Download or read book Fresh Expressions of the Rural Church written by Michael Adam Beck and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2022-09-20 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Learn to cultivate the extraordinary gifts of Christian community in the countryside with Fresh Expressions of the Rural Church by Tyler Kleeberger and Michael Beck. The rural church was a community’s centerpiece. The place where people gathered to worship and hear a sermon, break bread together, and support each other through the joys and struggles of life with the land. In many ways, the rural church captured a central aspect of the church’s mission: to be the guiding hand for the life of a place. Can rural congregations flourish again? Can new Christian communities succeed in rural areas? Could healthy rural churches catalyze a better future for their declining communities? This book collects stories from the diversity of rural contexts across the US. It lays out a fresh theology for rural life and offers principles for harnessing the potential of what some consider the forgotten spaces. Each chapter includes a helpful Field Exercise—questions for discussion and suggested actions for leadership teams to work through together. Chapters conclude with a Field Story illustrating how the chapter’s main ideas can work in a real church setting. Praise for Fresh Expressions of the Rural Church Fresh Expressions of the Rural Church offers hope for the renewal that can take place in “out of the way” places. In these sacred rural places folks can experience the love of God and neighbor, undergo true healing, participate in the renewal of community, and discover a place to belong. - Daniel G. Beaudoin, Bishop, Northwestern Ohio Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Fresh Expressions of the Rural Church helps us to reconsider our Wesleyan roots and the gifts of our rural contexts, a seedbed packed with possibility for new communities of faith to form and flourish. - Heather M. Jallad, Fresh Expressions specialist, North Georgia Conference, UMC Beck and Kleeberger have taken a sample of the good soil that is faithful rural mission, identified the challenges, celebrated the riches, and offered us a powerful way to learn and be in partnership and connection with the gifts of God. - Ken Carter, Bishop, Florida and Western North Carolina Conferences of the United Methodist Church; co-author, Fresh Expressions: A New Kind of Methodist Church from Abingdon Press
Download or read book Welcome to Dinner Church written by Verlon Fosner and published by Seedbed. This book was released on 2017-03-17 with total page 102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Church was not always done the way we do it. There was a time when Christians gathered around tables, included the strangers and the poor, ate together, and talked about Jesus. This form of church occurred mostly during the first three hundred years of Christianity, and was highly effective in bringing lost people to Jesus. While the church of today is very meaningful to Christ-followers, it is failing to help our lost neighbors find their way to the Savior. That is no small concern for Jesus' churches, all of which are called to be in the rescue business. This little book examines what it might be like for a traditional church to plant a Dinner Church in a nearby hurting neighborhood.
Download or read book Rewilding the Church written by Steve Aisthorpe and published by Saint Andrew Press. This book was released on 2018-01-31 with total page 125 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rewilding the Church explores afresh the compelling invitation of Jesus to ‘Follow me’ and the call to ‘throw off everything that hinders and entangles’. It poses provocative questions and issues a call to contribute to the great rewilding of the Church – and to be rewilded ourselves. The same human instincts that have disrupted our natural environment have also constrained and domesticated the Church and Rewilding the Church commends a rediscovery of the adventure of faith.
Download or read book Mission shaped and Rural written by Sally Gaze and published by Church House Publishing. This book was released on 2006 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using a mix of theological reflection, sociological analysis, case studies and personal experience, this book explores ways forward for mission in a rural context in both traditional and fresh expressions of church. It offers insights into issues facing rural England and explores the nature of mission with reference to the rural situation.
Download or read book Fresh Expressions written by Kenneth H. Carter and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New forms of church that gather and network with people who typically have never been to church.
Download or read book Fresh Expressions of People Over Property written by Bishop Kenneth H. Carter Jr. and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2020-08-18 with total page 135 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Our church buildings, synagogues, and other religious places – which once stood as beacons of hope and reverence for its community – have become a burden for the organizations who seek to keep them standing. In efforts to patch leaky roofs and paint over years of wear, leaders are putting more and more money each year into property instead of people. The practices we have fallen into to keep a building running are not only demoralizing to the pastoral profession and the mission of the church, but they also run the risk of violating property tax laws and incurring more debt. What if our properties didn’t have to be a source of pain but one of purpose and profit? Can we as faith-based organizations begin to think collaboratively about how we might further our missions by creatively and intentionally rethinking how we utilize the space we inhabit? In Fresh Expressions of People Over Property the authors reflect on strategies, scriptures, and stories that help leaders faithfully re-imagine their community spaces so that they reflect that God and God’s people value people over property.
Download or read book Fresh Expressions in a Digital Age written by Michael Adam Beck and published by . This book was released on 2021-07-06 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book A Field Guide to Methodist Fresh Expressions written by Michael Adam Beck and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2020-03-23 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 of any church." Fresh Expressions are introducing people to Jesus, expanding the kingdom, and revitalizing churches. Congregations need a practical and theological 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.
Download or read book Fresh Expressions in the Mission of the Church written by Church House Publishing and published by Church House Publishing. This book was released on 2012 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christians are increasingly seeking new ways of doing church, often called 'fresh expressions', which has created new questions and challenges for the Church as a whole. This Anglican-Methodist report explores the challenges raised by fresh expressions, from what it means to be a 'church', to sacramental life and the deployment of resources.
Download or read book Reclaiming Rural written by Allen T. Stanton and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2021-05-15 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As rural America continues to undergo massive economic and demographic shifts, rural churches are uniquely positioned to provide community leadership. Leading a rural congregation requires a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing these communities, as well as a strong theological and community-focused identity. Allen T. Stanton describes how in establishing this identity, rural leaders build a meaningful and vital ministry. Reclaiming Rural explores the myths and realities of rural places, and how those common narratives impact the leadership of rural churches. Ultimately, rural congregations must practice a contextual understanding of vitality, which understands both the strengths and challenges of leading in a rural setting. Arguing for a practice of evangelism imbued with this mission of vitality, Reclaiming Rural promotes the church as a leader in economic and community development, modeled upon a Wesleyan theology of grace. Acknowledging the many challenges facing rural churches, this book is an energetic and encouraging guide to overcoming social and economic obstacles to build a thriving congregation.
Download or read book Mission Shaped Church written by Graham Cray and published by Canterbury Press. This book was released on 2014-08-04 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An overview of recent developments in church planting. This detailed, practical and well-researched book describes the varied and exciting 'fresh expressions' of church being created. This edition includes a new foreward by the Rt Revd Graham Cray.
Download or read book God s Country written by Bradley Roth and published by MennoMedia, Inc.. This book was released on 2017-09-19 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the poetic force of Kathleen Norris and the pastoral warmth of Eugene Peterson, Kansas pastor Roth sets forth a vision for vibrant rural churches, for ministry in congregations that bear a profound sense of both loss and possibility, and for harvesting fruits of transformation and renewal. Rooted in stories from Scripture, his own ministry, and interviews with rural church leaders, Roth offers a sturdy theological and practical alternative to church-growth strategies that rely on success stories and flashy metrics. Reclaiming God’s vision for the rural church, Roth writes, means learning how to praise, abide, watch, pray, grow, work the edges, die, befriend, and dream. In God’s Country, rediscover the stunning abundance of God’s presence in rural communities. Name the ways that the rural church testifies to God’s glory and goodness. Learn to live and love and minister right where you are, no matter how small or unassuming it may seem. Winner of the Award of Merit, Christianity Today 2018 Book Awards, The Church / Pastoral Leadership category. Free downloadable study guide available here.
Download or read book For the Parish written by Andrew Davison and published by SCM Press. This book was released on 2014-04-15 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fresh Expressions of Church are most significant development in the Church of England. Parishes are the mainstay of the 'inherited church'. The authors demonstrate that the traditions of the parish church represent ways in which time, space, community are ordered in relation to God and the gospel.
Download or read book How to Pioneer written by David Male and published by Church House Publishing. This book was released on 2016-11-30 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Small new Christian communities created by pioneer ministers, both lay and ordained, are popping up everywhere – on housing estates, in community centres, schools, cafes, among different age groups and in numerous other contexts beyond the local church. This practical book is for all who are engaged in this form of ministry and it begins by identifying some basic principles from a wide variety of creative examples of pioneer ministry. Illustrated with actual examples throughout, it explores • how to ‘listen’ to the physical, social and spiritual environment of a local context • how to discern a community’s needs and the appropriate missional response • how to build a creative team • the art of the start – how to begin well • how to build relationships and create community by acts of authentic love • how to become and stay Jesus-centred • how to live and tell the gospel in meaningful ways • how to grow disciples • how to stay fresh (and avoid rotas!)
Download or read book Dinner Church written by Verlon Fosner and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Christianity is the greatest rescue project the world has ever seen, yet many churches across America are shrinking instead of growing. After spending 18 years as a pastor in highly secularized Seattle, Verlon Fosner began to realize that the church had a sociological problem. While outreach efforts to find new wine were genuine, the church's old wineskin was brittle and leaking. In other words, the traditional ways of doing church were not capable of housing a new wine that would be necessary to compel a secular culture to Jesus. Somewhere in this struggle, Fosner and his leadership team began to consider the way church as done during the first three centuries, and the sociological implications of doing church around dinner tables. Inviting someone to a dinner with Jesus is a very different thing that inviting them to a worship/teaching event on a Sunday morning at a religious campus. In Dinner Church: Building Bridges by Breaking Bread, Verlon Fosner unveils how the ancient dinner church was rebirth in his Seattle community and how that vision changed his congregation forever. These pages also offer a compelling case for why many churches would do well to pause and see the pockets of lost people within the shadow of their steeples, and consider how a Jesus dinner table might open up a door to heaven for those neighbors. Revelation 3:20 makes it clear that Jesus still wants to have dinner with sinners. That likely means he wants his church to set the table."--Publisher.
Download or read book God shaped Mission written by Alan Smith and published by Canterbury Press. This book was released on 2013-02-11 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores some of the issues facing the church, especially in rural areas, and some theological strands in the New Testament that underpin the way we go about mission. This book tells the stories of a range of mission initiatives actually taking place in rural areas and identifies good practice. It identifies opportunities for growth for churches.
Download or read book Whole Life Worship written by Sam Hargreaves and published by Inter-Varsity Press. This book was released on 2017-03-28 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a continuation of the LICC series begun by Neil Hudson's Imagine Church Whole-Life Worship will demonstrate that the contemporary Western Church has reached a point where our "gathered" worship is separated from our "scattered" lives outside of church. This is detrimental to the congregation's spiritual development and their effectiveness on their "frontlines". Church worship should be inspired and informed by our everyday experiences. It should empower and send the congregation out to continue worshipping. The book will provide patterns and resources to better connect gathered worship with the lives of the congregation beyond church meetings. The book will unpack a biblical grounding for both gathered and scattered worship. It will then identify patterns within our gathered services which help us re-make these connections. It will provide practical resources such as songs, prayers and activities which can help churches connect Sunday to the rest of the week. It will draw examples and stories from other church streams and traditions, to demonstrate how different kinds of Christian spirituality engage worshipfully with everyday life. In the second half of the book is a practical resource looking specifically at different aspects of a gathered service, and how each one can have an "outward" dimension.