The United Reformed Church

For some people, the traditional church (sometimes called the ‘inherited’ church) meets their needs, this is especially true for people who have belonged to church for many years. However, there have been dramatic changes in society over the past few decades, and lifestyles have changed, leaving little space for, and sadly, little interest in church.

Today’s Western society is dominated by consumerism, which means that people have a vast array of choice (one online supermarket offers 72 brands and 36 categories of bread), yet in many churches there is only one form of worship. Whilst we would not wish to indulge every whim, it is important for churches to recognise that society has changed, and church may need to make some changes too.

At the same time, there has been a rise in interest in ‘spirituality’, with many people claiming to be ‘spiritual, but not religious’.

If we – in the churches – are to reach out to people who are hungry for ‘spirituality’, we will need to be relevant to their way of life, which means that churches may need to try something other than their old ways of reaching out.

The Fresh Expressions website defines fresh expressions of church as: “…new forms of church that emerge within contemporary culture and engage primarily with those who don’t go to church”

No two fresh expressions of church are identical, because each ‘new form of church’ is right for its own situation, but probably wouldn’t work somewhere else; they are not off-the-shelf solutions for other churches to copy, in fact, fresh expressions of church are constantly developing and changing – morphing to suit their individual specific requirements at any given time. That said, some of the extraordinary stories of existing fresh expressions of church can inspire similar ideas (there are lots of examples under ‘resources/videos’ on the Fresh Expressions website). Each new one will need to be tailor-made to cater to its own circumstances.

Fresh expressions of church ‘emerge within contemporary culture’. By this, we mean that they often develop around something that is already going on. For instance, new types of church have emerged from coffee mornings, from special interest groups, like walking groups, knitting groups and cookery clubs, or in foodbanks, colleges, schools, gyms, workplaces – in fact anywhere that people meet. Usually they emerge when a small group of Christians decide to try to share their faith in a way that is meaningful for other people.

Fresh expressions of church are intentional about reaching and sharing faith ‘primarily with those who don’t go to church’; for people with no church background, church can seem alienating and excluding, even when the members are doing their best to be welcoming. Sadly, if someone from outside of church wants to explore faith and spirituality, they can find it difficult to connect with a traditional church.

Although fresh expressions of church can appear to be very different, they all share a set of values, which are explained as follows:

Missional: they share the love of Jesus by behaving as Jesus did – loving and serving in the neighbourhood, outside of the church environment

Contextual: they are always adapted for and adapting to their situation.

Formational: their priority is to form disciples, by journeying with people and helping them to understand and become more like Jesus

Ecclesial: they are intentional about forming some form of church.

When you think about it, these are the values should apply to all expressions of church, and the Fresh Expressions movement encourages all churches to move towards behaving according to these values.

In 2010 the United Reformed Church adopted a ten-year strategic framework for mission called vision2020. Its aim is to encourage and support mission planning at every level of the Church: local, synod and Assembly. Vision2020 includes ten priorities for mission and these are offered to local churches to help them identify one or two mission priorities which are particularly relevant to their context. Once priorities are set, churches can make a mission plan.

Vision2020 also aims to make sure that the Church’s resources for mission are used most effectively. Therefore churches that have identified their mission priorities and made their mission plan using vision2020 are asked to share those with their synod and with the mission team at Church House. This will help synods and Church House to plan how best to support and resource local churches in their mission.

Vision2020 resources
For full information about how vision2020 works click here (link to vision2020 information leaflet: A4size   A5size)
You will find the ten vision2020 priorities here 
Vision2020 report to General Assembly 2010

Resources for mission planning
If you are planning for mission and want to share your plan with your synod and the Church House mission team, you can download a form here. 

Grants for mission
To support mission in local communities, vision2020 grants are available. For more details and an application form, click here. 

Group resources for mission
We have developed a vision2020 study guide. This is a useful small group resource in nine sections offering opportunities for bible study, proayer and reflections on mission in its many aspects. To download the study guide click here.