I was recently working with one of our districts in the Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church to set up a district fresh expressions team. I was sharing about how the fresh expressions movement, alongside existing congregations, helps Methodists to become “more vile” again. One of the folks on that team looked at me […]
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One of my friends, a health nut who loves Jesus, has the same smoothie for lunch every day. It’s a mixture of spinach, fruits, and yogurt. While I admire her discipline and dedication, I sometimes wonder how she can drink the same thing for lunch seven days a week. Doing that would drive me crazy! […]
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It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the church has fallen on hard times in the Western world. If you don’t believe me, consider the fact that there are now 130 million unchurched people in the United States, making it the largest mission field in the Western hemisphere and the fifth-largest mission field […]
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So you’ve just heard about Fresh Expressions. Maybe it was from a friend who’s into church planting. Maybe your bishop or pastor has been talking about it. Or maybe someone shared a blog post from someone involved in the movement. With so many church planting models floating around out there, you may be wondering what’s […]
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The following excerpt is part of a longer article you can read on the Juicy Ecumenicism blog. Lightning Speed Changes It’s no surprise to most that we are facing challenging times within the Church in North America. With almost lightning speed, American society is vastly moving in the way of Europe when it comes to religious belief, the […]
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We’re pleased to announce our first book From the Steeple to the Street: Innovating Mission and Ministry through Fresh Expressions of Church is now available for pre-order! Get it here as an e-Book, pre-ordered here, and in bulk. It will also be available at the Fresh Expressions National Gathering. You can get a taste with a free sample chapter here. Who […]
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Here are two videos by Graham Cray that will help you understand what a successful Fresh Expression can be. “Let’s start a Fresh Expression in my community!”
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A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door and he preached the word to them. -Mark 2: 1-2 We don’t often picture Jesus at home. Most often, we picture Jesus on the […]
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I’m 26 years old and most of my friends want nothing to do with church. In their minds, they know what church is about and they want nothing to do with that. This is my challenge. How do I communicate God’s love in a context that tunes me out the moment they hear the word […]
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My sense is that most churches started as fresh expressions of church. At least that is what they want to believe. They started a church in order to reach people for the gospel who have not yet been reached. Over time that initial burst of missionary attitude gives way to a more formal, institutional expression of the […]
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