RICHMOND, Va. — Innovative expressions of churches in changing cultures will be the focus of next month’s Virginia Baptist Pastors Conference, set for Nov. 7 in suburban Richmond, Va.
The annual conference — held each year in conjunction with the meeting of the Baptist General Association of Virginia — will be led by coordinators of Fresh Expressions, a movement whose goal is “empowering and equipping God’s people to develop creative expressions of church that can reach the increasing diversity of our society.”
Alan Hirsch
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Also to be featured is Alan Hirsch, a South African-born missiologist and a leading voice in the Christian missional movement.
The conference begins at 2 p.m. on Nov. 7 at Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Glen Allen, Va., and concludes at 8:45 p.m. Mat Brown, pastor of Branch’s Baptist Church in Richmond, is conference president.
Fresh Expressions was formed eight years in the United Kingdom to cultivate new forms of church alongside existing congregations. Since then, it has helped developed 3,000 new faith communities in the U.K.
Ben Jamison
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Chris Backert
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The BGAV is partnering with several denominations and church networks to expand Fresh Expressions in the United States. Two Virginia Baptist Mission Board staff members are working closely with the organization — Chris Backert as coordinator of Fresh Expressions US and Ben Jamison as coordinator of Fresh Expressions VA.
A key component of Fresh Expression’s strategy is a series of Vision Days, which aim to introduce the movement to church leaders. The Pastors Conference program will closely follow the Vision Days pattern and will circle around four sessions — “The Need for New Expressions of Church,” “Creating New Expressions of Church,” “Going Forward with Fresh Expressions” and “Becoming a Movement of Fresh Expressions.”
The event is free to all members of BGAV-affiliated churches. For non-BGAV churches, the cost is $15 per member.
To register or for more information go here.
Fresh Expressions also will be a focus of next year’s 21-C conference, an annual evangelism conference sponsored by Virginia Baptists. In 2012 the event is scheduled for March 16-17 at First Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va., and will feature Graham Cray, a leader of Fresh Expressions in the U.K.; Jo Saxton, director 3D Ministries, a British organization which assists churches to engage post-Christian society; and Reggie McNeal, a popular speaker and writer who serves as missional leadership specialist for Leadership Network.