For five years Gary Serra di Migni was pastor of a medium-sized church in south-east London, but then he sensed God call him to reach out specifically to those who would not normally set foot in a church building, for a whole host of reasons. It soon became apparent that this would mean leaving his London church. Gary was appointed as a Team Leader with the church planting agency Urban Expression, who helped facilitate his move to Manchester at the end of 2008, to start a church which would reach out to people in a way that would be relevant and meaningful to them.
For the first 18 months he’s been living among the people - getting to know the community, how they do things, what kinds of things appeal to them, how they socialize etc. He works in Blockbuster and Asda as a good way to get to know the community, and also ministers through bereavement care - doing funerals and bereavement counselling - which allows him to minister to local people and build relationships with them.
Although many church planters feel a sense of isolation in their ministry, Gary has had a lot of support from the church planting agency Urban Expression. As soon as he arrived in Manchester, a Regional Minister of North Western Baptist Association, very supportive of this kind of ministry, also suggested that Gary make a link with a local Baptist Church. That church has embraced Gary and his wife – praying for them, listening to them, offering hospitality and affirming them. They are interested in their kind of ministry which has meant that they don’t feel alone – and that is very important to them.
Gary doesn’t know what shape any new church will take. If he is to begin a fresh expression of church for a particular group of people he feels that it will need to be customised to their needs - and he won’t know what they need until he has been among them and with them for at least 18 months. The only thing of which he is certain is that it will not have a building!
What's next?1. Introduction |
