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Stories

Real life, real people, real stories.

There are no experts when it comes to starting and sustaining fresh expressions of church - no one has really been doing it long enough to claim to know it all. But we can learn from one another and so as you explore these stories, look for principles and values rather than simply models to take off the shelf and follow.

Of course, if you are involved in a fresh expression of church with the deliberate intention of starting a new congregation for those normally well off the radar of conventional church, let us know! Submit your story using the link to the right. 

Don't forget the power of a good story - Jesus didn't.

  • Emmanuel Café Church Leeds

    A fresh expression of church that is 'fuelled by coffee'... Matt Ward, a chaplain at the University of Leeds, takes us behind the scenes at Emmanuel Café Church.

    Monday, 30 November, 2009
  • The Terminus Initiative

    Methodist pioneering minister Joy Adams explains how her fresh expression of church began life in a butchers shop in the local bus station.

    Monday, 16 November, 2009
  • Hartcliffe and Withywood Lighthouse

    When Rachel Schofield realised there were real spiritual and social needs on two estates in Bristol, she decided to do something about it.

    Monday, 16 November, 2009
  • St Christopher's, Leicester

    When a congregation in Leicester had to move out of their dilapidated building, they were given the chance to start a fresh expression of church in a local school.

    Friday, 30 October, 2009
  • 3.08 @ Kingshill, Nailsea

    When the Bishop told Associate Vicar Steve Tilley he would be comfortable with a few ‘heroic failures’ he gave permission to those wanting to start fresh expressions of church to experiment in a daring way.

    Friday, 30 October, 2009
  • StillPoint

    StillPoint, a collection of resources and spaces for those attracted to the contemplative tradition, is a new fresh expression in Oxford. Ian Adams and Matt Rees explain.

    Monday, 26 October, 2009
  • Willington Quay

    Steve Dixon, Church Army Evangelist and Lay Pioneer Ministry in the Diocese of Newcastle, tells the story of a fresh expression in Willington Quay, an area of urban deprivation on Tyneside.

    Monday, 26 October, 2009
  • Focus Service Sheffield Church

    Focus Service: Sheffield Church is a church for people with learning difficulties and everyone else who enjoys an interactive experience of God. David Middleton, church leader and special needs Minister for the Baptist Union, tells their story.

    Thursday, 8 October, 2009
  • Somewhere Else

    If you have seen expressions: the dvd - 1 then you will remember Somewhere Else - the Liverpool 'bread' church. Heather Lovelady brings the story up to date.

    Wednesday, 7 October, 2009
  • Zac's Place

    Alicia Baker visit's Zac's Place for a 'gloves-off bible study' in Swansea, South Wales.

    Tuesday, 29 September, 2009