PHOTO PROVIDED BY CANTERBURY RETREAT & CONFERENCE CENTER A total of 34 participants and four trainers turned out for the Fresh Expressions Pioneer Learning Community on April 13-14 at the Canterbury Retreat & Conference Center.
Fresh Expressions had that pioneer spirit, literally, last month when dozens of people turned out for the latest event at the Canterbury Retreat & Conference Center.
A total of 34 participants and four trainers turned out for the two-day event titled: Fresh Expressions Pioneer Learning Community. According to a Fresh Expressions news release, pioneers are mission entrepreneurs who venture outside church congregations to engage people in life and ministry with fresh expressions of Church in the quest to share the good news of Christ. Pioneer learning communities are part-time groups created to help teams start fresh expressions of church, assist pastors and lay leaders in establishing Fresh Expression plans of action for their areas, and envelop missionaries with a network of fellow practitioners.
“It gathered people from around Central Florida for two days of learning the vision, methodology and ministry of Fresh Expressions,” said Canterbury executive director Father Jon Davis, who was scheduled to leave the retreat on April 30 for mission work in Fresh Expressions.
Shannon Kiser, director of Fresh Expressions training, led the gathering that was mostly composed of United Methodist pastors and leaders, according to Davis. “The United Methodist Church in Central Florida has been on a Fresh Expressions ‘track’ for several years,” Davis said.
The Diocese of Central Florida also was represented with John Motis, a deacon at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Lake Wales and the diocesan coordinator for Fresh Expressions; the Rev. Tyrrel Dear from Church of the Holy Child in Ormond Beach; and Davis.
The two-day event on April 13-14 provided insight on the need for fresh expressions of church, as well as methodologies to share the good news of Christ. “A highlight of the time was a session about prayer walks and then folks were sent into two local areas to do a prayer walk,” Davis said. “One team went to UCF and another went to Oviedo in the Park.
“The prayer walks were a time to listen to the community, perceive the needs and in some cases engage with some of the people hanging out in the park or on the campus,” Davis said. “The prayer walk is an opportunity to hear from the Lord as to what he is already doing and to connect with people. At the core of this work is a highly relational, incarnational paradigm seeking to be with people where they are.”
The Pioneer Learning Community is unique in that it serves as an educational tool for Fresh Expressions. Participants engaged in reading before the weekend and will meet virtually over the next few months before reuniting at Canterbury in October to complete the study, Davis said.
“Fresh Expressions offers a new approach to the mission of the church,” Davis said. “For years, many churches have relied on an “attractional” model; that is, come to our event, program, class or worship. Fresh Expressions seeks to engage people where they live, work, shop, and play.
“It (Fresh Expressions) is going to people with the hope of connecting them with the good news of Christ and forming a missional community outside of Sunday mornings,” Davis said. “Much of the culture thinks of church as a place you go. Fresh Expressions’ mission is to see the church formed in the community more so as a way of life.”
For more information on Fresh Expressions, access https://freshexpressionsus.org on the internet.