Fresh expressions

A fresh expression of church is one of over a thousand new Christian churches or congregations that have developed within one or more Christian denominations and organisations in the United Kingdom and abroad, including the Church of England, Methodist Church, United Reformed Church, Church of Scotland, The Salvation Army, Church Mission Society, 24/7 Prayer, Ground Level Network, Congregational Federation, Christian Witness Ministries Europe and Anglican Church Planting Initiatives.

A fresh expression of church is a "form of church for our changing culture, established primarily for the benefit of people who are not yet members of any church [which] will come into being through principles of listening, service, incarnational mission and making disciples [and] 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".

According to Graham Cray the movement involves the "planting of new congregations or churches which are different in ethos and style from the church which planted them; because they are designed to reach a different group of people than those already attending the original church." 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). In 2007 statistical returns from the Church of England revealed that several tens of thousands of people are involved in such groups attached to the Church of England, and by 2010 Fresh Expressions, though only part of the life of 6% of churches, were "the equivalent of a whole diocese in terms of attendance".

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, university students in Southampton, surfers in Cornwall, British Asian people in Birmingham, and people living in the city centre of Manchester and children in Portsmouth.

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