Fresh Expressions of People Over Property: Scripture, Stories, and Strategies to Help People of Faith Reimagine Their Space

Our church buildings, synagogues, and other religious places – which once stood as beacons of hope and reverence for its community – have become a burden for the organizations who seek to keep them standing. In efforts to patch leaky roofs and paint over years of wear, leaders are putting more and more money each year into property instead of people. The practices we have fallen into to keep a building running are not only demoralizing to the pastoral profession and the mission of the church, but they also run the risk of violating property tax laws and incurring more debt. What if our properties didn’t have to be a source of pain but one of purpose and profit? Can we as faith-based organizations begin to think collaboratively about how we might further our missions by creatively and intentionally rethinking how we utilize the space we inhabit? In Fresh Expressions of People Over Property the authors reflect on strategies, scriptures, and stories that help leaders faithfully re-imagine their community spaces so that they reflect that God and God’s people value people over property.

Kenneth H. Carter Jr. is resident bishop of the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. He gives pastoral and administrative leadership to more than 1000 congregations, fresh expressions of church, campus ministries, and outreach initiatives. His episcopal area stretches across the 44 western counties of the state. He served for 29 years as a pastor in Western North Carolina and is the author of several books.

Rev. Dr. Audrey B. Warren, a native Floridian, did not venture too far from her hometown of Naples to plant some roots. Audrey currently resides in Miami, FL where she and her husband Jose Luis are active members of their very diverse downtown community.
Audrey earned her Bachelor of Arts from Florida Southern College where she majored in Religion, and then ventured out of Florida for only a few years to earn her Masters of Divinity from Duke Divinity School in Durham, NC. Audrey then continued her studies at Wesley Theological Seminary where she earned her Doctorate of Ministry focusing on Children and Spirituality. She is an ordained Elder in the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church and currently serves as Senior Pastor at First United Methodist Church of Miami.
Since 2013 Audrey has co-convened the Fresh Expressions movement in the Florida Annual Conference. Audrey's