Doing church differently
The story of The Way church in Salford & Manchester: church planting in the UK
Our story is actually the weaving together of a number of stories.
Many of us have a long history of being followers of Jesus, involved in a variety of both new and traditional expressions of local church. For a few of us that involvement has included church leadership and oversight.
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For most of us, involvement in church life had increasingly meant more time focused on a Sunday 'event' and internal programs, and less time experiencing genuine discipleship community and reaching out to those around us.
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For some, this led us to relooking at the church in the New Testament in more detail, and to do more research into the history of the early church.
It became clear that our experience of local church up to that point was different to that experienced by the Christians of the first few centuries.
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Out of this process we felt God clearly challenging us to do something different. A summary of some of our research can be found via the Our Foundations page.
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For others, the journey began with a calling to a specific area, involvement in the community through running local businesses, and reaching out to people within their neighbourhood.
However, it became clear that this calling did not fit with the corporate vision of churches they were part of, and they were unable to meet the expectations of commitment to church life.
They began to pray and dream about local church that was really connected with local communities, and where they were equipped to pursue what God had directed them to do.
For other people, their desire to love and serve unbelievers, as well as their passion for close community, care and discipleship, led them into The Way by various diverse routes.
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For all of us, we are on a journey to rediscover life in community and on mission together for the gospel, living out Jesus' commission to be disciples who make disciples.
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However, our story is not just about us, but also about the many unbelievers drawn into a variety of communities of love, support and care that are very much part of who we are.
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If you would like to be part of our story then we would love you to get involved. Alternatively, if you have a heart to start a similar church elsewhere then we would love to support you.
There are no names or pictures here because everybody in The Way is part of the team.
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Pastoral care, teaching, and ministry in The Way is the responsibility of everyone. The New Testament is clear that all of us should love, care for, accept, honour, serve, admonish, forgive, comfort, teach, encourage and pray for one another.
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Leadership in the New Testament stresses function rather than office, tasks rather than titles. In the kingdom of God, leadership is founded on godly character and servanthood, and recognised within the community.
In The Way, some men and women are recognised as playing more of a leadership or facilitation role than others, but everyone can and should be involved in aspects of leadership within the life and mission of each community, irrespective of status, ethnicity, culture or background.