Have you heard the phrases ‘Fresh Expression of Church’ or ‘Pioneer Mission’ and wondered what they meant?
Have you ever wondered how church could be different to how it usually is? Or have you thought ‘The people I know just wouldn’t really feel comfortable with the church I go to’?
One of the big challenges in mission is trying to bridge the ‘culture gap’ that can exist between the church that we know and the lives of the people we might know who aren’t Christians. If we remember that this isn’t necessarily a spiritual gap but a cultural one, we can start to imagine what a different way of doing church might be like for other people. When missionaries travelled to Africa and Asia in the nineteenth century, some tried to replicate the church they had known in England. Others went with an open-ness to how God might already be present in this continent and in the lives of the people there and sought to start churches that connected with the lives of those they met.
Our mission today includes bringing people into the churches we already have, but for many people they may not feel comfortable taking that step. We can also try to develop ‘Fresh Expressions of church’ – perhaps meeting as church in different places, or where we do things in different ways that make it easier for people to find a connection with God.
Join our ‘What is mission?’ meeting this month on Tues 28th June, 7.30-8.30pm on zoom, and explore a little bit more how we might do church differently to help other people to meet Jesus. Contact Jon Steel for the zoom details, or to find out more.
