Working Together Locally | The Church of England

Local churches often work in partnership with other Christian congregations to fulfil their shared mission as the Church of God.

Why do churches work together?

Churches of all traditions are faced with important challenges to serve and transform communities, to make new disciples and to grow in holiness and worship. See the Five Marks of Mission.

The task is too great for one part of the Church to do on its own – but when we share our gifts together as the people of God, working together in the power and unity of the Holy Spirit, we can achieve so much. To proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom of God with integrity, the churches must be seen to be living it. Unity speaks to a divided world.

Churches can do far more together than they can do separately. Working together is a visible sign of the unity, as believers in Jesus, Churches already share. By working together, Churches discover a deeper unity. Christian unity and mission go hand in hand.

Churches work together across England in a range of different "unity groups". These range from formal charities to social media pages.

When churches work together at local level, they often need a written agreement of some form. These can range from simple working agreements to constitutions and registered charities. See Governance for more details and options.

One of the greatest joys of local ecumenism is the freedom of clergy to work collaboratively with colleagues from other Christian churches. Sharing ministry needs to be done properly with an awareness of safeguarding, theology and good practice.

Those involved in local ecumenism need training and support. There are also important documents and resources that can help with this work.

Christian Aid Lecture with Amina Mohammed from the UN

Churches are more effective in mission when they work with others. Partnerships with charities and networks are important for local ecumenism.

We believe in the equality of all peoples and value the richness that comes with racial and ethnic diversity. Racism is a sin; as such we oppose racism in all its forms. Racial justice is a key commitment in our work with other churches.

Context is really important for local mission. Churches often work together in a different way depending on their location.

Ecumenical Reception at Lambeth Palace Library

Local ecumenism is central to our mission as the Church of England. The Council for Christian Unity is working to raise the profile of this work.

Mission: Action to help the world become more like the place God intended it to be, and share the good news of Jesus
Gospel: a) The good news of Jesus Christ; b) the records of Jesus's life and ministry in the first four books of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John); c) a reading from one of these four books.
Worship: Offering praise to God.
Congregation: A group of Christians who gather for prayer and worship
Fresh Expressions: Different ways of doing or being a church. This might be where they meet or how they worship designed to engage people who don't normally go to church
Local Ecumenical Partnership: A local area where a local covenant or a more far-reaching agreement between the authorities of different denominations (covering the sharing of church life, buildings and/or ministry) has been made
Theology: Study exploring the meaning of God's word

For documents to support ecumenical work please visit our resources page.