ABSTRACT
When they are ordained, all Church of England clergy must assent to the ‘faith the Church is called upon to proclaim afresh in each generation’ (Archbishops’ Council 2000: xi). The phrase ‘Fresh Expressions of Church’ was coined with direct reference to this Declaration of Assent and came to prominence through the Church of England report Mission-shaped Church: Church Planting and Fresh Expressions of Church in a Changing Context (Archbishops’ Council 2004). Acknowledging the increasing existence of a variety of new kinds of church alongside the existing parochial system, the report reviewed these ‘fresh expressions of church’ and argued that they should be systematically encouraged.
