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mission shaped church

with a context. However, the phrase may invite the existing church to

play for time and wait and see what happens, rather than face the

urgency of the mission task.

The phrase fresh expressions of church is used in this report. The Preface 

to the Declaration of Assent, which Church of England ministers make at

their licensing, states `The Church of England . . . professes the faith uniquely

revealed in the Holy Scriptures and set forth in the catholic creeds, which

faith the Church is called upon to proclaim afresh in each generation.' The

term `fresh expressions' echoes these words. It suggests something new 

or enlivened is happening, but also suggests connection to history and the

developing story of God's work in the Church. The phrase also embraces two

realities: existing churches that are seeking to renew or redirect what they

already have, and others who are intentionally sending out planting groups to 

discover what will emerge when the gospel is immersed in the mission context.

The weakness of the phrase `fresh expressions' is that it does not easily

differentiate between the two realities mentioned above   those who are

discovering new life within (which overflows in mission), and those who

deliberately go out to immerse church and gospel elsewhere. For this

reason this report speaks about both `planting' and `expressions', and

commends this vocabulary. Both planting and fresh expressions of church

can arise out of similar motivation and experiences, and both can overlap 

in what they seek to achieve. They are different but connected realities, 

and the Church needs both.

why are church planting and fresh 

expressions of church important?

Church planting and fresh expressions of church offer important ways

forward in mission, both pragmatically and theologically.

being faithful to the Anglican tradition

kingdom is at the core

All churches and denominations are called to be signs of the kingdom of

God. Lesslie Newbigin argues they are signs and first fruits, but not to be

seen as agents of the kingdom, for that is one role of the Spirit.

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No one

denomination, nor a strand within it, will be sufficient to respond to the 

call, to provide all the signs, or meet all the needs. The old and new

expressions of church and the resources found in them all are needed.

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