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A fresh expression is a form of church for our changing culture, established primarily for the benefit of people who are not yet members of any church.

• It will come into being through principles of listening, service, incarnational mission and making disciples.

• It 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.

(The incarnation happened when God became human through Jesus and immersed himself in human life. 'Incarnational mission' means being involved in the everyday lives of the people you are called to serve.)

This definition is a bit of a mouthful but it does make some important points.

It emphasises four things in particular. Fresh expressions are:

• missional – serving people outside church;
• incarnational – listening to people and entering their culture;
• educational – making discipleship a priority;
• ecclesial – forming church.

A phrase like 'fresh expressions of church' can be vague and unclear. Sometimes the label is used to cover almost anything - even a new church noticeboard! (See Mike Hill's blog on 27 April 2007 – http://bishopmike.wordpress.com/ ) This can breed a certain cynicism.

Might these four bullets be a helpful way of giving meaning to the term? For example, if a denomination or a diocese has a policy for promoting fresh expressions, does what it has in mind satisfy these criteria?

If a local church is describing an initiative as a fresh expression, again does the venture meet these criteria? Let's be relaxed if it doesn't – it could still be a worthwhile project. But at least the church wouldn't be raising false expectations.

So if you are doing something new mainly for churchgoers or are running a parents and tots group but have no plans for it to become church in its own right (perhaps forming a cell church among the parents and carers), both could be really valuable. But they would not be fresh expressions according to our definition.

Might we all be helped by using ' fresh expressions' in a careful way?

Other terms that cover fresh expressions of church are: emerging church, new forms of church, new ways of being church and church plants.

See also: What does a 'mixed economy' church involve?...

At the heart of fresh expressions is a different way of thinking about church. Many existing churches operate with a 'you come to us' mindset.

'Would you like to join us?' is an invitation to come to 'our' church, set out as we like, at a time that fits us, in a style that we have pre-arranged. The flow is from outside-in: from the world into the congregation.

Fresh expressions have a 'we'll come to you' mindset instead. They start not with an invitation ('Come to us on our terms'), but with an offer ('We're willing to come to you, serve you and stay with you. If you want, we'll also help you to be church in a way that suits you - in your style, not ours').

The aim is not to provide a stepping stone into existing church, but to form new churches in their own right. The flow is from the congregation to people outside – not inward, but outward.

Fresh expressions is a new mindset, not a new model of church to be copied. It is a mindset that starts not with church, but with people who don't belong to church.

This different way of thinking about church is discussed further...

A spectrum of fresh expressions exist.

• The renewal of an existing congregation through mission, and especially through careful listening to the non-churchgoers the congregation is called to serve.

  This might involve radically reshaping the provision of all-age worship, for instance, or rethinking a midweek service.

• Reinventing an existing 'fringe' group, mission project or community service so that it is no longer a stepping stone to Sunday church, but becomes 'church' in its own right.

  A youth group might grow into a youth congregation, or a luncheon club for the elderly might add worship after the meal.

• Creating a new Christian community within a single parish or circuit, as a mission initiative. Often it will be lay led and have a relatively small budget.

  An informal service in a local leisure centre and a midweek after-school meeting for a meal and worship would be two examples.

• A large mission initiative spanning several parishes or circuits. It will be more likely to require a full-time paid post and to have a more substantial budget.

  It could be a new network church across a city-centre for Generation X, a town-wide teenage congregation or a home-based church plant on a new housing estate.

Here are three examples of fresh expressions:

• An Alpha course was held in a teashop in a former mining town in Nottinghamshire. Several years and several Alpha courses on, a new church continues to meet in the teashop on a weekday evening, its members now leading and supporting successive Alphas. Read about Fellowship@Grannie's.

• A Church of England minister wanted to build church without a building. With his bishop's blessing he now leads a network church centred round students and young professionals in Bristol.

  Meeting in a coffee house is just one way in which this new church is made accessible to newcomers. Read about Crossnet church.

• A central Birmingham network church meets in bars and cafés. It drew on members' personal contacts to create a community where all are welcome whatever their stage of faith. Accepting the transitional nature of city life, this church seeks to accompany growing Christians. Read about B1.

Are 'fresh expressions' the same as 'emerging church'? Emerging church has become a popular term, especially in the United States, to describe all sorts of new ways of being church, though we detect signs that the term is beginning to go out of use. (Has it become too broad to be helpful?)

There are at least three groups within the 'emerging church' family:

• Those who think and write about Christianity and our changing culture. They are wrestling with the challenges presented to the Christian faith by 'post-modern' thought and behaviour. How can the gospel connect with today's world? What might be the implications for church?

• Those exploring new forms of church mainly with people who still go to church (but who are often about to leave). Typically they are into alternative forms of worship and authentic community. Many have a missional heart, but their starting point is to work with Christians who are dissatisfied with existing church.

• Those exploring new forms of church mainly for or with people who don't attend church. Some of these innovative forms of church have a fruitful track record, but others are small, young and fragile. Though not everyone would use the term, we would describe these communities as 'fresh expressions of church'. 

All three strands acknowledge that society has changed and church must change too. The challenge for all of us is to recognise God at work in each other and champion what God is doing.

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