Envisioning independency
We’re not ashamed about being a Fellowship of Independents. Neither do we think it’s a contradiction. We're driven by our biblical convictions.
The FIEC exists for no other reason than to see the whole of our nation – every citizen and every community – reached and transformed by the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that this task can only be accomplished by thriving local churches which are biblical and missional.
We know that we cannot accomplish this task alone, and we want to work with all others who share our passion for the gospel. However, we are convinced that that healthy biblical Independency is vital for the cause of the gospel in our nation. Independent churches have great freedom to stand firm for biblical truth, and great flexibility to minister creatively without the institutional drag of denominational politics.
We seek to contribute to the cause of the gospel in our specific mission field, which is the UK, by nurturing and establishing faithful gospel churches in every community that will hold out the word of life to the lost. We stand in a long historic tradition. Independent non-conformity has made a massive contribution to the evangelisation of our nation in past centuries, and we urgently need revived independent churches to do the same in our generation.
We have a particular concern to promote, encourage and support independency. We believe that independent ecclesiology is the most biblical, and therefore most effective, pattern for local churches. FIEC seeks to develop the best possible models of independent church life, robustly defends the biblical principles of independency and support the highest quality of research into our history, our heritage, and the theology of our ecclesiology. We aim to inspire, train and support gifted men and women for independent ministry. We do all of these things not to promote ourselves, but out of an ultimate desire to see the gospel go out to the lost.
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Evangelical issues
We are very aware that FIEC is not the only group of evangelical churches in the UK, and that our nation will not be reached for Christ by any single family of churches alone. We highly value good working relationships with other evangelicals who share our gospel convictions.
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Public engagement
We are determined to protect the liberties of our churches to preach the gospel and practice their faith in the public sphere.
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Regional identity
The UK is not monochrome. Each region has its own culture, eccentricities, blessings and challenges.