SPEAK Faith Sharing

SPEAK seeks to share our faith by living and offering an alternative way of expressing our faith as part of what we do.

We seek to live a lifestyle centred on Jesus.

At the local level we are seeking to network with SPEAK Faith Link people who are passionate about wanting to offer their faith to others in alternative ways.

What Does A Faith Link Person Do?

A Faith Link Person...
...is in relational contact with other Faith Link people by e-mail.
...pioneers expressions of alternative outreach such as, conscious club nights, meditation and prayer nights and Radical Consciousness Courses
...encourages the rest of their SPEAK groups to think about how faith sharing is incorporated into what the group does.

Does Your Group Have A Faith Link Person?

If your group doesn't have a link person we suggest you consider appointing one and encouraging them to get in touch with us. This does not mean that the Faith Link is the only person in the group thinking about faith sharing but that they are encouraging and supporting others in the group to do this.

SPEAK Faith Sharing and Spirituality

We have produced some resources on faith sharing and spirituality which include

i. Reclaim The Gospel - this looks at alterative models and philosophy of outreach, and emerging church theology. It also gives some practical suggestions.
ii. Spirituality of Searching - some more principles and philosophy.
iii. Radical Discipleship - about how to develop discipleship in a SPEAK group.
iv. Tree Huggers Guide to the Gospel - A cartoon style story of the gospel basics.

You can order the Reclaim the Gospel pack with all these resources and more by contacting the SPEAK Network Support Team or use the online form.

If you want to be a Faith Link person for your local group then let us know. We also have stories from previous SPEAK Local Faith Links.

Taking These Principles Further- Faith GSWs

If you are interested in taking these principles further there is also the possibility to be a Faith Link on a part-time basis to engage in an underground Christian community (church redefined) experiment. This is the Faith Group Support Worker role (GSW). At the moment this is in the early stages of development and is only an experiment, but we are now piloting this role in Manchester. For further information please get in touch.

Gatherings With Other Faith Links
Faith Links and others in the Network passionate about faith sharing and spirituality get together to discuss what they are doing and share ideas at Soundcheck and other Network gatherings. We have also done pow-wow gatherings of all the faith links to get together to share stories about their spiritual journey for mutual support, encouragement and solidarity. If you are interested in any of these then please get in touch.

3 Models of Faith Sharing

We have been suggesting 3 different alternative models of outreach for groups to experiment with on a local level. These are 3 concrete things you can try if you are a Faith Link:

1. Radical Consciousness Course for real searchers.
2. The Prayer and Meditation night for people quite spiritually open.
3. The socially conscious club night for conscious and open people who may have different perspectives on the Christian faith.

The Reclaim the Gospel pack tells you everything you need to know about these events and how to organise them. Remember these are only suggestions, so please feel free to come up with new ideas and try new things. We really are encouraged when groups do this! Do feel free to send them in. Its also cool to write up what you have done and share it with others on an e-mail loop. Mutual learning and encouragement is much more in line with our network ethos than just things coming out of the office.

If you would like more information on what it would mean to be part of the Sharing Faith and Discipleship petal, a national role, get in touch. This requires a commitment of at least two weekends a year, but an amazing way to get involved in the shaping of an exciting part of the Network.