According to Fresh Expressions U.S., "a Fresh Expression is a form of church for our changing culture,established primarily for the benefit of those who are not yet part ofany church." Fresh Expressions are introducing people to Jesus, expanding thekingdom, and revitalizing churches. Congregations need a practical andtheological resource that can help them cultivate Fresh Expressions. As consultants who work nationwide and as innovative pastors, authors Michael Beck and Jorge Acevedo awaken congregational leaders and ministry teams to a distinctive Wesleyan approach for the Fresh Expressions movement. In Wesleyan Fresh Expressions, they show congregations how to cultivate and customize fresh expressions that fit their local context. They motivate ministry teams to take risks, experiment, and when necessary, fail well. On April 2, 1739, John Wesley went to a field just outside what was then the city limits of Bristol, England. There he tried a missional innovation called field preaching. Thousands of people showed up, many of whom who had no connection with a church. Today, most Methodists and other Wesleyans don't know their own story. Lost in the milieu of divisive issues that threaten to tear the church apart, Wesleyans have forgotten their DNA as a renewal movement, born not from doctrinal disputes but from a missional imperative. In this sense, the Fresh Expressions movement is the most "Methodist" thing in the denomination today. This iteration of the Spirit is taking it to the fields again. Wesleyan Fresh Expressions will help guide the way.

A Field Guide to Methodist Fresh Expressions

Religion & Spirituality

Beck, Michael Adam

Christian Books & Bibles

ABINGDON PRESS *

Never Alone: Sharing the Gift of Community in a Lonely World

Self-Help

Relationships

Herald Press

We have never been more connected--yet we have never felt more alone. Isolation is the great soul wound of our time. As Christians, we know that the church has a unique gift to offer a hurting world: communal life in Jesus. This gift has the power to heal our loneliness and isolation. It is good news for the lonely, the isolated, the struggling. So why does it often sound like bad news to those who need it most? Perhaps because we have misunderstood what the good news actually is--and how we ought to be sharing it. We have collapsed evangelism into offering a golden ticket to some postmortem destiny. But the goodness of the gospel we are called to share is about so much more: shalom, wholeness, and the peaceable kingdom of Christ breaking into the world. This is the gift of communal life in Jesus. A gift that re-ligaments us back together with God and one another. Never Alone unpacks how we can be spiritual guides who help people heal, love, and unleash imagination to create better lives and communities. We all can be instruments to bring healing and wholeness to people's lives in today's epidemic of loneliness and isolation. &nbsp;

Never Alone

Harrisonburg, Virginia : Herald Press

Fresh Expressions is a canary in the coal mine, alerting congregations to reevaluate what the Church is, where and when it can happen, and who can lead it. Church as we know it is inaccessible to most people. A fundamental premise of the movement is that Church can become accessible again by emerging in every nook and cranny where life already happens. Fresh Expressions is based in simplification, returning to basic scriptural principles, and a recovery of a "priesthood of all believers"--in the three places where people live and relate to others.First Place: The home or primary place of residence.Second Place: The workplace or school place.Third Place: The public places separate from the two usual social environments of home and workplace, which host regular, voluntary, informal, and neutral spaces of communion and play. Examples are environments such as cafes, pubs, theaters, parks, and so on.During a pandemic, our two primary mission spaces were closed off; the second and third places were shut down. We couldn't have Tattoo Parlor Church; the tattoo parlor was closed. We couldn't gather in Moe's Southwest Grill for Burritos and Bibles; they were doing take-out only. The dog park was empty; no Paws of Praise. This limited us to the only spaces we have left: the first place, or the home place. The digital place, or the "space of flows." This forces us into recognizing the digital space as its own kind of third place, a new missional frontier.

Fresh Expressions in a Digital Age: How the Church Can Prepare for a Post Pandemic World

Picardo, Rosario

Gardens in the Desert

Carter, Jr. Kenneth H.

Learn the essentials of fresh expressions for your church. An Ecumenical Field Guide for Fresh Expressions is a practical manual for understanding and implementing Fresh Expressions for a church in any denominational setting. The Fresh Expressions movement is a new way of thinking about the local church and a new way of doing church as a congregation. It refers to new (fresh) iterations or types (expressions) of ministry, usually outside the confines of the church building. These iterations or types of ministries are formed intentionally but organically out in the community, where people are. They are based on shared activities or interests, where people are gathering already, and where the people are open to or interested in learning about Jesus. Christian people share their own stories of how Jesus is part of their lives. Often, these gatherings become regular and increasingly begin to adopt the practices of a church community, like worship, service, study, and giving. Thus, they become fresh expressions of the church from which they sprang.

An Ecumenical Field Guide For Fresh Expressions

Religious Studies

Treasures Old and New

Harper, Steve

This raw and powerful story is for anyone who has felt unworthy, who has hit rock bottom, who has been hurt by the church, or who has felt like an outcast. From drug dealer to pastor on a mission to bring church "to the wild," Michael Beck invites you into a journey of healing where all are met with compassion and where transformation happens as we make space for each other's wounds. Discover how God can bring forth beauty from ashes by getting down in the gray soot of our wounds to paint our lives beautiful again.

Painting With Ashes: When Your Weakness Becomes Your Superpower

Invite Press

Can churches in the 21st century stop, reverse, or prevent decline - and even become healthy, thriving congregations?\nMissional innovator, pastor, and church renovator, Michael Beck, says they can.\nBut the old cookie cutter ways of doing church won't cut it in today's world. If churches are going to stop the shocking rates of pastoral burnout and exodus from the pews, they must understand that every church has a distinct personality type, which can keep it stuck or propel it into maturity, depending on how it's used.\nNow, for the first time in history, you can understand and leverage your congregation's culture and personality using the groundbreaking 5 Congregational Personality Types(TM) model. Based on proven methods from psychology and ministry archetypes in Scripture, The Five Congregational Personality Types will help you unearth: Which of the five congregational personality types your church is Your congregation's unique culture and how to nurture your church's strengths The "shadow side," or weak point, of your congregation's personality type - and how you can transform this into a strength Your #1 strategy for growth and clear next steps to take\nGet The Five Congregational Personality Types and discover exactly what to do next to grow your church in the 21st century.

The Five Congregational Personality Types: An Ancient Pathway for Congregational Renewal in the 21st Century

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Books by Beck, Michael Adam