Links
This page provides links to other sites that may be of interest. We have not tried to be comprehensive but to point towards sites that offer useful resources, distinctive insights or similar ways of working. We welcome suggestions of other sites. Please contact us about this.
Urban Mission Links
www.astoncharities.org.uk/research/urbmiss.shtmlSelection of papers on various aspects of urban mission collected by the Community Initiatives Unit of Aston Charities.
www.utusheffield.fsnet.co.uk
Website of the Urban Theology Unit, based in Sheffield, a leading resource and training agency in urban theology and urban mission.
www.unlock-urban.org.uk
Website of Unlock, based in Sheffield, a resource agency offering expertise and materials for urban communities who are not primarily book-readers.
www.fyt.org.uk
Website of Frontier Youth Trust, specialising in work with young people in urban contexts, providing training courses and resources.
www.cuf.org.uk
Website of the Church Urban Fund, with resources and information on various issues.
www.urbanpresence.org.uk
Website of Manchester-based Urban Presence, focused primarily on that city but with some more general articles and resources.
www.jitc.org.uk
Website of ‘Jesus in the City’ – the conference for urban practitioners. The fourth Congress took place in Glasgow in June 2004; the fifth Congress took placein Bristol in June 2007; the sixth Congress takes place in Belfast in March 2010.
homepages.uel.ac.uk/G.Smith/
Homepage of Greg Smith, a Christian sociologist and researcher, a specialist in urban issues, with an extensive selection of publications.
www.lcm.org.uk
Website of London City Mission, with information about urban mission activities in London.
www.incarnate-network.eu
Grass roots church planting network for Europe with a UK focus
www.curbsproject.org.uk
Website of CURBS – children in urban situations – offering training and resources for working with children in urban communities. The project worker, Kathryn Copsey, is a trustee of Urban Expression.
www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~mission/urbanchallenge.htm
Information about Urban Challenge run by Birmingham City Mission.
www.unoh.org
Urban Neighbours of Hope is a holistic urban mission agency based in Australia but also working in Thailand, which has very similar values to Urban Expression.
www.ecsum.org
Information about the East Coast School of Urban Ministry, an urban ministry training programme based in Elizabeth, New Jersey and linked with City Tribe Church in New York.
www.culf.org
The Commission on Urban Life and Faith was set up to reflect on developments in the urban context 20 years on from the Faith in the City report in 1985. Its report, Faithful Cities was published in May 2006 and can be downloaded from this website.
www.nationalestatechurches.org
Network run by and for church and community workers based on housing estates. Anglican/Methodist origins but open to all.
www.innerchange.org
InnerCHANGE is a mission order committed to working among the poor in urban communities in North America and other parts of the world.
www.resourcebristol.org.uk
An initiative in Bristol starting in 2006 that builds partnerships between inner city and other Baptist churches in the city, offers resources to struggling churches and provides training for volunteers.
www.cofe.anglican.org/info/socialpublic/urbanaffairs.html#UrbanBulletin
This page gives access to past and current issues of Urban Bulletin
www.friendshipfirst.org/home.htm
The website of a small group set up by Steve Bell of AoG which has a wealth of insight into making sense of Christian-Muslim dialogue on a simple basis
www.urbantheology.org
The website of the London Urban Theology project - a place for theological reflection on urban issues, including articles and a journal exploring urban issues.
Church Planting Links
www.acpi.org.ukWebsite of Anglican Church Planting Initiatives, run by Bob & Mary Hopkins, offering training, resources and consultancy.
www.churcharmy.org.uk
Section on the Sheffield Centre, staffed by George Lings and Clare Dalpra, which collects data on Anglican church planting.
www.message.org.uk
Website of the Message, Manchester-based trust involved in evangelism, youth ministry, music and (through Eden projects) church planting.
www.x-pansion.net
The church planting website of the Assemblies of God.
www.methodist.org.uk/information/planting.htm
The church planting page of the Methodist Church.
europe.saltlight.org/churchplanting
The church planting page of Salt and Light Ministries.
www.thecrowdedhouse.org
Website of the Sheffield-based Crowded House church planting group, committed to planting household-sized churches in the city.
www.hccentral.com
Website of House Church Central, a site providing resources for those planting home-based churches.
www.simplechurch.co.uk
Website promoting simple church structures, using homes and cell structures, with articles and stories.
www.togetherinmission.org
Website of Together in Mission, the successor to Challenge 2000, which promotes church planting and offers training in missional leadership.
www.waleswide.org
Website of an initiative to plant new churches and strengthen existing churches across Wales.
Emerging Church Links
www.emergingchurch.infoA portal operating as a gathering point for stories of emerging forms of church, with essays and opportunities to reflect on experience.
www.encountersontheedge.org.uk
The website linked to the ‘Encounters on the Edge’ series of booklets produced by George Lings (Sheffield Centre), with updates on the stories.
www.emergent-uk.org
A website for ‘missional Christians’ exploring different expressions of church with a particular focus on postmodernity.
www.celluk.org.uk
The website of Cell UK, the leading agency promoting cell church models and values in the UK.
www.accn.org.uk
The website of the Anglican Cell Church Network.
www.alternativeworship.org
A portal that contains information about alternative worship and links to alternative worship groups in the UK and beyond.
www.emergingchurch.org
A personal website run by Karen Ward, an American church planter, with reflections on the emerging church scene and a useful links section.
www.emergentvillage.com
Another American site with a focus on missional church in a postmodern culture.
www.newway.org.uk
The website of the ‘New Way of Being Church’ network, exploring small Christian communities and drawing on insights from liberation theology and base churches.
www.newlandscape.net
A website offering resources and opportunities for discussion on the ideas presented by various thinkers on emerging forms of church.
www.phuture.org
An Australian website offering resources and opportunities for discussion on the ideas presented by various thinkers on emerging forms of church.
www.tribalgeneration.com
An extensive website with stories, information and resources focussing on church for the emerging generation.
www.organicchurch.net
A website devoted largely to blogging about mission and church in a postmodern and post-Christendom context, and with links to others blogging on similar subjects.
www.opensourcetheology.net
A useful collection of articles, book reviews and discussions about emerging church and mission issues.
www.freshexpressions.org.uk
The website of the Fresh Expressions initiative emerging from the Anglican Mission-shaped Church report.
www.faithmaps.org
A website offering tools for navigating theology, leadership, discipleship and church life in postmodernity.
www.futurechurch.org.nz
A website based in New Zealand offering resources for those on a spiritual quest and celebrating a spirituality that is lifegiving, just and connected to the earth.
www.future-shape-of-church.org
Resources for engaging with a post-religious and post-secular world in a time of cultural transition.
www.ginkworld.net
A place for honest and direct dealing with issues facing the church and culture - a voice for the emerging church.
www.sacramentis.com
A website with resources for creative worship and sacred space.
www.sacred-future.org
A website dedicated to the exploration of Christian faith and spirituality in the landscape of postmodernity.
www.spirited.net.au
A website to network with others on the emerging church journey.
www.the-next-wave.org
A website encouraging the church to learn to live and breathe in the postmodern world and find ways to be agents of change.
www.vintagefaith.com
Encouraging the rethinking of church alongside others on the same journey.
www.gracelondon.co.uk
Rooted in the Grace Brethren tradition, a missional community in London attempting to help young adults untouched by traditional churches encounter Christian faith.
www.resourcechurchplanting.com
A year-long training course operating over five weekends in different locations, exploring issues of mission, culture, leadership, church and transformation. Aimed at those who are exploring emerging ways of being church in a changing culture.
www.contemplativefire.org An initiative of the Diocese of Oxford's Cutting Edge programme, this is an approach to spirituality that draws on the contemplative tradition and operates through groups in gatherings in various locations.
Social Action Links
www.makepovertyhistory.orgWebsite of the Make Poverty History campagin, bringing together a wide cross section of over 200 charities, campaigns, trade unions, faith groups and celebrities who are united by a common belief that 2005 offers a unprecedented opportunity for global change.
www.ccwa.org.uk
Website of the Christian Community Work Alliance, with extensive resources and information.
www.faithworks.info
Website of the Faithworks initiative of Oasis Trust, offering resources and information for churches engaging in social action.
www.shaftesburysoc.org.uk
The Shaftesbury Society is a leading UK Christian charity that works with disabled people and local communities to achieve social inclusion, empowerment and justice.
www.speak.org.uk
SPEAK is a student and young adult campaigning network and a member of the Root and Branch network (to which Urban Expression also belongs). They are particularly involved in campaigning for trade justice and reforms to the arms trade.
www.cptuk.org.uk
Christian Peacemaker Teams, which has been operating in North America for several years, now has a UK chapter (another member of the Root and Branch network). CPT is involved in direct non-violent action in conflict zones.
www.ekklesia.org.uk
Ekklesia is a Christian political thinktank (and yet another member of the root and Branch network). It offers a daily email digest of news from a Christian perspective and engages in debate on contemporary social and political issues.
http://www.beyondthestreets.org.uk
Beyond the Streets is a collaborative network which exists to unite, equip and empower organisations seeking to offer freedom and change to those involved in prostitution.
http://www.breakthetraffic.com
Break the Traffic is an online petition, giving the opportunity for people to voice their opposition to human trafficking. This is a creative way to express solidarity with those who have been trafficked and to signal globally that human trafficking should not be accepted today.
www.servantsasia.org
Servants to Asia's Urban Poor have been operating in Asia for many years, living and working among the urban poor. They are now also operating in the UK.
Congregational and other Links
www.www.whiteinchcofs.co.ukThe Church of Scotland (church plant) in Whiteinch, Glasgow.
www.churchfromscratch.org
Emerging church plant in the Westcliffe-on-Sea area of Essex.
www.restore-peckham.org
Church plant in Peckham, South London.
www.hopestreet.org.au
Formerly Baptist Inner City Ministries, based in inner-city Sydney
www.burches.plus.com/stpeters/
Anglican church in a UPA parish in Leicestershire.
www.mainstream-uk.com.
A 'Word and Spirit' network of Baptist leaders and churches.
www.livingstonesnewtonheath.org.uk
A church emerging in Newton Heath, Manchester, through the work of an Urban Expression team.