A refreshed and expanded version of one of the UK’s most influential discipleship resources launches this September, helping Christians discover how God is at work in the places they spend most of their lives.
Created by the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC), Fruitfulness on the Frontline has already been used by an estimated 150,000 people over the past decade. As the new edition launches, we spoke to Josh Hinton, Head of Communications at LICC, about the thinking behind the resource and why seeing God at work in everyday life remains so important.
Josh describes the resource as growing out of a simple but powerful conviction: that the Christian faith is relevant to the whole of life.
“LICC was founded by John Stott in 1982 to help Christians see the relevance of Christianity to life in the modern world,” Josh explains. “We exist to challenge the idea that God only cares about the ‘holy’ parts of life such as church services, prayer meetings or volunteering. Those things matter enormously, but God is interested in every aspect of our lives.”
He describes this misconception as the “sacred-secular divide”, a mindset that can lead Christians to feel that vast swathes of their lives are irrelevant to their discipleship.
“What we want people to rediscover is how God is at work in all of life,” he says. “At work, with friends, in our hobbies, with family, in our communities. There is no part of life that falls outside God’s care and purposes.”
Discovering fruitfulness in ordinary places
The idea for Fruitfulness on the Frontline emerged from research carried out with young Christians in Scotland. Participants were asked where they saw God at work in their everyday lives.
“What researchers found was fascinating,” Josh says. “People could describe all sorts of ways they were making a difference, serving others and living out their faith. But because it wasn’t evangelism, volunteering or giving to charity, they didn’t think it counted.”
That research led to the development of the resource’s well-known framework, the “Six Ms” of fruitfulness:
- Modelling godly character
- Making good work
- Ministering grace and love
- Moulding culture
- Being mouthpieces for truth and justice
- Being messengers of the gospel
The “frontline” is any place where Christians regularly spend time with people who do not share their faith.
“It could be your workplace, your sports club, your street, your school gates, or even conversations with delivery drivers at your doorstep,” Josh says. “They’re the ordinary places where we spend our lives.”
A different way of seeing
For many people, the impact of the course is not about learning entirely new things but discovering a new way of seeing their existing lives.
Josh experienced this transformation himself before joining LICC.
“I was working in a communications agency and, through this lens, what I was doing suddenly went from feeling pointless to feeling purposeful,” he says. “It completely changed my understanding of how God could carry out his mission through ordinary work.”
The course also encourages Christians to talk about parts of their lives that are not always discussed in church settings.
“We’ve found people often struggle to recognise fruitfulness in themselves,” Josh says. “But others can often see it clearly. In small groups there’s something really powerful about people encouraging one another and recognising where God is already at work.”
A fully refreshed resource
Although the core message remains unchanged, the new version of Fruitfulness on the Frontline has been completely redeveloped for today’s context.
Launching on 22 September, the updated resource reflects life in a post-pandemic and increasingly digital world. Alongside a revised book and new small group course, there is now a much broader range of supporting material, including:
- Sunday service resources, including video content, sermon notes, prayers, song ideas, and activities
- A podcast
- A new 14-day devotional journey
- Versions for youth and sixth-formers (coming in 2027)
“The goal is to make it accessible however people want to engage,” Josh says. “Whether you’re part of a small group, attending church every week, or exploring it in another way, there are resources that can work for you.”
Designed as an eight-session programme, the course sits at the heart of Fruitfulness on the Frontline. It begins with an introduction to the ideas of fruitfulness and frontlines before exploring each of the six Ms in turn. The final session focuses on perseverance and continuing to live faithfully over the long term.
Each session combines teaching, discussion and real-life stories of Christians who have seen God at work in their everyday contexts.
“We’ve deliberately made it very easy to use,” Josh says. “You watch the videos, discuss them together and explore the Bible passages. There’s very little preparation required.”
Whole-life discipleship
Underlying the entire resource is LICC’s commitment to what it calls “whole-life discipleship”.
For LICC, discipleship is not simply about what happens in church buildings but about learning to follow Jesus in every sphere of life.
“If being a disciple means being a learner and follower of Jesus, then this is about learning to see what Jesus is doing where you already are,” says Josh. “God is the hero of the story. It’s not about dragging God somewhere he isn’t. It’s about recognising what he’s already doing and joining in.”
Rather than adding more demands to already busy lives, Josh believes the course offers something liberating.
“It’s not about being given another long list of things you ought to do,” he says. “It’s about seeing what you already do, where you already are, and who you already are through God’s eyes.”
He adds: “Once you’ve seen it, you can’t unsee it. Instead of thinking that Sunday is the only time you’re doing something that matters to God, you begin to realise that you’re being equipped and then sent out into the places God has already given you, among the people he’s already called you to bless.”
For many Christians, that shift in perspective may be exactly the encouragement they need: a reminder that following Jesus is not confined to church activities but is woven through the whole of life.
Fruitfulness on the Frontline launches on 22 September. Further information will be available through LICC at www.licc.org.uk.
Visit our diocesan resource hub for communal formation and discipleship here.