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mission shaped church

Church and its structures   where structures seem to hinder mission, it is

likely that those structures will be bypassed.

hallmarks of these `network churches'

These churches have a number of similarities and overlaps. These

similarities include:

  Identifying social gatherings and meeting points in order to develop

relationships with people within a chosen cultural network.

  The use of small groups, where a younger generation can experience

community, meaning, and significance. Many use the dynamics of 

`cell church' without the actual label.

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  Mission expressed through relational evangelism and practical acts of

service to local communities.

  Personal mentoring and mutual accountability.

A story: B1

B1 is a fresh expression of church planted with the active

cooperation of Birmingham Diocese. It is a network church,

hosted in bars and hotels in the Brindley Place and Broad

Street area of Birmingham city centre. Its focus is on non  and

de churched twenty  and thirty year olds, who are at home in

pubs and lounge bars.

B1 aims to be postmodern sensitive, with an emphasis on

community, space for questioning and use of varied

communication media. It is designed as a church where the

spiritually interested, who find church to be irrelevant or a

turn off, can easily belong at different levels, and can observe

while they work out what they believe. It worships at different

times and in different ways during the month, incorporating

aspects and insights of Seeker Services and alternative

worship.

Originally started with a core of 27 adults, it now attracts 55

adults and 23 children, and sows seeds among a much wider

fringe of interested people.

Although there are similarities, there is also considerable variety in the

models of church across the list from this chapter and of mission and

worship style.

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