roots and wings - presbyterian church in canada...2014/11/22 · roots and wings being church in...
TRANSCRIPT
Presbytery of Ottawa 22/11/2014
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Roots and WingsBeing Church in the 21st Century
Part 3: Wings—Daring to Leave the Nest
John BowenWycliffe College
Ottawa, November 22, 2014
Come!
Go!
Go! a definition
• A fresh expression of church is“the attempt to go to wherepeople are, listen carefully tothe context, and through serviceform new communities of faithwhich have the potential togrow into church in their ownright.”
Steve Croft 2007
Presbytery of Ottawa 22/11/2014
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Prayer
Connection & support
LovingService
Evangelism& Disciple-
Making
FormingCommunity
EvolvingWorship
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Listening &followingGod’s call
The Missional Journey
Can take two years . . .
A fresh expression of church is . . .
. . . the attempt to go to where peopleare, listen carefully to the context andthrough service form new communities offaith which have the potential to growinto church in their own right.
Steve Croft, 2007 6
www.somewhere-else.org.uk/
Church on TapPort Colbourne
Presbytery of Ottawa 22/11/2014
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Good God @ The Bad Dog presents:
The God QuestionsAt a recent Locke Street Festival, passers-by were invited towrite on a flip chart their “Questions for God.”Some of those questions were:
“Why are you such a jerk?”“Do you ever get mad? Do you ever cry?”“What is the point of life? Really!”“Where do we go when we die?”“How many fingers am I holding up?”
If you have ever asked that kind of question (well, OK, maybenot that last one), you will be interested in Good God @ TheBad Dog, a series of free-flowing discussions about The GodQuestions over coffee and snacks at your favourite coffeeshop, the Bad Dog Café at 229 Locke Street.
When? Four Thursday nights in May—7th, 14th, 21st, 28th—from 7.30 till 9 pm.
Good God @ the Bad Dog is sponsored bySt. John the Evangelist Anglican Church
(at Locke and Charlton).
Presbytery of Ottawa 22/11/2014
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fresh expressions in the Church of England 13 fresh expressions in the Church of England 14
fresh expressions in the Church of England 15
Where do we begin?
1. Prayer for the impact of the Gospel in yourneighbourhood
2. Budget for local outreach3. 360 Listening
• Find out what gifts and interests yourcongregation have outside the church
• Talk to people in your neighbourhood• Do a survey of the neighbourhood• Talk to other local churches
Presbytery of Ottawa 22/11/2014
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Some resources
* Reimagining Church—a 5 weekdown-loadable course
* Mission Shaped Ministry—an 8 monthcourse for teams
* Details of both at: www.freshexpressions.ca/coursesSign up for the monthly newsletter!
* Green Shoots out of Dry Ground: Growing a New Futurefor the Church in Canada (Wipf & Stock 2013)
* Vital Church Planting conference, Toronto: Jan 29-31, 2015www.vitalchurchplanting.ca
Discussion questions• What struck you in the talk, either positive
or negative?• What first step might your congregation
take towards starting a fresh expression ofchurch?
• What obstacles might your congregationencounter?
We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. Welook at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everythingcreated. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below,visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything started in him and finds its purpose in him. He wasthere before any of it came unto existence and holds it alltogether right up to this moment. And when it comes to thechurch, he organizes and holds it together as a head does a body.He was supreme in the beginning, and, leading the resurrectionparade, he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’sthere, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he,so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in himwithout crowding. Not only that, but all the broken pieces of theuniverse—people and things, animals and atoms—get properlyfixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of hisdeath, his blood that poured down from the cross.
Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, chapter 1, The Message
• The question is not, How can thechurch survive?
• The question is, How can we betrue to the Gospel and God’scalling?