Four years is a long time. That’s the last time our brothers and sisters in the Western Region Conference (WRC) were able to gather in person for their bi-annual conference. While the conference was able to hold a zoom meeting in 2021, they hadn’t held a face-to-face conference in session since 2019, and 2019 seems like a long time ago.
As a result of the long hiatus, their most recent gathering on September 8th and 9th in Eufaula, Oklahoma was a particularly sweet time of reconnection and encouragement. The brothers and sisters of the Eufaula First Church of God were gracious hosts as they welcomed their brothers and sisters from Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri.
On Friday, September 8th the region welcomed pastor Matt Lake to help their leaders explore the potential fresh expressions of church. Matt serves as a mission strategist and trainer with Fresh Expressions (www.freshexpressions.com). In addition, Matt also serves as the Lead Pastor of the First Church of Williamsport, PA (https://firstchurch.cc/)—an urban congregation that consists of a mix of traditional and contemporary worship experiences. First Church also currently hosts a network of fresh expressions of ministry called the Acts Network in which people meet in places such as homes, gyms, and coffee shops.
The WRC dedicated the bulk of their time together on Friday for training and equipping of the leaders who gather from WRC congregations. Matt Lake presented three sessions dealing with the Why, the What and the How of fresh expressions. He shared deeply from his own story and experience at First Church. A key moment in Matt’s ministry was when his church began to ask “what it would look like to reach 100 people in ten groups of ten people instead of trying to reach 100 people in one location at the same time?” As a result of their desire to see more people in their community become disciples of Jesus, the congregation has developed a network of fresh expressions of ministry to reach the people whom they were not formerly reaching.
A fresh expression is a form of church for our changing culture established primarily for the benefit of people who are not yet members of any church. There are probably people in your community who aren’t being reached by any church or group of believers and who are unlikely to engage in the prevailing modes of church – Sunday morning worship gatherings. What would it look like for your congregation to engage such folks? What are the potential third spaces (not home or work/school) where people already gather and how could your congregation engage such spaces? How could your congregation build bridges to people who are unlikely to wander into your weekly worship service?
Matt Lake brought a lot of helpful and practical insight into what churches can do to engage the unreached people in their communities. The final session dealing with how to develop a fresh expression of church focused on the importance of listening to the Spirit as well as listening to the community and those you’re trying to reach.
Perhaps the most beautiful aspect of fresh expressions is the opportunity it gives existing congregations to experiment and innovate without completely altering the current rhythms and practices of the church. What would it look like for your congregation to pilot an expression to help reach the hospitality workers in your area that always work weekends?
I was so encouraged by both the training and the engagement of our brothers and sisters in the Western Region Conference. It was a rich time of training, equipping and reconnecting. I prayerfully expect some great stories of fresh expressions and transformed lives at the next conference gathering in Moore, Oklahoma in 2025.
Christ’s Peace,
Lance
Did you know that the Churches of God, General Conference and Fresh Expressions are partnered together for ministry? You can read all about our partnership here.
If you or your church is interested in hearing about or starting a Fresh Expression, we are happy to walk along side you. Get in contact with us by phone or email at the bottom of the page.
CGGC eNews—Vol. 27, No. 38
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