A Case Study:
Fresh expressions of Church
& Pioneer Development Workers
“As the Father has sent me, so I
send you.” John 20.21
1m people
300k in diverse city
5 uni/market towns
lots of very rural
313 church buildings
30 larger (100+) worshipping communities
225 smaller ones (less than 50 worshippers)
50 worshipping communities of less than 10
Changing the landscape…
Lincoln 2010
‘You called, You shouted,
You broke through my deafness,
You flared, blazed and
banished my blindness,
Your lavished Your fragrance
and I gasped…’
Augustine of Hippo (354-430), Confessions X.27
The calling…
1.
As many mature, growing fresh expressions of Church in 2030 as
inherited/continuing ones;
2.
The vast majority (98%) led in the first instance by teams of licensed
Pioneers (most lay, volunteers) with a detailed package of support,
accountability, training and development (with hopefully some
growing into being paid and/or being called to ordination);
3.
Nearly all diocesan ‘fresh expressions of Church’ resources going into
supporting these licensed Pioneers.
A calling linked more to anecdote than evidence
...but a new equation was being formulated….
( )
+
=
1400
1200
People:
Sent to Now
1000
800
Adults
600
Children
400
200
0
Sent
Sent
Now
Ratio
Adults
503
1229
2.4
Children
140
586
4.2
TOTALS
643
1815
2.8
Now
Who was the Mission Task to reach?
60%
50%
40%
Aim
30%
Result
20%
10%
0%
Christian
Note: the team sent out make up a
majority of the Christians present
De-Churched
Non-Churched
The weight of discernment…
At same time as national Strategic
Development Funding comes on stream
The gifts of God…
1. Discerning, enabling, training,
accompanying and coaching lay
volunteer teams of licensed
Pioneers
2. Grounded in a particular fresh
expression of Church (a day a
week-ish)
Mads
Morgan
Jonathan
Dowman
Matt
Pitt
3. Each taking the lead in one
specialism:
 Jonathan - learning & teaching
 Mads - developing practice
 Matt - research
Output/outcome
Growing number of
active and maturing fresh
expressions of Church
Growing number of
licensed Pioneers
Growing number of
members of fresh
expressions of Church
Growing levels of
engagement with nonand de-Churched people
As of Spring 2014
Target Autumn 2019
Target 2030
65 (estimate)
180
320
15
250-350
640
1,858 people
(slightly out of date)
7,000 people
15,000 people
500 people Churched;
700 x De-Churched;
650 x Non-Churched
1,500 x Churched
2,000 x De-Churched
3,500 x Non-Churched
3,000 x Churched
4,000 x De-Churched
8,000 x Non-Churched
Generating a greater learning culture; growing levels of positive systemic change and greater inclination
towards risk taking, talking about failure and missional enterprise
(targets and measures being developed in January using the Transformational Index tool)
Increasing amounts of
financial giving by fresh
expressions of Church
into the Parish Gift
scheme
Negligible directly, some
indirectly (through their
‘host’ parish)
Enough (direct and
indirectly) to fund an
Archdeacon for Pioneers,
or equivalent role
Enough (direct and
indirectly) to fund all
necessary oversight,
development, support
and training roles in their
own right
A range of qualitative, quantatative and holistic measures are used in measurement.
2019 mid way points based on ‘The Diffusion of Innovations’ by Everett Rogers
“People say, ‘what is the sense in our small
effort?’ They cannot see that we must lay
one brick at a time. A pebble cast into a
pond causes ripples that spread in all
directions. No one has the right to sit
down and feel hopeless.” Dorothy Day
A Case Study:
Fresh expressions of Church
& Pioneer Development Workers