Nick Covington isn’t that large of a man, but with his muscular biceps, tattoos covering his arms and an air of fearlessness, you might be wary if you encountered him in the proverbial dark alley.
Talking to a group of people from the Fresh Expressions United Methodist National Gathering 2026 who were visiting the Beauty in a Canvass Tattoo and Art Gallery, Covington copped to having a temper.
“I come from a pretty tough family,” he said. “I've always been raised to never stand down, always stand your ground. It's something I’ve still got to work on if somebody comes my way in the wrong direction, especially in traffic.”
In his past is addiction to fentanyl, methamphetamines and other drugs. He remarked drolly, “It would be quicker for me to tell you the drugs I haven't done than the drugs I've done.”
Fresh Expressions of church
Fresh Expressions is a Christian movement that looks to create faith communities in informal, unorthodox settings in hopes of spreading the message of Christ. Tattoo parlors host some of the more popular Fresh Expressions, and so a group from the conference visited as an “immersion” experience.
Be a part of the movement
The Fresh Expressions United Methodist National Gathering 2026 was held February 26-28 in Ocala, Florida, at First United Methodist Church. Some 700 people gathered in person and online to learn and be inspired.
Videos of the learning sessions are available to watch on demand.
The discussion turned to what reward is deserved by someone for doing the right thing.
“When you do something kind for a friend or a co-worker, how much of that action is driven by the desire for appreciation versus a genuine desire for their well-being?” said Lauren Applegate, Covington’s partner and co-leader of the visit. She asked, “How do you feel if they don't say thank you?”
One of the visitors said, “It's kind of natural for us to want that recognition. … The greatest example of what is called the servant-leader is Jesus, right? What would you think if your boss came and washed your feet? How would that make you feel?
“It's hard for us to deal with that, but that's the ultimate example of a servant leader. I manage some people at my job and sometimes pray for some guidance.”
This is the type of conversation that’s hoped for in the Fresh Expressions movement. It happens at the tattoo shop during a Bible study the last Sunday of each month.
Welcome people in new ways
During a panel discussion back at the conference about reaching youth, the Rev. Carla Christopher shared about her return to the church through a church group based around poetry.
“I actually left the church, because when I came out (as gay), the first person I told wanting a safe place to understand it and process it was my Bible study leader, and the place that he referred me to for support and deeper dives was conversion therapy,” said Christopher, today assistant to the bishop for justice ministries for the Lower Susquehanna and Delaware-Maryland Synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
“It was 10 years before I could walk into a church building without a physiological shutdown, panic attack,” she said. “But because there were people who intentionally met me where I was and created on-ramps and said, ‘Come do poetry with us in these public spaces, and then come do poetry in the church with us, but it's going to be fairly compensated. It's on your terms. It's doing work in ways that you can come and be a part of us and feel a sense of power and control.’”
Tracy Rose, a lay minister at Mosaic United Methodist Church in Valdosta, Georgia, commented during the same panel discussion. She has found a good faith vehicle in Fresh Expressions, offering a 60-second internet devotional each week along with presiding over a Queer Church for the LGBTQ+ community on Sunday mornings. While living in Tallahassee, Florida, she started the Midweek Grind, a group that still meets for coffee once a week after Rose moved to Georgia.
Fresh Expressions is positioned to be helpful pulling in younger people who seem averse to the conventional church experience, Rose said.
“I think we need to move from invitation to, ‘Join us in this cool thing that we think we're doing well’ … and say, ‘Hey, what are you doing? What lights your fire, what brings you joy, what stirs your heart up? How can we be part of that work with you, and also how can you help us be better at what we think we're already good at?’”
Create vital connections
There have been more than 200 “holy experiments” with Fresh Expressions in the Holston Conference, said Susan Arnold, executive director of congregational development and connectional ministries there.
“I keep hearing about them where I go places, about the way God's moving our churches,” Arnold said. “We have a board game church. We have a dinner church that's ecumenical that launched in a closed church. It relaunched a dinner church in a community that needed a church.”
But it’s not just young people Fresh Expressions is attempting to reach.
“I was reading a book by Kurt Vonnegut, ‘Player Piano,’” said the Rev. Jeff Campbell, top executive at the United Methodist Board of Discipleship Ministries.
He continued, “The novel explores the dangers of over-automation, the loss of human purpose and the dehumanizing effects of prioritizing technology over people.
“(Vonnegut) says ‘I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge, you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center — big, undreamed of things.’ We need the people at the edges.”
Jim Patterson is reporter for UM News. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free UM News Digest.
This story was published on March 19, 2026.
