Abbey Leadership
Abbeys are to be led and guided by an Abbot, a father, who seeks to protect and cultivate the welfare of the community. Chris Sorensen was appointed and commissioned by the Archbishop of the Anglican Church of North America to be our Abbot. Chris oversees all of the Lead Pastors of the Mission.
Locally, Chris seeks the guidance of the Mission Council, a group of wise, godly lay people who meet with him regularly. Though Chris reports directly to the Archbishop, the Council provides invaluable advice and wisdom. Also, it is important to note that the Mission Council does have absolute authority over the finances of our church.
The Senior Clergy of the Mission can broadly be theologically described as adhering to a generous orthodoxy. They believe that the Holy Spirit moves today just as He did in the Bible, and they seek to model Christ both in word and deed. This places us well within the Anglican theological landscape, close to mid-center.
Fr. Chris Sorensen
Abbot
Father Chris Sorensen is the Founding Pastor and Abbot of the Mission Abbey (themissionabbey.org). The Mission Abbey is an intentionally rooted, creative, diverse, and empowered communion of parishes, chapels, and works that seeks to love God and reveal His kingdom by stewarding His goodness, truth, and beauty in our neighborhoods, our city, and the world. Since 2009, the Mission has launched 3 parishes, an accredited seminary, 3 chapels, 2 third-spaces, and 2 preschools. The Mission has also helped plant a sister church in Cincinnati, OH.
In January 2019, Abbot Chris additionally accepted the role of Canon of Church Planting for the Anglican Diocese of the South. In this position, Chris is helping develop church planters and new church plants regionally (Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Kentucky).
Before launching the Mission Chattanooga, Chris served as the Senior Associate Pastor of Stanwich Church in Greenwich, Connecticut for seven years. While in seminary (M.Div – Alliance Theological Seminary, Nyack, New York), Chris served as the Young Life Area Director in Darien, Connecticut. Under his leadership, Darien Young Life became one of the largest Young Life ministries in the Eastern United States. More than sixty percent of the public high school participated. In addition to his church ministry work, Chris has guest lectured on topics such as homiletics, North American missions, and worship at universities, seminaries, and conferences across the U.S.
Chris is a singer/songwriter, as well as the lead singer and guitarist for two national recording artists: Evensong Rising and Abacus Wave. Chris has been married to his wife Angie for more than 20 years, and they have two sons, Elijah and Wilson.