From dinner church to “pizza and puzzles” to a support group for parents of transgender children, Fresh Expressions have helped Dakotas and Minnesota United Methodists to reach new people in their communities.
 
This fall, you’re invited to engage or re-engage in the Fresh Expressions movement—and Revs. Dan Bader and Erica Koser have some exciting plans to help you do that. Bader is the Dakotas’ Southwest District superintendent, and Koser is Minnesota’s interim director of strategy and innovation.

The two have mapped out a year of themes that will allow people to learn about specific kinds of Fresh Expressions, explore best practices around listening deeply to our communities, and highlight exciting ministries across the area. 
 
The first four themes are:
· September: What is Fresh Expressions?
· October: Deep listening
· November: Loving people at the table (ministry around meals)
· December: Celebrating the gifts of fresh expressions

The monthly themes will be explored through posts and videos in the the DKMN Fresh Expressions Facebook group and on the conference social media pages, articles on both conference websites, and a Zoom gathering from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. CT on the third Thursday of every month. All are invited to the virtual gatherings—those already leading a fresh expression and those wondering or dreaming about one.

Both conference websites will also be updated with simple steps to get a Fresh Expression started, along with a wealth of resources.
 
Fresh Expressions are a new type of being church that is gaining traction in the Dakotas and Minnesota Conferences. Fresh Expressions gather in various community venues and public spaces around shared interests and hobbies. This is a movement of Christian communities where people with no connection to the church are finding life and encountering Christ. 
 
“Fresh Expressions is about creating relationships and community, by meeting people where they are and exploring discipleship together,” said Bader. “For far too long, our churches have reminisced about the way things were, and we counted on the idea that people would show up and fit within our existing structures or forms of being church.  Fresh Expressions is about our willingness to go where Jesus would go, encountering those who Jesus would meet.”
 

An Area-wide webinar - Imagine Day - in September 2023, sparked creativity and launched the DK-MN Fresh Expressions movement.

Rev. Dr. Michael Beck introduced Fresh Expressions to both conferences at their 2023 annual conference sessions and spent a year working with Dakotas and Minnesota churches to help them bring this concept into their communities. Although the Dakotas-Minnesota Area contract with Beck has come to an end, we will continue to lean into and expand upon what we learned from him.
 
When Koser thinks about Fresh Expressions, the parable of the mustard seed comes to mind.
 
“Fresh Expressions can start as a tiny idea, a curiosity, a longing, a wondering,” she said. “We plant the seed in our community field and it has the potential to grow into a tree. My hope would be that in another year or two, we have a vast field of flourishing Fresh Expressions. We know not all the seeds will take root, but the soil is so fertile for this kind of planting!”

As we seek to live into our mission to make disciples of Jesus for the transformation of the world while recognizing the need to find new ways to “do” church, Fresh Expressions offer myriad of possibilities.

“For me it is about taking the church out into the world and meeting people where they are,” said Bader. “It is about forming community or church that reflects our changing culture…My hope is that we will see a vast variety of fresh expressions that seek to build loving relationships and explore discipleship.”