Our story
Irish Church Missions exists to raise up leaders and release a movement of church planting, so that every community in Ireland is reached with the life-giving power of the gospel of Jesus Christ again.
the gospel is, at best, a ‘faint memory’ in Ireland today…
Our history
Irish Church Missions’ story began nearly 175 years ago through the work of an English clergyman, the Reverend Alexander Dallas.
During visits to Ireland in the early 1840s, Dallas became increasingly convinced of the need to bring the gospel to Irish Roman Catholic people.
The Church of Ireland had been engaged for many years in gospel outreach to Roman Catholics in a movement that came to be known as the ‘Second Reformation.’ Dallas gave fresh impetus to this work through his personal efforts at evangelism, sending gospel literature by the recently established ‘penny-post’ to thousands of Roman Catholic homes in January 1846.
“The Society for Irish Church Missions…is one instrumentality, capable through the help and blessing of God, of carrying the Gospel to every part of Ireland.”
With the help of Miss Fanny Bellingham in Dublin, not only was Dallas able to send literature, but he also recruited eight Protestant Gospel preachers in October that year to preach from village to village.
Following his own successful preaching ministry in the west of Ireland in 1847, Dallas received the support of the Bishop of Tuam, Thomas Plunkett, to ordain a clergyman to work on behalf of ICM in Castlekerke, County Galway.
In a sermon in 1851, Dallas clearly outlined his vision for ICM:
“The Society for Irish Church Missions…is one instrumentality, capable through the help and blessing of God, of carrying the Gospel to every part of Ireland.”
The story today
Today, although our cultural context looks very different to that of Dallas’ day, our mission remains the same: to see the gospel proclaimed to every community in Ireland, through the faithful witness of men and women who are prepared to risk it all for the gospel.
Beginning with the prayerful ambition to plant 10 churches in Dublin by 2028, we’re seeking to catalyse a wave of evangelism and church planting across Ireland. It’s only with your support that we can do this.
What part could you play in seeing Ireland reached with the gospel?
Our values
These values shape and define all that we do:
Pioneering
We know that we need creativity, innovation and courage if we want to break new ground with the gospel.
Passionate
We’re unashamedly all about Jesus Christ, and our heart is to see Ireland reached with His good news.
Prayerful
This is God’s mission, not ours – so everything we do begins by crying out to Him in prayer.
Perseverant
We’re committed to seeing the work through, and won’t stop until we see our mission realised.
Partnering
We can’t run this race alone – so we seek to cultivate and support deep, collaborative relationships with those who, like us, want to see the gospel advanced in Ireland and beyond.
Give now
Help us pioneer more churches across Ireland.