8 THE BRIDGE... February 2014 THE BRIDGE... February 2014 9 Fresh Expression of Church by grafting

The parish of St Paul with St to 75, and about 150 adults and volunteers there. It has meets to reach out to the Saviour, Brixton was in steady children now part of the church emerged into a Foodbank café Church’s missing generation, freshfresh expressionsexpressions decline from the 1970s up until family. feeding many people from the 18-30s! They do this by 2009. Numbers were so low This is thanks to God, first different generations and meeting weekly for food, that, in 1980, they did a and foremost, and the backgrounds. It still has a café checking in with each other, building swap, with the local willingness of both old and new feel to it, and an important part prayer, worship and Bible Seventh Day Adventist Church. members to work and pray is welcoming people over a cup Study. They also meet up for What is a Fresh Expression of Church? In 2008 The Revd Ben together in order to love God, of tea and cake, chatting and socials to try to introduce old Goodyear was invited by the love each other and love listening and, where mates to new mates and appropriate, praying for them. connect people to Jesus The Fresh Expressions they have “the potential a church in its own right. said, “My view is that the in Diocese to Archdeacon of and the Brixton. PCC of St Paul’s to consider a We have started running Some of them have now joined through relationships. website says, “A fresh to become a mature A Fresh Expression of Fresh Expressions explore how Fresh graft, from the Ascension in community groups, each the church too, like Ade and his We have started a toddlers’ expression is a form of expression of church church is not a bridge movement is very Expressions of church Balham Hill, to St Paul’s. having an upward, inward and family who was baptised and play group in our community church for our changing shaped by the gospel and into an existing church important for the future can be encouraged and outward focus. They include a confirmed with us. We are now centre, on the Blenheim culture, established the enduring marks of but a new, creative and life of the Church of offered an opportunity to The Revd Foodbank Café. Our ‘Roots’ looking to start a hot lunch and Gardens Estate. We are looking primarily for the benefit the church and for its fresh way of being church England and now for the flourish within this Ben Goodyear community group wanted to do Bible Study after Foodbank, on to connect the people who praying it through but have primarily for the benefit the church and for its fresh way of being church England and now for the flourish within this Tuesdays, to help connect more We have recognised that the of people who are not yet cultural context”. in the local culture and first time we have harder Diocese. something to reach out to currently go to the play group, heard good things when other elderly in our parish struggle to different generations in our people to Jesus and to each to Jesus, by starting a new members of any church.” context. evidence to back up that I met the PCC and both local churches have started come to evening groups. So, in Fresh Expressions of These articles aim to tell community and so started a other. service or group at the centre, similar ventures e.g. Prayers conviction, as we move congregations, prayed about it 2014 we are looking to start a Fresh Expressions of Church are about doing After the publication of the stories of some of the and decided to go for it. In café on a Tuesday. New people We have a young adults’ with some Christian teaching and Bears at St Thomas’ off daytime community aimed at Church are born out of mission imaginatively so the recent Church from reliance on stories many Fresh Expressions September 2009 I arrived with from the community joined the community group, too, which and worship. We are still Streatham Hill. connecting the elderly to Jesus. “listening, service, that people who are not Growth Research in to having statistics as of church already The Revd Margaret the graft team of 18 from café and church and have well.” Ascension to join the existing started to serve at both. Two of incarnational mission involved in church are January 2014, George emerging in Southwark, Cave, Team Rector, those new members who came and making disciples”. drawn to becoming Lings, Church Army’s Bishop Jonathan has been in order to encourage congregation. The Church has East Greenwich since grown with an average through the café, Betty and Fresh Expressions with Church Army What is important is that involved in order to form Research Unit Leader, leading a working party more. Team Ministry Sunday attendance up from 28 Maureen, have become key estate and are now scattered Nick also heads up Superkidz, And the future? Church Army throughout the borough of a ministry to children and young hopes that its newest fresh Greenwich. people in three locations across expression will be in Abbey Wood Fresh Expressions Fresh Expression In there is Coffee Greenwich Borough providing and , where Stop, a Thursday morning drop after-school clubs with a mixture Evangelist Nicholas Lebey is and the national scene through Messy Church in. Here Nick works with Revd of games, Christian songs and working in partnership with the Kim Hitch, Vicar of St James, teaching and life-skills training. Thamesmead Team Ministry and equivalent of a medium sized set up from all traditions and in For us at All Saints, Kenley and schools and I am now a alongside our gifts and Kidbrooke, and ordinand David It is backed by a programme of the charity XLP to start a youth diocese! The average number all sorts of areas – from Anglo St Barnabas, Purley, Messy Governor of two of them. resources, always trying to be Coleman. They give advice on visiting and mentoring and some congregation. for a diocese equated to 9% of Catholic to Evangelical; from Church has proved to be a This opened my eyes to the open to surprises given by the benefits, listen to people’s children are being trained to To find out more about Church the total worshippers – and this urban priority areas to rural wonderful and appropriate tremendous mission field we Holy Spirit. problems and pray. Out of the become junior leaders. Army visit figure is increasing. drop-in has grown Friendship Tea villages. The research also Fresh Expression of Church. have in our schools. How best We set a launch date of April www.churcharmy.org.uk shows that they are equally on Sunday afternoon – a more These new forms of church to engage with it? We were 2012 and worked hard to put substantial act of worship. Such A party at Coffee Stop, Kidbrooke include Café Churches, likely to be led by men or The Revd Chris taking the Gospel out to our the infrastructure in place. women; that 82% of Fresh is the settled feel of this fresh churches in drop in centres, schools, but we also needed With the usual budget Thomson expression that it has been Messy Church and churches Expressions reflected their something at church to offer limitations, we looked for renamed Friendship Church. which meet in pubs and bars or neighbourhoods; that 78% have them. About a year ago I was creative methods for publicity. taken steps to encourage I’ve been Priest in Charge here out in the street. enjoying my day off with my This is where the relationships This also led to a second Coffee discipleship and that 74% are for nearly three years. When I Stop, in Middle Park, where Nick The impact in terms of better half (Revd Dr Donna with our schools bore fruit. For four years, Church Army aimed at all ages (with 19% arrived I was immersed in the works alongside the Revd Wendy numbers is exciting. Most Lazenby) when I felt moved to They let us to put adverts in Chris (right) and The Messy Church team Evangelist Nick Russell (above) focused on adults alone and 7% usual ‘getting to know the job’ Saunders, Vicar of St Saviour’s. Fresh Expressions were set up process, but nonetheless there consider setting up Messy their Newsletters and posters in watched the Ferrier Estate in by between 3 and 12 people, child focused). exciting journey and definitely completely new and perhaps to And Nick has been responsible was enough time to ask Church as a mission initiative. the schools - and to leaflet Kidbrooke - both his home and In overall numbers where a a Fresh Expression of Church prioritise it above established for training a new Church Army but the average size of a Fresh questions relating to the I starting praying about how every family for our launch and workplace since 1999 - taken Revd Will Cookson Expression is 44. Even more diocese put its weight behind in our traditional context. liturgical models then so be it. Evangelist, Craig Dowling, who current work and what Holy best to set up Messy Church Christmas Special. apart brick by brick. Fresh Expressions (such as Our job as the Church is to be has begun another fresh exciting was that only a Spirit opportunities may be and who might be being called Around this time I received I would never advocate There he had served some of minority were from existing or Canterbury) about nurtured in the Good News, expression. Five miles east on A recent study of ten dioceses waiting for us to tap into. to be part of organising it. an email from the Diocese throwing the baby out with the the neediest people in Southwark 3,000 people were part of Fresh and then to tell others about it the Glyndon Estate, Craig runs has shown how far Fresh congregations - 35% of people Roughly one year into my time Thankfully I soon had five inviting parishes to apply for a bath water, but I am a Diocese. The Holy Spirit Church, Expressions. using whatever approach/ Hope Stop – a midweek drop-in Expressions have come in the who joined had once been organisers and we set about mission grant. Wonderfully we passionate supporter of looking here I felt a strong prompt by language needed. We are not a in the middle of a line of shops, with entertainment, support and Church of England. church members but were no The challenge for Southwark formulating how Messy Church were successful and thus at your mission context, gifts, the Holy Spirit to engage with museum, rather the agents was one of the last buildings to be cake – and a short act of worship. In all 518 Fresh Expressions longer and 40% had no is how do we encourage Fresh the numerous primary schools might look on the ground. We received a sum of money that resources, and then praying for demolished. significant church experience. Expressions and create an God’s guidance on how He through which God has chosen From this has grown a Sunday have been started in the we have in both parishes. God visited other churches who had has oiled the wheels ever since. Through a series of fresh What is also exciting is that environment in which they will wants you to use them. If this to bring in His Kingdom. This afternoon service, supported by dioceses surveyed, with nearly subsequently opened the doors established Messy Churches and We are far from established expressions, Nick set about 21,000 people attending - Fresh Expressions have been flourish? discussed our findings means doing something is our ministry. Revd Phil Rogers, Vicar of St to good relationships with our but it has certainly been an serving those who lived on the John’s, Plumstead. Fresh Expression of Church through planting Fresh Expression of Church in an emerging community

I have spent more of my Richmond where I was Victorian evangelical revival coffee, croissants and time to Kidbrooke Village is a new outdoor facilities with a caged worshipping church including a volunteers from the wider local working life working for a Associate Vicar. With a small and the Movement chat community emerging from the Astroturf. Sadly a devastating monthly informal service; community. We were very grateful to other deanery tobacco company than being a team, I was resourced and sent As we know, times are very -We launched ‘Community demolition of the Ferrier flood in November has caused a Chaplain’s Coffee & Chat in the churches for sharing resources, Vicar and I was, for a while, out to plant into Holy Trinity different now. The average age Groups’ which meet in our Estate. temporary closure but it should Café; Toddlers@OneSpace; in particular, people to join us. responsible for the marketing Church, Barnes. The Barnes in the Church of England is 61, church building, in homes and be open again in May. Crafts&Games in the café aimed of Hamlet Cigars. Some of you Team Ministry welcomed and and the impact of the post- one in a pub! Revd Margaret Cave As we worked towards the at older people and one off events On Easter Saturday 2013, we may remember the famous TV facilitated the plant. Christendom age means that -We hold Alpha in our local opening of OneSpace and around Christmas and Easter. We hosted Easter@OneSpace an ads that depicted people Just over a year in, we are much of what we do on a coffee shop There had been a long tradition following the closure of Holy set out to visit every home with afternoon family event with invitations which had the added trapped in incidents of failure steadily seeing people become Sunday is becoming -We have placed a high of Christian action on ‘The Spirit Church, it became clear activities like an Easter egg hunt, benefit of being seen and having with their only tonic being to part of the things here. inaccessible to many of the premium on hospitality (as Ferrier’ particularly through the that there was space for a fresh crafts, games and so on conversations in the street. and free tea and Easter cakes. We strike a match to Bach’s Air on Whether it’s gathering on a non-attenders we are trying to Romans 12:13 commends), so Holy Spirit Church. Local expression of church within the a G String. ‘Happiness is…’ was Sunday, supporting our work reach - particularly young just about everything we do Christian organisations, new community. So the vision We were aware of the knocked on every door in Kidbrooke Village and about 150 the strap line that followed. on the Castelnau and people. Hence, there is a begins or ends with food including the parish church, St for Church@OneSpace was born. importance of listening to the James’, Kidbrooke, worked with emerging community but also people of every age joined us. estates, attending renewed call to mission and a -Launching a Foodbank, in It was nurtured by a small team Revd David Cooke the local authority and the that we needed to start doing Families who came had a great a mid-week Community Group, challenge to try new things. We partnership with our local of people initially from St James’s developers to respond to the need something to draw people in time and were amazed that it was serving at our Foodbank or have by no means found a silver community centre, has built Church. After much prayer and for a focus for the new including providing ways to get free! The skate jam at OneSpace a A decade later, and now exploring questions of life with bullet for church growth, but bridges in all sorts of ways listening to God and one another, ordained, I find myself realising community out of which came it became clear that it meant involved by serving the few weeks later also drew over people on Alpha, folk are here are a few things we’ve had -Lastly and most importantly, happiness can be found, and the renovated OneSpace. seeking to be an inter- community. So we set up a 150 people to enjoy the temporary starting to get involved with a go at during our first year: we have tried to underpin actually is to be found, in the It opened in October 2012 and generational community of collection point and welcome half pipe, ramps and grinds as their local church. -We launched the church everything with prayer. adventure of planting a church has already become a thriving, difference where God is centre for the Greenwich Food well as a BBQ and music. At some time or other every plant with a party - everyone Do come and visit or check with the hope of seeing people church was in some sense loves a party! vibrant centre for community encountered, questions can be bank, working with the Redeemed All these events offered the come to follow Jesus. us out at HTBarnes.org and you activities and youth work with a asked and all are welcome. Christian Church of God opportunity for a community of ‘planted ‘. This happened a lot -We have an informal ‘soft- can also find more resources on I took on the challenge of a café, activity space, mentoring The vision encompassed a congregation, which also meets difference to start gathering during the late 19th Century, start’ to our worship - offering my blog ‘www.cookiesday’s. church plant from Holy Trinity, room, IT suite, office space and series of pathways into the at OneSpace, and and growing together. resulting from both the people a hearty welcome with blogspot.com