Fresh expressions

Twenty-first century British society is very different from the society of the times when most British churches were formed. Traditional expressions of church have become largely irrelevant to much of the British population. While 70% of the British population said they were Christian in the 2001 census less than 15% of the population say they attend church on a regular basis (TEARFund research 2007).'fresh expressions of church' is the name given to a large number of groups of people who have developed in the period from 1990 to the present day (2008). They are characterised by lack of formal adherence to traditional patterns of church life, language and meeting places. This new movement attempts to make the Christian message relevant to people who are not already part of a church. Members of such groups seek to redefine what it is to be church and aim to create new ways of connecting with the communities among whom they live. The 2007 statistical returns from the Church of England reveal that several tens of thousands of people are involved in such groups attached to the Church of England. (http://www.cofe.anglican.org/info/statistics/churchstats2005/freshexpression0207.htm)

Fresh expressions of church have been created for, among others, skateboard and BMX culture in Essex, cafe culture in Kidsgrove, artists and creatives in London ( www.moot.uk.net ), university students in Southampton, Surfers in Cornwall, asian people in Birmingham, people living in the city centre of Manchester (www.sanctus1.co.uk) & children in Portsmouth.

In September 2005 the Church of England and the Methodist Church recognised this movement by setting up an organisation, 'Fresh Expressions' (capitalised), to monitor and encourage fresh expressions in those denominations. Fresh Expressions has a core team of 15 people and is led by Archbishop's missioner, Revd. Dr. Steven Croft

The development of the ecumenical Fresh Expressions initiative is based on the Mission-shaped Church report of the General Synod of the Church of England in 2004 (Church House Publishing ISBN0-7151-4013-2). The Methodist side of the movement is recorded in Changing Church for a Changing World (Methodist Publishing House ISBN )

'Fresh Expressions' (capitalised) is differentiated from 'fresh expressions' (lowercase). The capitalised version refers to the initiative. In lowercase 'fresh expressions' refers to a large number of new initiatives.

Fresh Expressions defines 'fresh expression' as:

"a form of church for our changing culture established primarily for the benefit of people who are not yet members of any church.
• It will come into being through principles of listening, service, incarnational mission and making disciples.
• It will have the potential to become a mature expression of church shaped by the gospel and the enduring marks of the church and for its cultural context."

Critics of fresh expressions say that fresh expressions are just entertainment, that they lack what they consider essential aspects of church, such as sacraments, or proper church structures and that they pander to modern western culture.

Theological Issues' Fresh expressions of church which do not fit normal church patterns raise theological and ecclesiological issues for many Christians. What is 'church'? How do these 'fresh expressions' relate to existing churches? What is the place of the sacraments in fresh expressions?

Emerging or Fresh Expressions of Church There has been much discussion about whether Fresh Expressions are forms of Emerging Church or Emerging Churches are forms of Fresh Expressions. A growing consensus suggests that the more pioneering forms of Fresh Expressions, such as [http://www.Sanctus1.co.uk Sanctus 1] or [http://www.moot.uk.net Moot] are Emerging Churches. However, those Fresh Expressions of Church that are mission-shaped but operate out of existing traditional churches tend to have traditional understandings of ecclesiology so are not forms of Emerging Church.

External links

* [http://www.freshexpressions.org.uk Fresh Expressions Official Website]
* [http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=50646 Church Times article]