People are longing for deeper spiritual and relational connection. We want to do more than just sit and watch church. We want to be seen and heard. We want to practice our faith in a way that makes sense for who we are, not someone else. We want to use our voices and resources to work on real-world problems such as injustice, inequity, and climate change. Many of us sense there must be a better way of being in the world and want to participate in shaping that new future in community with others!
However, the status quo of top-down, consumer-driven Christianity has left many of us feeling disillusioned, bored, and burnt out — or simply left out. Due to unfamiliar rules and customs, awkward social situations, and often alienating doctrinal requirements, the barrier to entry is simply too high for most people. While the Sunday programmatic church is still valuable for many, the world also needs alternative expressions of church that are more accessible to the millions who are longing for spiritual connection but will never walk through the doors of an institutional church.
Over the past two decades, we’ve witnessed seismic cultural shifts that were well underway before COVID-19. The global pandemic has simply accelerated these changes. More and more people are finding the institutional church unrelatable and unappealing — especially younger generations. Many Christians themselves are struggling to reconcile their faith with the racism, sexism, exclusion, and abuses of power that seem endemic to much of Western Christianity.
Our world is hurting and broken. People are divided, disconnected, and lonely. Now, more than ever, we are in need of a brave reimagining and systematic rethinking of how we do church and spiritual community in our day.
New Wine Collective is an ecclesial innovation think-tank and R&D lab with the goal of engaging in a creative, intellectual, and practical conversation about the next iteration of Christianity. We’re envisioning a fundamentally different approach to church that lowers barriers, flattens hierarchies, and embodies a fresh expression of Christian spirituality that is radically loving and inclusive, oriented towards equity and justice, and marked by theological humility.
In short, we are creating an alternative ecclesiology for the Church and an online platform that would support that new ecclesiology.
We believe the purpose of all spirituality is to make us more loving for the simple reason that God IS love. And if the practice of love is the goal, then anyone can do "church" anywhere. Church, at its core, is not about programming and production, although that is largely what our current form of church has made it to be. A church is a community that practices love for one another, love for God, and love for neighbors. In essence, church is a simple thing. Perhaps we have overcomplicated it!
We believe the most potent form of church is its most basic, organic, and accessible. It does not require special buildings or professional preachers or musicians. It is supremely flexible and capable of rapid contextualization anywhere and in any culture. It is not limited by location or space requirements and can flourish anywhere people are already living. What we’re proposing is a return to the Church’s roots: small, agile, and local communities that fit in living rooms with loving relationships at the center.
New Wine Collective seeks to create a decentralized network of small spiritual communities (groups of 5-25) that meet regularly for the purpose of growing in love and compassion. Small, self-organized communities have the freedom and flexibility to creatively contextualize to any niche community (e.g. Crossfit gyms, gamers, artists, service workers, people with disabilities, etc.) and connect with people through any existing relational network. This simple, relational, and non-hierarchical approach to church can make spiritual community accessible to anyone. And we now have the opportunity to make small relational gatherings even more enriching, meaningful, and accessible through technology and the connective power of the internet.
Our strategy is to create an online platform that empowers people to co-create their own spiritual communities wherever they are. Its purpose is to bring local people together for face-to-face mutual relationships, spiritual practices, and collaboration for the common good (love, healing, and justice work).
Online platforms like Airbnb and Uber disrupted traditional industries by making it possible for anyone to become a hotelier or taxi driver. In similar ways, our platform would empower anyone to do “church” wherever they are without the costly overhead of buildings and paid clergy. Most importantly, people will be free to create spiritual community on their own terms (who, what, when, where, and how) while also connecting to a diverse network that shares knowledge, resources, and expertise.
Once fully developed, our online platform/app would support a whole new approach to church by functioning in four ways:
New Wine Collective seeks to embody a fresh expression of Christianity that lowers doctrinal barriers and focuses on loving God and loving neighbors as ourselves. It would foster vulnerability, non-judgment, and a practice-based spirituality (as opposed to belief-based) that makes it accessible to anyone drawn to its values and willing to participate.
A few values and distinctives that help define this “new wine” Christianity:
We are developing a framework for spirituality that sees the many, varied expressions of Christianity not as competitive silos but as an interconnected whole. Authentic spirituality is a journey that continually expands, integrates, and includes. Therefore, we need a more flexible, open architecture that encourages people to grow and learn from diverse voices, cultures, and traditions.
New Wine seeks to create an open platform where many voices can be heard, not just a select few. Instead of just being passive consumers, people will be empowered to be creators, connectors, and curators, taking part in shaping the movement themselves. Instead of being limited to one church or tradition, people will be free to explore and discover diverse expressions of spirituality that can meet them wherever they are on their journeys.
Since there is no Sunday service or programmatic expression, it means no heavy demand for attendance and volunteer hours to maintain services and programs. In our already over-busy society, people can use more of their time where it matters most: investing in loving relationships and service to others. They will have more margin in their lives to slow down, be present, and be released as agents of peace and love where they already are — at work, school, and in their neighborhoods and homes.
Without costly institutions and inward-facing programs to maintain, people will be free to direct more of their time and resources toward addressing real-world problems. Groups have the ability to inspire people to do things they might not do themselves, like volunteer, engage in activism, and support charitable organizations. Some micro-communities may have the capacity for creative organizing around specific needs and issues. They can pool talents and resources, and create non-profits and generosity movements.
The New Wine Collective model values mutuality and connection over hierarchy and control. Since there is no “bottleneck” or top-down power structure to maintain, it can remain lean and nimble, allowing for innovation and grassroots movements to grow. Instead of being dependent on just a few people in power, the user community itself would be the power source, channeling energy, and shaping the movement as it grows.
You can take part in the creation of a new approach to church that has the potential to radically change the spiritual landscape and help heal and renew the world. New Wine Collective, Inc. is a 501c3 non-profit organization relying on the generosity of donors to support our mission during our initial building phase. We are looking for partners willing to invest in our vision of a better future for all.
If you would like to learn about giving to New Wine Collective, please CLICK HERE.
We know we don’t have all the answers. That’s why we’re convening a community of people who want to participate in reimagining church and spirituality from the ground up together.
Our collective is a community gathered around a bold purpose: to tackle systemic problems within Christianity and to find new solutions together. If you’re looking for a place where your voice matters and where you can help create something new, please email us at contact@newwinecollective.org for information about how we're forming a collaborative community.
Connect with us on social media and please share about our work with others. If you know someone who might be excited about our vision, please consider making an introduction!
Jesus said people do not pour new wine into old wineskins… they pour new wine into new wineskins. (Matt. 9:17)
New Wine represents the radically new spirituality Christ embodied that transcended and challenged the religious structures of his day. New wine requires new wineskins—new forms and practices that serve as containers for a new way of relating to God, to one another, and to the world.
A Collective is a group of people working toward a common goal or purpose that does not rely on internal established hierarchies. In a collective, leadership is flexible, shared, and collaborative.
Our logo represents our positioning as a movement occupying liminal, “in-between” spaces, on the threshold between the now and the not yet. We are situated as a bridge between spheres—on the inside edge of religion and spirituality, yet accessible and compatible with broader culture. We dwell in the margins of both, where we find common ground and new possibilities of change.
Overlapping circles resembling a Venn diagram represent inclusivity and connection. A secondary symbol is viewed from above as a wine glass without walls, signifying openness and freedom from constraints and unnecessary structures.
