It’s always a risk running a conference at the beginning of February. Will there be a snowstorm? (There was.) Will people come? (They did.) How long will it take them to get home again? (That varied. The longest reported so far was forty-eight hours from Edmonton to Montreal.)

Toronto, January 31^st –February 2nd

In Toronto, some 200 people showed up for the seventh annual Vital Church Planting conference, co-sponsored by the Diocese of Toronto and the Wycliffe College Institute of Evangelism. Some came from as far away as Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario, and seven or eight denominations were represented.

One draw was undoubtedly the plenary speaker, Bishop Graham Cray, who is currently the Archbishops’ Missioner and Team Leader for Fresh Expressions UK. Graham was also the chair of the committee that wrote the ground-breaking Mission Shaped Church report, back in 2004.

The theme of the conference was “Dying to Live: Disciple Making and New Christian Communities.” Graham argued that the main motivation for starting new Christian communities is not to put more “bums in pews” or to prop up failing budgets, but to give more people the opportunity to become disciples of Jesus Christ in his work of redeeming the world. He challenged us with the question: “Who will not be reached with the Good News if we just keep doing what we are doing now?”

Workshops explored different ways that discipleship can be encouraged, all the way from children’s ministry to preaching and teaching, and to small group ministry. Bishops, diocesan executives, and leaders of other denominations had their own track of workshops, led by Bishops Linda Nicholls and Graham Cray, to discuss issues of putting discipleship into the DNA at the heart of our church structures.

On the Saturday of the conference, sixty new people (mainly laity) joined the conference for an intense day of learning. After an introductory talk from Graham, folk went into a series of three workshops, with a break for a bag lunch, and then ended the day with worship and a closing charge from Graham.

A number of those who have been to previous VCP conferences said this was the best so far, and I tend to agree.

Edmonton, February 5^th – 7^th

After the Toronto conference, Graham and Jacky Cray, Nick Brotherwood (of Fresh Expressions Canada) and I flew on to Edmonton for their Vital Church Conference. Here there were three plenary speakers: Bishop Graham, James Penner (an expert on Canadian youth culture and spirituality), and Terry LeBlanc (an Aboriginal Christian leader).

Although at first there seemed to be few connections between the three topics, by the end it became clear that the thread connecting them was the importance of relating church to different cultures, and not seeking to impose a form of church that is alien—whether on young people, First Nations, or other groups presently uninvolved in church.

For many of us, the highlight of the conference was the panel discussion, chaired by Nick Brotherwood, on the final day, when the three speakers got to interact—often humorously—with one another over these issues.

About seventy-five people attended the conference—the third such, co-sponsored by the Diocese of Edmonton and the Wycliffe Institute.

Archbishop Rowan Williams coined the phrase some years ago, “the mixed economy.” By that, he meant that the church in these post-Christendom days needs to pursue God’s mission along two fronts: the revitalization of existing churches, and the planting of new Christian communities. These conferences helped move both agendas forward. The only question now is what we will do with what we have learned.

If you subscribe via RSS to this site, from now on you will only receive Institute of Evangelism updates, unless you also subscribe to the following dedicated feed:

http://www.freshexpressions.ca/feed/

Both courses will take participants on a learning journey as part of a supportive community, training them for ministry in fresh expressions of church.

To find out more about either the classroom course or MSM online! email msm@freshexpressions.ca

Keep visiting the Fresh Expressions Canada website for news on the upcoming MSM online course or email us at msm@freshexpressions.ca

Congratulations are due to Wycliffe College Institute of Evangelism Director, John Bowen

The annual Canadian Christian Writing Awards, sponsored by The Word Guild, celebrate the best in Canadian writing in periodicals, anthologies, and books by authors who write from a Christian worldview.

These awards have been given since 1988, when they were known as The God Uses Ink Awards. This year, 360 entries were received for 35 different categories, from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Submissions from Canadians living in the United States and Uganda were also entered. Nice job John!

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

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.

Carla Blakley

 One of the most interesting exercises was a series of group discussions to develop a character based on a drawing of a person.  Group members then discussed what such a person’s needs might be, how the Christian community might be involved in responding to those needs and whether the character envisioned might be comfortable in our churches.

 One of the local initiatives looked at was the successful Pub Church started by St. James the Apostle Anglican Church in Regina.  One of the lessons learned by St. James was that success doesn’t always look the way you expect it to look.  Although Pub Church has attracted several regulars and semi-regulars who don’t usually attend church, they mostly don’t fit the 20 to 40 demographic that planners had assumed was the target.

 The day ended with a blessing from Bishop Greg Kerr-Wilson of the Anglican Diocese of Qu’Appelle, the sponsor of the event.

And despite an incoming storm, everyone made it home safely!

Malcolm French

“Fresh expressions are here to stay – for two reasons.”

Continue reading Graham’s article here.

Read the complete article here.

Two articles appearing in the online Anglican Journal tell of some of the highlights:

Stay in the slipstream of God
…and steer clear of the “pimp my church” trap

By Diana Swift
Staff writer

At the 2012 Vital Church Planting conference in Toronto, the U.K.’s Rev. David Male imagined the future by suggesting that all those committed to expanding the mission-shaped church should “keep in the slipstream of God.” read more

Church planting 101: know your demographics

By Diana Swift                                                                                                                               Staff writer

If you would be fishers of men, then first you must be dredgers of data—demographic data. That was the message sent by the Rev. Ryan Sim in a workshop on the importance of missional listening at The Missional Roadmap, the recent Vital Church Planting conference in Toronto. Read more

Other stories from the Vital Church Planting Conference: here

Watch video report here.

Vision Day in New Brunswick…

All are welcome to the Vision Day at the St. John the Evangelist Parish Centre, 75 Main St., Fredericton, NB on Saturday November 26, 2011 from 9:15am to 3:00pm

Presenters:  The Rev. Nick Brotherwood and Archdeacon David Edwards, Parish Development Officer of the Diocese of Fredericton.

Cost: $10.00 each (includes lunch).

Register On-line here

Diane Walker, United Church of Canada pastor, Niagara

“The MSM course was a great place to renew vision, dream, plan and strategize and refocus what church could look like. I would highly recommend this course for individuals and teams who have a heart for mission and their world.”

Beth Fellinger, Christian Reformed church planter, St. Thomas, Ontario

“Taking the MSM course has given my colleague and me knowledge, confidence and encouragement to start a fresh expression of ministry.”

Jonathon Connell, Anglican priest, Edmonton, Alberta

“In my experience MSM is one of those all too rare spaces where leaders can explore the “How to’s and how not to’s” of birthing fresh expressions of church, develop a renewed sense of their own authentic evangelism in a setting aware of the range of theological traditions in the mainstream church, connect their learning with hands-on-experience, develop supportive networks of the growing company of those responding to this new call and ground all of it in the Trinitarian God who fuels our mission.”

Rob Dalgleish, United Church of Canada, Toronto

“Another student from last year’s class and I started up a fresh expression during last year’s course, and we are continuing it this year, as we are just starting to reach some unchurched and dechurched people. MSM will have been a very central course among my theological degrees in terms of the effect it will have had on my understanding of what ministry is, what the priesthood is, and what being a follower of Jesus of Nazareth really is.”

Jeff Stone, Night Church, Toronto

“The MSM course enabled us to move beyond just being passionate about the possibility of a plant.  We learned of successes and  failures; we met church planters and made connections across denominational lines. It was a blessing to witness all that God is doing in the Church and to the possibilities that lie ahead.”

Beverley and Graham Williams, Anglican priest and layperson, Brooklyn, Ontario

“I found the MSM course incredibly helpful.  It helped me clarify my own role in the church planting process and gave me a range of insights that I was able to adapt to my own context.  It also gave us the tools to evaluate what we were doing in order to iron out those things that would have limited the projects we were involved in.  As somebody who has been involved in church planting in three countries I would suggest that this is a great learning opportunity for those who as seasoned ministers as much as it is for those exploring new forms of ministry and church planting for the first time.”  

Simon Bell, Anglican priest, St George the Martyr, Toronto,

“MSM is a course that both inspires and encourages fresh ways of bringing the Gospel to the world by equipping and encouraging the saints in doing creative Kingdom work. I loved the course.”

Paul Ranson, Anglican priest, St. John, New Brunswick

“I enrolled in the Mission Shaped Ministry course because I am interested in different and creative ways of sharing the Gospel. Taking the MSM course has given me (and my colleague) knowledge, confidence and encouragement to start a fresh expression of ministry.”

Jon Dykeman, Anglican, St. John, New Brunswick

“There are no gimmicks or sexy solutions here only humble and prayerful inquiry into the “sent-ness” of the church and what this means for our life together to the glory of God.  I now feel better equipped and hopeful for the task that lies ahead.” 

Jonathan Turtle, Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, Toronto

“MSM was an excellent experience. It brought together people who were involved in missional churches to tell us about their experiences. It was real and it was practical.”

Arthur Dyck, Anglican, Edmonton.

“I would highly recommend the MSM course for anyone who wishes to engage with fellow Christians in what God is trying to birth in our Western 21st-century church and society. It provides helpful cultural analysis, solid exploration of our biblical/theological roots, a serious engagement of what mission means today, practical suggestions from church planting practitioners as well as a wonderful opportunity to share and discern together how the Holy Spirit is calling us to embody the gospel today. Regardless of your role in the church – pastor, layperson, church planter – there’s a banquet of material and ideas in this course. I commend Wycliffe College for offering this to the wider church.”

John Lawson, United Church church planter, Guelph

“Toronto Mission Shaped Ministry course is definite must for your fall “to do” list. The dynamic mix of teaching, excellent guest speakers, interesting group conversation, video clips and prayer opened my mind to many new ideas.”

Ann Krueger,  Lutheran pastor, Barrie, Ontario

“I learned strategies about how to deal with the baggage of the dechurched and moreover how to make Church relevant for a world that is essentially unchurched. I found the required readings were also pertinent and thought provoking. Having a team in place to share the work of a new church plant is vital and I wish the rest of the team I belonged to could have shared the course with me and preferably before we had started our project!”

Barbara Jenkins – Anglican layperson, Toronto

For details of this year’s course, including dates and costs, click here.  

So how do you begin a new Christian community where none exists at present and where there is little or no “Christian memory” to help it get jump-started in the community?  After all, it is no longer the case that “If you build it, they will come.”

These days, in order to begin a new Christian community these days, you need to start much “further back” than was the case fifty years ago. But what does “further back” mean?

The process often seems to happen like this:

(a)    Try to discern what God is doing in your community: look, listen, pray

(b)   Build relationships, meet whatever needs you can

(c)    Encourage natural, relational evangelism

(d)   Offer discussion groups or Bible studies or Christianity 101 for those who are interested

(e)    As people come to faith and are baptized, start a Eucharistic community.

This is not a formal “system” (these things by their nature resist systematization) and events do not usually unfold as neatly as this implies.

But this outline does show that a process is involved, and that growth from tiny beginnings into a mature church takes time—maybe several years. It’s like human growth: embryos can’t do most of the things that mature adults can do. However, unless a human being goes through the embryo stage, they will never become a mature adult. For that reason, nobody criticizes an embryo for not being on facebook.

But how do we learn in practice to do this new, post-Christendom kind of church planting? This September, Wycliffe College in Toronto is for the second time offering the course, Mission Shaped Ministry. Here’s the basic information:

1.      What is this course?

 Mission Shaped Ministry (MSM) is an eight-month (September to April) ministry-based, practical orientation to church planting and fresh expressions of church. It is adapted for Canada from the materials developed by Fresh Expressions UK.

2.      Who is it for?

MSM is primarily for teams (ideally, lay and ordained together) who are thinking and praying about the possibility of pioneering a fresh expression of church, as well as for those who are already involved in one. Over the eight months, the course will enable you to take practical steps forward towards the realization and growth of that vision.

The course is also suitable for senior church leaders (equippers and encouragers—“permission givers”) who can check it out, and then encourage others to take the course and to become involved in pioneering ministries.

3.      The teaching

Connie denBok

The lead teacher is the Rev Dr. Connie denBok. Connie is a pastor in the United Church of Canada, has herself planted three churches, and is an outstanding teacher who taught Mission-Shaped Ministry last year. Connie has an extensive network of church planting friends in different denominations and of varying ethnicities, who will be helping with the course at different points.

  4.      The dates

The course runs from September till April. The schedule involves nine Thursdays (7.00-9.00) and two Saturdays (9.30-4.30) at Wycliffe College, and a residential weekend to be held at the Mount St Mary retreat centre in Ancaster, outside Hamilton, ON. The exact dates for the coming year are these:

Saturday Sept. 17

Thursday evening Sept. 29

Thursday evening Oct. 13

Thursday evening Nov. 3

Thursday evening Nov. 17

Thursday evening Dec. 1

Thursday evening Jan. 12

Weekend of January 27-29 (not January 20-22, as previously posted)

Thursday evening Feb. 16

Thursday evening Mar. 1

Thursday evening Mar. 15

Saturday Mar. 24

5.      Distance learning

The first time we ran MSM we had groups of distance learners from points as far apart as Edmonton, Fredericton and Barbados! So you will be glad to know it is perfectly possible for a team or group to participate from a distance.

The way it will work is this: Each classroom session will be videoed and (within a couple of days) uploaded to a website. You will then be able to download the session and watch it at a time to suit yourselves at any point during the following week. Then, one week after each classroom session, Connie or another member of the MSM Canada team will be available for live interaction by phone, to discuss the content and to answer questions.

Important proviso: As you will see from the schedule above, a residential weekend is part of the course. If you are within driving distance of Toronto, we will expect you to attend the weekend in person. If distance makes this impossible, we will figure out with you the most worthwhile way for you to access the content of the weekend.

6.      Cost

For those attending the classes live at Wycliffe College, the cost is $295 for the eight months. The cost of the residential weekend is a further $200.

Since MSM works best with teams, we will be offering a special rate of $245 for each person who comes as a member of a team, a saving of almost 20% over the normal rate! (The residential weekend, of course, still costs $200.)

For those watching the classes on video from a distance, the cost for the whole course is $195.

If you attended the course last year, and are returning this year with a team, you can take the course for free! Please indicate this on the registration form.

7.      Registration

The registration form with details of how to pay, can be found here.

8.      What if I am a student at TST?

(TST is the Toronto School of Theology and comprises seven federated seminaries—Wycliffe, Trinity, Emmanuel, Knox, Regis, St Michael’s and St. Augustine’s.)

It is possible to take this course for credit towards your Master’s degree. See information, see the TST website here or contact me, John Bowen, at john.bowen@utoronto.ca for further information.

John Bowen

Steven Croft

who will be a speaker who will be a speaker at both Vital Church Planting West & Easy conferences this May.

Fresh Expressions Canada is delighted to see that our leaders recognise this need as being the major issue that faces us, and is committed to doing all it can to see the church become more Jesus-centred and mission-shaped.

Steven Croft

Vital Church Planting 2011 East takes place in Toronto, ON, May 31-June 2

Watch short promotional video here.

Website for both conferences here

Bishop Steven Croft will be the main speaker at both VCP 2011 East & West .

“One of the most common misunderstandings about fresh expressions is the belief that they are new types of worship service. It is an understandable mistake as worship lies at the heart of the life of the church, and fresh expressions are new congregations or churches, (not rebranded or experimental church services). There is also an honourable stream within, and pre-dating, the Fresh Expressions initiative, called ‘alternative worship’. However, our recommendation is that the shaping of an act of worship normally lies near the end, rather than at the beginning, of the planting process.

There are a number of reasons for this. Ideally fresh expressions are planted following a process of prayerful listening, and making relationships through acts of service. But if the initial point of contact is a worship event it can only be one which it is hoped the relevant people will like, rather than one which they are involved in shaping, or which we can shape for them with greater care, because we know them. There is also a danger of self indulgence, of creating an event which suits us, or which relieves the frustrations we have with the worship in our own church. ‘I like it so they will as well’ is not the way to plant. What Mission-shaped Church called ‘dying to live’ challenges us to sacrifice our preferences for the sake of what is appropriate for others. Finally it is likely that the result will be an event to attend rather than a church community to which to belong. If there is no intention to form a new congregation, it is not a fresh expression ‘of church’.

To begin with worship may be feasible for the de-churched, who retain a memory of what church was like (up to the point they decided to leave!), but it is less likely to be appropriate for the largest part of our adult mission field, those who have never been involved before. For many worship is culturally strange. They don’t have the toolkit for worship. They don’t know the Biblical story. They only community sing at football matches and they don’t understand our vocabulary. With them we have to start much further back.

Of course, if a fresh expression is planted by transitioning an existing piece of work in the community, then the listening, serving, community forming and witnessing have probably already taken place. In which case you are not starting with worship, but introducing it at the right time. A culturally appropriate, recognisably Christian practice of worship, including baptism and holy communion, is the aim for all fresh expressions that hope to endure, but mostly it is a later development, not the starting point.

+Graham Cray”

team leader Fresh Expressions from expressions June 2010

Courtesy of General Synod

By Trina Gallop

June 08, 2010 -

Brian Bukowski / General Synod Communications

Canon Nick Brotherwood

The landscape of the church is changing and we are faced with a culture that has, “less knowledge of the faith,” with each successive generation. Through a dynamic presentation full of startling statistics to General Synod 2010 on Monday, June 7, members were encouraged to consider new approaches to the environments they minister in.

Read more and Discuss…