Fresh Expressions invites us to …”Join us on Monday 28th May 2012 at 12 noon (local time) – wherever you are in the world – to pray for those beyond the reach of the church as it often is, for fresh expressions of church and all who champion, lead or attend them.

The dedicated hour of prayer is for all those who want to thank God for what has gone before and pray together for what lies ahead. Pray with others or pray alone, pray on our online prayer wall (below, on our Facebook page or on Twitter using #285prayer) or download our resources to give you ideas for specific prayer on the day and in the future.” Read More

What’s the biggest issue that a church planter faces? Is it money, busyness, a lack of support? These are real issues. But they’re not the main one.

I’m convinced that the biggest issue that church planters face is an internal one. It’s our tendency to depend on ourselves rather than on God. This results in tremendous stress in the church planter’s life and ministry.

I’ve spent 20 years pastoring an established church. The dynamics in that experience were completely different. There were structures in place to support ministry, things were already going.

I knew that starting a church from scratch would be different, but I don’t think I was prepared for the pressure I’d feel.

I began to notice the pressure I was putting on myself to make things happen. There are healthy kinds of pressure — I need to work hard as a church planter if anything is going to happen. But I’m talking about a different kind of pressure: the pressure to measure up, to prove myself, and to show that I’m equal to the task.

Have you ever spent time with a driven person? They’re not a lot of fun. They work too hard and take themselves too seriously. They look like they’re on the verge of snapping, and they don’t know how to relax. Now, picture this person as a church planter, and think about the type of church that will grow under this person’s ministry.

It’s not an attractive picture.

I’ve learned that I’m not alone. Church planting has a way of revealing our weaknesses. As Brian and Amy Bloye write in their book It’s Personal, “Church planting will expose every weakness in you. It will bring every flaw to the surface and put it on public display. Check your pride at the door.”

What can we do about this problem? I’m still learning, but I think there are at least three immediate things to do that will help.

 First, confess this as a problem. Naming and owning an issue is a huge step, and it’s a lot better than denial. I frequently find myself praying and journaling these days about my fears in church planting and the subtle pressure I feel to make things happen. Acknowledging this issue before God and others helps me to deal honestly with my struggle, and it brings God’s grace and power to bear on my fears.

 Seek honest feedback from others. My wife is good at this. She will let me know if I start to take on too much stress. I can’t say I enjoy being confronted, but it’s helped me to recognize the stress that I’m carrying that I don’t always see myself.

 Redefine your job. I’m tempted to think that my job right now is to raise funds, build a launch team, and evangelize. Those are all good and important things, but they shouldn’t be my main focus right now. Adam Sinnett, a church planter in Seattle, says: “Fight to remain Jesus-centred, not planting-centred. It is easy to make planting the focus, and miss God.” Planting should come out of the overflow of my relationship with God. My biggest job right now is to grow in my relationship with God so that everything else I do — fundraising, team-building, leading, and evangelizing — is an outgrowth of a deepening relationship with God.

 I can’t say that I’ve stopped struggling, but I’m getting better at recognizing the problem and responding appropriately. Church planting is the daily battle to rely on God’s strength rather than my own amidst all the struggles and pressures of ministry.

Darryl Dash is a Fellowship Baptist pastor, currently planting Liberty Grace Church in downtown Toronto. He previously served as pastor of Richview Baptist Church and Park Lawn Baptist Church, both in west Toronto.

Photograph of a Monarch Butterfly. Taken by Kenneth Dwain Harrelson on May 29th, 2007. CC

Hello!

In the past few weeks small Monarch butterflies have been visiting florets on the burgeoning Maple trees here in Montreal. They are not so large as they will hopefully become in the summer, but their arrival is more than welcome, full as it is of the promise of warmer days ahead. Signs of new life abound. Where are you seeing signs of the new life Jesus offers in your community? Sometimes it doesn’t always take the forms we expect. People looking for new ways to reach out to others in practical ways with the love of Jesus. People engaging in thinking  and talking about what it means to be some of Jesus’ people today. People watching out for where and to whom the Holy Spirit might be leading them.

One of the most helpful ways I have found of starting such conversations is Steve Croft‘s “What is church?” game. It’s very easy, all you need is paper and pencil.  A no-threat way of helping people to think and talk about what is church to them. Perfect for use at a church supper, vestry meeting etc. We need to tell each other about helpful strategies that will include more people in what needs to become an expanding conversation. So, if you stumble over anything useful let us all know!

   Plans are underway for another cycle of the Mission Shaped Ministry course. We envisage it taking two forms. One will be a physical class taking place at Wycliffe College, Toronto, on select Thursdays, starting in September. The other will be an entirely online course, where groups of people will gather in real time to share in an online experience with other groups, an online teacher and a course host. More details soon.

If you are interested in finding out more about the course click here or email msm@freshexpressions.ca.

• dream dreams
• ask questions
• share your story
• think about what it is to be church
• find out about fresh expressions
• discover resources
• build networks and relationships

If you would be interested in exploring the possibilities of hosting a Fresh Expressions Vision Day in your area please contact us at vision@freshexpressions.ca

RE-IMAGINING CHURCH is entering what we hope will be the final phase of development before it is unleashed! As parishes transition out of ministry in a Christendom mode of life to that of post-Christendom, the Re-Imagining course is a resource to help you engage your congregation in that conversation. It is intended as an introductory course for those who know that not everything is working in their current parish, but are not sure what it is, how they should think about it or what might be done about it. The main thrust of the course is not so much practical (although there may well be practical results) as imaginative. The purpose of the course is to re-orient our thinking, sow some new ideas and to offer some examples of what can be done. Bishop Linda Nicholls recently taught the five week course at St. John’s Church, Peterborough, ON.

Sue Kalbfleisch is in England at the moment to meet with Lucy Moore and the rest of the Messy Church team

Sue Kalbfleisch, Paul and Lucy Moore

For more information about Messy Church in Canada, please contact Sue Kalbfleisch at sue.kalbfleisch@freshexpressions.ca and check out www.facebook.com/Messy ChurchCanada

Trent Durham Sally Gaze Workshop June 2, 2012

The Trent Durham Area of the Diocese of Toronto will welcome Sally Gaze, author of the book, Mission-Shaped and Rural, from the UK.

This insightful book looks at current issues in rural England and explores:

• the nature of mission with special reference to the rural situation;
• ways for the Church to engage with rural culture;
• examples of rural fresh expressions of church;
• identifying and pruning the things which inhibit mission in the countryside;
• how all forms of church can work together for the glory of God

Come and explore the joys and challenges of being ‘mission-shaped’ in our rural context.The workshop is for both clergy and laity.  Come and bring a parish team!

Location:  St. John’s Anglican Church, Ida, Cavan, ON. Click here for more details.

That’s about it for now! Check  our website www.freshexpressions.ca for the latest news.

Please keep us in your prayers.

God bless,

Nick

Nick Brotherwood

FXCA team leader on behalf of the FXCA team

Dave Male (photo by Michael Hudson)

We asked Dave Male:

Is it possible to wait too long?

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Length: 1 minute, 24 seconds

Watch for a new question posted each week, or view the entire interview here.

Dave Male (photo by Michael Hudson)

We asked Dave Male:

Is there hope for the future?

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Length: 2 minutes

Watch for a new question posted each week, or view the entire interview here.

Dave Male (photo by Michael Hudson)

We asked Dave Male:

What is Christian love?

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Length: 1 minute, 43 seconds

Watch for a new question posted each week, or view the entire interview here.

The Trent Durham Area of the Diocese of Toronto will welcome Sally Gaze, author of the book, Mission-Shaped and Rural, from the UK.

Sally Gaze

This insightful book looks at current issues in rural England and explores:

• the nature of mission with special reference to the rural situation;
• ways for the Church to engage with rural culture;
• examples of rural fresh expressions of church;
• identifying and pruning the things which inhibit mission in the countryside;
• how all forms of church can work together for the glory of God

Come and explore the joys and challenges of being ‘mission-shaped’ in our rural contexts. The workshop is for both clergy and laity.  Come and bring a parish team!

Location:  St. John’s Anglican Church, Ida, Cavan, ON. Click here for more details.

If you’re not tweeting yet . . . you might want to be

 Communication has always been the linchpin for the Gospel to be successfully shared.  The letters of the New Testament clearly tell us that Saint Paul would travel from town to town and from city to city to share his witness of Jesus Christ with the wider world.  Upon his departure he would promise to continue to stay in contact with each community by letter, so that their commitment to one another in Christ would continue long after he had gone.

For both the early Church and for our Church today, communication is key.

We have far more communications tools at our fingertips than ever before, but the multitude of options means we may not use any of them very well.

From Facebook to Twitter to YouTube  — and with new social media platforms emerging every day —  it is difficult to know where to start.

Two things are certain: these new forms of communication are not going away, and they are integral for a 21st Century sharing of the Gospel. Consider these statistics: Over 50% of the world’s population is under 30 years old, and over 95% of “millennials” are active on some social media platform.  Social media has overtaken pornography as the #1 activity on the internet.  One in five couples in North America meets first online, not in person.  If Facebook were a country it would be the world’s third largest, with twice the population of the United States.

Most businesses no longer ask what the return on their investment will be for investing in social media, because they realize that the return on investment will be that their business will still exist.  As Erik Qualman, author of Socialnomics says: “We don’t have a choice about whether we do social media; the question is how well we do it.”

The Church has always considered it a responsibility to go out and meet people where they are: to witness to the message of the Gospel to those who have yet to hear it.  Social media contains one of the largest and most accessible concentrations of people that the world has ever known.  Most churches would acknowledge that if a nearby area is populating quickly, it is important to establish a Christian presence in that community, and hopefully plant a church.  The online community is no different. It is the number one place where the millennial generation congregates, and it is the fastest growing population in the world.  This group, undoubtedly, contains a large number of people who either have never known Jesus, or who have been pushed away from the Church by his followers.

Some might argue that the Church will find itself left behind if it does not address this growing population by better utilizing these new methods of communication.  I believe there is a far greater failure at risk.  If the Church does not find new and innovative ways to share the Gospel with the people populating these growing online networks and communities – we will have failed to bring Christ into their lives.

From the first-century communication of the travelling evangelist Saint Paul to the social media platforms we face today, the spreading of the Gospel should never know any kind of boundary or restriction. Every single individual in a church does not need to be active in social media – we all have our reasons why we might or might not – but every church needs to have a social media strategy if we want to take seriously God’s Mission in our world.

Next Steps

Educate: Find someone in your congregation who you know is active on social media — there will be more than one. Ask the silliest of questions and don’t be afraid of the answers. Start with Facebook and then work your way to Twitter and YouTube. If you have a question that can’t be answered, Google it, chances are that someone has already asked it before. See what other churches are doing and feel free to borrow good ideas from them — there is no need to re-invent the wheel.

 Equip: Create a team or appoint an individual who will manage your social media presence. Remember that they will be the church’s online voice  — so ensure that parameters are established. Discuss what message you wish to send out into the world, ensuring that your new social media presence is not simply a way to better advertize your church, but a new way to proclaim the Gospel. Connect your churches website to your churches new Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts (after you have created them) so that your different media sources will point to one another.

 Experiment: Start tweeting, posting and sharing video clips, engaging articles, inspirational thoughts and passages of scripture as you begin to use social media as a Gospel driving platform. As you get more comfortable, engage other platforms that emerge as well (Google+, LinkedIn, etc.). This industry is incredibly fluid and will continue to change, morph and grow. There is no wrong way to do this, except to bury our heads in the sand and pretend it doesn’t exist. Proclaim the Good News of the Living God and be amazed who ends up listening.

 The Reverend David Giffen is the Pastor and Priest-in-Charge of the Church of the Transfiguration in Toronto.

april 2012 update

Hello!

Before April slides all too quickly into May, let me wish you a joyful Easter season. The reality of the risen Jesus with us always, is not easy to keep in the forefront of our minds. If you are like me, you will need frequent reminders of this reality. The apostle Paul describes this as being, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Seems like the surrounding culture is not interested in reminding us of this, so we must remind one another, as followers of Jesus, of this fact of new life. In the northern hemisphere nature provides a reminder in the form of spring. Some of you will know the song, “These foolish things (remind me of you),” where the writer list various “things” that remind him of the person he’s written the song about. I wonder, what “foolish things” remind us of Jesus, and of his risen presence with us? Anyone feel a song coming on?

    The 2011-2012 Mission Shaped Ministry course concluded March 24th, and the MSM team, led by Connie den Bok, will be reviewing the experience, and planning for the next course. We have been especially grateful to the United Church’s EDGE: for providing us with the technology which enabled the eight distance sites to participate, and especially to Joanne Rose our technican for the course. We couldn’t have done it without you!

If you are interested in finding out more about the course click here or email msm@freshexpressions.ca.

After over three years of  coordinating Vision Days for us, Sue Kalbfleisch is stepping down to devote more of her time to Messy Church Canada. Thank you so much Sue for all you have done co-ordinating and supporting many local churches who wanted to present a Vision Day! Sue has helped many people to:

• dream dreams
• ask questions
• share your story
• think about what it is to be church
• find out about fresh expressions
• discover resources
• build networks and relationships

If you would be interested in exploring the possibilities of hosting a Fresh Expressions Vision Day in your area please contact us at vision@freshexpressions.ca

RE-IMAGINING CHURCH is entering what we hope will be the final phase of development before it is unleashed! As parishes transition out of ministry in a Christendom mode of life to that of post-Christendom, the Re-Imagining course is a resource to help you engage your congregation in that conversation. It is intended as an introductory course for those who know that not everything is working in their current parish, but are not sure what it is, how they should think about it or what might be done about it. The main thrust of the course is not so much practical (although there may well be practical results) as imaginative. The purpose of the course is to re-orient our thinking, sow some new ideas and to offer some examples of what can be done. Bishop Linda Nicholls recently taught the five week course at St. John’s Church, Peterborough, ON.

News about new Messy Churches that have started…

Fredericton, NB, from Archdeacon Pat Drummond who attended the Messy Fiesta in Burlington ON last year – “The first session on March16th went really well. We had 20 participants (and some 10 helpers) which we found manageable and not overwhelming for our first effort. People were very enthusiastic and told us they hoped to bring others next time. Our theme was ‘Love God’ – the prodigal son – from Messy Church 2. We meet at the Willie O’Ree Place in the Community Room. Our next sessions are on April 13th and May 18th.”

New Hamburg, ON, Trinity Lutheran has also started their new Messy Church!

For more information about Messy Church in Canada, please contact Sue Kalbfleisch at sue.kalbfleisch@freshexpressions.ca and check out www.facebook.com/Messy ChurchCanada

Trent Durham Sally Gaze Workshop June 2, 2012

The Trent Durham Area of the Diocese of Toronto will welcome Sally Gaze, author of the book, Mission-Shaped and Rural, from the UK.

Sally Gaze

This insightful book looks at current issues in rural England and explores:

• the nature of mission with special reference to the rural situation;
• ways for the Church to engage with rural culture;
• examples of rural fresh expressions of church;
• identifying and pruning the things which inhibit mission in the countryside;
• how all forms of church can work together for the glory of God

Come and explore the joys and challenges of being ‘mission-shaped’ in our rural context.The workshop is for both clergy and laity.  Come and bring a parish team!

Location:  St. John’s Anglican Church, Ida, Cavan, ON. Click here for more details.

That’s about it for now! Check  our website www.freshexpressions.ca for the latest news.

Please keep us in your prayers.

God bless,

Nick

Nick Brotherwood

FXCA team leader on behalf of the FXCA team

Dave Male (photo by Michael Hudson)

We asked Dave Male:

How do we form community outside the church walls?

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Length: 1 minute, 27 seconds

Watch for a new question posted each week, or view the entire interview here.

Dave Male (photo by Michael Hudson)

We asked Dave Male:

How are new Christian communities formed?

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Length: 1 minute, 27 seconds

Watch for a new question posted each week, or view the entire interview here.

Hope you like it!

Dave Male (photo by Michael Hudson)

We asked Dave Male:

How soon do we start public worship…

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Length: 1 minute, 37 seconds

Watch for a new question posted each week, or view the entire interview here.

Dave Male (photo by Michael Hudson)

We asked Dave Male:

What is Church?

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Length: 1 minute, 33 seconds

Watch for a new question posted each week, or view the entire interview here.

Are you looking for a way to reach families who are not in our churches on Sundays? 

A ‘Messy Fiesta’ is a full day workshop to experience and learn about Messy Church.

Messy Church aims to create the opportunity for adults and children to enjoy expressing their creativity, sit down together to eat a meal, experience worship and have fun within a church context.

You will have an opportunity to experience what Messy Church can offer your church.  The session will allow you to experience a MC, brainstorm your own MC, gather resources, and explore the history of this innovative way of being Church in a changing world.  You will take away knowledge, skills and materials to help you get started.

Presenters: Rev. Nancy Rowe (MC Practitioner for 5 years) and Sue & Andy Kalbfleisch (MC Regional Coordinators)

Information and Registration Flyer

To find out more about Messy Church, visit the website where it all started at www.messychurch.org.uk   Look for the video!

Jared Siebert

Jared Siebert & the Seabass Travelcast  caught up with Nick Brotherwood after his Church Planting Congress workshop on “When Church Plants Fail (to meet expectations)”, to talk about the closure of the Montreal church plant emerge. Nick speaks very candidly about his experiences of disappointment and the reshaping that has taken place in this experience.

Care to comment?

Dave Male (photo by Michael Hudson)

We asked Dave Male:

We would like to start something new…

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Length: 1 minute, 30 seconds

Watch for a new question posted each week, or view the entire interview here.

You are Invited:
The 9th Annual Institute of Evangelism Dinner
with guest speaker Paster Beth Fellinger

at Wycliffe College, 5 Hoskin, Toronto

March 29, 2012

Reception 6:30pm Dinner 7:00pm

We are extremely pleased to welcome Pastor Beth Fellinger as our guest speaker for our Institute of Evangelism Dinner on Thursday March 29th. Over her 30 year ministry, Pastor Fellinger has planted churches for three denominations in urban, suburban and rural locales. Beth is currently the lead pastor at Destination Church, a new church plant with the Christian Reformed Church in St. Thomas, Ontario.

Share in Pastor Fellinger’s experiences, stories and passion for Christ:

“Benevolent People versus Benevolent Funds”
which will include an interactive exchange with Pastor Fellinger and dinner guests.

Please Join Us on March 29th!
Single ticket: $75.00 Table for eight: $600.00 Sponsor a student: $75.00
Call (416) 946-3535 ext. 2558 to reserve your ticket today.
Email: events@wycliffe.utoronto.ca - Please RSVP by March 20th, 2012.

Once a year, I write a brief report of what other things the Institute is doing, and invite folk like you to consider supporting us financially. This is that report . . . and that request!

Here then are some of the highlights of the past twelve months:

* We are continuing to develop the the Pioneer Training track within the M.Div. program at the college. This helps prepare students to create new Christian communities where previously there were none. About twenty students have taken one or more of the specialized courses so far.

* The Mission Shaped Ministry (MSM) course, which is at the heart of the Pioneer Training is just completing its second year. Fifteen students are taking it in the classroom at Wycliffe, and twenty-six clergy and laity are following it on video from sites all the way from Nova Scotia to Alberta.

 * We are delighted that Harold Percy has returned part-time to Institute staff as a coach for clergy and congregations. With the generous support of the Caritate Foundation, Harold is now working with eight or so carefully selected candidates for a period of three years. This mentorship program will help each leader tackle specific issues of congregational life, health and leadership.

* In 2010, Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury wrote: “We are called to re-shape or re-imagine the Church’s ministry for the century coming.” The Institute is now offering materials for a locally-led four or five week course suitably called Reimagining Church, to help groups who want to explore what it means to be a more missional church.

 * This past fall, at the invitation of Bishop Stephen Andrews, I visited the five deaneries of the Diocese of Algoma, which extends all the way from Huntsville to Thunder Bay, speaking to groups of clergy and laity. My presentations were in two parts, Roots: Recovering our Passion (looking freshly at the wonder of the Gospel) and Wings: Learning to Fly Again (offering churches new ways of reaching out). There was a very positive response, and parishes are now considering how to move forward in their outreach.

* Assistant Director Nick Brotherwood, in his role as Team leader for Fresh Expressions Canada, continues to speak across the country—most recently at a clergy conference in the Diocese of Qu’Appelle, the diocesan synod in Montreal, and a Vision Day in Regina—and to teach about what it means to be a missional church.

* This semester I am thankful to be on sabbatical. My main project is to edit a book of fifteen essays on different aspects of the church’s mission in Canada, provisionally entitled Mission Possible, which I hope will be published in early 2013. Our prayer is that it will help more people understand (and act on) the church’s calling to mission in these post-Christendom days.

The Vision Statement of the Institute is Every Church an Evangelizing Community. All of our efforts, in one way or another, are aimed towards that goal.

In order to maintain (and indeed extend!) this level of service, the Institute needs to raise $70,000 each year. If you enjoy good idea! or other ministries of the Institute, would you consider making a gift to our work? Your contribution, no matter how big or small, will make a difference to our work and help us build for the future.

If you are able to make a gift, please direct it to the Institute of Evangelism on the Wycliffe College giving page here. And, whether or not you can help us financially, we would be grateful for your prayers.

Thank you for your “partnership in the Gospel”!

Warmly, in Christ,

John Bowen, Institute Director