Cultivate

A Movement to Nurture Organic Faith Communities in Northwest Washington

Wild Church | Pub Church | Dinner Church | Bowling Church | Dog Park Church

Creative Church | Potluck Church | Lazy Church | Gardening Church | Kayak Church

Connect with Erik or Emma below!

Cultivate is encouraging the Church to try something new: experiments in cultivating organic faith communities, new worship experiences, experimental evangelism, raising up a new crop of leaders from within contexts, and preparing the soil in places new growth could occur.
Fresh Expressions is a movement that makes space for lay leaders, deacons, and pastors to use both traditional as well as innovative forms of church to live out Christ’s mission. One does not replace the other, but rather creates a mutual benefit for both—a “mixed ecology of church.”
Find more information HERE

We believe that God is calling forth something new—a Holy Innovation—in how we start new ministries, how we raise up and support people to lead them, and how we connect those innovative ministries to the rest of this church. SAWCs and New Starts are still important, but they tend to be expensive, clergy heavy, and based on 20th century assumptions and expectations. On the edges of the Church as it is, the Spirit is stirring up a desire for new forms of gathering, is raising up new leaders (many of them lay people), and is moving among congregations that long to try new things but don’t always know where to start.
We are setting out create a series of experiments that will explore how we might create and nurture Fresh Expressions: new forms of church that are nimble, innovative, inexpensive, and often connect to new, young, and diverse people who don’t find a place in the existing church structures. To do this well, we are building a multi-synod network of learning and support for the innovators. We also want to explore how to network and support the existing leaders and communities that can come alongside, learn from, and provide support for these holy innovations.

North Cascades Wild Church
Rev. Cindy Myatt | email Pastor Cindy
Located in the foothills of the stunning North Cascades. We gather outside – under the most beautiful of steeples – the sky – with the forest as our building. Together – we – the Nones, and Dones come together to find the Sacred in the greatest of all Cathedrals.
Seeking to live in deeper relationships with our community while finding the presence of the Divine within each other and throughout the world. Our gatherings combine contemplative practices along with silent meditative wandering, spiritual fellowship and food.
Collectively we are not into Christian denominational divisiveness but, it might be helpful to know that North Cascades Wild Church is Lutheran (ELCA). The emphasis on grace, mystery, and “always REforming,” are Lutheran values that we particularly appreciate.
One of our primary objectives is to [RE]define church. That is, we don’t want a building to become our concern. Instead, the communities of Marblemount, Rockport and Concrete are our concern. How can we be better citizens and promote the well-being of all life?

Network of practitioners for support and encouragement
Coaching for leaders who want to experiment
Coaching for leaders who want to cultivate experimentation in your context
Consulting: individualized support and follow up for your experiment and support for creating space in your church for this kind of work
Connections to other experimental ministries and leaders
Experiential learning and training events
Curated books, websites, and other resources - like this Resource Page & this Video
In the future: micro-grants and other financial support

Cultivate Team

listen to friends, coworkers and neighbors who express a desire for a faith gathering

perhaps primarily lay as they have so many more relationships beyond the congregation!

This is Christ's church.