
New Faith Communities
Co-creating new places for new people to gather into communion with Jesus Christ.
How Do We Co-Create New Places for New People?

Classic Missionary Plant
- A Classic Missionary Plant is a new faith community which has the goal of becoming a chartered local congregation of The United Methodist Church
- Secondary goal: to become an Anchor church in the future.
- When is this most successful (at least one of these are true)?
- Indigenous church planters
- Strong existing community of people
- Strong community or church partners
- In a region which is highly receptive to church

Multi Site / Cooperative Parish
- A Multi-Sites is a new faith community that is an extension of an existing local congregation in a new location with new people.
- A Cooperative Parish is when local churches, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, may enhance their witness to one another and to the world by showing forth the love of Jesus Christ through forms of mutual cooperation.
- When is this most successful?
- Strong Anchor Church partners
- Strong existing relationships

Mission Congregation
- Mission Congregations are local congregations of The United Methodist Church which are in ministry with some of the most vulnerable communities in our conference.
- Disciplinary requirements: A new local church or mission congregation shall be established only with the consent of the bishop in charge and the cabinet and with due consideration of the conference entity assigned the responsibility for congregational development.
A mission congregation may be designated when any of the following conditions exist:
- Membership opportunities and resources are limited and not likely to result in a chartered congregation for an extended period of time.
- A strategic demographic, cultural, or language opportunity for serving a limited population is present.
- It is expected that long-term sustaining funding from sources outside the congregation will be necessary to enable the congregation to exist, and the assumption of full connectional support items by the congregation is unlikely.
- It is probable that the annual conference will need to provide long-term administrative guidance, including attention to the distinctive property needs of the congregation.
- Distinctives
- Not included in apportionment calculations for Annual Conference
- When is this most successful?
- Strong partners
- Plans/strategy for administrative guidance/support
- Plans/strategy for long-term sustainability

M3 / Fresh Expression
- An M3 (Methodist Missional Movement) is a new ministry of a local congregation which exists to gather new people into communion with Jesus Christ.
- A Fresh Expression is a form of church for our changing culture, established primarily for the benefit of those who are not yet part of any church.
- What characterizes a M3/Fresh Expression
- Highly Experimental
- Connected to or sponsored by an existing church/institution
- Designed to create new spaces for those who are not yet part of any church
Latest Updates
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NFC December 2022 Newsletter
The Word Became Flesh and Moved into the Neighborhood (John 1:14 MSG) by Rev. Dr. Tim Catlett, Executive Director of New Faith Communities My family has lived on the same […] Continue Reading→
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NFC October 2022 Newsletter
Relational Discipleship by Rev. Dr. Tim Catlett Throughout the gospel of Luke, including our lectionary texts for this summer, Jesus challenges individuals and communities to reconsider how they engage in […] Continue Reading→
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New Faith Communities
NFC October Common Learning DayThe New Room Society gathered for Common Learning Days on October 11th and 12th at Asbury UMC in Durham, where Iglesia La Semilla and The Six:Eight […] Continue Reading→
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NFC June 2022 Newsletter
Every Church is a New Church Start by Rev. Dr. Tim Catlett My predecessor, Rev. Greg Moore, and our former bishop, Bishop Hope Morgan Ward, were fond of saying, in […] Continue Reading→
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NFC March 2022 Newsletter
Core Values: Common LearningBy Rev. Dr. Tim Catlett Members of our New Room Society covenant to live out our mission to co-create new spaces for new people to be gathered […] Continue Reading→
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NFC December 2021 Newsletter
Creating New Spaces for New Peopleby Rev. Dr. Tim Catlett Recently, I was speaking with a national church planting expert, and he said, “The pandemic will forever change the way […] Continue Reading→