Church from Scratch, Essex.

A cross-cultural plant sponsored by three Baptist churches, Church from Scratch began in 2002 with a small group of 15 meeting nervously in a home. By Christmas, having tried several different unsuccessful ideas, most had grown weary and confused and returned to their sending churches.

Having tried and failed all the usual church type events the leader Peter Dominey decided to call a halt to those and instead began 2 separate Alpha courses. These began to attract a number of new people and growth began.

It is values-led, with a totally 'new set of DNA' - essentially missional. A little different from the norm aimed at connecting particularly with people in the 20-35 age range who would not normally go near a church.

Their values are:

Jesus at the centre

Developing community

All people

Living life to the full.

The new shape and nature of their church expression contributed in part to almost all of the original planting team subsequently returning to their sending churches.

The church now comprises around 50 adults and meets as 6 small congregations, 2 of which are bilingual - the second language being signing for the hearing impaired. The majority of the people taking part were previously non-churched.

Once a month they have a joint meeting although usually only attended by around 40%. The focus is very much on the small congregations. Teaching is interactive and participative and the sense of community very strong.

Peter, whose main gifting is evangelistic, has found it vital to have a mentor to accompany him through the process. The sending churches have supported him financially in order to allow him room to experiment with these new ideas. And a close relationship has continued with regular progress reports back. The lessons they are learning as they pioneer are being shared and utilised by the denomination's missions department, making a valuable contribution as the whole body wrestles with reshaping for the 21st century.