It is exciting times for the Methodist Church: what seemed nearly impossible in years past is becoming commonplace. New Christian communities are being planted and established. Across the Connexion, as pioneers and planters have built relationships with new people in diverse settings, new Christian communities have emerged in pubs and cafés, sports halls and community centres, existing churches and recently built towns. They are new Methodist ecclesial communities flowing from listening to people and their contexts so that the gospel is expressed in a way that touches the heart of their culture. Our desire is that planting and pioneering becomes the norm for every Methodist circuit – that it becomes as natural to us as making the preaching plan!
New Places for New People is a term that expresses for us, in this moment, what the church has always been called to: to pioneer and plant churches in diverse ways with diverse people. It is a statement of intent to reclaim our missional DNA as a denomination: to reach those the established church could not. It is a response to the Holy Spirit calling us to go beyond what we know, not a scheme to address declining numbers.
We are grateful to those in the Methodist Church who over the past twenty years have led us to this point. Those who, by taking risks for God, have communicated the gospel in fresh, relevant and innovative ways and challenged assumptions about ecclesiology that we can so easily inhabit. New Places for New People will build upon this faithful ministry and bring it to the heart of what we do in mission. We want all Methodists to say yes to more new Christian communities, to support and equip our pioneers who want to express their call to build relationships, to help people become disciples of Jesus Christ, and to grow vibrant churches.
It would be a mistake to believe the task will be easy if we just free up resources or get the strategy right. Just like other churches, New Places for New People need to reflect on where God is leading. The story of pioneering and planting in the Methodist Church is that some new communities spring up, take root and grow to sustainability and even plant again. Others will renew and breathe new life into existing churches. Others, after discernment and listening, will make the decision to change course or end a ministry that was for a time immensely fruitful. In every expression and outcome, we give thanks for the faithful experimentation. We trust those local teams, who throughout the pioneer journey have stepped out in faith and discerned where God is leading next.
The future is one of uncertainty, opportunity, and great hope! It is sometimes disorientating, but that can lead us to where God wants us to be. As we commit as a whole church to following God, we have started a New Places for New People Guiding Team. These twenty pioneering leaders – diverse in theology, gender, race, age, and sexuality – gather regularly to pray, learn, and help shape the path forward. We invite every circuit and church to join with us – to look beyond what we think we know, to connect with New People, and to form New Places, by God’s grace, that express the love of Christ so that we can all be transformed.
Matt Finch is the Pioneering and Church Planting Officer of the Methodist Church in Britain.