New People // New Ways

In this episode, Travis and Allyson Smith share about healing, belonging, and the future of the church. Together, they explore how Fresh Expressions, mental health ministry, and authentic relationships create spaces where people can experience genuine connection in an increasingly lonely world. Travis and Allyson share the story behind Blue Ridge Hope, the decade-long ministry of Sacred Ale, and what they’ve learned about serving faithfully as partners in both marriage and ministry. Their conversation offers practical wisdom for leaders seeking to cultivate communities where honesty, compassion, and belonging flourish. Whether you’re passionate about Fresh Expressions, church planting, or helping people discover hope in everyday places, this episode will encourage and inspire you to imagine new ways of being the church.
 
About New People // New Ways
What does a distinctly Wesleyan, Spirit-led movement that reaches people neglected by the church look like? Join the Fresh Expressions Florida team as they explore missional mischief-making with everyday people who are cultivating Christian communities of love and grace that serve those outside the typical church.
Hosted by Michael Adam Beck and Isaiah Park, New People // New Ways is a show in partnership with Fresh Expressions Florida of the Florida United Methodist Church and Fresh Expressions UM from Path 1 at UMC Discipleship Ministries. Tune in if you desire to reach new people in new places and through new ways!
Fresh Expressions FL: https://www.freshexpressionsfl.org/Fresh Expressions UM: https://tinyurl.com/yubeu2r4
Follow Us:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshexpressionsfl/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshexpressionsfl/Twitter: https://twitter.com/FExpressionsFL

In this episode, Juan Pablo Herrera shares a deeply personal story of searching for belonging, healing from trauma and spiritual harm, and discovering a faith rooted in grace, justice, and belovedness. Raised in Chicago and shaped by years of community organizing around education, gentrification, and immigration, Juan reflects on how the struggles and resilience of his city have formed his vision for ministry. He also invites us into his work of Urban Village Church and the planting of a Spanish-speaking expression that centers LGBTQ voices and creates space for people who have long been pushed to the margins. This is a powerful conversation about authenticity, organizing, inclusion, Fresh Expressions, and the kind of church that becomes more faithful when it listens to those the world so often excludes.
 
About New People // New Ways
What does a distinctly Wesleyan, Spirit-led movement that reaches people neglected by the church look like? Join the Fresh Expressions Florida team as they explore missional mischief-making with everyday people who are cultivating Christian communities of love and grace that serve those outside the typical church.
Hosted by Michael Adam Beck and Isaiah Park, New People // New Ways is a show in partnership with Fresh Expressions Florida of the Florida United Methodist Church and Fresh Expressions UM from Path 1 at UMC Discipleship Ministries. Tune in if you desire to reach new people in new places and through new ways!
Fresh Expressions FL: https://www.freshexpressionsfl.org/Fresh Expressions UM: https://tinyurl.com/yubeu2r4
Follow Us:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshexpressionsfl/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshexpressionsfl/Twitter: https://twitter.com/FExpressionsFL

Lynee Harrison's story is one of lifelong service, deep faith, and a calling to accompany people in their most vulnerable moments. In this episode, we hear how a simple welcome at Elderslie-St. Andrews UMC as a child led to a lifetime of leadership in the church, public service in Baltimore, and compassionate care for others. Lynee has spent her life helping people know that they are not alone. That same calling has now taken fresh form through YANA Church, a Fresh Expression launched to bring comfort and companionship to those experiencing isolation.
 
About New People // New Ways
What does a distinctly Wesleyan, Spirit-led movement that reaches people neglected by the church look like? Join the Fresh Expressions Florida team as they explore missional mischief-making with everyday people who are cultivating Christian communities of love and grace that serve those outside the typical church.
Hosted by Michael Adam Beck and Isaiah Park, New People // New Ways is a show in partnership with Fresh Expressions Florida of the Florida United Methodist Church and Fresh Expressions UM from Path 1 at UMC Discipleship Ministries. Tune in if you desire to reach new people in new places and through new ways!
Fresh Expressions FL: https://www.freshexpressionsfl.org/Fresh Expressions UM: https://tinyurl.com/yubeu2r4
Follow Us:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshexpressionsfl/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshexpressionsfl/Twitter: https://twitter.com/FExpressionsFL

About New People // New Ways
What does a distinctly Wesleyan, Spirit-led movement that reaches people neglected by the church look like? Join the Fresh Expressions Florida team as they explore missional mischief-making with everyday people who are cultivating Christian communities of love and grace that serve those outside the typical church.
Hosted by Michael Adam Beck and Isaiah Park, New People // New Ways is a show in partnership with Fresh Expressions Florida of the Florida United Methodist Church and Fresh Expressions UM from Path 1 at UMC Discipleship Ministries. Tune in if you desire to reach new people in new places and through new ways!
Fresh Expressions FL: https://www.freshexpressionsfl.org/Fresh Expressions UM: https://tinyurl.com/yubeu2r4
Follow Us:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshexpressionsfl/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshexpressionsfl/Twitter: https://twitter.com/FExpressionsFL

About New People // New Ways
What does a distinctly Wesleyan, Spirit-led movement that reaches people neglected by the church look like? Join the Fresh Expressions Florida team as they explore missional mischief-making with everyday people who are cultivating Christian communities of love and grace that serve those outside the typical church.
Hosted by Michael Adam Beck and Isaiah Park, New People // New Ways is a show in partnership with Fresh Expressions Florida of the Florida United Methodist Church and Fresh Expressions UM from Path 1 at UMC Discipleship Ministries. Tune in if you desire to reach new people in new places and through new ways!
Fresh Expressions FL: https://www.freshexpressionsfl.org/Fresh Expressions UM: https://tinyurl.com/yubeu2r4
Follow Us:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshexpressionsfl/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshexpressionsfl/Twitter: https://twitter.com/FExpressionsFL

About New People // New Ways
What does a distinctly Wesleyan, Spirit-led movement that reaches people neglected by the church look like? Join the Fresh Expressions Florida team as they explore missional mischief-making with everyday people who are cultivating Christian communities of love and grace that serve those outside the typical church.
Hosted by Michael Adam Beck and Isaiah Park, New People // New Ways is a show in partnership with Fresh Expressions Florida of the Florida United Methodist Church and Fresh Expressions UM from Path 1 at UMC Discipleship Ministries. Tune in if you desire to reach new people in new places and through new ways!
Fresh Expressions FL: https://www.freshexpressionsfl.org/Fresh Expressions UM: https://tinyurl.com/yubeu2r4
Follow Us:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshexpressionsfl/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshexpressionsfl/Twitter: https://twitter.com/FExpressionsFL

 
About New People // New Ways
What does a distinctly Wesleyan, Spirit-led movement that reaches people neglected by the church look like? Join the Fresh Expressions Florida team as they explore missional mischief-making with everyday people who are cultivating Christian communities of love and grace that serve those outside the typical church.
Hosted by Michael Adam Beck, Jessica Taylor, and Isaiah Park, New People // New Ways is a show in partnership with Fresh Expressions Florida of the Florida United Methodist Church and Fresh Expressions UM from Path 1 at UMC Discipleship Ministries. Tune in if you desire to reach new people in new places and through new ways!
Fresh Expressions FL: https://www.freshexpressionsfl.org/Fresh Expressions UM: https://tinyurl.com/yubeu2r4
Follow Us:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshexpressionsfl/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshexpressionsfl/Twitter: https://twitter.com/FExpressionsFL

 
About New People // New Ways
What does a distinctly Wesleyan, Spirit-led movement that reaches people neglected by the church look like? Join the Fresh Expressions Florida team as they explore missional mischief-making with everyday people who are cultivating Christian communities of love and grace that serve those outside the typical church.
Hosted by Michael Adam Beck and Isaiah Park, New People // New Ways is a show in partnership with Fresh Expressions Florida of the Florida United Methodist Church and Fresh Expressions UM from Path 1 at UMC Discipleship Ministries. Tune in if you desire to reach new people in new places and through new ways!
Fresh Expressions FL: https://www.freshexpressionsfl.org/Fresh Expressions UM: https://tinyurl.com/yubeu2r4
Follow Us:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshexpressionsfl/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshexpressionsfl/Twitter: https://twitter.com/FExpressionsFL

Matt Willis-Goode is a punk rock, neurodivergent pastor with 20 years of ministry experience and a passion for breathing new life into small churches. After co-founding The Vine in Haverhill, MA, he spent the next decade serving Peoples UMC and Merrimacport UMC in the Merrimack Valley. Through the Fresh Expressions pathway, Matt discovered language for what he’d been living all along—the Loving First Journey.
By starting with love and deep listening, his congregations have reimagined what church can be. Their building now hums with life through weekly Jazz & Coffee open jam sessions and community gatherings, all rooted in relationship. In this conversation, Matt talks about transformation, creativity, and how punk rock theology meets Methodist mission in the most unexpected places.
 
About New People // New Ways
What does a distinctly Wesleyan, Spirit-led movement that reaches people neglected by the church look like? Join the Fresh Expressions Florida team as they explore missional mischief-making with everyday people who are cultivating Christian communities of love and grace that serve those outside the typical church.
Hosted by Michael Adam Beck and Isaiah Park, New People // New Ways is a show in partnership with Fresh Expressions Florida of the Florida United Methodist Church and Fresh Expressions UM from Path 1 at UMC Discipleship Ministries. Tune in if you desire to reach new people in new places and through new ways!
Fresh Expressions FL: https://www.freshexpressionsfl.org/Fresh Expressions UM: https://tinyurl.com/yubeu2r4
Follow Us:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshexpressionsfl/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshexpressionsfl/Twitter: https://twitter.com/FExpressionsFL

Born and raised at Friendship UMC, Kelli Rae Merritt has lived a life as colorful as her tattoos—from studying agriculture and working as a professional piercer to serving as a certified lay minister and chair of her church’s Board of Stewards. She leads the PEZ (Public Education Zoo) ministry, serves with the local food pantry her father helped build, and brings church to places many wouldn’t expect—like tattoo shops and community spaces.
In this conversation, Kelli talks about finding purpose beyond the walls, carrying on her family’s legacy of service, and why she believes everyone—no matter how they look or where they gather—has a place in God’s story.
 
About New People // New Ways
What does a distinctly Wesleyan, Spirit-led movement that reaches people neglected by the church look like? Join the Fresh Expressions Florida team as they explore missional mischief-making with everyday people who are cultivating Christian communities of love and grace that serve those outside the typical church.
Hosted by Michael Adam Beck and Isaiah Park, New People // New Ways is a show in partnership with Fresh Expressions Florida of the Florida United Methodist Church and Fresh Expressions UM from Path 1 at UMC Discipleship Ministries. Tune in if you desire to reach new people in new places and through new ways!
Fresh Expressions FL: https://www.freshexpressionsfl.org/Fresh Expressions UM: https://tinyurl.com/yubeu2r4
Follow Us:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshexpressionsfl/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshexpressionsfl/Twitter: https://twitter.com/FExpressionsFL