FXUM National Gathering 2025: 'Love Alike: We Can Do Hard Things!'

In February 2024, more than 450 people gathered at Providence United Methodist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the first annual Fresh Expressions UM National Gathering. An additional 350 gathered in online hub sites across the United States. Participants came together to engage in inspiring conversations, learn from experienced practitioners, and share best practices related to Fresh Expressions. The gathering sent reverberations across the connection, renewing a sense of hope and unleashing a spirit of creativity as United Methodists seek to be the church with new people, in new places, and in new ways.

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The 2025 gathering will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, February 27 through March 1. The theme is “Love Alike: We Can Do Hard Things.” This focus builds on Dr. Candace Lewis’s advice not to recreate the same version of Methodism but to lean into a distinctly Wesleyan Spirit-led movement of new Christian communities that serve the present age. The event will integrate Wesley’s language from his sermon, “A Catholic Spirit”:

"But even though a difference in opinions or modes of worship may prevent an entire external union, yet need it prevent our union in affection? Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike?" (italics ours)

The Fresh Expressions UM National Gathering is a dynamic event that brings together practitioners, theologians, and denominational leaders who are passionate about cultivating new Christian communities.

Fresh Expressions UM’s mission is to cultivate new Christian communities with people not currently connected to any church. Our vision for the gathering is to see hundreds of United Methodists from across the connection building relationships, worshiping, and learning together. The gathering is designed for teams to experience together, so we are providing discounted rates on team registrations.

The 2025 gathering's keynote speakers include Candace Lewis, Woo Kang, Isaiah Park, Steve Harper, Kris Sledge, and many others. Each speaker will engage a panel of practitioners in a conversation that will challenge and encourage your team.

The conference will embody what we teach about blended ecology. It will feature Wesleyan theologians and key authorizers balanced with emerging and experienced practitioners. We are introducing new collective experiments that will expand the boundaries of what a conference can be.

Instead of traditional workshops, the conference will feature “Connectives,” conversations that curate wisdom around a particular stream of Fresh Expressions. The connectives will be led by practitioners who are “planting gardens, eating their own cooking, and sharing experimental recipes.” Immersion experiences and simulations will be offered across Atlanta.

Rai Jackson and the Well Squad will lead worship, music, and the artistic components of the gathering. Rai and his team are active practitioners of Fresh Expressions.

The conference will also feature a sequence of “love labs.” These six sessions are designed to lead your team through the “loving first journey”:

1. Listen
2. Love
3. Build Relationships
4. Explore Discipleship
5. Church
6. Repeat.

Once again, we will have a bishops’ panel, and Bishop Ken Carter will lead a special session called “Fresh Expressions for Judicatory Leaders (Bishops, Executives, Superintendents)—The Why and How of Vision, Support, Resources, and Accountability.”

The conference will offer practical tools, processes, and frameworks for teams. It is a space to learn, share, and envision the future of United Methodism.

Fresh Expressions UM 2025 envisions a vibrant, Spirit-led future for the church—one where love, grace, and creativity intersect. So, let’s prayerfully look forward to Atlanta in 2025, where we can love alike and, indeed, do hard things!

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