Fresh expressions are connecting with countless spiritually open people who are not interested in traditional forms of church. The “secret sauce” for their success is the process in which they are started, a process called The Fresh Expressions Journey.
Learn more about Fresh Expressions
Read part 1 of this article series: Church for the spiritual, but not religious
Read Becoming Church, which spends a chapter on each step of The Fresh Expressions Journey.
Start your journey with a free listening plan at The Listening Church.
The Fresh Expressions Journey
When the Fresh Expressions movement took shape in England, movement leaders noticed a pattern that most fresh expressions walked through as they formed. The process became known as The Fresh Expressions Journey, and it’s one of the movement’s most important contributions to the wider church. This process can take months, and sometimes even years. Here’s a quick overview:
Listening: Healthy fresh expressions begin with a time of intentional listening to God and listening to your neighbors. As you listen to God, ask, “To whom are you sending me?” Once you discern who God is sending you to, listen and learn about these neighbors’ dreams, hopes and longings. All of this information will help you shape your fresh expression.
Loving people: Once you have taken time to listen, take time to build relationships with the people God is calling you to reach. Invest in existing relationships and meet new people. You will need to be present in the places where your people are, attending events or simply being “a regular.” Get to know your neighbors and let them get to know you.
Building community: As relationships are built, discern what gathering you can create with this group of people. You might start with a one-time event or a series of events. Eventually you will want to establish a regular gathering where meaningful connection occurs. Many fresh expressions build social community first, then transition to spiritual community later in the journey.
Exploring discipleship: As a social community forms, look for the Holy Spirit to open doors for spiritual community to form. This transition can occur by starting an additional gathering that has a spiritual component. It’s important that this transition isn’t forced or manipulative. It will require a movement of the Holy Spirit.
Church taking shape: As the spiritual community grows together, you can add more elements of church into the community. Worship, proclamation of the Word, the sacraments (baptism and Communion), pastoral care, discipleship and mission can be brought into the community in creative ways. They won’t look exactly like they do in traditional church, and they might not all occur every week.
Doing it again: Once your church starts one fresh expression, other church members might be inspired to start more. One church in the Western North Carolina Conference has 50 people at worship on Sundays and has eight fresh expressions meeting throughout the month.
See The Fresh Expressions Journey in action
In Dustin Mailman’s first appointment out of seminary, he was hired as an associate pastor at Trinity United Methodist Church in Asheville, North Carolina. In his community work, Mailman noticed that Asheville’s recidivism rates were high, and resources for neighbors who had been recently released from prison were limited. He felt the Holy Spirit inviting him and his church to do something.
To listen, Mailman gathered a group of stakeholders who were advocates for justice-involved folks in Asheville to dream together. One of them introduced Dustin to Timothy “GA” Underwood, who had recently been released from prison and had a passion for Christ and the church.
Dustin and GA collaborated to connect with recently released folks at the United Way and other places where this community of people gathered. Building upon these connections, they formed Deep Time, a community of faith for and with people impacted by incarceration. As a result of their listening and community building, they realized that employment was something they could address together.
In the past two years, Deep Time has installed a full-size coffee roaster in a former Sunday school room at Trinity UMC, hired over a dozen justice-involved people to roast coffee beans, connected with over 150 people through multiple fresh expressions and generated over $75,000 in sales.
Throughout the week there are multiple groups forming disciples by reading Scripture together and developing life skills. Church is taking shape in two worship gatherings. The team is hoping to do it again by launching a café and a dinner church in 2025.
Get started
If God is calling you to reach out to your neighbors, it doesn’t have to be guesswork. The Fresh Expressions Journey offers guideposts to lead you forward on your path. Happy trails!
Luke Edwards is the author of Becoming Church: A Trail Guide for Starting Fresh Expressions. He is a United Methodist Elder and the Associate Director of Church Development for the Western North Carolina Conference. His newsletter on listening as a spiritual practice is called The Listening Church.