If you have a question about Greenhouse, you may find the answer on this page. If you don't find it here, Contact us and someone will respond just as soon as we can.
Questions which diocesan leaders might ask
The Greenhouse method and the vast majority of resources are free.
Costs of running Greenhouse might include venue hire and refreshments for when you run Gatherings 2-3 times each year. These are all to be budgeted for in the same way that all other larger meetings are in your context.
An important consideration before you start Greenhouse is around capacity and managing the human resources element - how much time do potential Facilitators have available to commit to it? They might initially only do the Facilitation Training, so at least they understand what's involved, and can then make an informed decision about how Greenhouse could fit in with other ministries and commitments.
Finally, the Godsend resource is available as both a book and a website. The website is free to access, but the book can be purchased. Bulk-buy options are available on the Godsend website, or, it can be bought for £6.99 per copy from Amazon.
Greenhouse has been running since 2018 with a growing number of dioceses trying it out. Anecdotal reports since then have been very positive, with some dioceses embedding the Greenhouse process into other areas of their mission work, not just for helping to grow new Christian communities. There has also been two separate periods of research (in 2021 and 2023) using the Fruitfulness Framework research tool, to learn about how fresh expressions impact on the faith journeys of those who attend, and also, whether Greenhouse does in fact help with growing new Christian communities. The results are extremely encouraging and you can read about them here.
A recent review of the effectiveness of Greenhouse found that seventy percent of teams that remain in the Greenhouse programme move forward one stage in the missional journey each year and that 30 percent had reached stage five of the missional journey (starting a new worshipping community).
Our experience shows that if you look ‘under the bonnet’, the Missional Journey is common to almost all thriving worshipping communities. It’s possible to apply the Greenhouse process to almost any context, so all of these routes to growing new Christian communities can still use Greenhouse to help boost growth, share workload and build the longer term resilience of each project. Get in touch with the national Greenhouse team to learn more about how this can work.
There are several commitments if you decide to run Greenhouse:
If you have a strategic missional goal to create new disciples, reaching mainly people who don’t yet know Jesus, Greenhouse will slot into your strategy and support it.;
Fresh Expressions of church tend to be missional by design and FX leaders tend to be on the edges of the worshipping community, drawing new people in. This means that running a Greenhouse can really help create parishes that are younger and more diverse, where mixed ecology is the norm and where mission and discipleship thrive. Being part of a Greenhouse gives local leaders a methodology and the support they need to create flourishing new worshipping communities.
No. Greenhouse is growing with new dioceses committing to the process each year. Like all teams and resources provided through the National Church Institutions, Greenhouse is subject to regular reviews to check the funding still represents good value and that it supports the Church of England’s strategic bold outcomes. For the foreseeable future, Greenhouse resources are here to stay.
Questions that Greenhouse Facilitators might ask
This is covered in the Facilitation Training – watch this video for suggestions and resources.
Often the motivation to share Jesus comes from within an existing, established Church or other Christian context, so when setting up a new group (for example a fresh expression in its very earliest stages), being transparent from the outset will inform potential participants in the new group that it is going to be run by a Christian team with Christian values. This sets the tone for the new group and enables participants to have at least some expectation that the Christian faith may be reflected in some way.
The earliest stages of the Greenhouse process involves building community – in other words allowing natural friendships and bonding to grow in that context. Knowing that the group is set up by Christians can sometimes be enough to spark deeper conversations about faith, or perhaps about Christian coping strategies for difficult times in life, or challenging questions about suffering, and so on. These questions often happen naturally among friends without having to force it. The Holy Spirit will be at work in these situations, prompting, guiding, and enabling people to speak of Jesus when the time is right, and when they want to. The process of introducing Jesus to new people can be gentle and respectful, with a door that is always open, both for those who wish to enter, and those who wish to leave.
Remember too that you will be hearing ideas at the Gatherings from other Teams who have already been through that stage. This cross-pollination of ideas and experiences is one of Greenhouse’s greatest strengths.
When you have completed the Facilitation Training, you will be equipped to make these decisions for yourself according to your context. There is a wealth of free resources to support the planning for a Gathering and make it easier. Travel, venue hire and refreshment costs must come out of an appropriate budget, such as a diocesan or project budget - the national Greenhouse team cannot fund those elements.
It is recommended Gatherings happen 2-3 times each year, perhaps termly feels the right way to think about it for you, but you can have them more often if that seems right in your context.
You should follow the GDPR guidelines offered via your diocesan office when it comes to sharing people’s details. Generally speaking, you do not share anyone’s details without their prior consent.
There is a new research tool developed just for this purpose, called the Fruitfulness Framework. You can read more here.
That’s a really important question to ask before you start! Any new undertaking will require your time and commitment, but the Greenhouse process has a proven impact and can actually be a ‘life-giving’ commitment: time spent supporting leaders with a passion for sharing their faith with people outside the church community. If you’re thinking about facilitating (or running) a Greenhouse, you may like to commit just to doing the Facilitation Training so that at least you understand what is involved. You can then make a more informed decision about whether you want to commit to the recommended minimum two-year process. There are lots of resources to help you along the way and make it easier. Those who have done Greenhouse before would encourage you to try it, and you’ll see how much they believe in it throughout the training.
If you are a team leader, being part of Greenhouse can actually save you time because the gatherings are a valuable ‘ringfenced’ few hours to reflect on what’s happening, to dream dreams and to make concrete plans with one or two others from your church.
Questions that local Church or mission project leaders might ask
This page on the Church of England website lists all the areas where Greenhouse is currently operational. If your area isn’t listed, contact your diocesan office to find out if there are plans to consider running it. If not, contact the national Greenhouse team for further advice.
If you are trying to reach people in your community with the Good News of Jesus where you live, work and have friends, then Greenhouse is for you. It doesn’t matter what you call it – a fresh expression, a new worshipping community, a new Christian community, or something else – if you have the seed of an idea to share Jesus with new people, Greenhouse can most likely help.
One of the great strengths of Greenhouse is that teamwork is actively encouraged. This ensures you should not ever be alone in trying to revitalise and/or get a mission project off the ground, or revitalised. Ideally, a Team commits to two years of doing Greenhouse, but if something happens and one of you has to leave the process, it should be able to keep going because there are several of you to carry things on.
During that two years, you will meet for about 2.5 hours 2-3 times per year at a large Gathering of other Teams like you. You will learn from and support each other in a warm and encouraging space. You will also meet separately with just your Team to carry out the action points you had identified at the last Gathering. This keeps your project growing and developing. The time commitment you put in in between Gatherings is for you to decide and will be different in every Team context.
The key benefits are: