• Is the Lab a church?
• When you say mission are you talking about evangelism?
• Aren’t worship and teaching important for churches? How do you provide for people’s spiritual needs?
• Is the Lab a “fresh expression”?

Is the Lab a church?

Umm… yes and no.

Here’s the simple black-and-white answer: No. Instead we would describe the Lab as a “missional community” or “missionary community”. We are, however, part of the worldwide Church (big C) - the body of Christ. We are plugged into the established Church through two denominations - The Church in Wales (Anglican) and The Methodist Church.

Some members of the Lab are also members of established, local churches (little c), whilst others are satisfied simply with being members of the Lab. We are happy with both, and love to be able to share and partner with other churches. We no longer have a Sunday worship meeting - so if that’s a criteria for being a church then we are more likely to be described as a para-church organisation or something similar.

However, if a church is defined as a community of believers, then we clearly are a church. In this sense, we would describe ourselves as an experiment in what church should look like (1) for a post-modern urban culture, and (2) when it is organised primarily to be effective in mission.

More technical theological explanation

Traditionally, the church would use it’s understanding of what church should be like (ecclesiology) in order to inform how it organises itself for mission (missiology). What makes the Lab distinctive from this form of church is that we would rather let our understanding and vision for mission then inform how we organise ourselves as a church/community. In this sense, the Lab is still a church, but one which is organised in a radically different way - a way which some would argue makes it cease to be “church”.

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When you say mission are you talking about evangelism?

The word evangelism is usually used when we talk about “sharing our faith” and “outreach” - sharing the gospel with others and inviting them to respond. This is an important part of our purpose as Christians - to share our faith - and so evangelism is definitely part of what we mean when we say mission.

However, we also believe that the concept of mission goes further than simply evangelism. We believe in a God who is working, and has always been working, to bring peace and reconciliation between Himself and the world He has created. Part of this reconciliation is about spirituality and spiritual alignment with God - however, it is also about bringing equality and justice.

Jesus mission was to the poor, those who were ill, the marginalised and the oppressed - so part of our “mission” as The Lab is also to work to bring God’s justice to the world around us. Part of this is about evangelism, but also about social action and justice. This is why with our projects we choose to align ourselves with those who need real, physical support - not simply to share our faith with them, but also to live out our faith amongst them.

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Aren’t worship and teaching important for churches? How do you provide for people’s spiritual needs?

Firstly, we acknowledge that worship and teaching are important to enable us to live godly lives. This is why we encourage members of the Lab who feel they require these things to fulfil their spiritual needs to also become members of other local churches. We have a small, very informal opportunity for worship during the week. However, we also believe that hospitality and fellowship are important elements of church which we provide opportunity for.

Secondly, whilst you cannot measure it in any conventional sense, we believe that as a community we are engaged in learning together informally through the process of living Christian lives together. Through this process, we are able to learn and reflect theologically on life in a way which can’t be achieved through a weekly sermon. As for worship, we also believe that we need to place emphasis on a life of worship rather than worship which takes place at a specific time, involving a specific style of music. In this way, our whole lives together in community are glorifying and worshipping God.

Also, by choosing to engage actively in mission and in restoring God’s justice to his world, leaving our own comfort zones, we are choosing to worship Him in a much deeper sense than through a worship service.

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Is the Lab a “fresh expression”?

Fresh Expressions is a Church of England and Methodist Church initiative encouraging people hoping to establish new or different forms of church for a changing culture. The Lab is listed as a fresh expression - you can find us in their directory here, although our entry is a little out of date.

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“Church is any expression of the life of Jesus that takes communal form.”
- Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury

Although in a lot of ways we would describe ourselves as a church, The Lab doesn’t have a Sunday worship gathering like other established churches (we worship together through our missional work and through living lives of worship together). We understand that the Lab may not be the expression of church for you, or that you may wish to join an established church in addition to being part of our community.

In order to help you plug into other local churches, here’s a list. There are other churches in Newport, but these in particular have groups of students already as part of their congregations:

Bethel Community Church (Assemblies of God) - City centre.

Christchurch (Independent Evangelical) - Malpas Rd.

King’s Church (Independent Pentecostal) - City centre.

Newport City Church (Independent Pentecostal) - Town end of Caerleon Rd.

St Paul’s City Centre Church (Church in Wales) - City centre (We are closely linked with St Paul’s Church and the Church in Wales).

St Teilo’s

From July 2008, a team of five young adults will move into St Teilo’s Vicarage, our first Lab community house, on Alway estate. The team will form the core of the group which will develop our community work in Alway, and will also be exploring a communal, neo-monastic way of living. In addition to their commitment to Alway, we will also be fulfilling other roles with The Lab, St Paul’s and the University Chaplaincy:

• Cat Davies will also be taking on the role of Pastoral Assistant at St Paul’s City Centre Church.
• Steph Keates will be the new Chaplaincy Assistant.
• Sam Helkvist is already on placement at St Paul’s as a Pastoral Assistant.
• Dan Caulfield will be working on to support the Lab.
• James will continue as Student Pastor, heading up the Lab Team.

<check back soon.>

Welcome to the Lab website. The Lab is a missional community of young adults in Newport, South Wales. Our vision is to explore together what it means to live out our faith in Christ on the margins of community, society and culture - and to reach those people who have been marginalised themselves.

We are currently in the middle of a break for the Summer, but will be back into a regular pattern of gatherings at the start of the new Academic year. All the details of our plans for next year are in the Life section of the site. In the meantime, if you are in Newport over the summer and would like to find out more about the Lab, please feel free to email me.

James Henley,
Student Pastor

With the new academic year in September, the stuff that we do as the Lab - our structure and organisation - is going to change quite dramatically. In order to continue realising our identity as a community, we feel that we need to change the way we organise ourselves, becoming much more networked and organic, rather than centred on a specific meeting.

We aim to live out our faith together, enjoying each other’s company and hospitality, as well as living missionally together. Because of this, the majority of what the Lab “does” is dis-organised, spontaneous and organic - and often slips under the radar. However, to encourage and equip each other for our lives spent together, and to do mission and social justice together, we will also have some arranged events and projects which will serve as “hubs” for the Lab “network” to gather.

The main change in September will be that we will no longer have a weekly Sunday meeting, but instead Foodface will form the hub where everyone will come together to eat and share together. Briefly before Foodface, and occasionally afterwards, we will also be creating space for worship and prayer.

Then during the rest of the week, there will be the chance to be involved in different missional projects - in Alway based around the Lab House, in Newport City Centre and elsewhere. We are currently in the process of working out what these will look like.

An experiment in missional community...

In 2006, Justin Groves and his family moved to Newport tasked by the Bishop of Monmouth to start a youth church project in Newport city centre. They were joined by Delyth Liddell-Davies, a local Methodist minister, who helped to mould the vision for the Lab, and was vital in securing support and funding from Newport Methodist Circuit, which we are hugely grateful for.

“The Lab - an experiment to find God” started to meet on Sunday evenings in St Paul’s church, starting off with a faithful few students from the University of Wales, Newport, and a few local young adults. Built into the DNA of the community right from the beginning was a desire to be a “missional” community, learning how to live incarnationally in our culture today.

In early 2007, The Lab changed venue to the Pen & Wig, a local pub in Newport city centre, using the space creatively for our worship gatherings, and partnering with Bethel, another local church, to organise music gigs under the name, Explosion.

In September 2007, James Henley started as Lab Student Pastor alongside studying Youth & Community Work and Applied Theology, and we also began to develop a co-ordinating team to help plan and organise the future of the Lab. We also started to eat together as a community on a Wednesday night (now called Foodface) and actively grow a sense of community and belonging together.

In July 2008, five members of the Lab moved into St Teilo’s, the new Lab house in Alway to live missionally and get involved in the local community. Over the summer of 2008, we will be working on growing community-based projects and youth work in Alway, as well as other projects elsewhere in Newport which will hopefully come together later on in the year.

As of September 2008, we will no longer be meeting together on a Sunday night, but instead working as a hub for a network of two or three different projects drawing students and young adults together in community to live out a radical, marginal faith across the city. That’s the plan anyway.

Venue: St Paul’s, Commercial Street in Newport City Centre. View Map.
Time: Every Wednesday from 6.30pm. Food is at 7pm.

Every Wednesday we aim to sit down and eat together as a community. Each week different people from within The Lab help to cook and organise everything so that we can take it in turns to serve each other. You’re very welcome to join us even if you don’t usually come to other stuff we put on. We all contribute around a quid to the cost of the meal which pays for the raw ingredients needed to put the meal together.

Short informal time of worship & prayer

Starting at 6.30pm on Wednesdays, a small group of us meet for a short time of worship and prayer before sitting down to eat.

St Paul’s City Centre Church

St Paul’s is at the far end of Commercial Street, close to the “other” Wetherspoons and not far from the Police Station and Coffee No#1. It’s about a five minute walk (maybe less) from the Bus Station. If you are coming from Campus or from the Caerleon Rd area and would like a lift or to travel with others who know where they’re going, we’d love to help you out. Drop James an email, and he’ll be happy to introduce you to the right people.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

The Lab team is involved in thinking and planning ahead, and ensuring that the views of the whole Lab community are heard, as well as identifying and raising up those with skills and gifts in the Lab.

James Henley

Whilst serving as the Lab’s Student Pastor, James is studying for a degree in Youth Work and Theology at the Centre for Youth Ministry in Bristol. His passions are searching for church in unlikely places and reflecting on anything and everything that sparks his imagination.

Dan Caulfield

Dan graduated from Newport’s University last year with a degree in Film and Video, and is taking a gap year year living in the Lab house in Alway.

Louisa Wells

Louisa is beginning her third year studying Documentary Film at University of Wales, Newport, and is on the Exec Committee for Newport Christian Union.

Cat Davies

Cat has just completed a degree in Animation last year in Newport, and is now living in the Lab house. She is also working as Pastoral Assistant, for St Paul’s City Centre Church - which the Lab is closely related to.

Steph Keates

Steph is taking a year out after finishing her Creative Sound and Music degree in Newport. She is living in the Lab house this year, as well as working as the Chaplaincy Assistant for the university’s chaplaincy team.

Samuel Helkvist

Sam is Newport born and bred, and is on placement with St Paul’s Church as a Pastoral Assistant whilst he considers whether to train for ordination. He is also living in the Lab house in Alway, as well as currently working with creative media for the Church in Wales.

Pastoral Team

Justin Groves

Justin moved to Newport in 2005 when he was given the mission to start up a “youth church” by the Bishop of Monmouth - which has since grown and evolved into what the Lab is today. About a year ago, he took over as Priest-in-Charge at St. Paul’s Church in the City Centre. Along with Del, Justin brings wisdom and insight to the Lab and keeps an eye on everything that goes on.

Del Liddell-Davies

Del is the minister at Trinity Church in High Cross and a Chaplain for UWN. At the Lab, Del is a friendly, welcoming face and provides oversight and pastoral support. Over the Summer she is moving on to work for the Methodist Circuit in Barry, and will be sorely missed.

Del’s replacement in Newport, Louise, will be starting in September and will continue with the same role within the Lab.

Justin, Del and James are also on the chaplaincy team for the University of Wales Newport.

Our faith is…

A holistic faith. We join in the story of God the creator, who from the beginning of time has been working to bring the whole world and the whole of our humanity back into sync with His perfect existence. Heart, soul, mind and body are all equally important and cannot be separated.

A missional faith. We join in the story of Jesus Christ, as he does the same, drawing with him a community of disciples, to go to the poor, the broken and the hurting.

Our faithfulness will depend on our willingness to go where there is brokenness, loneliness, and human need. If the church has a future it is a future with the poor in whatever form.

- Henri J.M. Nouwen

A communal faith. We join in the story of the Holy Spirit, who works to join us together as one as the body of Jesus Christ. If we are for God, we must be for each other – we must journey together.

A marginal faith. We join in the story of the great prophets of ancient Israel, who placed themselves on the margins of existence in order to speak God’s Word into the society and culture in which they found themselves.

An evolving faith. We bring our own stories, joining them together, whether for days, months or years. As our stories continue our collective, community story will also evolve.

The Lab is a missional community of followers of Jesus. We are exploring what it means to follow him on the margins of life and society in Newport, in South Wales. Visit the Life section of the website to see how we organise ourselves and what projects we are involved in. We welcome people from all church backgrounds or none.

We also are committed to spending time together, building real, authentic relationships, and encouraging one another to live lives of worship by bringing God’s justice to the world around us. The Lab is sponsored by, and given oversight from, the Church in Wales and the Methodist Church; and we have a team made from members of the Lab and pastors from both denominations which plans and guides us on our journey together.

Identity

Our identity statement, which tells us who we aspire to be as a community is here.

Lab Team

Details of the Lab team members, and how you can contact them, are here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to some of the questions about the Lab which often come up are here.

The Story

And a quick summary of our story so far as a community, is here.