The Order Of Mission

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Home > About > The Roots of TOM

The Roots of TOM

The roots of the The Order of Mission are found in a number of contexts: local church mission and ministry, the Baptist and Anglican denominations, charismatic renewal and mission amongst young adults.

Two churches, one Baptist and one Anglican, in the Crookes area of Sheffield (UK) forged a relationship through the sharing of a building during the re-ordering of the Baptist Church.  Over time this relationship was formalised by the churches joining together as a ‘Local Ecumenical Project’ (LEP) – St. Thomas’ Church, Crookes.  The roots of TOM are found in this potent mixture of Baptist and Anglican churches ministering together locally, with a shared passion for the mission of God. 

Wider recognition of the effectiveness of the missionary activity emanating from St. Thomas’ Church came from Baptist Union, Anglican Diocese and the wider church.  The life, ministry and mission of St. Thomas’ has grown and developed over the years especially under the leadership of Robert Warren and Mike Breen.  St. Thomas’ Church has developed to become a resourcing church, sending teams out for ministry and mission and attracting church leaders from local, national and international networks for equipping in missionary leadership.

For a long time St. Thomas’ has worked amongst young adults, especially those coming to Sheffield for Higher Education.  St. Thomas’ has been committed to both discovering and developing ways of proclaiming the Gospel afresh to a new generation, responding to the seismic cultural changes in western society.  A dispersed model of church using small group, cluster and celebration has emerged and the missionary toolkit of ‘Lifeshapes’ has become the toolkit for the missional life at the heart of the church.

The effectiveness of the missionary activity of St. Thomas’ Church, especially amongst the emerging generations, led to a growing desire to explore and develop what was clearly emerging as a missionary movement.  External and institutional recognition began to emerge in 2000 through the relationship between the then Rector (Mike Breen), the Archbishop of York (Archbishop David Hope) and the Bishop of Sheffield (Bishop Jack Nicholls) leading to the inauguration of the Order of Mission on April 6th 2003.

The Order of Mission is inspired by the monastic movements of previous eras that have so often spearheaded the renewal of the church and transformation of society. There has been discussion and reflection with members of Religious Orders and a desire not to ‘reinvent the wheel’ when it comes to being a new monastic movement, but to learn from all those movements that have proved influential in terms of the missionary activity of the church.

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