Accompanied first by guitar, we sang acapella before beautiful melodies were woven through the sounds of devotion on the small piano in the corner.

It was the beautiful beginning to the most recent prayer and vision meeting for a church plant in Chelmsford, Essex.

As the final notes rang out, Tom Scrivens (Hope Church Ipswich) opened his bible to Genesis 18.

“When Sarah overheard the plans of God, she laughed at the Lord’s declaration that, a year later, she would give birth to a son. And yet, the promise of God came to pass.”

“In the same way,” he continued, “I believe that, were God to share the plans that He has for Chelmsford, we would laugh! They will be more than we can imagine.”

A few sheepish laughs sounded, even as faith levels began to rise amongst our small group - unsurprising, given that we had already heard a beautiful planting testimony from one of those present.

A special occasion

“The urgency to reach more people with the gospel is likely one of the reasons why the plant has received encouragement from other local church leaders - there’s always room for more workers to labour for the harvest. ”

Dave Carter had driven from Romford to lend his support - but it wasn’t the first time. During the introductions at the start of the meeting, he also shared that it was a very significant weekend.

“In March 2020, exactly three years ago, my wife and I shared how we felt called to plant in Romford in this very meeting. It was the first time we said it in a public setting and it felt like putting a stake in the ground. Not long after, we began preparations to move there from Canterbury.”

That month might ring a bell for a very different reason - it marked the beginning of the first lockdown in the UK as a result of the global pandemic, forcing a pause on the Chelmsford church plant meetings, and also affecting the Carter’s original plans for Romford. However, it did nothing to curb Dave and Rosie’s faith.

“We felt very strongly to move ahead with the plant, and had the faith that God wanted us to keep going,” Dave told those of us who had gathered.

Despite the global pandemic, lockdowns and the meeting restrictions that followed, Dave shared how what began as a handful of adults and a dog in a living room is now sixty gathering together each week.

With both Dave’s testimony and Tom’s words ringing in our ears, the faith levels in the room were growing for Chelmsford.

Together for the harvest

The Chelmsford church planting vision is a joint venture between three Relational Mission churches: Hope Church Ipswich, Redeemer Church Colchester and Community Church Chafford Hundred.

Since January 2022 there has been an increase in momentum that have centred around times of prayer, vision setting and evangelism. These gatherings have drawn together local people from Chelmsford and many from the church families involved.

There are a number of good, thriving churches already present in Chelmsford - a city located in the county of Essex in the south of England - and some might question the initiative. However, as mirrored across most of the UK, the number of residents in the city who identify as Christians is falling - from 61% in 2011 to 48% in 2021, followed closely by 41% identifying as having no religion at all. The urgency to reach more people with the gospel is likely one of the reasons why the plant has received encouragement from other local church leaders - there’s always room for more workers to labour for the harvest.

That evening, that support was clear in the room, where several local churches were represented amongst those who had come along to lend their prayer to the endeavour. It was exciting to see that there were also others there who had moved to the city and were exploring playing a role in the start of something new.

We took our seats and opened their Bibles in anticipation.

Looking for peace

Opening to Luke 10, David Bareham (Community Church Chafford Hundred) shared a blueprint for the church plant: a group who are appointed to go (verse 1), who are prayerful (verse 2), who are facing an enemy (verse 3) and whose needs are provided for (verse 4).

Pausing on verse five, he shared the first step for planting in Chelmsford. “We are looking for a household of peace. Someone in Chelmsford who will open their home for people to gather.”

“In Jesus’ time,” he continued, “meeting a person of peace was more than just finding a place to stay. That person would have given the disciples an opportunity to meet the wider community.”

David was now onto verse nine. “It was through meeting that person of peace and staying in their home that the disciples could meet the wider community, heal the sick and proclaim the Kingdom.”

After some further vision sharing, the last portion of the meeting was devoted to prayer. They were still praying as I slipped out into the rain, hurrying to catch my replacement bus back to London.

Who will be the person of peace - the answer to their prayers? Who will be saved as a result of these faithful few coming together at the end of a long weekend? Let us watch in joyful expectancy.