At its heart, Fresh Expressions is about empowering and equipping God’s people to reach people currently outside of the traditional church.  By listening to people, meeting them where they are, and forming church - where they are - this powerful movement is cultivating new expressions of church alongside existing congregations. The Southwest District has a new Fresh Expression Cultivator, Rev. Allyson Lawrence. Allyson's goal is to help build a district-wide support structure through coaching and collaboration to aid those who want to embark on their own Fresh Expressions of church in their local communities. To better inform clergy and laity about Fresh Expression, each church in our district has been given a special day for clergy to bring at least two key leaders of their congregation to an event called a Spark Day. A Spark Day is a great way to hear how Fresh Expressions is renewing the church and to discover tools to start Fresh Expressions in your own context.  (For details of the schedule of Spark meetings and to see which churches are included in which group, visit the Special Events & News Page of the SouthWest District website, www.ngumc.org/southwest)