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Abstract
Can we construct a practical relational ecclesiology that has real impact in the life of the community of believers? What kind of ecclesiology would support the reality of church life in an urban deprived context? This article seeks to uncover a basis for research that will enable a transformative conversation between experience and contemporary ecclesiology. It introduces the argument that social models of the Trinity offer promise for ecclesiology, but also that Trinitarian ecclesiologies do not serve real churches well. It proposes that for a relational ecclesiology to be genuinely useful, especially in a deprived area, it needs to be “three-dimensional.” To be useful, ecclesiology needs to provide a description of an authentic church that takes the material and spiritual aspects of church life into account, as well as the interpersonal. The argument is eclectic, employing ancient theological concepts such as perichoresis and vestigia trinitatis, plus contemporary developments in the social and physical sciences.