Cafe Church is a term that we are using here to talk about all forms of Fresh Expression. Fresh Expressions are new forms of church that emerge within community and contemporary culture and engage primarily with those who don’t ‘go to church.  

If your church has been engaged in Cafe Church or any form of Fresh Expressions why not share your story with us, or point us in the right direction of helpful resources - Contact Page. 

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Fresh Expressions - the Fresh Expressions movement was born as a partnership between the Church of England and the Methodist Church and initially led by Bishop Steven Croft with Revd Peter Pillinger as the Methodist Missioner.

They identified “a Fresh Expression is a form of church for our changing culture established primarily for the benefit of people who are not yet members of any church.” These new forms of church ranged from family focused Messy Churches to New Monastic Communities and to Social Justice Projects.

These communities have continued to grow and develop and new partners have joined with Fresh Expressions -­ including the Congregational Federation, the Salvation Army, the United Reformed Church,  the Church of Scotland and the Baptist Union of Great Britain – all of whom identify growth and encouragements in these new experiments in Church. Take a look at some of their ideas and resources.

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Worship Words - Worship Words is a website that networks writers and users across time and space and provides a place to share progressive prayers, songs and liturgies with others.

There have a section with over 10 examples of complete Cafe Church worship services weaving together scripture, drama, reflection, conversation & communion. These covers topics such as prayer, pentecost, advent and much more. Take a look.

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Joshua Centre - The Joshua Centre is a joint initiative between Liverpool Cathedral and Liverpool Diocese, which was set up in 2017 to support the start-up and development of new congregations.

They have collected over 35 full service outlines and over 300 individual worship resources from Zone2, the All Age Café Style congregation at Liverpool Cathedral. Some great ideas here.

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Cafe Church Leeds - This not so much a link about resources as it is a link to a journey of a church using Cafe Church and what they discover and how they go about it. Interesting to read and discover pointers for use in your own church's jounrey.

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Cafe Church 1: Cafe, croissants and Christ? - As café has established itself as an accepted part of British public life, there is a case that this culture should be embraced by church members, carrying within them the gospel of Jesus. 
This is being done in very varied ways and will take two issues to explore properly. One response has seen churches alter the layout and ambience of their buildings and offer a kind of gathering that reflects the dynamics of cafe. Some have worked and others have struggled. Behind café church and other kinds of fresh expressions, is an important question. Is it a bridge to Christian faith – or is it just one arch, which will need other different arches to complete the bridge?
This is a PDF that dates back to 2007 but it is still a brilliant resource to use to explore this topic.

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Church without walls - Church for those who don’t do church! Church without Walls is a Christian community that meets in Broughton & Brooklands in Milton Keynes. Sometimes on a Sunday morning they’re in the hall of Broughton Fields School for a relaxed family friendly get-together (Cafe Church) at other times on a Sunday morning they meet for breakfast, a reflection and walk out and about at Forest Church.
Sometimes they meet on a Sunday lunchtime at Broughton Fields School for a relaxed meal together (Dinner Church). For a more reflective time they gather monthly at St Michael's Priory for (Quiet Church). Sometimes they meet in the beautiful medieval Church in Broughton village (St Lawrence) for worship that connects with both their past and present, for an occasional Sunday gathering.
In the future they may meet in the school, the park, who knows…..

Again, not a site for resources but for inspiration.

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