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Joining the Club

What is church?

Joining the Club or Changing the Rules 

For those of you who are new to this series or to the phenomena of fresh expressions of church, this generic issue is a good place to start. How do we know whether something is a fresh expression? How do we assess whether a fresh expression is a church? How do we decide which fresh expressions are valid and which are not? This issue offers a number of theological and human analogies to help us understand fresh expressions of church and assess them with a principled rationale. 

This issue also raises the important question of how these new churches should seek to grow in maturity. What ecclesiological maturity should be expected at different stages of their development? In exploring the human analogy, this issue notes the important difference between being adult and being mature; if we extend generosity to children and teenagers as they grow in maturity to adulthood, why not extend generosity to young communities of faith rather than expect them to tick all the boxes immediately? 

Not only will this issue help those who lead new churches but it will assist those permission-givers to whom they are accountable as they seek to support, equip and set new churches realistic objectives that they may grow in maturity long-term without blunting their mission edge.