A fresh expression is a form of church for our changing culture established primarily for the benefit of people who are not yet members of any church.

This is not new but fresh

both-and continue to grow and develop the church as it is continue to grow and develop the church as it is establish fresh expressions of church establish fresh expressions of church

Why are we doing this ? ‘no mission is possible without theology.’ The nature of God himself The nature of the incarnation The nature of the cross & resurrection

Your situation

1.What is your situation? 2. What are you hoping to get out of this afternoon?

Church attendance has fallen from 88% to 60% (but still 3 rd highest in Europe)

“ Ireland has become part of the Western European scene. We have been moving in a secularising direction. But the pace of this has been accelerated by the extraordinary leap forward in our country’s prosperity. Desmond Connell-former A/B of Dublin

The proportion of the population that says it belongs to no church has doubled in 5 years from 8% to 17%. There is a more marked decline in urban areas, among men, the young and working class Conflict and Consensus-a study of values in the Republic Of Ireland

Going out Coming In. Christendom Spirituality Authority Authenticity Conforming Choosing Community Self reference Sunday Time Chaos Organisations Networks

But not secular

How have we defined a ‘searcher’? ► Someone who has had cause to reconsider their core values, or think about the big issues like ‘the meaning of life’, in the last year 2000 interviews with a nationally representative sample of UK adults, conducted 24-27th April 09

Are People Searching and why? ► 73% of people are searching ► All ages, male and female, all but the lowest of social grades ► 70% of people are searching because of either the credit crunch, concern about personal finances or job insecurity

What kind of church?

Holy “UP” Apostolic “OUT” Catholic “OF” “IN” One Enduring Marks Four linked Journeys Jesus focus Jesus followers Church is any expression of the life of Jesus in communal form OHCA

“ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1;8

Ends of the Earth Samaria Judea Half the picture Jerusalem

“Concentric” Jerusalem Occasional Offices Pastoral Contacts Evangelism Processes

The ends of the earth Samaria The eccentric effects… Judea The centre and the Acts story shift Samaria is not a return ticket story moves from a focus on Peter to Paul the Church goes west church is done differently among Gentiles

Directions out 1Hold onto Jesus words –What might they mean for us? –Judea: safe familiarity – our people –Samaria: mixing with the disagreeable and disreputable – no longer our people –Ends of the Earth: beyond our imaginations - never our people

Temptation 2 Don’t be deluded by Judean success –Acts 5.16: crowds from the towns, healing of all !! –Yes God loves Judeans too – but its only part of the story –Yes Peter was apostle to the Jews Gal 2.7 But the Judean journey is not enough –It doesn’t equip you for Samaria or beyond –It’s different in Samaria, Athens, Rome, or where you live Be honest whose coming –Jerusalem% Judea% Samaria% Ends of the earth% –Re cycling Judeans hasn’t a long term future …

Don’t try to make it happen It’s not about our power Come to Alpha It’s not about rebadging It’s not about complusion

Let the Spirit disturb the church by his eccentric behaviour Follow what God is doing

Five important issues to face

Public worship probably isn’t the best starting point 1

Prayer and Support Connection Listening and Following God’s call Loving Service Evangelism and Disciple- Making Forming Community Evolving Worship

Mission shapes the church 2

Christ and the Church: 1.A typically bipartite process 1.Like humans from breath and dust, or in the covenant 2.Spirit and Mary 3.Christ=God the Son and Son of Mary So Incarnation was not a transplant Christ the eternal son is shaped by the mission context/ he even has Mary’s DNA neither was Incarnation a case of Cloning Church doesn’t just belong to Christ, but is shaped by his dynamics, reproducing his patterns. Incarnation

Incarnation cont… 2. The Process exhibits continuity and change –cf Philippians 2: Celebrating sacrificial changes –Christ Jesus = FX of God the Son? Continuity : his ID, relationship to Trinity etc –Change: Enfleshed, ministry, Death and Resurrection So church should not be photocopied – but created, holding continuity and change together. Jesus: Sent by God, shaped by Mission

‘The reality is that mainstream culture no longer brings people to the church door. We can no longer assume that we can automatically reproduce ourselves, because the pool of people who regard church as relevant or important is decreasing with every generation’ Mission shaped church report p11

“ we understood mission one way and organised life to accomplish it. We have awakened to find out the mission moved on us. To keep focusing on mission, we have to turn the furniture around and face a different direction. We may even have to move into another room.” Loren Mead. The Once and Future Church

“church planting is a process by which a seed of the life and message of Jesus, embodied by a community of Christians is immersed for mission reasons in a particular cultural or geographic context. The intended consequence is that it roots there, coming to life as a new indigenous body of Christian disciples well suited to continue in mission.” MSC report

This might change US 3

Dying to live “ I tell you the truth, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” John 13; 23-6

TOGETHER TO GOD’S FUTURE ‘…do not try to call them back to where they were, and do not try to call them to where you are, beautiful as that place may seem to you. You must have the courage to go with them to a place that neither you nor they have been before.’ Vincent Donovan

KEY PRINCIPLES Inculturation (Embodying the Gospel) Planting not cloning. 'Dying to live’ Something new grows

KEY PRINCIPLE FROM - Detailed advance planning TO - Discernment in context. ‘Seeing what God is doing and joining in.’

YOU CAN’T PREDICT THE OUTCOME DETAILED PLANNING WILL BE LESS EFFECTIVE MORE A MATTER OF DISCERNMENT SEE WHAT GOD GROWS – New members? – A cell? – A project? – A church?

Welcome the three eccentrics 4

The 3 eccentrics Who are the Philips? –A Dangerous Deacon? –Allow space for the unknowns Discover Cornelius –who evangelizes who Pray for Pauls –Eccentrics will do it differently

The challenge of discipleship 5

Simple in its natureSimple in its nature Relational in its emphasisRelational in its emphasis Transformational in its outcomesTransformational in its outcomes

How do we incarnate the gospel in consumer cultures? ‘The changing nature of our missionary context requires a new inculturation of the gospel within our society.’ ‘The gospel has to be heard within the culture of the day, but it always has to be heard as a call to appropriate repentance. It is the incarnation of the gospel, within a dominantly consumer society, that provides the Church of England with its major missionary challenge.’ Mission Shaped Church

The model of Jesus life INCARNATION - The world to enter CROSS - The world to counter RESURRECTION - The world to anticipate

Some ways forward

Listening

Alan Roxburgh’s Five Steps Awareness Understanding Evaluation Experimentation Commitment The Missional Leader

DVRPC D X V X R > PC

FRAMEWORK FOR PREPARATION - Getting Together - Exploring Possibilities - Thinking Ahead - Organising Support - Nurturing Community G E T O N

WHO IS THE MISSION FOR ?

Neighbourhood or Network TWO TYPES OF SOCIAL CONTEXT

Progression Moving to strength Surveying the mission field and Looking for areas/networks where we already have significant numbers from church Pioneer Moving in weakness Surveying the mission field and Looking for areas/networks where we have few or no church members TWO MISSION DYNAMICS

Plant Unit Size Individual (1 - 2) Small team (3 - 14) Larger group (15 -44) Small congregation (over 45) WHO IS THE MISSION BY?

Mission Partners WHO IS THE MISSION WITH?

WHAT SORT OF RESULTING COMMUNITY?