• Missional Listening Workshop Slides (PDF)
• Missional Listening Exercise Questions (PDF) to be answered based on a demographic segment from this handbook.

Bob Jackson

Church of England consultant, Ven. Bob Jackson, proposes an answer to his own question in a recent paper.

“Once upon a time we thought we knew what church was and how to measure it. Church happened when we gathered in a consecrated building for a public act of worship with a priest on a Sunday. So we measured the size of the church by the number of people who attended the public act of worship. Until the year 2000 we counted ‘Usual Sunday Attendance’, and since then we’ve also used ‘Average weekly attendance in October’, including weekdays.

But attendance & electoral roll measures have never done full justice to what we think church really is. So today I want to pose the deeper questions: ‘What is church?’ & ‘How do we measure it?’”

Read complete text

photo Jill Homer

FXCA update january 2012

Happy New Year everyone!

The Fresh Expressions Canada (FXCA) Team, is a team of committed volunteers, who in addition to each following their chosen careers, also lend their significant gifts to our shared goal, “to encourage the development of fresh expressions of church alongside more traditional expressions, with the aim of seeing a more mission-shaped church take shape throughout the country.”

FXCA team member and web manager Ryan Sim,  has been busy for the last year leading reconnect, a new church community of young professionals in downtown Toronto with little or no Christian background, based out of St. Paul’s Bloor Street. The New Year sees him embarking on a new project which he describes in his blog, Adventures in Church Planting. “For the next six months, I’ve been asked to research a new church plant in Ajax, Ontario, a suburban community in the Greater Toronto Area.  All sorts of people have asked me great questions:

• What kind of research has to happen?
• What do you hope to learn?
• How do you go about building a team?
• What will the church be like, and where?
• When/where will you start Sunday services?
• and more.

So I’ve decided to start blogging, in hopes that others can follow along and support me, pray for me, challenge me, and maybe even learn something (whether from successes or disasters!).”

Another team member, John Bowen MSM coordinator, is on sabbatical from Wycliffe College this semester. Two of his projects are:

(a) Editing a book of fifteen essays by various authors on the church’s mission in Canada today. This will be published by Wipf and Stock, hopefully early in 2013. (John is the editor of  “The Missionary Letters of Vincent Donovan. 1957–1973“, also published by Wipf and Stock.)

(b) Reviewing the evaluations from those who field-tested the Reimagining Church course in the Fall, and making appropriate changes. The revised course will then be available to all who want to start mission-shaped conversations where they live.

Sue & Andy Kalbfleisch have been hard at work for much of 2011 filming and editing “A Missional Road Trip,” a 30 minute documentary  for the Diocese of Toronto. Watch it here. In addition Sue is the  Messy Church Canada coordinator, as well as coordinating Vision Days for FXCA.

The team really appreciate your support. Please pray for us as we go into a FXCA Consultation with Dave Male Feb. 1st & 2nd in Toronto.

Vital Chuch Planting Conference, Toronto, Feb. 2-4 2012

The Missional Roadmap. The conference will be taking a deliberately practical focus this year to help dioceses, parishes and teams begin new missional projects, church plants and fresh expressions of church. Watch a short promotional video here.

• dream dreams
• ask questions
• share your story
• think about what it is to be church
• find out about fresh expressions
• discover resources
• build networks and relationships

The first Fresh Expressions Vision Day to be held in Saskatchewan, will happen on Saturday February 25th in Regina. This will be a wonderful opportunity for all members of the Christian community in that city to join in a highly interactive and inspiring day. For more information and to print out a registration form click here.

The next Messy Fiesta will be held at Christ the King – Dietrich Bonhoeffer Lutheran Church in Thornhill ON on February 18th – click here  for more information. For more information about Messy Church in Canada, please contact Sue Kalbfleisch at sue.kalbfleisch@freshexpressions.ca and check out www.facebook.com/Messy ChurchCanada

That’s about it for now! Check at our website www.freshexpressions.ca for the latest news.

Please keep us in your prayers.

God bless,

Nick

Nick Brotherwood

FXCA team leader on behalf of the FXCA team

“Northern Lights,” by Christer Mattson in Turku, Finland.

december 2012  update

Hello there!

December already. I am sitting down to write the last Fresh Expressions Canada update for 2011. There is a very light dusting of snow outside. Amazing! Where did those eleven months go? Some of you  will be reading this update for the first time especially those who were at the various Fresh Expressions Canada related events over the past month or so. It has been a very busy few weeks, with trips to Winnipeg, for the National Church Planting Congress; to Fredericton, for a day with clergy, a Vision Day and then preaching at the Cathedral ; to Toronto for teaching in the MSM course and various meetings. Other members of the FXCA team have been hard at work making this year’s Mission Shaped Ministry happen, testing our new resource with the working title  Re-Imagining Church, and designing the next Vital Church Planting East conference.

Over the past year as well as talking about being a church shaped by and for God’s mission, I have found myself saying that we need to be an increasingly Jesus-centred church in order to become more mission-shaped. This always begs the question, “Well, aren’t we?” Which I think is a very good question. Of course all Christians think that we should be, and hope that we are, Jesus-centred, but if I am honest I have to admit that the reality of my life is often far from the cherished ideal. As we approach the celebration of the incarnation, God becoming one of us, God’s “moving into the neighbourhood”, as Eugene Peterson puts it, it is salutary to compare the story of that becoming with our own lives. God the Son leaving the heavenly glories to enter life in all its messiness, where others often make decisions for us, and limitations abound. God’s Son willing to enter into our lives motivated by love. How does that contrast with the way I live my life, and what motivates my choices? Not so much “comfort and joy”, more like, “ Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith.”

So we can choose to use this time to reflect on the progress of becoming more Jesus centred, and how we ourselves are being shaped by and for God’s mission in this his rebel world. Not to beat ourselves up, but to be realistic about how far we have come and how far there is still to go. At the same time remembering that, “The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he’ll do it!”

“Re-Imagining Church” course undergoes testing.

This brand new course is nearly finished being road-tested and the evaluations will soon be in. If early indications are anything to go by, it could be a winner! In fact one bishop who has tested the course, is threatening to give the course in three locations next year. Watch the FXCA website for news.

Some interesting events to plan to be part of in 2012!

Vital Church Planting East Conference 2012

The Missional Roadmap

Where do we go now?

February 2-4, 2012

St. Paul’s Bloor Street, Toronto, Ontario

Everything seems set for another high quality VCP conference in early February.  The speaker (Dave Male from Cambridge UK) has booked his ticket, focused and practical workshops are falling into place, and registration is up and running on the website.  There is even an early bird rate of 10% off the full price if you register by the end December. Full details are on the VCP website here.

Messy Church (MC) is growing across Canada as a wonderful fresh expression that reaches families with young children.  Messy Church aims to create the opportunity for adults and children to enjoy expressing their creativity, to gather together for a meal, to experience worship and to have fun within a church context – generally on a weekday evening.

Since April 2007, when Nancy Rowe started Canada’s first Messy Church at St. George’s Anglican Church in Georgetown ON, there are now Messy Churches in every province. Anglicans, Lutherans and United Church folks are learning about Messy Church through workshops and Messy Fiestas (a full day MC workshop) and there is now an ecumenical MC in Thorold Ontario with five denominations partnered together (Anglican, Presbyterian, Christian Reformed, United Church and Baptist) meeting in a local Community Centre.

The next Messy Fiesta will be held at Christ the King – Dietrich Bonhoeffer Lutheran Church in Thornhill ON on February 18th – click here  for more information. For more information about Messy Church in Canada, please contact Sue Kalbfleisch at sue.kalbfleisch@freshexpressions.ca and check out www.facebook.com/Messy ChurchCanada

The first Fresh Expressions Vision Day in Saskatchewan!

Regina Vision Day on  Saturday February  25th 2012.

All Saints Anglican Church
142 Massey Road
Regina SK, S4S 4M9

306.586.442

Thanks for all your prayers, comments and encouragement throughout this past year. We greatly value them, and you!

God bless,

Have a good Advent  followed by a joyful celebration of Christmas!

from the Fresh Expressions Canada Team

Ryan Sim

Thomas Brauer

Sue Kalbfleisch

Connie denBok

John Bowen

Jenny Andison

The first Fresh Expressions Vision Day in Saskatchewan!

The Regina Vision Day on  Saturday February  25th 2012, 9.30am-3.30pm, will take place at-

All Saints Anglican Church
142 Massey Road
Regina SK, S4S 4M9

For more details and to register click here.

Vital Church Planting East Conference 2012

The Missional Roadmap

Where do we go now?

February 2-4, 2012

St. Paul’s Bloor Street, Toronto, Ontario

Everything seems set for another high quality VCP conference in early February.  The speaker (Dave Male from Cambridge UK) has booked his ticket, focussed and practical workshops are falling into place, and registration is up and running on the website.  There is even an early bird rate of 10% off the full price if you register by the end of this month. Full details are on the VCP website here.

Instead of the usual Tuesday through Thursday time slot, the conference this year runs from Thursday through Saturday (February 2-4), to make it more possible for lay people to attend. Workshops on the Saturday will concentrate strongly on equipping teams for mission. There is also a special rate of $65 for those who can only attend on the Saturday.

“But,” you say, “I’m not thinking of planting a new church. Why would I come?” One reason is that the principles of church planting in a post-Christendom age—thinking missionally, learning to discern where God is at work, creating vision, team building—are applicable to any church that wants to be revitalized and move ahead in mission.

But the theme is also a reminder that there are segments of our society which will never be reached by existing churches, however warm and welcoming. The hope is that some fresh expressions of church will do more than reach out to new people and draw them back into existing  churches, valuable though that is, but that they will over time grow into self-sustaining new churches.

It’s the “mixed economy.” As Archbishop Johnson said recently, “Missional focus, that is what we are about. . . . moving towards a mixed-economy church, a healthy inherited church alongside new church plants and fresh expressions, new ways of doing things.

So the conference is really for anyone interested in the church health and growth—and that will be worked out in many ways, one expression of which will be new churches.

You will find all the details on the VCP website here. Hope to see you there!

.

fxca november 2011 update

Hello there!

Becoming a more Jesus-centred and mission-shaped church (or person) is not something which typically happens particularly quickly or easily. It is going to take time, and therefore we need to be in this for the long haul. Of course this goes against the grain of our instant, just in time, society, which finds me moaning  about slow download times and seething with impatience. Too often I forget that God works mainly “behind the scenes” and that fact frustrates me. I want to see what is going on and I get antsy when I cannot.

As we enter the winter season of dormancy, it is easy to be fooled into thinking “nothing is happening”, and to forget that God never stops working. So we do our best to continue what we believe God has called us to do, trusting that, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”  Ecclesiastes 3:11  (TNIV)

New video of Bishop Steven Croft

Bishop Steve Croft sat in front of our camera for half an hour last June, and answered twelve of our skill-testing questions! Watch the latest one “If I am the Rector of a parish, do I have to do all this myself?”. Thanks to Andy & Sue Kalbfleisch for doing such a superb job with the videoing and editing. Thanks to Bishop Steve too for his patience with our incessant questioning.

We will be releasing a new video each week on the FXCA website. So please keep your eyes open for them!

The next two in a series of podcasts featuring all of the  plenary sessions and some of the workshops from this year’s Vital Church Planting Conferences are ready. Each month another set will be posted on this site.

Here is the podcast featuring Duke Vipperman on “Missional Coaching. ”

Jenny Andison

John Bowen

“Teaching the Faith to Beginners,” featuring Jenny Andison and John Bowen can be heard here.

My  travels

Recently I had the privilege of being asked to speak at my own diocese’s annual synod here in Montreal, on the subject of “Mission Shaped Church” (Montreal mission shaped church October 29 2011)

I will be presenting at “BREAKING OUT!/SORTIR DES SENTIERS BATTUS!” A Bilingual Conference on Mission: Nov. 7-9, Montreal. Later in the month I will be at Re:CALL the National Church Planting Congress in Winnipeg, MB. I’ll be co-presenting a workshop and enjoying the stimulating people I always meet up with at these bienniel events. Even later I will visit the Diocese of Fredericton for a day with clergy on Friday Nov. 25th and a Vision Day on the Saturday (see Vision Day section below for more information).

I am already beginning to get excited about next year’s Vital Church Planting East conference

The Missional Roadmap
Where do we go now?                              February 2-4, 2012

St. Paul’s Bloor Street, Toronto, Ontario

Plenary Speaker: Dave Male

Dave is Tutor in Pioneer Mission Training at Ridley Hall and Associate Tutor at Westcott House, both in Cambridge, UK. He is also Fresh Expressions Adviser for the Diocese of Ely. He was for seven years Vicar of the Net Church, Huddersfield, a ‘network type’ church which was one of the pioneers of fresh expressions. He is the author of Church Unplugged: Remodelling Church without losing your soul (2008) and editor of Pioneers 4 Life (2011).

Fredericton, NB are holding their first Vision Day on Saturday, November 26th. the St. John the Evangelist Parish Centre, 75 Main St., Fredericton, NB on Saturday November 26, 2011 from 9:15am to 3:00pm. Cost: $10.00 each (includes lunch). Click here for registration form.

Planning has begun for  a Regina, SK, Vision Day on Saturday 25^th February, 2012 at  All Saints Church, Regina. More details soon. Please let your friends in the  area know about this event.

Mission Shaped Intro. This excellent six-session, free to download, course, has been adapted for our Canadian context.

A new four-five session course with the working title “Reimagining Church”, developed in Canada, for Canada, and by Canadians, is undergoing testing in a variety of locations. We will report the results in future updates. For enquiries about Mission Shaped Intro email msi@freshexpressions.ca

Mission Shaped Ministry-2011

In as far as there is such a thing as a “fresh expressions strategy,” it moves from (a) missional discernment: listening to God and to the culture (b) serving whatever needs God draws to our attention (c) forming relationships in community, where a natural kind of evangelism happens (d) forming disciples and (e) shaping a worshipping community (aka a church!). This month  the focus is on (d) Discipleship. MSM coordinator John Bowen asks us to “pray that we will not only learn about discipleship, but be further formed in our own discipleship . . . and in our ability to help others grow in their discipleship. The distance sites, (Moncton, NB; St. Albert, AB; Gatineau & Montreal, QC; Burlington, Constance Lake, New Hamburg, & Tyendinaga, ON;)   as you will remember, will be meeting to watch the recording of the class at some point during the coming week. They need our prayers too!”

Contact John  at msm@freshexpressions.ca for details, or here for more details of this year’s course.

(on October 29th) hosted by St. John’s, South March Parish.  Many thanks to the hosts at St. John’s and to Lisa Chisholme-Smith (Anglican Diocese of Ottawa) who co-ordinated the event.  It was great to work with folks new to Messy Church as well as with those who already are running a Messy Church!

If you are interested in holding a Messy Church workshop or wish to receive the monthly MCeNewsletter, please contact Sue Kalbfleisch at Sue.Kalbfleisch@freshexpressions.ca

I trust that you find these FXCA updates helpful. Please let me know if there is any way in which we can help you. Please pray for the team as we continue to work together to a see a more Jesus-centred and mission-shaped emerge from coast to coast to coast.

The next time you should receive one of these updates is in early December, until then to keep up to date with FXCA follow us on the website or our FXCA Facebook page.

As the days shorten, made God’s light continue to shine brightly on your path!

God bless,

Nick Brotherwood

team Leader-Fresh expressions Canada

nick.brotherwood@freshexpressions.ca

fxca october 2011 update

Hello there!

September, with its warm daytime temperatures, (especially if you were in Saskatchewan,) shorter days and cooler nights, has come and gone. The 2011 msm course got off to a good start in Toronto and eight distance sites in four provinces. A new season of ministry is off and running. Question is, where is the energy for all this activity going to come from? Isaiah has an answer for us.

“God doesn’t come and go. God lasts.
He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine.
He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath.
And he knows everything, inside and out.
He energizes those who get tired,
gives fresh strength to dropouts.
For even young people tire and drop out,
young folk in their prime stumble and fall.
But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.
They spread their wings and soar like eagles,
They run and don’t get tired,
they walk and don’t lag behind. ” (Isa. 40. 28b-31; The Message)

Trouble is, I’ve never been very good at waiting, at least not the kind of waiting you do in “waiting rooms”. Still I’m not sure that that is the only kind of waiting Isaiah is talking about. There is the “waiting on tables” kind. That kind of waiting requires an active attentiveness, and willing responsiveness; it is more about service than passivity. I think I need to work on getting better at both kinds!
New video of Bishop Steven Croft

Bishop Steve Croft sat in front of our camera for half an hour last June, and answered twelve of our skill-testing questions! See the latest one here. Thanks to Andy & Sue Kalbfleisch for doing such a superb job with the videoing and editing. Thanks to Bishop Steve too for his patience with our incessant questioning.

We will be releasing a new video each week on the FXCA website. So please keep your eyes open for them!

The next two in a series of podcasts featuring all of the  plenary sessions and some of the workshops from this year’s Vital Church Planting Conferences are ready. Each month another set will be posted on this site. Here are the podcasts featuring plenary speaker Steven Croft.

My recent travels

I had a great time visiting Saskatchewan for the Diocese of Qu’Appelle in late September. The visit included giving two presentations to their Clergy Conference in Lumsden (popn. 1500+) on the 28th & 29th. The weather was beautiful, and they have very generously invited me back for a Vision Day at the end of next February!

In November I will be participating in Re:CALL the National Church Planting Congress in Winnipeg, MB. I’ll be co-presenting a workshop and enjoying the stimulating people I always meet up with at these bienniel events. Later that month I will visit the Diocese of Fredericton for a day with clergy on Friday Nov. 25th and a Vision Day on the Saturday. I am already beginning to get excited about next year’s Vital Church Planting East conference in Toronto February 2-4 2012, with it’s focus on training teams.

Fredericton, NB are holding their first Vision Day on Saturday, November 26th. the St. John the Evangelist Parish Centre, 75 Main St., Fredericton, NB on Saturday November 26, 2011 from 9:15am to 3:00pm. Cost: $10.00 each (includes lunch). Click here for registration form.

Planning has begun for  a Regina, SK, Vision Day on Saturday 25^th February, 2012 at  All Saints Church, Regina. More details soon. Please let your friends in the  area know about this event.

Mission Shaped Intro. This excellent six-session, free to download, course, has been adapted for our Canadian context.

A new four-five session course with the working title “Reimagining Church”, developed in Canada, for Canada, and by Canadians, is undergoing testing in a variety of locations. We will report the results in future updates. For enquiries about Mission Shaped Intro email msi@freshexpressions.ca

Mission Shaped Ministry-2011 started September 17th in Toronto.  Once again we invited clusters of three or more people to form “distance learning sites” to follow this course “where you live.” People in the distance sites of Moncton, NB; St. Albert, AB; Gatineau & Montreal, QC; Burlington, Constance Lake, New Hamburg, & Tyendinaga, ON;   watch the recordings of the session during the week following the Toronto sessions, and then have a conference phone call with a teacher  during which they are able to discuss and ask their questions. We went through the first round of this in the last ten days, and things seem to have gone pretty well. We still have a few minor glitches to iron out, but we are several light years ahead of where we were this time last year, thanks be to God!

To find out what last year’s participants thought of the course click here. Watch a video of one of those particpants here.

Contact msm coordinator John Bowen at msm@freshexpressions.ca for details, or here for more details of this year’s course.

A number of Messy Fiestas (Messy Church workshops) are being planned for the fall

New Hamburg Ontario on Saturday, November 12th from 10-3.  Click here for information and to register.

If you are interested in holding a Messy Church workshop or wish to receive the monthly MCeNewsletter, please contact Sue Kalbfleisch at Sue.Kalbfleisch@freshexpressions.ca

I trust that you find these FXCA updates helpful. Please let me know if there is any way in which we can help you. Please pray for the team as we continue to work together to a see a more Jesus-centred and mission-shaped emerge from coast to coast to coast.

The next time you should receive one of these updates is in early November, until then to keep up to date with FXCA follow us on the website or our FXCA Facebook page.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nick Brotherwood

team Leader-Fresh expressions Canada

nick.brotherwood@freshexpressions.ca

fxca september 2011 update

Late last month the Fresh Expressions Canada (FXCA) team had a conference call to update each other about fresh expressions related things we are aware of going on in our respective necks of the woods. This is my first opportunity to share some of that with you.

Edmonton, AB, is a happening place with three Mission Days planned for the fall, and various mission-shaped and shaping initiatives taking place in a variety of settings.

In the Diocese of Toronto, five “Re-imagining Church: mission shaped” courses will run this fall, with Bishop Linda Nicholls teaching one of these five week corses. More information here. They have been busy producing a video highlighting all their missional and fresh expressions projects, it will be premiered at their synod in November. Their Reach Grants program ( “to enable local ministry that will reach people who are not currently being reached by traditional forms of church.”) has to date made seven grants to parishes!

New videos of Bishop Steven Croft

Bishop Steve Croft sat in front of our camera for half an hour last June, and answered twelve of our skill-testing questions! See the first two of them here and here. Thanks to Andy & Sue Kalbfleisch for doing such a superb job with the videoing and editing. Thanks to Bishop Steve too for his patience with our incessant questioning.

We will be releasing a new video each week on the FXCA website. So please keep your eyes open for them!

The first two in a series of podcasts featuring all of the  plenary sessions and some of the workshops from this year’s

Beth Fellinger

Vital Church Planting Conferences. Each month another set of podcasts will be posted on this site. Here are the details of the first set featuring plenary speaker Pastor Beth Fellinger.

My travels

I will be visiting Saskatchewan for the Diocese of Qu’Appelle, in late September. The visit includes giving two presentations to their Clergy Conference in Regina on the 28th & 29th. In late November I will be visiting the Diocese of Fredericton for a day with clergy on Friday Nov. 25th and a Vision Day on the Saturday. It will be great to meet new friends in both of these dioceses.

Fredericton, NB are holding their first Vision Day on Saturday, November 26th. Location to be announced

Planning has begun for  a Regina, SK, Vision Day on Saturday 25^th February, 2012 at  All Saints Church, Regina. Please let your friends in the  area know.

Mission Shaped Intro. This excellent six-session, free to download, course, has been adapted for our Canadian context.

A new four-five sessions course, developed in Canada, for Canada, and by Canadians, is undergoing testing in a variety of locations. We will report the results in future updates. For enquiries about Mission Shaped Intro email msi@freshexpressions.ca

Mission Shaped Ministry-Take Two starts September 17th in Toronto.  Once again we are inviting clusters of three or more people to form “distance learning sites” to follow this course “where you live.” The course is of most use to those groups which are planning and implementing a “fresh expression of church.”  To find out what last year’s participants thought of the course click here. Watch a video of one of those particpants here.

Contact msm coordinator John Bowen at msm@freshexpressions.ca for details, or here for more details of this year’s course.

A number of Messy Fiestas (Messy Church workshops) are being planned for the fall

New Hamburg Ontario on Saturday, November 12th from 10-3.  Click here for information and to register.

If you are interested in holding a Messy Church workshop or wish to receive the monthly MCeNewsletter, please contact Sue Kalbfleisch at Sue.Kalbfleisch@freshexpressions.ca

I trust that you find these FXCA updates helpful. Please let me know if there is any way in which we can help you. Please pray for the team as we continue to work together to a see a more Jesus-centred and mission-shaped emerge from coast to coast to coast.

The next time you should receive one of these updates is October, until then to keep up to date with FXCA follow us on the website or our FXCA Facebook page.

Yours in Christ Jesus,

Nick Brotherwood

team Leader-Fresh expressions Canada

nick.brotherwood@freshexpressions.ca

Beth Fellinger’s two presentations One Size Does Not Fit All and Half Way is Only Half Way are available by clicking here.

Stephen Cottrell‘s workshop Fresh Expressions in the Sacramental Tradition with David Harrison, is available by clicking here.

To make sure you do not miss future podcasts click here and subscribe.

 So what is summer the time for? In many cultures it’s harvest time. For some of us here it still is. For others it means school’s out, summer jobs, summer camps, perhaps some holidays with family, a little travel maybe. A change in the tempo of life allows us to be a little more reflective than at other times of the year. Time, maybe, to look at the priorities that have dictated the rhythm of the rest of the year. Whose priorities have I been pursuing? My own, or the priorities of the Kingdom, Jesus’ priorities? That’s a tough question, because as a follower of Jesus I would like to think that my priorities and Jesus’ are one and the same. For most of the year in the rough and tumble of a reasonably busy life, and without much time for reflection, the question usually goes unanswered. So when the tempo slows for a couple of months, what am I going to do with this time that I could use (if I so chose) to try and answer it.

It seems pretty clear that Jesus’ priority for us is disciple making. Making the kind of disciples who obey all that Jesus has taught us. Now I find it much easier to agree with all that Jesus taught us than to actually obey it. It seems that Jesus is really not interested in people who merely agree with him: he actually wants us to put his teaching into action. Why else would he end his major teaching sessions in both Matthew and Luke with the cautionary tale of two house builders?

In the old days, when sound recordings were made on two inch wide magnetic tape, using sixteen or thirty-two track tape machines, each day the sound engineer had to realign the recording heads of the machines so that the different tracks were synchronised. If they didn’t do this banal task, the recordings made would be out of phase with the ones made the previous day and the work would be wasted. Summer gives us the opportunity, both individually and as members of communities of followers of Jesus to re-calibrate, to re-align ourselves and our communities with the values and priorities of the Kingdom.

Unfortunately, disciple making is not a quick and easy pursuit. It is better thought about in terms of the whole of life and lifelong discipleship of Jesus. We never graduate from being a disciple: we will be forever learning, forever striving to become more like the one we follow. Discipleship is not a program, nor a course—though both of these can be helpful—but it describes the relationship between us and the one we follow. So even though knowledge, understanding, and wisdom are necessary, they cannot exist apart from the discipleship relationship if we are to be able to claim that we are followers of Jesus. It is the extent to which we are becoming like Jesus that seems to matter in the Kingdom.

Now, all this introspection could easily become morbid and depressing. The Apostle Paul helpfully provides the perspective that lifts the weight from our shoulders, when he expresses his confidence “that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Yes, we are very much God’s work in progress, so it’s never all down to me. Rather, we are expected to cooperate with God’s work in us and not obstruct it.

So, how about using some of this down time (if indeed we have some) to do some realigning, to test ourselves, to see if our lives are “in line with the truth of the gospel,” and if we find there has been some “slippage” to make some course corrections and attempt to get back on track?

Fredericton Vision Day on Saturday November 26th, St. John’s Parish Centre, Anglican Parish of Douglas and Nashwaaksis.

click here to register.

Regina Vision Day on  Saturday February  25th 2012.

All Saints Anglican Church
142 Massey Road
Regina SK, S4S 4M9

306.586.442

More details to follow.

fxca june update

In the time between Ascension and Pentecost the church waits and prays. A time for making sense of what has happened, of anticipating what is still to come. A time for remembering that it is God who sets the time frame not us. A time for giving thanks for all God has done.

May and early June have been  busy times in the world of Fresh Expressions Canada (FXCA). What with a Messy Fiesta, the two Vital Church Planting Conferences (reports on Edmonton here and Toronto here), a visit from the Primate, and a FXCA consultation with Steven Croft! Quite a bit of travelling and a great opportunity to meet some of you, and find out what is happening that is Jesus-centred and mission-shaped where you live.

You might be interested in knowing that the main talks and some of the workshops from the Toronto conference are available on CD from Swordfish Digital. Email them for details at info@swordfishdigital.com

Nick Trussell: priest-in-mission

One person I had the chance to catch up with during my travels is Nick Trussell, a “priest-in-mission” (aren’t they all?) in the Diocese of Edmonton. Over lunch he filled me in about the Mission Days they run, which help people develop language around God’s mission in their own lives. You can find out more about Mission Days, and see what three parishes came up with at their respective days, here.

During the two conferences we were able to record interviews with various people which we look forward to sharing with you over the coming weeks. Watch the FXCA website to see these videos as they are posted.

It looks as though I will be visiting Saskatchewan for the Diocese of Qu’Appelle, in late September-early October. The visit is likely to include a Vision Day on Saturday October 1st.  Please let your friends in the Regina area know about the date.

Work is ongoing on revisions to Mission Shaped Intro. This excellent six-session, free to download, course, to make it even more useful in our Canadian context. Expect more details in our FXCA September Update, or email msi@freshexpressions.ca

Mission Shaped Ministry-Take Two starts September 17th in Toronto.  Once again we are inviting clusters of three or more people to form “distance learning sites” to follow this course “where you live.” The course is of most use to those groups which are planning and implementing a “fresh expression of church.” Contact msm coordinator John Bowen at msm@freshexpressions.ca for details, or here for more details.

A number of Messy Fiestas (Messy Church workshops) are being planned for the fall

• Saturday October 29th at St. John’s Church, Kanata, ON
• date/location TBA Kitchener-Waterloo area-in planning-stage with a Lutheran church hosting

When details become available we will post them on the Fresh Expressions website www.freshexpressions.ca

If you are interested in holding a Messy Church workshop or wish to receive the monthly MCeNewsletter, please contact Sue Kalbfleisch at Sue.Kalbfleisch@freshexpressions.ca

I trust that you find these FXCA updates helpful. Please let me know if there is any way in which we can help you. Please pray for the team as we continue to work together to a see a more Jesus-centred and mission-shaped emerge from coast to coast to coast. Have a wonderful summer.

The next time you should receive one of these updates is September, until then to keep up to date with FXCA follow us on the website or our FXCA Facebook page.

May you experience all the energy of Pentecost!

Yours in Christ,

Nick Brotherwood

team Leader-Fresh expressions Canada

nick.brotherwood@freshexpressions.ca

may2011 update

Easter greetings!

Jesus’ words to the disciples on the evening of the first Easter day, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you,” ring down the ages and provide a template for our lives as his followers today. We are sent people. People sent by the risen Jesus. Sent in the same way as he was sent. People called to live Jesus-shaped lives. Quite a challenge isn’t it?

I guess that’s why Jesus immediately follows this startling news, by breathing on them and saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit…” There is no way we can be Jesus’ people without Jesus’ Spirit living in us. We need the Spirit to open our eyes, direct our attention, reveal to us what God is up to in the world and how we might join in.

May is going to be a busy month for those of us involved in the mission-shaped conversation here in Canada. Two Vital Church Planting conferences, in Edmonton and in Toronto, bringing together practioners as well as interested people to energise one another sharing stories of what God is doing where we live. All the members of the Fresh Expressions Canada team will be at one or other of these conferences, (some of us will be at both!) Please come up and say “Hello.” We would love to meet you and hear your story.

Canadian, Beth Fellinger, CRC Church Planter is one of our main speakers. Watch a video featuring Beth here.

Bishop Steven Croft, from Sheffield, England, is our other main speaker. Watch an interview with Steven here.

If you possibly can, register for one or other of these excellent conferences.

Click on the images below for more information.

Vital Church Planting Conferences 2011

Sandwiched between these two conferences there will be a Fresh Expressions Canada Consultation in Toronto, May 30-31. Please pray that God will lead and guide us as we meet, to see where we are, to find out where God may want to take us, and to discover how we might get there! Especially, that we would pay attention, and act obediently.

msm Canada 2010-11

one participant’s experience

The first mission shaped ministry course to run outside the UK finished at the end of March, with over forty students in Edmonton, Lethbridge, Winnipeg, Niagara, Toronto, St. John, and Barbados taking part! The second msm Canada starts in Septemember, with planning already well under way. Find complete information including dates for 2011-’12 here. Contact msm coordinator John Bowen at msm@freshexpressions.ca

mission shaped intro courses continue to be offered in a variety of locations. Work is ongoing, both in the UK and here in Canada, on reviewing and revising the course. Field testing and refining of a Canadian prototype continues. We will keep you up to date with developments! Email msi@freshexpressions.ca for more information or to give your feedback of your experience with the course.

Messy Fiesta – Sat. May 28th Burlington ON – From 10 to 3: click for details

Thanks for reading this far!

God bless, Nick Brotherwood, team leader Fresh Expressions Canada

www.freshexpressions.ca nick.brotherwood@freshexpressions.ca

Fresh Expressions Canada (FXCA) is an initiative of the Wycliffe College Institute of Evangelism with the Anglican Bishop of Montreal.

Time to start new churches 

John Bowen

 

By John Bowen

Published: April 2011

If church attendance is declining, what should be our response? Start new churches, of course!

If that seems counter-intuitive, consider the following:

• One reason churches decline is that populations move, and churches do not move with them. What about new churches for new population centres?
• There is clear evidence that there are more “new Christians” in new churches than in older churches. There is something that makes a new church more readily accessible to someone who is exploring faith.
• New churches are nimble—like young children—and able to adapt to newcomers, new cultures and new demands more readily than older churches which often suffer from structural and cultural arthritis.

Read the complete article.

A new video

To find out more the Mission Shaped Ministry (msm) course, click here.

Steven Croft

who will be a speaker who will be a speaker at both Vital Church Planting West & Easy conferences this May.

Bishop George Bruce

Bishop George Bruce of the Diocese of Ontario tells about a surprising visit to a unique expression of church in the Diocese of  South Western Brazil.

click here to view video.

On Saturday, January 29^th, thirty-four parish leaders (clergy and lay) braved the wintry weather to attend a Messy Fiesta (a Messy Church workshop from 10 to 3) at the Burgessville United Church in Burgessville Ontario led by Rev. Nancy Rowe and Susan Kalbfleisch.

The day began with everyone participating in a Messy Church with a variety of activities – craft tables, games and even a treasure hunt in the sanctuary. Everyone was immediately engaged and one participant remarked, “I’ve never experienced such enthusiasm this early in any workshop I have attended in the past.”  After the activities, we engaged in a brief worship time and then shared fellowship during our meal – just like at a Messy Church gathering.

Following lunch Sue and Nancy discussed the importance of Fresh Expressions as new ways of being church in our current culture and specifically how the Messy Church model meets the spiritual needs of young families who are unable to attend regular Sunday worship. Like all Fresh Expressions, Messy Church is not a church program, but a self-contained worship community.  The presentations were followed by a time for questions and answers.

Special thanks to Rev. Kent Garrett and his team at Burgessville United for hosting a great day!