Month: September 2015

Mission Priest

The brand new Dover Town Group are looking for a Mission Priest to join the Team Rector in the task of designing and developing an entirely new pattern of mission and ministry in the historic town of Dover.

The five parishes have already gone through a 2 year period of structural and legal change. Now there's the opportunity to build on those changes with the long-term goal of creating a wide-ranging college of ministry across the town that will encompass every aspect of its life.

Your role will have three dimensions:

  • first, to work with the Team Rector and the newly-formed Ministry Leadership Team to build vision, develop our strategic plan and encourage our diverse parishes to work more closely with one another;

  • second, to take the lead across the Group for helping us to develop mission, both as evangelism and as community engagement. You’ll need to work in partnership with a wide variety of churches and other agencies and have a passion for empowering others;

  • third, to have pastoral oversight of the parishes of Buckland and Charlton. You'll need to love and nurture their Anglo-Catholic tradition as well as finding innovative ways to help them fulfil their calling, and to grow both spiritually and numerically.

This is a moment of great opportunity. Here is the chance to be involved at the very beginning of a new ministry, to help shape it, direct it and enable it to become fruitful.

The post of Mission Priest is funded by a rolling 5-year Mission Grant from the Diocese of Canterbury.

Roles and responsibilities:

  • to work with the Team Rector and other ministry colleagues in forming a strategic plan to develop ministry and mission within the Dover Town Team and Group.

  • to take the lead across the Team and Group for developing mission initiatives within that plan, including community partnerships and evangelism.

  • to create, lead, facilitate and support teams of lay people to deliver specific mission and community projects throughout the Team and Group.

  • to have special pastoral responsibility for the parishes of Buckland-in-Dover St Andrew with St Nicholas Buckland Valley and Charlton St Peter & St Paul.

  • to work with the leaders of Cross-Links, an ecumenical fresh expression of church in Buckland, in developing a strategy to expand its ministry.

  • to participate fully in all aspects of the collegiate ministry of the Dover Town Team and Group.

  • to take full advantage of opportunities for personal and professional development. 

They are looking for someone who:

  • is able to demonstrate a commitment to a collegiate style of ministry.

  • will encourage and develop the ministry of lay people.

  • has a good understanding of the theology of mission and its application to local contexts.

  • has experience of working in partnership with other agencies and groups within a local community.

  • has experience of participating in and sustaining mission initiatives.

  • has a good understanding of and love for Anglo-Catholic liturgy, but an ability to work within a wide range of liturgical traditions.

  • is at ease with both the inclusive and also the more conservative theological perspectives embraced by the faith communities within the Town and Group.

  • is adept at giving pastoral care both within and outside the faith community.

  • has a stable rhythm of personal spiritual practice.

Bob and Mary Hopkins

Bob and Mary joined the team in 2004 and work part-time for Fresh Expressions helping further develop the mission shaped ministry course. They also have responsibility for our work of developing a network of coaches to support those starting fresh expressions of church and are our link to emerging fresh expressions movements in some European countries.

Bob has been a non-stipendiary minister for 30 years and for 19 years he and Mary have led Anglican Church Planting Initiatives (ACPI). For 14 years they were also on the church leadership team in an urban priority area and then for eight years to 2004 they were on the leadership team of St Thomas', Sheffield. From 2004 they have been part-time on the Fresh Expressions team.

Bob and Mary have a wide ministry of consultation and training in the areas of church planting, cell, cluster and other fresh expressions. They are also currently partnering with CMS for a mission movement. They are members of The Order of Mission (TOM).

Bob and Mary have no children of their own, which has enabled them to work together and travel extensively. They love gardening and walking and so appreciate living on the side of Sheffield five minutes away from the Peaks.

Bob authored Grove Evangelism series nos. 4 and 8, both on church planting.

Bob and Mary have edited/co-authored:

  • Planting New Churches;

  • Cell Church Stories as Signs of Mission (Grove No. Ev 51);

  • Clusters: Creative Mid-sized Missional Communities;

  • Coaching for Missional Leadership;

  • Evangelism Strategies.

He has contributed to:

  • Church Without Walls;

  • Setting the Church of England Free;

  • Lifeshapes (now published as Passionate Life & Passionate Church).

email the.hopkins@freshexpressions.org.uk.

Dave Male

Dave Male is the Church of England's National Adviser for Pioneer Development, working as part of both the Church of England Ministry Division and the Fresh Expressions team to facilitate the development of a comprehensive and integrated vision, strategy and practice for pioneer ministry across Fresh Expressions' partner organisations.

Dave has been the Director of the Centre for Pioneer Learning in Cambridge, which aims to equip, resource and send out lay and ordained pioneers, both nationally and internationally, as well as Tutor in Pioneer Mission Training at Westcott House and Ridley Hall, Cambridge and Pioneer Consultant for Ely Diocese. Previously David spent seven years as the Vicar of the Net Church in Huddersfield which was one of the first fresh expressions of church in the UK. He has written a number of books around pioneering issues. He is a member of the Archbishops College of Evangelists.

The primary purpose of the role is to facilitate the development of a comprehensive and integrated vision, strategy and practice for pioneer ministry and Dave will be an official champion for all licensed and authorised forms of pioneer ministry.

Dave says,

I am very excited by this new role and the opportunities it offers to further develop the scope and reach of pioneering across the whole of England.

email dave.male@freshexpressions.org.uk.

Rob Peabody

Rob Peabody joined the Fresh Expressions team in July 2015, as part of our partnership with the Awaken movement, to help develop a national strategy to encourage fresh expressions of church amongst young adults.

Rob is the co-founder and international director of Awaken, a non-profit charity that exists to resource the church for action. In 2011, Rob, left his position as campus pastor of a megachurch in East Dallas, Texas to pioneer and lead fresh expressions for 20s-30s in northeast London. He has been commissioned by the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention to explore church planting for young adults who did not have any previous links to church.

He also serves as a missional consultant for multiple church networks in the UK, is a member of the speaking team at Spring Harvest, communicates on behalf of Compassion International, and led The Pursuit, a national conference for 18-30 year olds.

Rob regularly speaks at conferences in the US and across Europe. His first book, Citizen, was published in September 2014, and he wrote a small group film series entitled Kingdom Rise (March 2013). His latest project, a five-week missional film resource, Intersect, was released in March 2015 as a tool to engage those on the outside of church in spiritual conversations. He is married to Medea, and they have two sons.

You can find out more about Awaken on the Awaken website, or follow Rob (@AwakenRob) or the Awaken movement (@Awakenmovement) on Twitter.

Rob says,

I am extremely honoured and excited about the potential of this new partnership between Fresh Expressions and Awaken. I am praying that this will be the start of a long-term partnership and that God will help us to encourage a new generation of pioneers across the UK – and overseas. I am excited to play a part in helping shape and release this next generation to make kingdom living a reality in fresh, new ways.

email rob.peabody@freshexpressions.org.uk.

Abigail Rose

Abigail Rose joined the team in July 2011 as Training and Development Officer and is based full-time at the Fresh Expressions office.

Originally from the Bath area, Abigail moved to the West Midlands for university and graduated in Accounting and Finance from Warwick in 2010. She spent a year in a part-time leadership and discipleship course, Form, before joining Fresh Expressions.

Abigail lives in a community house of four in Canley, Coventry, where she is part of the Kidz Klub team. She loves seeing how much God in doing in the children's lives and how he is using them to impact their community.

Based at the Fresh Expressions office in Coventry, Abigail supports local ecumenical teams in delivering the mission shaped ministry course across the UK and internationally – and always enjoys hearing how msm is helping people in their journey of faith. Abigail has recently learnt to knit and is currently undertaking the (slow) task of knitting a full set of nativity figures!

email abigail.rose@freshexpressions.org.uk

Ali Dorey

Ali Dorey joined the Fresh Expressions team in July 2015 as Director of Training, with responsibility for our overall training strategy, as well as the continuing development of our mission shaped ministry course.

Ali also serves in the Diocese of Sheffield as Mission Development Coordinator for North Sheffield Estates where she works across eight parishes. She previously helped to establish and run the Church Army Pioneer Hub and has been leading mission shaped ministry in Sheffield as part of the course team for four years.

Ali has worked extensively in community development and teaching, before going on to train for ordained ministry at Cranmer Hall, Durham. Following ordination in 2007, she worked as a parish priest in Doncaster for four years before moving to her current role developing mission in North Sheffield.

Ali is also a Companion with Contemplative Fire, a fresh expression of church which has since become an Acknowledged Community within the Anglican Communion. With a BA in Biblical Studies and Music and an MA in Theology and Ministry, Ali is a pianist who enjoys playing and listening to many kinds of music – including classical, jazz and rock. Sometimes this involves her playing keyboard in the Christian rock band Metanoia which offers alternative worship within the sacramental tradition through the 'Rock Mass'. She sings in Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus and lives in a community house at Pitsmoor.

Ali says,

I am delighted to be given the opportunity to work with the national Fresh Expressions team. This team have done extraordinary work over the past ten years in equipping the Church to engage effectively and lovingly with the world. We will be trusting God to lead us into all that the future holds. I anticipate exciting and unpredictable times ahead!

email ali.dorey@freshexpressions.org.uk.

Michael Moynagh

Revd Dr Michael Moynagh works for Fresh Expressions as Director of network development and Consultant on theology and practice.

Revd Dr Michael Moynagh, based at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, works for Fresh Expressions as Director of network development and Consultant on theology and practice. He is responsible for facilitating the development of networks of individuals leading fresh expressions of church, as well as drawing together and reflecting on all that is being learnt about fresh expressions of church. He also has a watching brief on theological education and research.

Michael is author of the Guide and has written extensively in the field of fresh expressions, including what has become a standard academic text book on the subject, Church for Every Context (SCM, 2012) – to which he is currently writing a followup. His other books in the field include:

  • Changing World, Changing Church, Monarch, 2001;

  • Liquid Worship, with Tim Lomax, Grove, 2004;

  • emerging church.intro, Monarch, 2004

  • Being Church, Doing Life, Monarch, 2014

From 1996 to 2013, he was a director of the Tomorrow Project, which worked with senior personnel in Government and the private sector to explore the future of people's lives. During that time he wrote extensively on social issues such as the future of the workplace, the future of globalisation and the future of the life course.

He is married with two children and five grandchildren. 

email michael.moynagh@freshexpressions.org.uk.

Phone: 01865 284866

David McCarthy

David joined the Fresh Expressions team in February 2014 as Church of Scotland Fresh Expressions Development Worker.

David's role is to encourage and support the rollout of fresh expressions of church across the Church of Scotland.

email david.mccarthy@freshexpressions.org.uk.

Wayne Hawkins

Wayne Hawkins joined the team in November 2012 on behalf of the European Region of the Council for World Mission (CWM-Europe) as CWM-Europe Coordinator for Fresh Expressions.

Wayne joined the Congregational ministry in 1993. His first post was in Scunthorpe where he was involved in relocating the church and establishing a new ministry and mission in a new location. His second post was in Southam, Warwickshire where the church established a fresh expression for toddlers and carers called Paintpot. In addition, he chaired the Board of Directors for the church's Community Project, which now includes a lively community centre, community cafe, credit union and Surestart children's centre.

From 1997-2000 Wayne served the Congregational Federation as part-time local training co-ordinator.

Wayne now works for the Council for World Mission (CWM) as Regional Secretary for the European Region. In this role Wayne is involved in supporting CWM member churches in their mission programmes and developing a programme focused on encouraging and equipping churches for mission.

Wayne says,

I am pleased to be working in partnership with Fresh Expressions not as any kind of expert but as a learner alongside many other learners. I am excited by what God is doing to reform and reshape the church to reach out to others with the amazing news of God's love.

He is a keen musician and enjoyed watching TV, especially Merlin and Dr Who. Wayne is married with two young sons.

email wayne.hawkins@freshexpressions.org.uk.

Andrew Vertigan

Andrew Vertigan joined the team in June 2013 as The Salvation Army Missioner for Fresh Expressions. His role is to get The Salvation Army planting fresh expressions of church across the country, continuing a long history of church planting in The Salvation Army.

For the last 20 years Andrew, and his wife Andrea, have planted from scratch and led a new Salvation Army church in Wetherby, Yorkshire. A number of new expressions of church have also been established since. The whole fresh expression of church here is based within a school and has seen many youth workers train there and then go onto full time ministry within The Salvation Army nationally.

Anrew has also headed up the Salvation Army on all things church planting over the last twelve years or so. He is also a rugby union fanatic and played for several years at a high level before turning his attention to refereeing.

Andrew and Andrea have three children Aaron, Nathan and Esther.

email andrew.vertigan@freshexpressions.org.uk.