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What
are FEASTs? Fresh Expressions Area Strategy Teams
catalyse the start and development of fresh expressions of church
across a geographical area. They play a vital role in bringing about a
genuine 'mixed economy' church. See What does a
'mixed economy' church involve?
FEASTs focus on a geographical area that makes local sense, such as
a city or county. Within that area:
- they initiate and sustain fresh expressions;
- they support pioneers;
- they provide training;
- they engage with existing church structures;
- they encourage prayer.
From the DAWN (Disciple A Whole Nation) approach to church planting,
FEASTs have learnt that being strategic in small geographical areas can
often be more effective than a national approach.
Comment: There is a lot to be said for a
local approach, like what is suggested and being attempted here. (And I
should add that I was a part of the DAWN team in the past.) A local
strategy, leading to a local expression of church is far more likely to
be contextually relevant, will allow its people to interact more often
(less carbon footprint and easier on the wallet) and will do a better
job in representing the unique redemptive giftings of that particular
city/town/area that God is doing something fresh in. What I think is
interesting is to see how the 'local' church movement parallels the
current food movement which, since the '80s, has gone from 'gourmet' to
'organic' to 'region specific' to 'slow' and now to 'local' - leading
to new terms such as 'locavore' - a person that consumes food from
their own sources or at least within a certain (100 mile/50 mile)
geographical radius. Perhaps God is calling out the spiritual
equivalents of 'locavores'??? Andrew Jones
(tallskinnykiwi)
The guidelines that follow are based on the experience of FEASTs
that have emerged so far.
The initial stages of a FEAST
will normally involve the following:
- An initial catalyst. This may be an individual, a local
church, a request from an ecumenical group or from a group within a
denomination, or a mission
shaped ministry course. Examples of conveners include district
or diocesan evangelism/mission enablers, fresh expressions enablers,
bishops and other staff.
Gathering
the team. Perhaps following a conversation with two or
three people, an ecumenical team will form, including permission givers
(usually a senior church leader), champions (enthusiasts who generate
support for fresh expressions) and individuals who are already bringing
a fresh expression to birth. What are the
ideal people on a FEAST?
- Articulating the vision. A clear vision
for fresh expressions will help communicate a FEAST's purpose to
others. You might express this vision in kingdom terms - eg: 'Through
fresh expressions of church, over the next 25 years we aim to multiply
disciples who will serve the kingdom of God in (specify the area).'
Having a long timescale speaks of realism, patience and
permanence.
- Deciding on the geography. A FEAST might
cover a city, county or local area defined by a common history. Current
examples include Devon, Lincolnshire, Liverpool, Manchester and the
North East. Ideally the area will have some correspondence to church or
local government structures, but more important is that it makes sense
to the 'locals'.
- Agreeing the principles. This is akin to
agreeing values at the outset of a fresh expression. Values might
include openness and flexibility, focusing on open doors, putting a
priority on discipleship-making and serving the kingdom, or reproducing
from the small. Here are values
adopted by FEASTs so far.
- Encouraging prayer . You might seek
prayer support from a variety of sources, such as a specially recruited
prayer team, or plugging into existing prayer networks or religious
communities. Many districts, dioceses, synods and other denominational
bodies have prayer diaries or web pages. Here are some themes for
prayer in the initial stages.
Moving on involves discerning
priorities for developing the FEAST's strategy, setting objectives
against a timescale and ensuring the leadership is able to work towards
these objectives. We list some of the components of a strategy,
recognising that they don't necessarily occur in a neat order.
- Continued sharing of the vision through
key conversations, presentations at existing gatherings, vision days,
regional days, road shows, special events and use of the Christian
media. How can you reach different constituencies? Eg: briefings for
senior staff; stories in district/diocesan/synod newspapers; regular
items on Synod agendas; inclusion on websites/in prayer diaries; a
focus of work for a fresh expressions enabler.
Research and
mapping. Doing this together will encourage collaborative
working in the team and will help members arrive at a vision jointly.
Mapping the location of churches (with some indication of their
strengths) in relation to the population can be a useful visual aid for
planning. Here are some other
areas of research that may be helpful.
- Training provision and support through
courses (such as Fresh Expressions' mission shaped ministry (
msm),
ReSource, Crucible and the
Together in Mission MA in
missional leadership, coaching (or missional accompaniment) and learning networks.
A handy tip: make sure training courses lead to new
initiatives rather than being run for their own sake.
- The intentional multiplication of key
roles (eg, coaches and fresh expressions enablers), pioneer leaders,
training, resources, new communities and possibly particular models
(after contextual research). Why not focus resources on people and
projects with the strongest likelihood of multiplying?
- Developing and growing prayer support. It
might be good to review periodically your prayer support. Is a new
approach required? Might a new constituency be engaged in prayer? Might
you communicate prayer needs in a different way?
- Engaging with existing structures through
permission givers, training providers, policy makers, pioneers and
others. The aim is to move church structures from 'permission to
blessing to paradigm shift'. Vision casting, telling stories,
e-newsletters, chatting to and supporting key individuals, and
reporting to strategic denominational committees can all help you
proceed with grace through the doors God opens.
- Youth and young people. How will you
ensure this important constituency is not neglected? Might you develop
a focused track of activity or have an item about this regularly on
your agenda? A good starting point would be a conversation between the
team and those responsible for youthwork in the denominations, together
with Christian youth agencies in the area.
Resourcing the strategy is
likely to include the following:
Identifying new
leaders. Nationally, thousands of new leaders will be
needed to bring about a transformation in the nation's spiritual life.
Most will be lay because clergy resources are increasingly scarce. Here
are some of the key factors
in identifying future leaders.
- Supporting practitioners to maximise this
key resource. In particular, pioneers can be supported in the vital
task of calling and training others, which will lead to multiplication.
Here are important
elements of pioneer support.
- Finance and administration. So far,
FEASTs have had financial support from denominations involved on an
event-by-event basis. Admin. support has come from within the group.
Some mission
shaped ministry fees have been found by denominations, while
in one area admin support is provided by the Churches Together
facilitator. Might support for some FEASTs be available from a District
Advance Fund and diocesan mission funds?
- The national team. Stephen Lindridge, the
full-time Methodist Fresh Expressions missioner, supports FEASTs around
the UK and is available for consultation, help and advice. Stephen
chaired the FEAST in the North East till recently and was responsible
for creating the acronym.
Some stories so far
include:
How might we support
fresh expressions?
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