What is a Fresh Expression of Church?
By now you’ve probably heard of the fresh expressions movement but may be still asking yourself “so what actually is a fresh expression?” Is a fresh expression just another type of outreach? Perhaps you started one accidentally? Or maybe you’re unclear what’s the difference between a potential and mature fresh expression of church? It’s possible that you’ve heard the terms “pioneer,” “mixed economy,” “blended ecology” and “remissioning” thrown around as well. I hope to simply explain these terms and answer some of these commonly asked questions in a series of posts.
Okay Methodists, ready for some déjà vu? John Wesley and the early Methodists realized the church of their day wasn’t connecting with most people. They took it to the fields and found a way to be church with people who didn’t go to church. That movement jumped across the pond to a fledgling nation that became the United States, and the rest is history.
Once again, a missional movement that began in the UK, has found a home in the US. An ecumenical group led primarily by British Anglicans and Methodists organized to create a report concerned with the continued decline of the church and the discovery of new contextual ecclesial communities, or “fresh expressions.”
In the Anglican congregations the preface to the Declaration of Assent that all incoming clergy must confess says:
"The Church of England is part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, worshipping the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It professes the faith uniquely revealed in the Holy Scriptures and set forth in the catholic creeds, which faith the Church is called upon to proclaim afresh in each generation."
The term “Fresh Expressions” was born from the conviction of this statement, captured by the team led by Bishop Graham Cray, who produced the Mission-Shaped Church (MSC) report in 2004. The report has now become an international bestseller, is credited with transforming the ecclesiology of the Church of England and has catalyzed the development of thousands of fresh expressions. It has also precipitated similar initiatives in Australia, Canada, mainland Europe, South Africa, and elsewhere.
A fresh expression is a form of church for our changing culture, established primarily for the benefit of those who are not yet part of any church. These are forms of church which are:
Missional: birthed by the Spirit to reach not-yet-Christians
Contextual: seek to serve the context in an appropriate form for the people in it
Formational: focused on making disciples
Ecclesial: a full expression of the church, not a stepping stone to an inherited congregation
There has been some conversation about the difference between a “potential” fresh expression in its infancy and a “mature” fresh expression. While we want to be careful not to become the “fresh expressions police” and therefore institutionally confining the movement in any way, it is necessary to provide a kind of destination for your team’s missional journey. To that end, Michael Moynagh and I have developed the “Four C’s” as a kind of guide to help identify a mature fresh expression:
Creating disciples: disciples of Jesus Christ are being formed. This is not just playing church.
Communities of not-yet-Christians: these are gatherings with and for people who are not Christian yet. They are not just groups of already Christians hanging out in the community.
Contextually appropriate: this community has emerged organically from the context, it takes on the shape, patterns, and language of the people there. This is not planting our colonial “version of church” in foreign soils.
Connected to the larger church: the fresh expression is tethered to the inherited church in some relational way. These are not little colonies isolated from or in opposition to the inherited church.
Check back for the next post on the Fresh Expressions journey, sometimes called the six circles, to see how you can cultivate a Fresh Expression of Church in your context too one step at a time!
