Nearly four million people in the State of Indiana have no affiliation with any organized religion according to MissionInsite.org. Think about it. That’s more than every other household! They are our neighbors, co-workers, fellow students and teammates, the people in the checkout lanes and doctors’ offices. When Jesus said, “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest (John 4:35),” he was talking about Indiana in 2018! So how do we reach them? It will likely require “fresh expressions” of the church.
A model of missional outreach called Fresh Expressions was developed in the mid 1990’s by the Church of England and the Methodist Church of England. And this model has developed into a movement that now is in America. In the book Fresh Expressions, United Methodist authors, Kenneth H. Carter, Jr., and Audrey Warren, define the Fresh Expressions movement as “a bold attempt to plant the gospel organically in the networks inhabited by the unchurched and dechurched, the ‘nones,’ and the ‘dones,’ and the ‘spiritual but not religious.'”
The model is based on Christians using their natural circles of influence, which the book refers to as “networks,” and places where people naturally hang out, called “third places,” and to intentionally develop relationships using these that ultimately lead to disciple making opportunities through community.
The Indiana Conference’s Church Development team recently co-sponsored a Fresh Expressions workshop with the North District. At that event, which attracted over 50 people, participants heard two examples of Fresh Expressions-like outreach efforts. One was a layman who developed a running group that eventually helped start Wakarusa UMC’s contemporary service. The other was of how two laywomen used their love of clowning and magic to connect with children. That ministry has blossomed into a weekly, year round ministry of Lagrange UMC that offers children and their parents the love of Christ in a rural mobile home community.
On Sunday, March 11, from 4pm-7pm (Eastern Time), at Mt. Comfort UMC (just east of Indianapolis), Church Development will be offering a special Fresh Expressions workshop featuring Rev. Barry Sloan. Barry is a Methodist pastor from Northern Ireland who is serving as Director of Evangelism for the German United Methodist Church. He and his wife, Gillian, have helped launch a fresh expression of the church called “Inspire” in Chemnitz, Germany. The evening will include a dinner and workshop on how you can start a Fresh Expressions ministry in your church’s community. To register go to Fresh Expressions: A Model for Missional Outreach. March 4th is the registration deadline.
Finally, Church Development is offering a new grant to Indiana UMCs for up to $1,000 to help them start a Fresh Expressions effort. These grants are limited in number and only those churches who have had persons attend a Fresh Expressions workshop are eligible to apply. For more information about the workshops or grants, just contact one of the Church Development’s multiplication team–Emily Reece, Sergio Reyes, or myself.
It is highly unlikely that we will reach the growing slice of the population pie that is not interested in the institutional church by simply doing what we’ve done in the past. It will most likely require us to launch Fresh Expressions of the church. Jesus said that we need to put new wine in new wineskins. Fresh Expressions may be the new wineskins we need to use in order to accomplish our mission in today’s world. So let’s go for it!
— Ed Fenstermacher, Associate Director for Church Development
Making Disciples, Transforming Communities 