WHY WE EXIST

We exist because Essex needs the gospel.

  • • It was home to the first church plants in England.

    • It was a hub for the Reformation and the Puritans.

    • It was home to great missionaries like John Eliot and Thomas Hooker who reached New England and Native America for Christ.

    • It was birthplace of the “Prince of Preachers” Charles Spurgeon.

  • • 2 million people live in Essex and rapidly growing (The fastest growing part of the country).

    • Only 3% are connected to a church. (The national average is 5% with 8% in London).

    • Most have never heard the gospel.

    • Most have to travel outside their local community to get to a church.

    • To simply keep up with population growth and sustain 3% attendance, we’d need 35 church plants of 100 people in the next 10 years.

WHAT WE DO

  • The demands on church pastors can be huge.

    Statistics

    According to recent research, 70% of pastors are emotionally exhausted, at risk of burnout, and do not have someone they consider a close friend.

    40% thought about quitting last year.

    Story

    When John Calvin returned to Geneva in 1541, the first 10 pastors he recruited lasted an average of only 3 years in ministry. He then established a local network called ‘The Company of Pastors’. After its creation, the average tenure of pastors increased to 14 years.

    Support

    We seek to support pastors relationally with weekly meet-ups.

    We also support churches practically with their regulations, safeguarding, premises, etc. Message us to find out more.

  • Many churches put on great events or create brilliant resources but have limited reach.

    Other times, churches don’t put on great events or create brilliant resources because they have limited time.

    As a family of churches, we seek to share what we can with one another.

    Training and outreach events

    We host annual events for the whole network. We also host termly training nights on topics like youth work, home group, and worship music for our network.

  • We are passionate about planting new churches and revitalising old churches across Essex.

    Because of our shared vision and beliefs, our churches work together to send people and resources to make this reality.

WHO WE ARE

OUR VISION

Our vision is to see 10 healthy churches planted in 10 years.

OUR HISTORY

Over 100 years ago, William Baker moved to Essex and started Danbury Mission Church. As the church grew, it moved from his home to the nearby Common and then to its present site in Danbury.

 Through the years, the church has maintained a deep passion for evangelism and this is a key driver behind Mission Essex. Our prayer is that the Lord will use the experience and resources of Danbury Mission to serve Essex through a network of Gospel-minded churches.

OUR CONVICTIONS

We’re a collection of Christian churches on mission together for Essex.

We’re not the only Christian churches in the county - but all our churches have similar core values and distinctives.

For example, we’re united in our belief in Independency (local churches are self-governing rather than part of a denomination), and expository preaching (preaching that seeks to bring out the content and direction of the Biblical text).

We all subscribe to the FIEC statement of faith found below.

  • There is one God, who exists eternally in three distinct but equal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is unchangeable in his holiness, justice, wisdom and love. He is the almighty Creator; Saviour and Judge who sustains and governs all things according to his sovereign will for his own glory.

  • God has revealed himself in the Bible, which consists of the Old and New Testaments alone. Every word was inspired by God through human authors, so that the Bible as originally given is in its entirety the Word of God, without error and fully reliable in fact and doctrine. The Bible alone speaks with final authority and is always sufficient for all matters of belief and practice.

  • All men and women, being created in the image of God, have inherent and equal dignity and worth. Their greatest purpose is to obey, worship and love God. As a result of the fall of our first parents, every aspect of human nature has been corrupted and all men and women are without spiritual life, guilty sinners and hostile to God. Every person is therefore under the just condemnation of God and needs to be born again, forgiven and reconciled to God in order to know and please him.

  • The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, and lived a sinless life in obedience to the Father. He taught with authority and all his words are true. On the cross he died in the place of sinners, bearing God’s punishment for their sin, redeeming them by his blood. He rose from the dead and in his resurrection body ascended into heaven where he is exalted as Lord of all. He intercedes for his people in the presence of the Father.

  • Salvation is entirely a work of God’s grace and cannot be earned or deserved. It has been accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ and is offered to all in the gospel. God in his love forgives sinners whom he calls, granting them repentance and faith. All who believe in Christ are justified by faith alone, adopted into the family of God and receive eternal life.

  • The Holy Spirit has been sent from heaven to glorify Christ and to apply his work of salvation. He convicts sinners, imparts spiritual life and gives a true understanding of the Scriptures. He indwells all believers, brings assurance of salvation and produces increasing likeness to Christ. He builds up the Church and empowers its members for worship, service and mission.

  • The universal Church is the body of which Christ is the head and to which all who are saved belong. It is made visible in local churches, which are congregations of believers who are committed to each other for the worship of God, the preaching of the Word, the administering of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper; for pastoral care and discipline, and for evangelism. The unity of the body of Christ is expressed within and between churches by mutual love, care and encouragement. True fellowship between churches exists only where they are faithful to the gospel.

  • Baptism and the Lord’s Supper have been given to the churches by Christ as visible signs of the gospel. Baptism is a symbol of union with Christ and entry into his Church but does not impart spiritual life. The Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of Christ’s sacrifice offered once for all and involves no change in the bread and wine. All its blessings are received by faith.

  • The Lord Jesus Christ will return in glory. He will raise the dead and judge the world in righteousness. The wicked will be sent to eternal punishment and the righteous will be welcomed into a life of eternal joy in fellowship with God. God will make all things new and will be glorified forever.