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Reimagining Church

Reimagining Church is just that: thinking in fresh ways about church and how it connects with today’s world. Come willing to be stretched, challenged, and refreshed!
Wednesday Evenings 7-9 PM EST
January 14 – March 4, 2026

Are you frustrated by the decline in church attendance and participation at your parish? Perhaps you’re hearing the buzz around terms like “missional church,” “discipleship,” and “fresh expressions,” but are baffled about what those mean or how they might relate to your own parish. Or perhaps you are simply curious about whether a new perspective might help you and your parish engage differently with the gospel and with parish ministry.

This course will try to define slippery terms like mission and discipleship, and to connect them in a way that can inspire a new vision of the church, one that is life-giving for us and for the world.

The course is for anyone eager and willing to explore Christian faith in a fresh way that is at the same time ancient and yet relevant to today’s world. The course may not always be comfortable— changes in thinking and living are never easy—but it will be rewarding. It will also be demanding, requiring time and effort outside of the gathering times as well as inside.

What You’ll Learn

1

Knowing: What Am I Going to Learn?

What do terms like “mission” and “discipleship” mean? What has mission to do with the Bible? Be inspired by examples of doing church in new ways.
2

Being: How Will I be Formed?

Develop a bigger sense of who God is and of what our role is in the mission of God. Develop the ability to listen for God outside the walls of the church, and to imagine what God might be wanting to do.
3

Doing: What Skills Will I Develop?

How to pray for a neighbourhood, grow relationships outside the church, and establish a fresh expression of church.

Prepare

Learn Together

Reflect

Instructor

Dr. John Bowen

John Bowen is Professor Emeritus of Evangelism at Wycliffe College in Toronto. He has been teaching about church renewal for over a quarter of a century. He and his wife, Deborah, are long-term members of St John the Evangelist in Hamilton.