The UP dimension of church

The other important rites, called sacraments by some Christians, of reconciliation, marriage and anointing of the sick are often part of the ministry of fresh expressions. How we have done church in the past is not jettisoned by fresh expressions. It is just that new and creative ways of offering the sacraments are sought as we focus on building God's kingdom amongst people who don't come to church.

What is the difference between fresh expressions and emerging church?

In terms of theology or understanding of mission, there is no fundamental difference. Those who prefer the phrase fresh expressions and those who prefer the phrase emerging church are both seeking to develop new ways of being church that are culturally and contextually relevant. There is a very high degree of commonality in the values of fresh expressions and emerging church.

Practically there are differences. Emerging church in North America tends to be about doing church differently for Christians, though there are exceptions. Fresh expressions, as we have defined them, have a focus on those who don't attend church.

There are also differences in the way that the institutional church is perceived. Those who talk of fresh expressions tend to see it as a good thing that many denominations are recognising that for reasons of mission new forms of church are needed. They welcome the blessing and backing of the denominations.

Those who prefer the language of emerging church will argue that what they are part of is organic or of the community (rather than of the institution). They can often be wary of perceived attempts by denominations to control fresh expressions.

In this discussion we need to be careful that the urgent need to do mission and the energy we need for that is not lost in debate about words or unnecessary duplication of resources.

What is happening in my denomination or stream?

Church of England?

The Church of England is a partner in Fresh Expressions and has officially endorsed the move towards a mixed economy church (i.e. fresh expressions alongside more traditional or inherited forms of church) and fresh expressions of church are being encouraged at every level.

Nationally, a new toolkit of policies has been developed to help with developing ministry and recognizing new communities.

Guidelines on ordained pioneer ministry were agreed by the House of Bishops in 2006 and many have since then been ordained and deployed.

Guidelines on encouraging lay pioneer ministry were agreed in 2007 and are being implemented in many dioceses. The provision of suitable training in every area for ordained and lay teams is one of the main recommendations of this report. Organisations such as Church Army and CMS are providing training for lay pioneers.

A new mission measure came into operation in 2008 which created a device called a Bishop's Mission Order: a legal way of recognizing a fresh expression which crosses parish or diocesan boundaries.

A major research project into fresh expressions in the Church of England is in progress. You can read about the first results in our Anglican research news article and view the full details on our research page.


The Methodist Church

The Methodist Church is a partner in Fresh Expresions and fresh expressions of church are being developed in almost all districts. £70 million in Circuit Advance Funds is now available for mission based projects. A book changing church for a changing world has been published with lots of stories and some challenging questions.

In July 2007, Conference set up a group to actively support work in developing fresh ways of being church.

One student minister is currently training on an (informal) 'pioneer ministry' training track; policy on this is being developed and there are more pioneers to come.


United Reformed Church

The United Reformed Church is a partner in Fresh Expressions, but has only recently joined the partnership and is currently undertaking an audit of what is already happening within the United Reformed Church.


The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army is a partner in Fresh Expressions and is involved in vision days and mission shaped ministry across the UK.


Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland are a partner in Fresh Expressions.


The Congregational Federation

The Congregational Federation is a partner in Fresh Expressions and began to take fresh expressions of church seriously in 2005 when a few pioneers broke free of traditional models with the experimental concepts of café church in Bristol and Herstmonceaux. The Federation is committed to seeing the Fresh Expressions initiative as a contextualised way of engaging in mission in local communities within the partnership of the wider church.


Ground Level

The Ground Level Network of churches is a partner in Fresh Expressions and is very involved in mission shaped ministry and was instrumental in devising it. The network has been involved in vision days and setting up mission shaped intro. Two members of Ground Level serve on the Fresh Expressions board and team.


The Baptist Church

The Baptist Church is developing new ways of being church alongside Urban Expression. It is partnering Fresh Expressions in some regions in running the mission shaped ministry course and msm online.

What is covered by the term fresh expressions?

Mission-shaped Church describes twelve different kinds of emerging churches, and new ones are still developing. They cover everything from new midweek services or a different form of Sunday service to new communities based on networks of young people or adults, to fresh expressions for children and their families. Some are doing church differently through small communities. Some are meeting in different venues.

You can find examples of all of these different kinds of fresh expressions of church in our stories.

You can also search our stories by type.

What is a pioneer minister?

A pioneer minister (according to the Church of England) is someone who is recognised to go beyond the existing Christian communities and aims to create new communities: fresh expressions of church.

Ordained pioneer ministers are selected and trained in similar ways to every ordained minister in the Church of England but focus their gifts and passion in this area.

Pioneer ministers can be recognised and trained nationally through Church Army, CMS, or by a diocese within different schemes or within their local parish.

The terms are gradually being adopted within the Methodist Church and policy is evolving around practice.