Local Ecumenical Partnerships 

Over 100 Baptist churches are part of single congregation Local Ecumenical Partnership (LEPs) – joining together with one or more other churches to share their whole life as one congregation.
 
Click here for a list of Baptist churches which are part of a single congregation LEP.
 
Some LEPs are the result of the joining together of two or more existing churches.  Wellspring Church in Wirksworth, Derbyshire, is one recent example.
 
Some LEPs are the result of an ecumenical church plant for example, the Northstowe Church Network.
 
The national New Housing Hub is an excellent resource for church planting and pioneering new ecumenical ministry.
 
 
 

Resources
 

Forming LEPs

 
If you are thinking about the possibility of forming an LEP with another local church, do contact your Regional Association at an early stage.  Some Associations have an Association Ecumenical Officer who can help you with the things you will need to consider.  You can also contact Hilary Treavis, the National Ecumenical Officer, for help and advice.
 
Churches Together in England have model governing documents for LEPs available. These documents were agreed nationally by the Charity Commission and the main denominations involved in single congregation LEPs, and they are recommended for churches to use.  An updated version of the model governing documents, and a new CIO constitution are also available - contact Hilary Treavis for more information.
 
The BUC have a useful Guidelines Leaflet on ecumenical sharing agreements.