The relationship between the existing church and the new

As I mentioned near the top of this document I am not of the camp who believes that God has finished with the old or existing church structures. Indeed I suspect that the existing church still has the major role to play, but how successfully it does this may depend on how it responds to this emerging paradigm.

History seems to indicate that God often begins a work of renewal in the established church by first birthing something new outside of it. Then as this new wineskin becomes more accepted and mainstream the established church begins to embrace it more fully and thus is transformed over a period of time.

There are already strong indicators within parts of the established church of a shift towards a more missional mindset and practice.

Ultimately we need to view both existing and new as part of the same team and on the same journey but respect the different travelling speeds. Both can help the other in many ways and therefore it is vital for there to be plenty of interaction and conversation along the way.

Wider significance

In this document I have attempted to show how God opened my eyes to a different way of being a Christian and a different way of being church. Why? Because God is totally committed to drawing as many people as possible to Himself through the church. But unfortunately as a result of the enormous cultural changes that have taken place in Western Europe over the past 50 years the church in our nation now finds itself largely in the wrong place and shape to accomplish this.

I have attempted to begin to describe something of the nature of this new shape and way of being church. But now the question is, how significant is this? How significant is what we perceive to be a new shape of church in terms of the rest of Britain ? What else is happening around the nation? Is there really an indication that others are spontaneously doing what we are doing with a similar vision? If so, does this indicate something that God is sovereignly initiating? Is there a clear pattern to it? What does it represent and how can we engage with it?

It is with the desire to find answers to these questions that I am setting out on a research mission over the next year to see whether the initial signs that I have uncovered over the past couple of years are indeed part of something far bigger and more significant. If this is the case then part of my responsibility will be to communicate this information as far and wide as possible.