One of the recommendations of Towards the Conversion of England was the appointment of Diocesan Missioners or Directors of Evangelistic Work (p 156). Whether as a result of the influence of the book, or of the influence of the growth of Evangelicalism in the Church of England since the book, Diocesan Missioners appear to be a standard feature of many dioceses of the Church of England. The Diocese of Gloucester seems to have the most active, to judge by the amount of stuff on its website here and the number of times its different pages come up in internet searches. I also found Diocesan Missioners in Bath and Wells, Exeter, Oxford, and Canterbury before I got tired of looking, not to mention depressed that the Church of England was so far in advance of us on this. There was reference to a Diocesan Missioners‘ conference in 2011, but only in passing, and I couldn’t find information about one in 2012. There was reference to Fresh Expressions on almost all the sites, although these seem more like non-traditional church plants than evangelistic endeavors—but might be all the more appealing to Episcopalians for that reason. Anyway, lots of ideas on these sites that might spark ideas that would work here. If you get a brainwave, please advise!
January 15, 2012
Evangelicals and the Transformation of the Episcopal Church IV
Posted by Philip Wainwright under Evangelism, Reformation of PECUSA1 Comment
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January 15, 2012 at 5:37 pm
I checked the “Fresh Expressions” site, but none of the UK ones. The need of the people being reached this way, perhaps, is first of all to find others with common interests. “Community” doesn’t mean where you live, but who shares your special non-religious interests. LIke “Facebook”: the idea is to find others like you. So I think it’s very different from New Testament times, in fact very different from the pre-internet age. Once people have gathered for that reason (to be with people like them who understand them, “a safe place”), I think the hope is that the gospel will be relevant to them. A little exclusive, perhaps, to my way of thinking. But maybe the people reached this way will “grow.”