During the 2015 McClure Lectures in World Mission and Evangelism, Graham Cray, honorary bishop of the Diocese of York and former leader of Fresh Expressions in the United Kingdom, presented two lectures on "Authentic Church - Contextual Church."

 

"Gospel, Culture and Church Planting: Insights from the Fresh Expressions Initiative" In the UK, beginning in the Church of England, missionary engagement with a changed and changing Western culture led to the Fresh Expressions movement: a new understanding of church planting, with a major emphasis on the leadership of the Holy Spirit, and the importance of the local context. This has become a partnership of many denominations, and has been replicated in other parts of the world including the USA. This lecture covers the history and impact of fresh expressions and identifies the distinctive insights.

 

"The Church Rediscovered Through Mission: Characteristics of a Mission-Shaped Church" What has been learned about the nature of the church from more than 10 years of the Fresh Expressions movement? What are the characteristics of an authentic church? How can the local church, whether a church plant or a long-established congregation, be recognizably the church of Jesus Christ, as seen down the centuries, but also be authentic to its local context?

During the 2015 McClure Lectures in World Mission and Evangelism, Graham Cray, honorary bishop of the Diocese of York and former leader of Fresh Expressions in the United Kingdom, presented two lectures on "Authentic Church - Contextual Church."

 

"Gospel, Culture and Church Planting: Insights from the Fresh Expressions Initiative" In the UK, beginning in the Church of England, missionary engagement with a changed and changing Western culture led to the Fresh Expressions movement: a new understanding of church planting, with a major emphasis on the leadership of the Holy Spirit, and the importance of the local context. This has become a partnership of many denominations, and has been replicated in other parts of the world including the USA. This lecture covers the history and impact of fresh expressions and identifies the distinctive insights.

 

"The Church Rediscovered Through Mission: Characteristics of a Mission-Shaped Church" What has been learned about the nature of the church from more than 10 years of the Fresh Expressions movement? What are the characteristics of an authentic church? How can the local church, whether a church plant or a long-established congregation, be recognizably the church of Jesus Christ, as seen down the centuries, but also be authentic to its local context?