Who are the London International Church of Christ (ICOC)?
We are a non-denominational, multi-cultural and multi-generational church with a mission to live through and spread the message of the Gospel from right here in London across the UK and the world. We are a part of the International Churches of Christ with close connections to our sister churches planted from our own congregation and located in a number of cities across the UK, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
We believe that a church is a community, a family, not a building so we rent the spaces for our Sunday services rather than spending a huge amount of money running and maintaining a building that could be better spent spreading the news of Jesus and helping those in need across the city.
In the 1990s, members of our church were moved by compassion for people experiencing homelessness on the streets of London. The programme Two Step was set up to help people off the streets and into housing. As the programme grew, it became part of the charity HOPE worldwide UK, a charity founded by members of the church to help people facing poverty in the UK and overseas.
Since 1995, HOPE worldwide UK has helped over 8,000 people experiencing homelessness find suitable accommodation, and has funded humanitarian aid, schooling, Early Childhood Development activities, vocational training, parent support groups, women’s economic empowerment training, and more to thousands of people in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Many members of our church support the work of HOPE worldwide UK through regular giving, responding to special appeals or volunteering. To find out more, please visit https://hopeworldwide.org.uk
We know that we have all sinned and must ask for God’s forgiveness and do all that we can through our worship to love God and each other. We believe that the Bible is our guidebook to living a life closer to God and is inspired by the word of God Himself. We are ever thankful for the forgiveness and purpose given through Jesus Christ and work hard to spread the good news of this forgiveness and purpose far and wide across London.
The International Churches of Christ (ICOC) is a fellowship bonded together by the cross of Christ, with people from all backgrounds, nations, and lifestyles coming together to share a common vision of making as many disciples as possible across the globe.
In London, we have congregations, bible study groups, and ministries of all shapes and sizes spread North, South, East, and West and if you want to get involved you can be sure that we will be meeting in an area near you sometime soon.
Our church was once made up of a tiny group of faithful Christians on a mission to build a church in God’s image and take the word of Jesus to the capital and beyond. Much progress has been made but we still have so far to go, and our mission will never truly be complete. We aim to continue building on the legacy of our founders and predecessors and pledge to continue spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ from the great city to the ears, minds, and hearts of people from all nations of the world.
Our connection to the “Restoration” movement
Our church’s roots were planted by a Christian movement called the restoration movement started in the United States in the 1800s.
This movement was started by a movement called the “Second Great Awakening” formed to realign the Christian faith which had become increasingly divided along denominational and sectarian lines.
A small group of ministers decides that after examining their affiliations with the denominations of the day that the teachings that were being given we based not n scripture alone, but were influenced by politics, rivalries and historical disputes.
They began, instead to devise an approach to Christianity that was pure and simple. Jesus, after all, did not use titles of Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox when imagining a church with his disciples. They were simply Christians, or disciples of Jesus, and this is the definition of Christianity that these ministers decided to return to when building their early church.
Their mission to restore Biblical Christianity, otherwise known as the restoration movement, sought to identify and teach the core messages of Jesus and the apostles as recorded in the Bible, without the influence of politics or the application of additional doctrinal criteria that dominated the Christian faith at that time.
The restoration movement, was also known as the “unity” movement that welcomed anyone into this one church who agreed to follow the basic principles laid out, no matter their prior affiliation.
Many international Christian churches emerged in the years and decades to come based on the fundamental concepts established by the restoration movement, including the International Churches of Christ from which the London Church of Christ was born. The first restoration church can be considered as somewhat of a crossroads church for followers of Christianity and many still choose to follow the gospel message and apostles teaching directly, choosing spiritual development over politics and unnecessarily confrontational discourse.
We hold no bias or pre-conceptions about those joining our church and continue to promote an ethos of restoration and unity, with “Christians” being our sole title. Our sermons and bible talks are focussed on the teachings of the Bible and Jesus Christ alone, with as little influence as possible from the institutionalised systems of some mainline churches.
Put simply, the goal of the London Church of Christ is a modern expression of the church envisioned by Jesus during the Great Commission and started by His apostles through the power of the holy spirit (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1-2)
We are more than happy to connect with other Christian groups outside of the ICOC group, and regularly do, who are doctrinally similar, relationally-connected or historically-affiliated in the spirit of John 17:20-21.
What We Believe
Our church is built on fundamental Christian beliefs, focussing less on structure and institution and more on fulfilling the mission given to us by Jesus Christ.
The core beliefs of London International Church of Christ are:
• We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:19-21)
• We believe that a person is saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:23-25)
• We believe that people repent and are baptized, their sins are forgiven, they receive the Holy Spirit and are added to Jesus’ church. (Acts 2:38)
• We believe that while salvation is based on the grace of God, disciples of Jesus have a responsibility to love God and to love others as Jesus stated. (Mark 12:28-30)
We also believe that as long as we keep these key beliefs at the heart of our actions on a daily basis, we won’t stray far from the path God has laid down for us and vow to spread these values as far and wide as we can from our London Churches.
What is our Vision?
Our goal is to build as large a spiritual family as possible across the world. We want people from all cultures, nations, and backgrounds coming together as part of one international Christian church to grow and build each other up. We are incredibly proud to be part of such a large community already with incredibly people doing incredible things to show their love for God and spread the new of his love, glory, and mercy for us around London and the world.
Our mission is ever changing and developing but the vision we have for a better future can be defined as:
OUR VISION IS
To love God
We strive to keep growing in our knowledge of God’s word, power and will, so that we are equipped to show the love of God to our city and our world. It is important that when attempting to bring the joys of knowing God to others, we do not lose sight of our own personal relationships with God and continue to live through Him whilst spreading the news.
To Love People
We are all about relationships. We want to see every member of our community flourishing as we join together in living out the good news of Jesus Christ. We have built a large and loving family at ICOC and one that is always welcoming new members in with open arms. We don’t care I you have been a practicing Christian since childhood or have just picked up a Bible for the very first time. If you want to live through Jesus and live the best possible life in service of the Lord, you will fit in just perfectly.
TO LOVE LONDON
London is our home, and we love it. We want our lives to demonstrate to London that the gospel is true and reasonable, rational and relatable, life-affirming and life-changing – a message that empowers us to live as God intended and be a light to our city and our world. London is one of the most diverse cities in the world, so why would our congregation be any different? We are a church of many different ages, backgrounds, histories, and futures, which is what makes our church so special.
Our vision is a big one, and we can’t make it a reality without the help of the people of London. We would love for you to join our mission and help make the vision we have for a better world built in the example of Jesus Christ a reality. Sound good? If so pop along to our next service or attend one of the ministry groups that are hosted across London on a weekly basis.
OUR HISTORY
1980s
The London International Churches of Christ was first established in 1982 by a small team of devoted Christians from Boston, USA, a sister congregation we retain close links with to this day.
The goal was to build a congregation that brought the message of Christ to London and beyond across the UK, and whilst there is certainly lots more work to be done, the growth they and we have achieved since has been remarkable.
The early 1980s was a time a rapid growth in the Christian community and missionary endeavour was thriving. By the end of the decade we had not only established successful churches in London, but also in Birmingham (1988) and Manchester (1989). The global reach of the International Churches of Christ was also expanded at a rapid rate with plantings established in Bangalore, India, and Lagos, Nigeria (1989) amongst others.
The early pioneers of the International Churches of Christ achieved a huge amount in a very short period of time, guided by God and inspired by a burning desire to spread the message of Christ as widely and as loudly as possible. These people were ordinary people who achieved remarkable things through God, and we aspire to continue to grow our church both in the capital and further afield to this day.
Not that there weren’t trials and tribulations back then as there are today. A quote from back then pretty much sums up the experience of growing a church and spreading the message of Jesus Christ – “We didn’t know what we were doing, but we prayed a lot!”
Nothing quite encompasses the life of a Christian better than that!
1990s
Throughout the 1990s, church plantings continued to be established through the UK and Ireland including in Edinburgh and Dublin in 1991.
In London we began to put programmed in place to assist those who were living on the streets, providing food, clothing, and accommodation wherever possible. In 1993, we established the ‘Two-Step’ programme designed to assist homeless people in finding both short term and then long term accommodation, providing a more sustainable base from which to build that the homeless shelters of the day. In 1995, London Church members began the One Day At A Time programme which is an abstinence based scheme launched to help people escape from alcohol and drug addiction.
Also in 1995, these two pioneering faith-based programmed became part of a charity called HOPE Worldwide, who continue both of these programmes to this day and whom we are delighted to support both financially and with volunteering efforts.
The 1990s was packed with both success and failure at London Church and despite being another decade of service and growth, we acknowledge that at times we perhaps relied too much on human efforts rather than God’s power and spirit.
2000s
The 2000s began with a period of turmoil for London Church and in 2003, the entire International Churches of Christ family went through a very challenging time, with our direction and values coming under review and scrutiny. After a period of reflection, discussion, and renewal, that was difficult for all involved, we identified and explored opportunities for growth and greater depth within the church.
Ever since this time, London Church of Christ has been in a state of sustainable growth, both in maturity and number. We put our faith in the Lord and as promised, he did not forsake us (Psalm 9:9)
The 2000s was a tough decade for us all at London church but began a transformation that has been profound and incredible to experience ever since!
2010s
The 2010s began with the appointment of new elders, deacons, and some evangelists, brings a fresh feel to our worship and allowing us to send some staff members across the UK to build our smaller churches.
We also participated in the ‘One Year Challenge’ through which several young leaders were hired, bringing youth and enthusiasm into the church that has been critical to growing our younger congregation ever since. The 2010s was an incredibly exciting time for London Church, one packed full of spiritual renewal and unity at all levels.
2020s
The 2020s started for us, like everyone else, with a period of challenge as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Whilst we were unable to meet in person for some time, we were able to build a positive out of the tough times, expanding our online presence, embracing technology and entering the digital age in earnest. Our services are now far more accessible than they once were, expanding our potential reach and we now have the facilities to spread the message of Jesus further than ever before from our London base.
We can’t wait to continue to grow in all ways throughout the rest of the decade and beyond, and look to spread the good Word across all of London whilst assisting our other churches across the UK to reach their own communities.
We would love you to join us and be a part of our incredibly exciting future to come.
