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Are you stumbling into a fresh expression? You never expected to start one, but circumstances have taken you in that direction. You're wondering what to do next. For example:

• Maybe you have started an after-school club. At the end of the sessions, you've begun to teach the children to pray. 'Ask the person next to you what they're looking forward to tomorrow and what they are worried about. If you would like to, write down what you've been told in the form of a short letter to God and put it in the bowl at the front.'

  Some of the prayers have been answered, and the children have been getting excited. 'What do I do now?' you are asking yourself. Might the club evolve into an expression of church?

• Or perhaps you host a prayer group in a block of flats. Members are saying that some of their non-churchgoing friends would like to come. 'Is God calling the group to become the nucleus of a fresh expression?' your minister has asked.

• Or are you a natural evangelist? People gravitate to you. In conversations, you drop in references to your faith without thinking. A number of your friends have become interested in Christianity, but taking them to church would be a turn-off. 'What should I do next?'
• Or perhaps you held a barbecue for your neighbourhood. You've made lots of contacts. There's a real buzz as people keep asking, 'Shouldn't we do this more often?' You're thinking, 'Surely we can build on this?'

Quite often fresh expressions seem to emerge out of the blue. If this appears to be your experience, how might you respond? The following checklist may spark some ideas.

Getting together with one or two other Christians is an obvious step. 'Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone"' (Genesis 2.18). You need confidants with whom to discuss what God might be calling you to do.

Ideally, they should be people who end up sharing your call and working with you. If there isn't such a person, your first step might be to pray that God brings someone to you.

As you chat, one of your questions may be whether God wants you to encourage the group or your friends to move more intentionally towards becoming a fresh expression of church.

Discussing what you mean by 'fresh expressions' may help you to answer that. Material in the first section of the Guide might be useful, such as:

• What is a fresh expression of church?
• What Christian principles lie behind fresh expressions?
• How do fresh expressions develop?

If the two or three of you are thinking of working together, you may find it helpful to ask:

• 'What principles behind fresh expressions most speak to us?'
• 'What are the expectations of the group (or among our friends) that we should keep in mind?'
• 'In carrying out the task, what would each of us die for?'
• 'Are there differences in how we approach our faith that would make it difficult for us to work together?'

Discussing these questions will help you to know one another better, an important part of the 'getting together' process. It could also help to clarify what God is calling you to do.

At this stage it may be enough to commit yourselves to exploring the possibility of a fresh expression, and to preparing for one if a fresh expression seems feasible. During the discussions leading up to this conclusion, a number of issues may be raised that you will want to keep in mind.

It is worth spending time on these discussions. A shared understanding of your call, and some of the principles behind it, may avoid misunderstandings later.

Getting together → a shared call

This is discussed further in Getting together.

Exploring the possibilities could be a logical next step. It is worth doing this carefully and prayerfully.

Listening will be at the heart of it, particularly to the children in the after-school club, the unchurched friends interested in the prayer group, or whoever else you may be called to serve. You may already know them well. If so, part of this 'exploring' phase may involve the two or three of you pooling what you know about them.

• What are they really into?
• What are their hopes, longings, anxieties and needs?
• What is God already doing in their lives?
• What would be the most natural way for them to explore Christianity?
• How do they view church?

In addition, you may want to listen to:

• other people with experience of fresh expressions (the wider church).

• fellow Christians you respect (perhaps in your own church). What do they think about your ideas? Have they wisdom to share? Have you asked them to pray for you?

• to God directly in prayer and Bible study.

You will be involved in '360 degrees listening' as you do this - to the people you are called to serve, the wider church, your local church and to God directly.

 

 

Hopefully, a vision of what you might do will begin gradually to emerge, such as: 'Why don't we suggest to our friends that we meet round a takeaway every couple of weeks to explore Christian spirituality?'

Or: 'We'll start a "spiritual explorers" group in the block of flats, looking at the stories Jesus told. We'll pray that it becomes a fresh expression of church, by which we mean...'.

Exploring the possibilities → a shared vision

This is discussed further in Exploring the possibilities.

Thinking ahead  is easily missed out, but vital. Can you imagine how your ideas might evolve into a fresh expression of church? What steps would be required? How might your exploration of Christian spirituality, for example, develop into church?

How do fresh expressions develop? might spark some questions. Perhaps you could draw the fresh expressions journey:

 

The fresh expressions journey

 

This diagram is described more fully in The fresh expressions journey - a fuller version.

Using the fresh expressions journey, you might ask:

• How are we going to build a strong sense of community?

• Which of the three 'evangelistic pathways' to discipleship (discussed in How do fresh expressions develop?) will we be using, and might we need a combination:
  1. Build in explicit spirituality from an early stage?
  2. Include an explicitly Christian element from the start?
  3. Hope to form a separate Christian explorers group later on?

• What might church eventually look like in this context?

• If church emerged among the young teenagers, in the block of flats or among your friends, what sort of relationship would it have to the whole body of Christ? How would communion be celebrated? Would there be baptisms?

The aim is to imagine your ideas becoming church. You don't have to answer all the questions. But they might give pause for thought.

Can you picture your venture evolving into a full expression of church? In what ways would it be church? Might the group eventually share what it means to be church with another Christian gathering? Communion might be celebrated in the block of flats from time to time, for instance, but baptisms would take place in the parent church.

If you can't see the venture evolving into church, you might want to think again. Or you might conclude, 'We'll pray not for a fresh expression of church, but for a fresh expression of mission. We'll pray that the group becomes a stepping stone to church on Sunday rather than becoming a congregation in its own right.'

A group that promoted kingdom values would be extremely worthwhile, even if it didn't become church. Not every form of mission has to become a new form of church.

Your discussions will not lead to a rigid plan. Fresh expressions tend not to follow a fixed path. They often develop in surprising ways.

The discussions could result in a set of values, however. These values will help to create the potential for the group to become an expression of church. If 'vision' is about what you are going to do, 'values' describe how you intend to do it. They create the ethos of the venture. What ethos will open the venture to God's love?

It is worth remembering that whatever happens, the venture will have values. These values will reflect the values ('What do we value?') of the people who play a leading role. They will shape the direction in which the venture evolves. They will either be implicit (no one thinks about them) or they can be encouraged deliberately.

Being deliberate will enable you to identify values that could lead the group towards the kingdom of God and help it to become an expression of church. That is why thinking ahead is so important.

You might ask: 'What do we want the group to look like in six months, one year and in three years' time? What values – what DNA - would have to be embedded in the group so that it develops in the way we hope?'

The following might be a possible set of values (given as an example only):

• 'After each meeting, we'll ask ourselves whether people had a good time.'

• 'We'll make space for people to socialise.'

• 'We'll point people to Jesus each time the group meets, in a way that members feel comfortable with.'

• 'We'll love and affirm people, whatever their attitude to Jesus.'

How these values are put into practice could well change as the group evolves, and the values may need to be revised in the light of experience. (The same applies to the vision.) But to start with, these values will be at the heart of everything the group does.

Thinking ahead → shared values

This is discussed further in Thinking ahead.

Organising support for the venture is an obvious task. It will include:

• seeking prayer support. This is easily forgotten, but is crucial. Who will pray faithfully for what you'll be doing, and how will you keep in touch with them?
• getting permission, where appropriate. For example, if you are borrowing or hiring premises, have you explained adequately what you will be doing? If your after-school club is to have a Christian dimension, for instance, is the head teacher aware of this? You don't want a complaint later: 'But you never said...'. Likewise, if you are working with children, are parents in the picture?

  How will the venture be held to account? This may need especially careful thought if you are acting on your own initiative and not in the name of a recognised church. Jesus made himself accountable to his Father. Is there a wise Christian who could give you advice and warning, if necessary? 

• testing your ideas on the people you'll serve. Are you certain you have support? In some situations, might you need a name, logo and perhaps a strap line that identifies you and can be used in any publicity? Gently making clear that you are a Christian activity will allow you to develop the spiritual aspect of your work without anyone thinking they were misled.

• making sure you have 'public' support. What will you have to do to enjoy 'the goodwill of all the people' (Acts 2.47)? Do you need to observe any child protection or health and safety regulations, for example? Have you thought about charity status so that you can claim back the tax on donations?

  In some situations, you may want to keep in touch with some of the local churches, voluntary groups and government agencies. Might you work together in some ways? You may need to thank individuals you have consulted and let them know what you plan to do. Courtesies are important.

• practical support - much of this may already be in place.

Organising support → a shared venture

This is discussed further in Organising support.

Nurturing the team may be one last thing to consider. The team might include the two or three people you have discussed your ideas with, plus anyone else who provides substantial practical help. You might ask questions like:

Who's going to be involved in leading the spiritual life of the group? Do they need a spiritual mentor or some other form of support?

What outside support does the team need? For example:

• If this is to become a fresh expression of church, should one or two of you attend the Fresh Expressions short course (mission shaped intro) or the part-time one year course (mission shaped ministry)?
• Would the team benefit from some training in personal evangelism?
• Should the team have a coach or a wise friend whom it could consult from time to time?
• Will someone in the team join a learning network and bring lessons back to the team?
• Will someone else keep in touch with practical advice from the Guide?

How will you avoid overload? Members of the team may well live busy lives. In which case, burn-out will be a constant danger. One way of avoiding this may be to keep things as simple and time-efficient as possible.

For example, if a couple of Christians were running an after-school club, might they pray and worship together after the group meets, perhaps including a short recorded sermon?

Seeing this as part their regular worship might free them to worship on Sunday twice a month rather than every week. They will have extra space in their lives. Their worship will also be more directly connected to their Christian service.

Nurturing the team → shared leadership

This is discussed further in Nurturing the team.

In summary:

• Getting together → a shared call
• Exploring the possibilities → a shared vision
• Thinking ahead → shared values
• Organising support → a shared venture
• Nurturing the team → shared leadership

Sometimes these stages will flow logically from one to the next. More often, perhaps, they will overlap or be taken out of sequence. GETON is not a rigid, step-by-step framework. It is more of a checklist to avoid forgetting things and to spark ideas.

 

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