Learn more about Fresh Expressions
Read part 1 of this article series: Church for the spiritual, but not religious
Read part 2 of this article series: How to start a fresh expression (the healthy way)
In the Gospels, we see that discipleship occurs in the context of intimate community. The disciples follow Jesus closely—they hear his teachings, ask clarifying questions, see how he ministers to others, receive his love and attention, observe him as he navigates conflict, and absorb his values and priorities.
Jesus certainly spoke to crowds, but he spent most of his time in the Gospels in intimate community. Traditional forms of church, on the other hand, have long prioritized time and resources on everything but intimate community. Whether it’s sermon and worship preparation, administrative tasks, property management, committee meetings or one-on-one pastoral care, cultivating intimate community is far too often an afterthought in ministry.
From art to food, community multiplies: A Fresh Expressions story
Jaidymar Smith started Creciendo Juntas (Growing Together) as a lay leader at her church in the small town of Ramseur, North Carolina. Smith moved from Puerto Rico to North Carolina years earlier and this experience brought loneliness caused by culture shock and missing her friends and family.
After meeting immigrant women in her community who were also experiencing loneliness, Smith decided to create a gathering that brought women together to experience spiritual community.
Smith is an artist and experiences a connection with God when she creates art based on a Scripture passage. She invited local women to join her. The gathering began in her home, and then moved to a church building when it outgrew her space.
She offers a glimpse into a recent gathering, saying, “Together, we pray and study scripture. Our devotional always goes along with the craft or art we will work on during the day. For example, during our last Creciendo Juntas, one of the members talked about the gardens in Scripture, and what happened at each of them (new life, relationship, pain, etc.) and compared that to the garden of our life. She then taught us to do a macrame plant hanger, and we created a small ‘garden’ in a glass container to go in it.”
Creciendo Juntas gatherings are intergenerational, multicultural and bilingual, with help from Smith, who translates conversations between the ladies to help overcome language barriers. The women are growing closer together and closer to God as they share in the spiritual practice of creativity. Smith is now a local pastor and is pursuing her Master of Divinity degree at Duke Divinity School.
Creciendo Juntas generated another gathering: While the women create art, some of the husbands go out to eat together and have intentional conversations. They call this group Provar y Ver (Taste and See).
Fresh expressions mimic the strategy of Jesus
Fresh expressions believe that discipleship works best in the context of intimate community. We are learning why this shift in strategy is essential as we seek to make disciples in an age of institutional distrust.
A recent study by Future of Faith reports, “Among teenagers, 67% report they grow spiritually when someone listens to them share their beliefs without judgment, as opposed to 33% who feel the same about hearing a sermon. Adults show similar results, with 66% highlighting genuine listening over top-down teaching.”
If we want to help our neighbors grow spiritually, we must prioritize our time and resources differently.
Fresh expressions discipleship is incredibly simple. A group of 5-15 people gather regularly to open Scripture, share what they hear the Holy Spirit saying, listen to one another, and as a group discern what that Scripture means for their lives as individuals and as a spiritual community.
It doesn’t take a clergy person to lead it. It takes a few faithful Christians who are good listeners, who know how to ask good questions, and who know how to cultivate a community of belonging.
Multiplying Discipleship
As disciples of Jesus grow in grace, we are called to invest in others’ discipleship. One way this happens in fresh expressions is when members of a fresh expression go out and start their own gathering. A fresh expression leader might apprentice a member of their group in whom they see leadership abilities, or a church might offer a training for church members interested in starting a fresh expression.
With intimate community central in the discipleship strategy, fresh expressions are not meant to grow larger and larger, but rather to grow by multiplying.
Luke Edwards is the author of Becoming Church: A Trail Guide for Starting Fresh Expressions. He is a United Methodist Elder and the Associate Director of Church Development for the Western North Carolina Conference. His newsletter on listening as a spiritual practice is called The Listening Church.