Alan McWilliam is a Church Planter with 16 years experience. Passionate about football, Alan has just been released by his denomination to develop Lion Rampant – a missional outreach into the football supporters' base in Glasgow. Alan has been involved in developing the Invest course in Scotland enabling 22 students in the last 5 years to go on to plant 8 new churches or missional outreaches.
Alicia Baker spent six months on a placement with the Fresh Expressions team during her curacy, extending her experience and knowledge. Her present role includes being deanery mission enabler. She hope to encourage others to step out of their own expectations and to be church in a way that communicates the whole of the gospel.
Allan Vint is committed to Christian service and to mission in and through local churches and local Christians. He was ordained in 1989 and served as a parish minister for almost 20 years before taking on the role of Mission Development Officer with the Dunfermline Presbytery of the Church of Scotland. As a research student looking at patterns of healthy church, he has a natural interest in the kinds of materials and thinking involved in fresh expressions of church.
Andrea Percy is part of the UK team for the 24-7 Prayer movement, which relates people to spirituality through establishing prayer rooms and communities. She's also part of the Reconcile Community in Reading which is a small prayerful community with a focus on the marginalised. Over the last two years she's helped to represent 24-7 Prayer on the Fresh Expressions team and on a working group focusing on young people and young adults. She's about to embark on training to be a Pioneer Minister and she's hoping to express her commitment and experience to the excluded and the marginalised through being ordained.
Andrew Pakes has been a Methodist minister since 1985. In October 2000, he began to develop an emerging congregation, called 3six5, alongside ministering in a traditional setting. In September 2004 became a ‘minister without appointment’ in order to concentrate on emerging congregation.
Bart Woodhouse is a Methodist church planter, working in a new housing area in north Dartford. He is currently finishing a PhD in Biblical Studies which focuses on postmodern patterns of reading.
Ben Edson works for Manchester Diocese as the Fresh Expressions Missioner. Ben previously established Sanctus1, a Fresh Expression of Church in Manchester City Centre which he led for eight years before handing it over to a new minister. During that time he was also involved with establishing Nexus Art Cafe, within which he developed the arts programme. He co-ordinates worship for Greenbelt Arts Festival, is a contributor to a number of books and blogs regularly.
Ben Norton has been an Ordained Pioneer Minister since 2007. He is based in the North East and has pioneered three different fresh expressions communities over ten years. He has studied fresh expressions of church and pioneer ministry to MA level, researching the historical, missiological and ecclesiological implications of starting a fresh expression of church.
Bob Franklyn worked for the Fresh Expressions Core Team from October 2006 to January 2010 looking after mission shaped intro and international development. Bob is a Congregationalist from New Zealand who worked nationally as the Mission Network Enabler for the Congregational Federation developing the mission networks throughout the regional areas in the UK. Living in Lincoln, he spent five years as a Mission Enabler in New Zealand developing a national strategy for mission and co-ordinating the Federation's exploration into church regeneration through the use of new and innovative ways of being church. He also led a church in Newark as it underwent regeneration. He is now back in New Zealand looking to develop fresh expressions there.
Bruce and Colleen Mounsey are from New Zealand and have come to assist Bob and Mary Hopkins of ACPI, alongside whom they worked in St Helens, Merseyside from 1988-1992 in the School of Church Leadership. They have been in the UK for three years and live in Sheffield. For 12 years prior to coming they pastored a Methodist/Presbyterian Church in Gisborne, New Zealand. Before marriage, Colleen was a missionary in Taiwan and is trained in Spiritual Direction. Together they have had involvement in Fresh Expressions vision days and facilitating the six-week mission shaped intro and one year mission shaped ministry training courses in Sheffield.
Craig Ogden is the senior pastor of 'Plentylife', an Anglican church planted in February 2011 in the Plenty Valley to the north of Melbourne, Australia. This is a mission-shaped pioneering community of faith that follows the St Thomas', Sheffield model of developing missional communities. He is a member of the steering committee for Missional Communities Australia (forerunner to 3DM Aust) and the mission shaped ministry course and is actively involved in coaching other church planters in the principles of fresh expressions.
Cris Acher is a Methodist minister with a Fresh Expressions role in North Wales and minister of Conwy Methodist Church. He pioneered Nexus, a mission project for 18 to 30s in Manchester city centre, has served on the leadership of Sanctus 1 (Manchester) and the Welcome community café project (Knutsford). He served on the Connexional 20s and 30s working party looking at how better the church could serve the needs of those in this age group. Since becoming a Christian in his teens, Cris has led a number of short term missions and church planting initiatives.
Dave Male is Director of the Centre for Pioneer Learning in Cambridge. The Centre aims to support,encourage and network pioneers and to help the church to think how about how it supports pioneers. He is also Tutor in Pioneer Minister Training at Ridley Hall and Westcott House, Cambridge developing pioneer training for Anglican ordinands and Fresh Expressions Adviser for Ely Diocese. For seven years he planted and lead a network-style fresh expression in Huddersfield, called The Net. Before that he served curacies in Leicester and Huddersfield. He has written a book following his experiences in Huddersfield on planting fresh expressions called Church Unplugged (Authentic), has recently edited a new book for pioneers called Pioneers 4 Life (BRF) and has a website containing resources for fresh expression leaders. He is also a member of the Church of England's College of Evangelists.
David Cundill is pioneer minister and leader of Presence Leicester, a fresh expression of church that works with young adults, students, and people in apartments who don't go to church. This involves helping people explore Christian spirituality for non church seekers through art, film, music, festival and social fun without all the baggage of traditional church and its culture. He has seasoned experience of cell church and alt worship and has planted youth congregations, café church and church in a pub. David is a member of the Leicestershire FEAST.
David Currie has been Assistant Minister of The Scots’ Church in Melbourne, Australia since November 2011, affording him the opportunity of working from his base in the Presbyterian Church to make significant links with the mainline denominations in order to support and encourage the setting up of vision days and msm courses. Thoroughly enjoying his new adventure, David is excited about the possibilities of exploring new ways of building communities through which Australians not familiar with church get to know Jesus Christ. Previously, David served the Church of Scotland as a parish minister for 17 years before becoming Senior Adviser in Mission and Evangelism and then Emerging Chuch Development Officer. He co-authored a book on faith-sharing, You’re an Angel.
Duncan MacPherson lives and works in the Highlands. He has been involved in delivering msm in Inverness and is seeking to start a fresh expression of church within the Lighthouse in Hilton - an area of ministry he has had a longstanding interest and involvement in.
Elaine Lindridge is a Methodist Minister and the Newcastle District Evangelism Enabler. Elaine is especially interested in finding culturally relevant ways of being church for 18-40 year olds and was involved in Mind the Gap in Gateshead, which appears on expressions: the dvd - 1. She is a course leader for mission shaped ministry in the North East and regularly leads mission shaped intro courses in that area.
Ellie Griffin is a Methodist Deacon with three young children and an amazing house husband. She began an ecumenical fresh expressions of church called Reside on a new housing estate in Loughborough between 2007 and 2012. Currently in Leeds, she is working with children, families and young people hoping to explore the opportunities for fresh expressions there.
Fiona Tweedie has spent twelve years 'making numbers mean something', teaching statistics in several universities. She lives in Edinburgh with her husband, Stephen, and two daughters and is training for auxiliary ministry in the Church of Scotland. She loves to help groups see creative possibilities for mission, particularly from mission audits, and is leading two msi courses in Edinburgh.
Freddy Hedley is part of the Anglican Church Planting Initiatives team, as well as being a writer and training consultant. He is a part of the team at Fountain of Life church in Ashill, Norfolk, where he is involved in the teaching/preaching team, oversees the intern programme and has recently planted a missionary congregation into the nearby town of Swaffham. He has previously been involved in leading cells and missionary congregations (clusters) at St Thomas', Sheffield and has experience in planting and leading network church initiatives and beach missions. He has written two Fresh-Expressions-related publications - Listening for Mission (with Steve Croft & Bob Hopkins) and Coaching for Missional Leadership (with Bob Hopkins), as well as the book Lessons from Antioch. Freddy has also been involved in the writing, editing and teaching of the mission shaped ministry training course and has written the Listening for Mission workshop for Fresh Expressions vision days.
Gareth Hill is a Methodist minister who founded the Tubestation surf church project at Polzeath and later worked as a pioneer minister on the Roseland Peninsula near Truro, where he aimed to develop 'church for people who don't do church'. He is now Head of Mission and Advocacy for the Connexional Team of the Methodist Church, based in the London offices, and lives in Winchester. A former newspaper editor, he is a prizewinning hymnwriter and has hymns in two Methodist hymnbooks: Singing the Faith in the UK and Worship & Song in the United States. Gareth is also on Fresh Expressions board.
Gary Waddington is Team Rector of St Wilfrid's, Harrogate.
Graham Horsley first got involved in church planting in the 1980s and coordinated Church planting in the Methodist Church from 1994–2010. He is passionate about imagining church for people whose spiritual needs are not met by traditional church (however good it may be). He is currently working on alternative faith communities for the baby boomer generation as well as pastoring two traditional churches.
Hannah Jackson is a Pioneer Curate at Christ Church Pitsmoor, Sheffield. She is committed to making Jesus accessible to unchurched people and seeing disciples made who will see the transformation of their communities, families and friends. She is passionate about inclusive, authentic relationships between people and God and inviting others into this.
Hannah Smith has a range of pioneer experience, including working with missional communities at St Thomas' in Sheffield, starting a fresh expression at Sheffield Cathedral and having a leading role in a multi-racial church graft into Brixton, London during ordination training. Now an ordained pioneer curate, Hannah is working out what pioneering looks like on the other side of the great 'collar-divide'. She is passionate about enabling all disciples to live missional lives.
Ian Adams was co-founder and leader of fresh expression mayBe in Oxford. Now based in the South-West of England he is helping to come into being more Christ-following communities which draw upon ancient traditions and engage creatively and prayerfully with contemporary culture. Ian is a writer, mentor and teacher on themes of emerging church, community, prayer and spirituality. He was one of the authors of the book Ancient Faith, Future Mission: fresh expressions in the sacramental tradition. He facilitates the CMS Small Missional Communities Project and is partner in the StillPoint project, a centre for the practise of Christian spirituality.
Ian Mobsby, an Anglican priest, leads moot.net, a fresh expression of church in central London emphasizing the creative and ancient aspects of the faith and comprising an alternative worship community and arts café church project. Ian has 14 years experience of alternative worship communities and mission and has researched the emerging and fresh expressions of church for an MA. He has written two books and co-edited one concerning Fresh Expressions: Emerging & Fresh Expressions of Church, the becoming of G-d and Ancient Faith, Future Mission: fresh expressions in the sacramental tradition. Ian has spoken widely about emerging & Fresh Expressions of Church in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA and Europe. He is currently the Secretary to the Fresh Expressions Round Table 5 and lectures at a number Theological Training institutes.
Jackie Bellfield is a Methodist Presbyter in Warrington, Cheshire, with responsibility for three churches. Jackie also heads up the New Song Network, a thriving community which meets for worship, discipleship and outreach. New Song Café, New Song breakfast, pub church, discipleship evenings, home groups and acts of kindness in the community all form part of this growing church family.
James Henley has led The Lab for the last 5 years – a fresh expression aimed at young adults with little or no previous experience of church. Four years ago he moved with a group of others onto a deprived estate on the edge of Newport, in order to try and live in intentional community and grow church there amongst local young people and their families. He is training as a pioneer ordinand with the Church in Wales on the CMS Pioneer course.
Jan Nendick is a Methodist minister in the Rossendale Circuit in Lancashire, experimenting with various fresh expressions of church. She was formerly the District Evangelism Enabler for the Methodist Churches in the Birmingham District where she helped churches to explore the possibilities for fresh expressions in their local situations, supporting and helping some of them to start fresh expressions which were appropriate to their context.
John Emmett is a Christian educator, practical missiologist and researcher based in Melbourne, Australia. He has been hugely inspired and shaped by the writing and thinking of the 'Gospel and our Culture Network'. He delighted in a creative Discipleship and Christian Formation role with Kippax Uniting Church, which took seriously noticing the Christ that came in the lives of others, often from the margins. Much of the ministry focused on igniting human spirituality, enabling imaginative and healing engagement with the gospel. John writes materials to assist local churches become 'missional churches' in contemporary Australian contexts. He is a consultant to people imagining fresh expressions of church. He completed the msm course in 2011 and has a passion for forming disciples according to their calling into God's mission.
John Titlow, a former railwayman, has now been a URC minister for 34 years in urban, city-centre and rural locations. He has long experience of working with the community and has been doing so exclusively for 10 years. Involved in Messy Church and a school-based church plant, his job is itself a fresh expression.
Kerry Thorpe has been involved in church planting for 30 years. He planted a new Anglican church – Harvest – in Kent in 1998, based on a network cell model. He was the senior minister there for thirteen years. Kerry is now Mission and Growth Adviser for the Canterbury Diocese. Kerry has an interesting past, listing horse racing and funeral directing on his CV. He is an Honorary Canon of Canterbury Cathedral.
Lucy Moore lives in Waterlooville near Portsmouth and leads Messy Church, a fresh expression for families meeting once a month during the week (see expressions: the dvd - 1). Lucy works for BRF developing the Messy Church network across the UK and beyond, through face to face training for potential Messy Church leaders, the Messy Church website and a ministry of emails and chatting. She has written several books for BRF including Messy Church and Messy Church 2.
Mark Berry is pioneer leader of safespace Telford, a new-monastic missional community that believes in joining with God in God's mission in and to culture and community. He has sixteen years in ministry with young people, has worked in the media and the creative arts and teaches culture, mission and youth in various contexts.
Mark Williamson leads a Cafe Church in Raynes Park, south west London. He is also a director of One Rock International, a mission organisation that helps emerging Christian leaders to find and fulfil God's vision for their lives. In moments of spare time he likes watching good films, reading biographies and going for walks with his wife.
Martin Boutros heads up the mission and ministry team for Churches of Christ in Victoria and Tasmania – about 130 churches in Australia and Tasmania. He has been in ministry for 30 years and has served in a variety of pastoral roles in local congregational ministry, and for nearly ten years in a training capacity as Director of Caleb Leadership Ministries. His current role involves mobilising leaders, members and churches to the work of mission in what is very much a post-Christian context. He has recently completed a D.Min on Missional Leadership.
Matt Finch is a Methodist Minister in the St Neots and Huntingdon Circuit where he has responsibility for three Methodist churches. He has had experience of ministering in tough traditional rural churches as well as more creative expressions of church amongst youth and young adults. In both of these contexts he can testify to the signs of new life that God is beginning. Matt at the moment is part of phos, a gathering which seeks to connect the Christian faith with busy 20-30’s. Matt is co-leader of mission shaped ministry in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. Matt is married to Yasmin, who is studying for a PhD in Biblical studies and is dad to Torrin Charlie. He loves his vegetable patch, Norwich City and test match cricket!
Paul Bradbury has served as Pioneer Minister in central Poole since 2008. In that time he has established a missional community, Reconnect. From that community a number of mission initiatives are growing which aim to engage with unchurched people. His desire is to see more and more lay pioneers trained and empowered to lead incarnational mission in their context.
Phil Bromiley is a Rector of the Oldbury Benefice, five rural parishes in Wiltshire, experimenting with fresh expressions in a rural context. He is also an Ecumenical Officer in the Salisbury Diocese and on the Diocesan Council for Mission. Prior to his current post, Philip spent five years planting a Church in a new build housing estate in Calne. The Open Door Church met in a Community Primary School, worshipped on a Wednesday night and followed the rhythm of term time and school holidays.
Philip Roderick leads Contemplative Fire, a movement which aims to celebrate the sacrament of the present moment in the beauty of nature, liturgy and teaching. Although an Anglican priest he has roots in Methodism and has experienced Eastern Orthodox monasticism! Philip delights in celebrating the best in all the major Christian traditions. Philip is the founder-director of The Quiet Garden Movement and part time Chaplain to Whirlow Grange and Adviser in Spirituality to Bishop Steven Croft in Sheffield.
Rachel Jordan is the associate adviser for mission and evangelism for the Church of England. She focuses on the Youth Evangelism Fund and Fresh Expressions. She has a PhD in church history, has worked amongst prostitutes and drug addicts in Amsterdam’s red light district and loves coffee and dark chocolate.
Rachel Matthews was part of the Fresh Expressions team for six years, looking after vision days and co-producing our podcast. Before that she spent nearly a decade working for the BBC researching and making documentaries for BBC Radio 4 - a role which she has continued since on a freelance basis. She is now children and youth worker for her local Methodist Circuit, and is pioneering a fresh expression for families with young children, based around baking.
Richard Priestley has been a Church Army evangelist for over 20 years and has been involved in church planting for 18. He has been involved with training planters and evangelists in the USA and the UK and is a qualified ministry coach. He is involved with leading a Fresh Expression in Kettering with Mandy his wife and will be ordained as a pioneer minister in July 2009. Richard is the Director of the msm course in Rugby.
Ruth Poch and her husband are both ordained deacons in the Methodist Church. Five years ago they planted a fresh expression of church called re:generation based in Romford. This is a youth-orientated congregation which seeks to be culturally relevant. Members are involved in all aspects of leadership including, leading small groups, speaking, graffiti outreach, video notices, football, parkour and drama ministries.
Sally Thornton is a Methodist minister with a pioneer brief in Whitefield, North Manchester and was the founder of a fresh expression called 'Galaxy Stay & Play' for toddlers and young families. Sally co-wrote the mission shaped intro course with Tony Hardy and is currently researching missional spirituality and worship for a PhD. She also leads Wellspring – a creative, interdenominational worship group of classically trained musicians with a heart for community, worship and mission and sings regularly with BBC Radio 4's Daily Service. Sally is a regular contributor to BBC Radio Manchester and is a member of the Greater Manchester and Rossendale FEAST.
Sean Stillman has worked in Christian ministry, primarily among those many consider to be far removed from many church cultures, for 25 years. Much of this has been among fringe groups including biker communities, where he operates in both a missional and a chaplaincy role. In 1998 he founded Zac's Place, a mission church marked by it's acceptance and ability to embrace the marginalised. He has an ability, as an experienced missional practitioner, to communicate simply and effectively in many environments. Sean continues to lead Zac's Place and is also European President of God's Squad, which has functioned in a missional role within the biker sub-culture for over 40 years.
Simon Rundell has been an Ordained Pioneer developing sacramental and youth centred fresh expressions of church for sometime, drawing on alternative worship. He comes from a distinctly Anglocatholic Spirituality with involement with the Society of Catholic Priests and the Walsingham Youth Pilgrimage. Simon has long been associated with the multimedia-orientated, deeply sacramental and wildly, rabidly inclusive community called Blesséd, from his parish in Gosport. He is passionately committed to youth mission and the evangelistic opportunities of the Eucharist, and has a powerful vision for Sacramental Mission. Simon is a member of the Fresh Expressions Round Table 5.
Sue Wallace is a vicar who works at Leeds Parish Church on music, liturgy and the arts. Before this she worked for Visions Alternative Worship Community for eighteen years. She has also written four books of multi-sensory prayer ideas and enjoys playing with multimedia technology. More recently she has been involved in setting up "Transcendence, An Ancient Future Mass" which is a fresh expression of York Minster. Transcendence has now grown across Yorkshire, with three venues in York, Leeds and Beverley.
Terry Tennens is Executive Director of International Justice Mission UK, a Christian human rights organisations that works to release people from trafficking and slavery in the developing world. Terry is a Baptist Minister, having led two churches in Essex and in 2001 started a workplace fresh expression called Work Dynamics in Colchester. Prior to working with IJM, Terry was a national figure in mission accompaniment, a form of a coaching and mentoring for churches. Fresh expressions and doing justice is a thrilling way of seeing God transform lives globally and locally.
Tim Lea is currently a lay worker in the Methodist church. He has also worked in Anglican and free church settings. He currently leads a fresh expression called Bridge. He is also a Leicester Tigers fan.
Tim Sledge is Vicar of Romsey Abbey in Hampshire. Prior to this he was Mission Enabler in the Diocese of Peterborough where he ran Critical Mass - a Eucharistic alternative worship service for young people across the Diocese. He was also co-founder of Sanctuary whilst a curate in Huddersfield. Tim is passionate about developing fresh worship opportunities particularly using the rich heritage of sacramental and liturgical traditions and reframing them for the local context. He is a member of Round Table 5 and regularly leads practical training days entitled "Liquid Mass". He is also co-author of a number of books including Mission-shaped Parish, Youth Emmaus, Creative Communion and Get a life!
Tim Yau is the Emerging Church Pioneer Minister for the Eastern Synod of the United Reformed Church. He is 60% based in Ipswich establishing fresh expressions of church in the town centre and waterfront area and 40% working across the four counties of the synod as a Fresh Expressions consultant.
Tony Hardy is Canon Evangelist at Manchester Cathedral from which he supports and resources mission initiative across the diocese. With friends he began C3 Stockport, a fresh expression based in Stockport. C3 aims to form a Christian community based on creative activity. Members are involved in arts and crafts, glass work, music, digital photography etc. It continues under different leadership now that Tony has moved on. Tony co-wrote a course with Sally Thornton which was adapted and rewritten to create mission shaped intro.
Zoe Hart is the Chair of the Fresh Expressions Young Adults Round Table, having pioneered two fresh expressions of church for young adults - 'the living room' and 'third place' - in Southampton where she lives. She currently spends half her week working with students at Southampton University Student's Union and the other half in and around parliament with the Christian Socialist Movement. She has previously worked as Fresh Expressions Enabler for the Diocese of Winchester and as a BBC journalist.
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