Revitalise
REVITALISE EDITION 8 HEALTHY CHURCHES
184 churches are now part of the HTB Network 36% of Network churches are in areas of deprivation 20% of the Network are 18 and under
112 men and women have been through the Peter Stream
84 men and women have been through the Caleb Stream
8k people attended an Alpha course across the Network this year
13.7k
people have been supported with employment training through Love Your Neighbour Hubs
356k
hours have been volunteered at Love Your Neighbour Hubs to date
We are delighted to share the latest edition of Revitalise, our annual magazine, with you. We hope you’ll be encouraged by all that God is doing through His Church and in His people, as we take a look at some of the things happening across our Network and beyond.
We know that sustaining church leadership for the long term can be challenging. With that in mind, our theme for this edition is ‘Healthy Churches’. We take a closer look at what it means to be healthy leaders who create healthy churches, with some interesting reflections, encouragements and tips that we hope you will find helpful. You can also read about the latest church plants and revitalisations, inspirational collaborations, as well as a focus on the work churches are doing to love and support refugees and asylum seekers, and much more.
We want to thank all of you for the work that you are doing to play your part in the revitalisation of the Church, the evangelisation of the nations, and the transformation of society. Our prayer for you is this, from Romans 12:11, ‘Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.’
With love, Archie and Sam Vicar of
HTB
Saint Mary’s Southampton
BRINGING THE TRANSFORMATIONAL LOVE OF JESUS TO NEW COMMUNITIES SHINING THE LIGHT ON EIGHT NEW CHURCH REVITALISATIONS
At the invitation of local bishops and dioceses, the Revitalise Trust is continuing to plant, revitalise and re-mission churches far and wide. In 2024, eight new worshipping communities were commissioned, advancing our mission to revitalise the Church, evangelise the nations, and transform society. We are so excited to see how God is going to use these new communities to share the love of Jesus in the years to come.
ST MARK’S TEDDINGTON, LONDON, TOM SIMPSON
Fourteen years ago, HTB and St Stephen’s Twickenham planted a new church community into St John’s Hampton Wick. Since then, we have been involved in several new plants and revitalisations in the area. More recently, at the invitation of the Bishop of Kensington, we were delighted to be asked to help revitalise St Mark’s Teddington in the neighbouring parish. St John’s and St Mark’s are partnering together in a shared vision, uniquely expressed in two locations, and we will be inviting people to play their part in a vision to ‘Love Jesus, Build Community and Transform Lives’. St Mark’s is on an estate and a previous vicar fell out with the community and built a wall that divided the estate from the church. We want to tear down that wall and offer a warm welcome as we continue to play our part in revitalising the Church, and therefore this nation!
ST MARK’S
MITCHAM, SOUTH LONDON, ED VEALE
“ WE WANT TO TEAR DOWN THAT WALL AND OFFER A WARM WELCOME ”
The multi-cultural and warmhearted congregation at St Mark’s Mitcham in South London, had been wanting to grow and reach out to the diverse community on its doorstep, especially to the children and teenagers who make up over a quarter of the parish. And so, after the retirement of the previous vicar in autumn 2023, and in consultation with the diocese, Holy Trinity Clapham’s curate Ed Veale began helping once a month at St Mark’s, and in September 2024, was licensed as their new minister.
The vision at St Mark’s in the months and years ahead is to be ‘Serving Christ’s mission in Mitcham’, by listening to God through the Scriptures, caring for one another in the power of the Spirit, and sharing the love of Jesus in word and deed.
Community lunch at St Mark’s Mitcham
Tom Simpson and the team at St Mark’s Teddington
CHRIST CHURCH PECKHAM , SOUTH LONDON FERNANDO CARRILLO
Christ Church is a diverse and dynamic church in the heart of Peckham where Fernando Carrillo was appointed Priest in Charge in June, to help revitalise the church. Fernando says, ‘If anything is going to change Peckham, it’s only going to be the presence of God. It’s an absolute honour and a privilege for me to lead Christ Church Peckham, an area I know well and feel so at home in.’
POPLAR CHURCH, EAST LONDON
CALEBMARK ONYEMAOBI
In spring 2023, The Bishop of Stepney appointed Phil Williams (Rector of St Paul’s Shadwell) as Priest in Charge of Poplar Parish to oversee the two churches already at work, All Saints and St Nicholas, with a vision to help revitalise the congregations and plant further churches. After a period of stabilisation a second minister, Calebmark, was sent from St Paul’s Shadwell. He was appointed as Team Vicar in Poplar to support the renewal of All Saints and drive new mission initiatives across the parish. Calebmark has since launched two new church plants; one on-campus at the Republic University site in Blackwall, and another worshipping community based in the community hall on London City Island.
“ IF ANYTHING IS GOING TO CHANGE PECKHAM, IT’S ONLY GOING TO BE THE PRESENCE OF GOD ”
HOUSE OF PRAYER, EAST LONDON
MARK
AND CARRIE BISHOP
The House of Prayer for East London is a new monastic community contending for the heart of the East End. In autumn 2023, we were sent out by St Paul’s Shadwell and the Tower Hamlets Mission Project to make a home in an old clergy house where clerics, nuns and locals have prayed for over 100 years. We are an expression of the Church and a resource to the churches, shaping our lives around simple practices that form a rule of life with Jesus. We are young and old, artists and office workers, council employees, students and more. We are contemplatives and activists, pioneers and prophets, and we are committed to a deep listening to God that leads to engagement and mission.
Mark and Carrie Bishop
Christ Church Peckham
Calebmark Onyemaobi
ST PETER’S TZANEEN, SOUTH AFRICA
TIM AND BECCA MCGOWAN
St Peter’s, Tzaneen is in the north of South Africa, near Kruger National Park. It is a hub church, based in the town centre, with four surrounding ‘chapelries’ (plants). Two of these are based in townships, one in a wealthier village, and one in the African bush. The parish has experienced some decline over the last 10 years, and we go humbly, hoping to inspire new life and growth, with a particular longing to see families come into the church. We believe that God wants to refresh and renew these congregations, increase cohesion between these diverse communities, and establish a more sustainable and life-giving future for the parish. The diocese is historically missional, so our longer-term vision is to plant more churches in the surrounding towns and countryside. We would welcome your prayers for us and our family in this time of transition, especially for our three children, aged ten, eight and six.
“
WE WANT TO BE A CHURCH
WHERE THE EXPLORING CAN DISCOVER
THE LOVE OF JESUS ”
SOUTH BAY, LA, CALIFORNIA JONNY BELL
LA is a sprawling city, with 139 different city neighbourhoods connected by traffic-jammed highways. It’s pretty much impossible to bring your friends to Alpha or attend mid-week ministries unless your church is local, so multiplying new local churches is vital. Over the last two years at Vintage Church, we’ve felt God lead us to plant a new location in the South Bay. It’s a large part of our city and a significant mission field with over 700,000 people. We want to be a church where the exploring can discover the love of Jesus, and the following can go deeper in discipleship, and a church where the Holy Spirit and rich teaching go hand in hand. We’d love your prayers for a beautiful move of God that leads to a revitalisation of the church, an outpouring of God’s love, and citywide transformation of lives.
Vintage Church, South Bay
St Peter’s Tzaneen
WALKING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF SAINTS
M A R GATE MARG A ET
MARGATE MARGATE
Mark Nelson, his wife Jenna, and their three children moved to Margate in the summer to help revitalise a new resource church. Here Mark shares more about his vision for the work God has called them to as a family.
It was in 597 that St Augustine, sent by Pope St Gregory of Rome, arrived on these shores, and preached the first known sermon in these lands to King Ethelbert and his wife Queen Bertha. The story describes how they both gladly received the gospel and invited Augustine and his friends to plant the Christian Church in these lands. Accounts record that the gospel spread ‘with marvellous speed’, like rivers of living water throughout the whole of Eng-
“OUR MISSION IS THAT EVERYONE IN EAST KENT WOULD KNOW JESUS AS THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE”
land for the very first time. We are believing that those spiritual riverbeds might be full again, and that streams of living water would spread through this region and pathways of renewal serve the whole country once again.
Margate is a seaside town that is home to artists, families, young people, creatives and some of the poorest in the country. There are over 150,000 people living in the area and less than 1% currently
attend an Anglican church. We would love to see that change. Our mission is that everyone in East Kent would know Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life. Alongside a team, I am Priest in charge of two of the four vacant parishes in the town of Margate. Holy Trinity Margate, which has been designated a new resourcing church, has been serving around 1,000 people a week through its mid-week community programmes. We are also beginning a new chapter by partnering with a sister church, St Paul’s Cliftonville, described as a church of the poor for the poor, once planted by Holy Trinity when the main church got too full. Both churches offer remarkable ministry in different ways.
We have an amazing opportunity to reach the 10% of young people aged 18–24 who are out of work, to reach the tens of thousands of children in schools across the region, to train leaders, provide agency to young people, to create and bring life, and to see many come to faith as we pray and contend for revival in the South East once again.
Please pray for us as a community and keep up with the story of God being told here in Margate.
Mark, Jenna, and some of the team
SPOTLIGHT ON
SPOTLIGHT ON
Community day at Saint Mary’s
Jon Finch
SOUTHAMPTON SPOTLIGHT SOUTHAMPTON SPOTLIGHT
Six years ago, Jon and Hannah Finch led a planting team to Saint Mary’s Southampton. From there, three new churches have been planted: St Win’s Totton, Lord’s Hill, and Lodge Road just this year. Here Jon, along with Ali from St Win’s and Tom from Lord’s Hill, share with us some of the incredible ways God has been moving in their city.
SAINT MARY’S
AT THE BEGINNING
The church was effectively empty, with a remnant of people in their seventies, and a small team of eight that came with us. We took this line from Sandy Millar, that we would pray for one person to come to faith, and one person to be healed in the first month. So that was our strategy. On that first Sunday, someone came forward for prayer who had been suffering from chronic sleep deprivation for years and that night, they slept through for the first time. So we kept going like that and we prayed every month, ‘Lord, would you save someone and would you heal someone.’
LEARNINGS
One of the things I’ve learnt over the last four or five years is that you need to work out who your people are. I don’t think that emerges for quite some time. Quick flash converts don’t transform a city, only disciples do that, and I think that’s been our learning, that you need to be patient, and it takes time. I’ve also noticed that I haven’t seen any correlation between me working harder and God and the ministry being more fruitful. Often, we have these great plans, and work really hard at them, but most of the time we’re just catching up with what God is already doing.
AMAZING ENCOUNTERS
We’ve seen God do some amazing things. A student walked in off the street because he’d seen the sign outside church that said, ‘You are Welcome’ and he took that literally and just came in. We’ve also welcomed a Muslim who had a dream that Jesus visited him, and so he came in to find out more and has since been baptised. You can plan all the strategies you like, but God will do it anyway!
FROM GRASSROOTS
Bridge the Gap football has been an amazing initiative that one of the young men in the congregation started because he wanted to do something about the lack of other young men in the church. He decided to go where they were, which was playing football, to literally bridge the gap by building relationships with them over football and inviting them in. We’ve had another lady who started a charity called Pause. She’s a clinical psychologist and so she gives up a day a week of her time to offer free support to families who would otherwise not be able to access that kind of support.
NEXT GENERATION
We are unashamedly focused on young people at Saint Mary’s. Our kids work is thriving and we now have a large student and young adult community at Saint Mary’s called Collective. We run a Love Your Neighbour Hub and will shortly be launching a Play Café as part of that.
AN INFINITE GOD WITH INFINITE RESOURCES
In 2021, we planted into St Win’s Totton and then in 2023, into Lord’s Hill. We’ve recently been given a new location, Lodge Road, and have launched a new morning service there. It needs a lot of money spent on it but we’re excited because we’ve basically run out of space, but we have an infinite God with infinite resources. It can be costly as you give yourself away but it’s also a blessing, and if you’re generous with what God has given you, you are literally embodying the character and heart of God, so why wouldn’t you want to do that?
St Win’s is a diocesan resource church planted out of Saint Mary’s in 2021. About twenty of us went from Saint Mary’s to join the existing congregation that were meeting in a local football club because the church was derelict. We secured Strategic Development Funding to pay for staff and to help renovate the building to enable the plant to grow. I had been on Accelerate and the team at the Revitalise Trust were an amazing support both in the early days and as a wise sounding board as we grew.
The congregation were ready for the challenge of reshaping a new community for a new season and it was a joy to get going. Our vision was to grow a vibrant church that was spirit-led and outward focused, with our remit being to encourage, equip and resource other churches in the local area. We’ve quickly gained a reputation as a welcoming church. Our main outreach has been working to support people with mental health needs. We love how God has used us as a hub for the community and a training ground to equip a new generation of leaders. We believe this next season will open new doors for planting and revitalisation in our local area – watch this space!
LORD’S HILL CHURCH
Lord’s Hill Church was built on this estate in 1981, and for many years it flourished but by 2021 the congregation had dwindled. It’s been a real privilege to be involved in seeing it come back to life, quite a few people who used to come have returned, and we’ve had lots of new people join as well. We’re aware that we’re not doing anything new here but building on the heritage of the church community which has been here for 50 years. However, I do believe we are seeing a new move of God, particularly amongst the next generation. The DNA of the church has always had a focus on the people rather than the building and being the heartbeat of the community. I see our role here as re-igniting that flame and following God’s lead to see His kingdom come right across our community. Lord’s Hill is a fantastic place with lots of potential but like anywhere it has a lot of needs. We want to be a church where everyone can find a home and where lives are transformed by Jesus. We’ve spent a lot of time just listening to people. There are challenges, but I do believe that God is doing something really special in this place. So far, we’ve seen 85 people come on Alpha, eight adult baptisms, 500 people reached through community events, and 180 children regularly coming to our toddler group. However, there are over 12,000 people in our parish and only 1% of them currently come to church. My heart is that we would always exist for the 99% who haven’t yet come!
“ As soon we arrived, everyone was so friendly... every week there are new people. It’s somewhere to come and off-load, to hand over your problems and start afresh. I am a recovering alcoholic and have been sober for 11 months. I always thought someone was looking after me, I now know it was Jesus. Getting baptised was so important, getting rid of my sins and being born again. I feel like I’m moving forward and leaving the past behind.”
Terry, member at Lord’s Hill Church
Tom and Jenni Boulter
Easter, St Win’s Totton
Launch Sunday at Lodge Road
DISCERNING TO LEAD
FERNANDO CARRILLO
“BOTH MY PARENTS WERE DRUG ADDICTS, AND I WAS BORN IN A PRISON”
We are blessed to have an army of men and women in our Network leading thriving churches across the UK and beyond. Some of those who have been on the journey of discernment to ordination in the last few years share their inspiring stories about what this has looked like for them.
I didn’t grow up going to church. Both my parents were drug addicts, and I was born in a prison. My grandmother, who brought me up, died when I was 14 and things went downhill very quickly. I ended up in a young offender’s institution and when I came out, aged 19, my life had no meaning or purpose, and I got heavily involved in drugs. The first time I heard God’s voice, was when a drug dealer walked into a room and told me that God loved me and had a plan for my life. I felt the presence of God in that moment and slowly he started to change my life. After four months in rehab, I started going to a church in Elephant and Castle. They really loved me and invested in me although it was very much two steps forward, one step back. During that time, I went back to college and got my first job. On one weekend away with my church I remember saying to God, ‘I don’t want to go back to London being the same, I really need you to do something in my life’, because I was relapsing and making so many mistakes. Someone prayed for me, and I remember hearing the audible voice of God saying, ‘Fernando, I love you, no matter what you do’, and I felt things that had a hold on me get broken that day. Not long after, I was asked to lead a homegroup of about 10 teenagers. None of them had ever been to church or heard about Jesus, but I could see hope in their eyes as I shared my terrible talk with them! I left thinking that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, but I had no idea how this would happen.
I’d gone back to university and after I finished, I started working for London City Mission in Bermondsey. At one of the churches we worked with the vicar said to me one day, ‘Have you ever thought about ordination?’ I had no idea what he was talking about, but something stayed with me. Not long after that I did a leadership course and Pete Wynter, who was leading it, offered me a job as a student pastor. I was now part of an Anglican church, in pastoral ministry and not just a full-time evangelist, and that meant I could pursue ordination. I went through the discernment process in the Church of England and by the grace of God I was accepted for training. I was ordained in 2020 and just this summer, I started leading Christ Church Peckham. I’ve been here 11 weeks now, and we’ve seen 21 people come to know Jesus, 12 people baptised, and it’s been incredible!
GOD’S CALL
JEMIMA HAYLEY
I didn’t grow up in a Christian home but when I was about 14 years old, I would get up every Sunday and visit a different church by myself, because I felt like God was calling me to just go. At the time I was at a convent school, and all our teachers were nuns, and I thought that maybe I was being called to that way of life too.
When I was about 28 I met a woman who was an ordinand in the Church of England, and I just didn’t know what that meant! She told me that she was discerning whether she should be a priest in the Church of England, and it blew my mind because I had no idea women could be priests, and that they could be married. I’d spent all these years trying to discern if a religious life was for me, but not being sure if God was asking me to sacrifice my desire for a family. She invited me to a conference for women who felt a call to church leadership, and I began to wonder if God was calling me. During this time, I qualified as an RE teacher, and I loved it because I was telling people about Jesus all the time, but I remember hearing the voice of God or hearing in my heart, ‘delay is still disobedience.’ I thought, oh gosh, I’m putting this off, even though I thought I knew from a young age what God had called me to.
“IT BLEW MY MIND BECAUSE I HAD NO IDEA WOMEN COULD BE PRIESTS”
Around 2016, I was at a pre-service prayer meeting and one of the curates there said to me, ‘Have you ever thought about ordination?’ and that planted a seed in me. After that, at Focus I went to all the seminars about ordination, trying to understand more about it, and shortly after that I began the official two-year discernment process. Originally, I thought I would be a self supporting minister alongside my teaching job but half-way through I decided to go all in. I was ordained in 2020, and I believe God was calling me to this all through my life.
KATIE STOCK
I had begun some conversations with our local Diocesan Director of Ordinands and a few weeks later my mum delivered a box of things from my childhood bedroom. Amongst the teenage memorabilia, I found a diary of mine where I’d written, aged 15, ‘What I want to do when I grow up: Lead a church with my husband.’ It was wild to find something that so clearly articulated what had been over a decade of sensing a call to church leadership. If God could call teenage Mary, he could call me! As a family we have been through the ordination training twice! Edd went first and trained at Ridley Hall. As a newly married couple, it suited us to move across the country to train residentially. By the time I started training, Edd was a vicar, and we had two small children, so mixed-mode training (having only one day at theological college a week) suited our family well. What it’s taught me is that there’s no ‘one size fits all’ for theological training. Each person needs to consider what will best suit and equip them. I’m currently the lead pastor at Christ Church Summerfield, Birmingham, a plant out of Gas Street Church.
I love the range of people Jesus calls in the Scriptures – illiterate yet streetwise fishermen, quick-witted tax collectors, and deep-thinking medics. However God’s made you, he’s calling you to come and follow Jesus. You don’t have to suppress who you are, just be obedient and follow his call.
HEALTHY CHURCHES
LEADERS HEALTHY
in full and to book your place at Leadership Conference 2025, head to leadershipconference.org.uk
At this year’s Leadership Conference, best-selling author, speaker, podcaster, and church planter Carey Nieuwhof emphasised the importance of healthy leadership in creating healthy churches and reflected on the physical and emotional challenges of leadership. We share some edited highlights from his talk around the three factors he presented that make ministry difficult, and strategies to address these. To listen to Carey’s
talk
Sarah Jackson interviews Carey Nieuwhof at Leadership Conference 2024
1
THE THREE FACTORS THAT MAKE MINISTRY DIFFICULT:
AN IMPOSSIBLE JOB DESCRIPTION
We want you to be strong and visionary, but not controlling; theologically deep, but also land all jokes perfectly like a comedian; a superior fundraiser but never talks about money in a way that makes anyone feel uncomfortable; authoritative but also submissive; able to attract top staff and volunteers, whilst also willing to work with a low budget and meagre salaries; have an excellent marriage, family and personal life, but also be available to the church 24-7. When you look at it, it’s absurd. But that’s the pressure you feel.
2
3
CHURCHES ARE GETTING SMALLER AND LARGER AT THE SAME TIME
The reality is that small churches are getting smaller, and big churches are getting bigger and both realities create pressure – you’ve got these two tensions of a shrinking church and a growing church. In smaller churches, there’s overwhelming pressure on the pastor, and a discouragement that accompanies decline which often leads to depression and burnout. In larger churches there’s an overwhelming pressure on the pastor that accompanies growth and size.
CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP IS THE PERFECT STORM
There are three weather storms that converge in your leadership when you’re a Christian pastor –your work, faith, and community. When I was a lawyer it was abundantly clear what I did! I went to my day job, I came home, and then on the weekend I went to church. I got into ministry and it all merged, because what I believed was also what I did. It’s fused and confusing, because your friends are also the people you lead.
“SOLITUDE IS A GIFT FROM GOD, BUT ISOLATION IS A TOOL OF THE ENEMY”
So, what do we do about these three problems? Let me offer you some solutions.
THE IMPOSSIBLE JOB DESCRIPTION
Firstly, try and operate in your area of giftedness. What I’ve come to realise is that if I stick to my lane, I’m better. Not only am I better, but the church is better. Secondly, release and equip the body of Christ to be the body of Christ. The amazing thing is that the thing you hate doing is often someone else’s passion. If you’re feeling the pressure – and not the privilege –share the load.
THE SMALLER AND LARGER DYNAMIC
The question to ask is, is this hospice or mission? If it’s a hospice, then you’re basically holding the hand of a patient as it dies. But if you call your 14 people to mission, that’s a whole other understanding. As you start to grow, even if it’s 16, 60 or 600 people, you need to be aware of the growth barriers you’ll face.
THE 200 BARRIER
As your church grows, it’s easy to start disappointing people. But here’s what I’ve learnt – 98% of pastoral care is having someone who cares. It doesn’t have to be the pastor.
THE 800 BARRIER
If you have a clear mission, clear budget, and clear culture you can release it to others, give them permission to go do it and that often gets churches past the 1,000 barrier.
THE PERFECT STORM
Solitude is a gift from God, but isolation is a tool of the enemy, and leaders can easily get isolated. Everyone that you deal with is someone you’re trying to reach, or someone you’re trying to minister to.
So firstly, you’ve got to pursue authentic friendship. When I stepped down from church ministry, I went from 3,500 people who wanted a piece of me, to three friends in the church. Who’s going to be around when you can offer them nothing?
Secondly, maybe one of the healthiest things you can take away from this – if you’re tired, discouraged, or your heart isn’t working right – is grieve your losses. I went through burnout in 2006, and I spent most of the year alternately crying or sleeping. The good thing about grief is that you don’t necessarily get over it, but you get through it. Bring those things before God, grieve your pain, and eventually the waves become smaller and smaller, and then it’s a memory.
And finally, get healthy. When you burn out you just want to get back to normal. But what can happen to people who take sabbaticals and summer vacations is they feel great and then it happens all over again, and all that benefit is gone. Find a way to live today that will help you thrive tomorrow.
Think about your day and divide it into three zones – green, red, and yellow. When you’re creative and productive, colour that bit green (it’s probably about three to five hours). Your red zone is that time when you’re exhausted, and you feel like you need a nap! The yellow zone is everything in between and it can be a very productive time. Do what you’re best at when you’re at your best. Make a calendar and map it out, and map out personal and family time too. Healthy leaders create healthy churches. Unhealthy leaders create unhealthy churches and the healthier you and I get, the better it goes.
Will interviews Dr Chi Chi Obuaya for the Good Leader Podcast
Will has recently launched a new podcast series – Good Leader Podcast. Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
HEALTHY FOUNDATIONS
BY WILL VAN DER HART, NETWORK WELLBEING CHAPLAIN
Rev Will Van Der Hart is Wellbeing Chaplain for the HTB Network. He is also a founding director of the Mind and Soul Foundation, author, and Bible teacher. He is passionate about equipping church leaders to look after their emotional health, and here he shares a few thoughts around creating some healthy foundations to enable leaders to maintain functional resilience.
Resilience is a slightly overused and misunderstood buzzword today, but behind all the frequency and mystery is something critically important to ministry life. Resilience is not a special gift that certain people are just born with, and it’s not just about the capacity to suffer more than the next person. Resilience is simply our ability to adapt to change. Palm trees, not Oak trees, live on desert islands, not because of their strength but because they can bend to almost 90 degrees. When a hurricane comes, they are the only tree flexible enough to keep standing.
MANAGING LEADERSHIP PRESSURES
I increasingly use the term functional resilience in my coaching work. It comes from the idea of ‘functional strength’. Bodybuilding is a hobby; being functionally strong means you can walk tall, carry bags, lift your shopping into the boot of the car and enjoy sports. One is nice to have, the other is necessary for everyday life. Building ultra-resilience is a lovely idea, but if it were possible, it would probably take most of your working day and is unlikely to work for modern clergy. What we need is functional resilience – one that enables us to manage the normal pressures of leadership whilst keeping a sense of humour, and a love for God and others.
The challenge with functional resilience is that we don’t realise we have lost it until we most need it. Retaining our flexibility requires some forethought. When we think about saving money for example, keeping a buffer in your bank account is easy when you have a specific goal in mind – whether it’s for a holiday, a car, or an extension. These goals are motivational, so saving feels straightforward. It is far more difficult to save and remain disciplined when you don’t know what you’re saving for. Resilience is built on the decision to save when you don’t know what you need for the future. We have to do this knowing that there are no obvious rewards, improvements, or achievements linked to functional resilience, we just keep on keeping on with Christian leadership.
CARING LONGER NOT CARING LESS
Because clergy are constantly subject to emotional demands, deliberately saving emotional resources or moderating their output to be more resilient later, is incredibly difficult. I want to inspire and encourage leaders to spend their emotional resources more cautiously, so that they can keep going, no matter what comes at them further down the track. This doesn’t mean caring less, it means caring longer. Building functional resilience is best done in unnoticeable ways through minor lifestyle tweaks. The ambition is always to match moments of extension with moments of contraction. It may all sound practical and simple, but the collective effect is to enable more processing time to match the productivity. The net result should be more resilience when you need it the most.
PRACTICAL TIPS FOR BUILDING FUNCTIONAL RESILIENCE:
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Increase your margin between meetings by 5 minutes
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Bring your end of day forward by 20 minutes
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Extend your prayer time by 5 minutes
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Commit to walking or riding to meetings where possible
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Determine not to use your phone on public transport
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Enjoy your family meals without work interruptions
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Keep your phone out of the bedroom and off the dinner table
A
healthy church is a church on its knees
– a gathering of
people who seek the heart of God in everything – whether it’s two or three people united in prayer, or two or three hundred.
Three churches in East London – SAINT (led by Al Gordon), Imprint (led by Wole Agbaje) and KXC (led by Pete Hughes) – have been meeting regularly over the last year or so to pray for a new outpouring of God’s Spirit in the city and beyond. These events have been gaining momentum and they are now seeing several hundred people coming together regularly with a passion to contend in prayer for their friends, family, city, and nation. Wole shared with us a little more about what’s been happening.
WOLE, CAN YOU TELL US HOW THESE PRAYER GATHERINGS FIRST CAME ABOUT?
It began last year, when Al and Pete visited Asbury after hearing about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. What was amazing is that when they came back, their churches experienced beautiful outpourings of the Spirit too. We all began to see so much repentance that weekend in our different churches and for weeks after. We heard what was happening in each other’s contexts and there was this sense of needing to pray together, because the Lord seemed to be doing something new in London.
AND WHAT DO YOU SEE GOD DOING AT THESE PRAYER GATHERINGS?
I feel like the Lord is consecrating people’s hearts. London is such a hard city to live fervently in the Lord, because there are so many competing idols, and many things that distract us from really pursuing him, and I feel like the Lord is just saying, ‘Will you choose me over everything else?’. What’s so beautiful to see is that as we have prayed, and contended for a new move of God, and an awakening in our city, we are seeing people get saved and set free. We’ve seen whole families coming to know Jesus! People have been praying for their siblings one week, and by the next gathering their siblings have given their lives to Jesus.
UNITED IN PRAYER
Al Gordon, Rector at SAINT in Hackney, recently shared some of his reflections.
After 15 months of gentle outpouring, something shifted in the past couple of weeks. An acceleration is happening and prayers are getting answered in remarkable ways. For the first time we’re not just seeing presence, but there is an increase in power. It’s like God has turned up the volume from a six to an eight. Some of the marks of what we’re seeing:
HOLINESS
People are coming with incredible hunger and thirst for the presence of God and young people just not able to leave his presence. Yesterday I was at two of our evening services, both closed but no one wanted to move. There was weeping, and people crowding at the front and lingering for hours. It seemed that the younger, the greater the hunger.
HUMILITY
Much of what we’re seeing is gently profound, it’s not spectacular and flamboyant. Jesus is graciously meeting people in their desperation. God is absolutely not interested in ‘the show’, in fact as soon as we try and perform, show off, draw attention to any one person or gift, or put anyone on a pedestal – the presence of God seems to recede. Where the leaders are gently making space, leading collaboratively, with humility, avoiding hype and making sure they keep short accounts, there’s a fresh wave of power.
HOPE
I’m now more convinced than ever that we’re seeing the early stages of a major move of God. You must get ready!
Joint Prayer Gathering, SAINT
Wole Agbaje, Pete Hughes, Al Gordon
PRAYER UNITED IN PRAYER UNITED
“ PEOPLE ARE COMING WITH INCREDIBLE HUNGER AND THIRST FOR THE PRESENCE OF GOD”
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
PREPARING CURATES TO LEAD CHURCHES
Rachel Bedford, Head of Training at the Revitalise Trust explains how Accelerate, a course designed to prepare leaders to plant or revitalise churches in the HTB Network, is helping to train, coach and support leaders as they journey through curacy.
Accelerate is a course curated for leaders who feel called to plant or revitalise a church in a range of different contexts.
This year saw our seventh cohort of curates interested in church planting, and for the first time, we were joined by curates in their first and second years of training. Our aim is to help them to discern the type of church revitalisation they are best suited to lead and journeying with them as they begin to explore potential planting opportunities. Alongside the teaching input, the coaching element of the course has been enhanced. One of our aims is to cultivate smaller coaching groups of six to eight leaders who can journey together through the course and beyond, with the intention of helping them to avoid the loneliness and isolation that can sometimes accompany frontline ministry. And following the successful integration of two Canadian church planters into Accelerate last year, this year we have welcomed two participants from Perth, Western Australia and one from Cape Town, South Africa!
Previous participants were kind enough to share their experiences on Accelerate with us:
TOM SIMPSON, MINISTER IN CHARGE, ST MARK’S TEDDINGTON
I was daunted by the task of revitalising a church. However, on Accelerate I was surrounded by people who believe that God is transforming this nation, and at the heart of that transformation is the local Church. Throughout the sessions, a clear thread emerged – the deep conviction that God’s goodness leads to revitalisation both personally and corporately. Week after week my expectancy grew as sessions and site visits fuelled us with practical wisdom. Hearing from previous Accelerate alumni was also encouraging as they shared honestly about some of the pitfalls as well as their top tips. Accelerate was a catalyst for my personal development. I left sure of my skills, and wise to my weaknesses. As we have gathered a team to revitalise a local church, and prayerfully fostered a vision, we are constantly implementing tools learned on Accelerate. Alongside this, Accelerate has imparted in me a new confidence that God is on the move to revitalise His Church and re-evangelise this nation!
PHILIPPA COOK, PRIEST IN CHARGE, ST PETER’S BETHNAL GREEN
Accelerate was a brilliant opportunity to be able to learn and journey with a whole bunch of amazing leaders from across the Network who are at a similar stage of ministry. It was a joy to build those relationships and to have space to learn from each other, to cheer each other on, and share the challenges. The course itself is a perfect blend of practical and inspirational, and gives loads of helpful advice on everything from buildings and finances through to prayer and the prophetic.
You also have access to a whole team of experts from the Network who make themselves available to you for encouragement and support, and now going into my new role I feel so supported and encouraged by everyone.
TYLER WIGG-STEVENSON, VICAR, ST GEORGE’S GRANGE PARK, TORONTO
I went on the Accelerate course because I had no idea what I was doing as a prospective church planter, and I was desperate for a lifeline! So, when the invite came for a couple of Canadian interlopers to join a group of British planting curates, I was more than happy to say yes – even though it meant months of 5.30am Zoom calls. I didn’t know then that it would be singularly formative for my ministry, and personally life-changing for me.
Each week I experienced God’s providential care as the content and speakers seemed to speak directly into some challenge or decision we were navigating for our plant. Also, the year leading up to our plant wasn’t an easy one, and the ministry I personally received from both the leaders and fellow participants kept my head above water and opened me to new levels of intimacy with the Holy Spirit.
But more than any church-planting technique, I treasure how Accelerate imparted a culture – a genuine humble love for God’s people; foregrounding the Holy Spirit in all things; overwhelming generosity and hospitality; and prayer, prayer, prayer. Our team launched St George’s Grange Park in September 2024 and Accelerate helped shape every inch of it. I’m so grateful.
Tom Simpson Tyler and the team, St George’s Grange Park, Toronto
The Caleb Stream takes ‘seasoned saints’ – those with a track record of leadership, ministry and life experience – and overlaps selection and training so that they are ready for deployment within 12 months. If you’d like to find out more, please contact Rev Sam Follett at sam.follett@revitalisetrust.org
ALL
IN 2023, JOHN AND JACKIE PARMITER, WHO HAVE BEEN MARRIED FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS, AND HAVE FOUR CHILDREN AND 11 GRANDCHILDREN, WERE ORDAINED AS PRIESTS INTO THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.
JACKIE I came to faith in 1980, and I’ve been following Jesus ever since. Fast forward many years, and in 2016 we moved to Hackney from Putney (although that’s another story!). We wanted to serve our church in some way, but we didn’t quite know what that was, so we just got stuck in! One morning, after two to three years, I found myself alone in the house and that was when I had what was a clear part of the calling. I just suddenly thought, oh, am I supposed to be a priest? The very next day, our church leader said to me, ‘Jacks, I’ve been thinking...’ and I couldn’t believe it! However, three weeks later I decided that I was too old, and it didn’t feel quite right for all sorts of reasons.
JOHN When I first became a Christian, I remember being on a weekend away with our church – the first plant from HTB, led by John Irvine. The leader was giving a talk, and I just thought – I want to do that, but I had no idea what that meant or where it would go. Ten years later, there came a moment when I had this growing desire to get involved with full-time ministry, but I didn’t really know in what way, as I had no real process of discernment.
CONFIRMATION OF GOD’S TIMING
JACKIE Fast forward to three years ago at Focus.
John and I were in one of the main sessions in the Big Top, although we weren’t sitting together.
JOHN Nicky Gumbel began talking about the Caleb Stream, and there was a call to come forward.
JACKIE I just thought to myself, yes, yes, this is it, this is the moment, so I went forward for ministry.
JOHN And I’d gone forward from the other side of the marquee and was being prayed for. When we got out of the marquee, I phoned Jacks and said, ‘this is for us.’
JACKIE We really knew this was the time – at our age and stage of life – and it hadn’t been before. Within the first day, nine different people said to us, ‘I hope you went forward!’
JOHN This was in July and the course started in September, and we knew we wanted to start straightaway. We literally got accepted the week before we started and off we went.
JACKIE We really did crash in! In an ideal world, you’d start the process a bit earlier in the year.
John & Jackie Parmiter
THE CALEB STREAM
JACKIE At the beginning of the year at St Mellitus, we were sitting in a lecture and I said quietly to the person next to me, ‘Well, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get my head around all of that, but if I can love the Lord my God with all my heart, with all my soul, and all my mind, and love my neighbour as myself, I think I’ll be making a good start.’ Jane Williams was standing in front of me, and she turned around and said, ‘That’s what theology is!’ and I thought, ‘I’ll go with that.’
We hadn’t quite realised before we started that the discernment journey is parallel to the training. As a Caleb student you really spend the whole year discerning and that’s a two-way thing with the diocese. It’s not a given that when you start the training you’ll be ordained. You have just one year’s training alongside the discernment process on the assumption that you’ve already been in ministry of one kind or another for many years.
JACKIE It really came together for me when I was sent on a placement to a different type of church. It was such a powerful experience and a very special time. I learnt a lot from it, and it confirmed my calling. After that, I realised I’d be sad if I didn’t get through. It’s important to say that our cohort were from many different church traditions and it’s a wonderful opportunity to learn from one other.
JOHN Towards the end of the year there’s a twoday residential which is really an assessment to see whether you’re suitable to go forward for ordination.
JACKIE And it was tough, and there were moments where I thought to myself, no, I’ve got this all terribly wrong!
JOHN I had a wobble in June where I just thought, am I completely kidding myself? So I went on a twoday retreat, and I just talked to God and came away with the peace that I needed.
GOD’S IN TIME
TRAINING TOGETHER
JACKIE We had lots of discussions together such as, what happens if you get through and I don’t? We sometimes went back and forth, well if you don’t, I won’t, and vice versa, but we had to leave that with God.
JOHN I think we gained a huge amount doing it together and talking about it with each other.
JACKIE And there’s a line we kept saying, well, this is my way of doing it, you do it your way. Because we are so different!
HERE THEY SHARE MORE ABOUT THEIR JOURNEY, AND EXPERIENCE ON THE CALEB STREAM.
SERVING THE CHURCH
JACKIE I’ve started preaching and I’ve lived to tell the tale! We can now preside, and we’ve given communion together which is such a privilege. Jesus has come for everyone, and we can’t turn anyone away. We’ve got to make it easy for people to come to God through Jesus.
JOHN We also do a lot of pastoral support, marriage stuff and that kind of thing. I took my first wedding, and it was so special. In all of this, the thing that I feel most called to do is to preach.
A FINAL WORD
JACKIE St Mellitus was amazing. It was a very affirming place from where I could flourish, and the great thing about it is there are lots of different types of churches represented there, and that’s the power in it. It really is an example of one body, many parts.
JOHN There are so many vicars and church leaders out there who could use some extra support and that’s what Caleb is. We come free, and we want to serve.
Peter Stream
Peter Stream Roundtable
DIVERSITY & DISCERNMENT
church leadership that reflects and inspires the diversity of the body of Christ.
The Peter Stream is a one-year programme that aims to identify and champion the gifts and calling of those in the three most under-represented groups, namely racial, social-economic, and educational. Several former Peter Stream candidates sat down together recently to discuss how being on the Peter Steam helped them to feel seen, and was such an encouraging space to discern what God was calling them to. Here we share some of the key takeaways from those chats.
THE IMPORTANCE OF ADDRESSING UNDER-REPRESENTATION
The Church in the UK should represent the body of Christ and reflect the different nationalities, cultures and socio-economic classes that make up our communities. The Peter Stream’s aim is to ensure that anybody who feels called to become a priest in the Church of England sees themselves represented which might encourage them to think, ‘I can do that.’
LAYING FEARS TO REST
God may have been calling you to Christian ministry or leadership for many years, but if you’ve struggled academically in the past, one of the fears of pursuing a call to ordination can be the expectations in terms of academic study. The Peter Stream offers a different pathway, and there are people who will support you with that.
WALKING THE JOURNEY WITH YOU
Prior to enrolling, someone from the Peter Stream will talk you through the different steps. You’re then given space throughout the year to ask all the technical questions about the discernment process that you don’t necessarily understand. The Peter Stream helps to set the foundations of discernment as you take the time to investigate whether ordination is the right path for you.
THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY
This is a journey, and having a cohort walk on that journey with you gives you confidence. There are people ahead of you, and others behind you who are supporting you. When you’re discerning this huge call that God has put on your life it can be a vulnerable experience, so being with a group of people like yourself, supporting and encouraging you all the way, helps to make it seem possible.
SEEING WHAT GOD SEES
The Peter Stream really enables you to see the gifts God has already given you, and how he has been shaping you through the experiences you’ve had. But it’s not just about that, it’s also about who you are becoming. It’s an opportunity to remove the labels that have been put on you in the past that might have stopped you from exploring what you think God has called you to. Our vision is to see a generation of
Love Your Neighbour team at St Nicholas Bristol
OFFERING HOSPITALITY TO STRANGERS
HOWONE CHURCHIS RESPONDING TOGOD
The Bible talks about welcoming foreigners and showing them hospitality as Matthew 25:36 reminds us, ‘I was a stranger and you invited me in.’ We caught up recently with Natalie Robson, Social Transformation Lead at Alive Church in Gateshead, to find out about the work they are doing to support the various needs in their community, particularly with refugees.
‘The work supporting refugees started with one of our curates in response to the war in Ukraine,’ says Natalie. ‘People in our church were hosting Ukrainians, and it was the first time they’d had contact with refugees who were experiencing a lot of trauma, and they were asking for support.’ In response the church decided to create a space where hosts could support each other and bring their guests along at the same time. Before long, they had set up ESOL (English language classes) and from there, things just grew.
Alive Church is based in a dispersal area in Gateshead (936 properties house asylum seekers on their doorstep). When Natalie joined the team two years ago, the support for Ukrainians was established but she felt they needed to go wider and reach out to all the refugees and asylum seekers in their neighbourhood. ‘Our first go at this was a bit of a failure,’ she explains. ‘So I really prayed about it and the result was that the council actually approached us, because they’d seen what was happening at our church. They asked us if they could move all of their drop-in services around Gateshead into our space, to work with us to deliver something together.’ That was about 18 months ago. They have now established a busy hub that opens every Thursday providing professional support from many different charities and organisations, alongside the church which provides wrap-around care for refugees and others.
However, it wasn’t long before Natalie and the team felt there was something missing. ‘It was the love and care bit,’ she says. ‘We realised that people were getting practical support, but we wanted to offer more. So now we have a team of wonderful volunteers who come and cook healthy, nutritious meals that are culturally appropriate, and it is just growing and growing. People now come along, stay for lunch and make a friend, or stay and chat with the volunteers and often stay for the whole day.’
WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
The company who control asylum housing in Gateshead have now appointed Alive Church as their single point of contact. When a person or family moves into dispersed accommodation, the church is notified, and the team will contact the new arrivals to explain who they are, and what they can offer in terms of support. They also have relationships with other providers who can help with all the information they need when they’ve just arrived. This is all coordinated by Natalie and the Love Your Neighbour team. ‘It means that new arrivals are greeted by people who want to welcome them and love them,’ she says. ‘We provide them with a culturally appropriate food parcel and offer them English language classes straightaway.’
INTEGRATION OF COMMUNITIES
One of the challenges in Gateshead is that although it’s a very diverse area, there is little integration between communities. At the top of the hill is a very large council estate, one of the most deprived in England, where around 90% of the people who live there are white and were born in Gateshead. Just down the road is one of the most mixed areas in the UK with a large Jewish Orthodox population and many asylum seekers. Natalie says, ‘It’s like two different worlds, one with diversity and one with hardly any, so we want to provide an opportunity for people to integrate. We’re launching a social supermarket shortly, in partnership with two other churches, and we’re inviting asylum seekers and refugees to serve on the team so that they will meet with the indigenous population in Gateshead.’ She ends by saying, ‘We’re really proud of the fact that every week, if a refugee or someone seeking asylum arrives in Gateshead, there will be someone available who can either resolve their problem, or we’re able to signpost them towards the help they need.’
“NEW ARRIVALS ARE GREETED BY PEOPLE WHO WANT TO WELCOME THEM AND LOVE THEM”
Natalie Robson
Esther’s story of hope and restoration is one of the many lives that have been impacted by the compassion and care of the team at Harbour Church. They run several different projects and work with a wide range of partners. To find out more head harbourchurchuk.orgto
How the compassion and kindness of the team at Harbour Church Portsmouth helped bring about one woman’s transformation
Esther was brought up in Lithuania by foster parents who abused her both physically and mentally. At schooI she got involved with the wrong crowd, and began abusing alcohol and drugs from the age of 15, but her torment didn’t end there. In 2009, she travelled to the UK with the promise of a good job and a better life but discovered that she’d actually been trafficked. She endured a year of what she describes as ‘hell’, until she was rescued by police and placed in a safe house. Esther says, ‘Even though I was finally safe from my foster parents and my traffickers I started really struggling with my mental health, and doctors diagnosed me with PTSD, depression, and eventually Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD).’
The man who trafficked her was eventually brought to court, found guilty, and sentenced to 16 years in prison. However, the process of having to relive her ordeal through the court case exacerbated Esther’s mental health issues. She felt isolated, that she didn’t belong anywhere, and that her past meant people wouldn’t want to be associated with her. She turned to self-harm to try and cope with the trauma, and tragically tried to take her own life on numerous occasions. However, these attempts were unsuccessful and looking back, Esther describes knowing that God had plans for her, even then.
“I RAN AWAY AND HID FROM CHURCH AND THE PEOPLE THAT WANTED TO HELP ME”
Around two years ago, Esther moved to Portsmouth. Still struggling with her mental health and addiction to drugs and alcohol, she felt hopeless. A friend she’d met invited her to Harbour Church. She was hesitant at first because of previous negative experiences of church. However, her welcome at Harbour Church felt completely different. She says, ‘I was greeted by smiling faces and as soon as I heard worship music play all I wanted to do was cry and let all the pain and hurt out, but at the time my head kept telling me I had to keep it all to myself and so I did what I do best, I ran away and hid from church and the people that wanted to help me.’
“I CAN’T EVEN BEGIN TO DESCRIBE HOW MUCH I NEEDED SOMEONE TO WALK WITH ME THEN”
Because Esther was still abusing drugs and alcohol, she was kicked out of her accommodation and she felt like she had finally reached the end. ‘I ended up heavily self-harming that night to the point where, by the time police found me, I had lost a lot of blood and was in a bad way,’ she says. Even though she begged them to keep her in overnight, the hospital discharged her, and suggested she go to the council to seek emergency accommodation. She arrived in a desperate state, with just 15 minutes to go before they closed for the weekend. However, to Esther’s surprise, one of the ladies there helped her to find a place to stay but, on her arrival, she found there were no clothes, no food, or anything to help her, and she was filled with despair. She recalls, ‘Something told me to contact Miriam from church and to be honest the rest is history! She not only provided me with food but also prayed with me and gave me a glimpse of hope. Over the next few months, she and her team helped me with attending my medical appointments and helped me find a place to stay. I can’t even begin to describe how much I needed someone to walk with me then, and having someone to be willing to take time to attend appointments with me, my anxiety and PTSD then was so bad I could barely do anything for myself.’
Eventually Esther started attending church more regularly where she began to feel God surrounding her with His love. She explains, ‘My fear was slowly lifted, and my heart slowly filled with joy. I had finally started waking up and thinking I was grateful to be alive after more than 15 years of wishing I was never on this Earth to start with.’
Esther*
(*Esther’s name has been changed to protect her identity)
Esther began attending a weekly women’s group at Harbour Church where she encountered a place of safety and love. Throughout her life she had been regularly told that she was ugly and unwanted, but each week this group spoke positively, telling them that they were beautiful, loved and seen. Esther explains, ‘To hear that I am loved is so important for me and I am forever grateful.’
AMIRA IS AN
EMPOWERING THE DISPLACED TO REBUILD THEIR LIVES
CLAY
ORDINAND AT HTB ST LUKE’S IN EARL’S COURT. HE SHARES MORE ABOUT THE WORK THEY ARE DOING TO RESPOND TO THE GROWING NEED TO HELP REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS IN WEST LONDON.
There are approximately 120 million displaced people worldwide. In the UK alone, we have around 350,000 displaced individuals, consisting of both asylum seekers and refugees. As part of our mission, we feel a strong calling at St Luke’s to help displaced individuals find community and integrate into society.
In the winter of 2021, we discovered that there were about 2,000 asylum seekers and refugees living in hotel accommodation nearby. Knowing that this can lead to feelings of isolation from the local community we delivered Christmas gifts to them. We then began to ask ourselves—how can we foster a sense of belonging, safety and community for them? So we decided to launch a Community Café. The Community Café meets every Monday and up to 200 people gather to participate in a variety of activities designed to help them integrate into society. We offer English language lessons, free haircuts, signposting to legal, housing and medical support, clothing distribution, hot meals, and most importantly, an opportunity for them to connect with others. We’ve also organised day trips to other parts of the UK, hosted games nights and more. After about six months of regular attendance, many asylum seekers and refugees receive training in skills such as cooking, hairdressing, and other practical trades.
“ This is why we exist: to invite, include, and involve displaced people, empowering them to rebuild their lives and contribute to the communities they now call home”
In June, we celebrated World Refugee Day which brought together 384 people from various backgrounds. We also launched a cookbook called ‘Beyond the Flavour’ featuring recipes contributed by asylum seekers from different regions, including East Africa, North Africa, Iran, and El Salvador.
Our ultimate goal is that by the time an asylum seeker is granted asylum, they are familiar with British culture, and equipped with the skills and confidence needed to begin a new chapter. A couple from the Middle East joined our programme two years ago. The husband was suffering from depression after fleeing the horrors of war, and the wife was deeply affected by his emotional state. Our dedicated volunteers befriended the couple, taught them English, and provided a support network that helped them regain their footing. Today, the husband works in a coffee shop, and the wife is employed in the care sector. They are healed, restored, and thriving. Their story illustrates the transformative power of community – how those who once felt displaced and despondent can find hope, gain new skills, and be successfully integrated into society.
Clay Amira
Hammersmith at Home at Saint Paul’s Hammersmith
To catch up on Focustalksgoto:
focus.htb.org/focus-2024-talks
SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY HAPPENS WHEN WE TOGETHER.
In July this year, around 8,500 people, from over 130 churches in the Network, gathered at Newark Showground for our annual church holiday. With inspirational teaching from gifted speakers, alongside powerful times of worship and ministry, lives were impacted and hearts transformed. The Kingdom Come marquee was packed every night with people continuing to worship, pray and press into the presence of God. We also had huge amounts of fun in the sun as church communities were strengthened, friendships deepened, and many gave their lives to Jesus for the first time. We can’t wait to do it all again in 2025!
“THE
POWER AND THE SCALE OF WORSHIP WAS HEAVEN ON EARTH”
SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY HAPPENS WE GET TOGETHER.
“I
FEEL LIKE THIS YEAR MORE THAN EVER, THE SPEAKERS AND WORSHIP LEADERS CAREFULLY DISCERNED WHERE WE ARE AT AS A NETWORK”
GOES
LOS ANGELES
Focus is a key part of our annual rhythm at Vintage Church LA. Our first year had just 20 people in someone’s backyard! In 2024 we had 1,450 attendees, including 250+ kids and youth. Focus for us means heading up into the Malibu mountains to a rustic Salvation Army camp. What it lacks in creature comforts it makes up for in location and fun. It allows us to connect with God, each other and to be envisioned and empowered for the year ahead. Something unique about our Focus is that it’s fully disconnected – no phone reception or WiFi! Trying to get (Los) Angelenos to commit to a weekend without Instagram is not without its challenges, but once people allowed the mountain air to fill their lungs, a new kind of expansion of the soul began. This year, the worship felt deeper and more intimate, without the hype or pull of other social events. There was time to soak in wisdom from our speakers and more margin to wander and to wonder. Somewhere between the sleepless nights and the campfire, we saw friendships deepen and had a lot of fun! There’s nothing like late-night s’mores and karaoke under the Malibu stars! This year’s theme was ‘Flourishing in Exile’. We explored what it means to be a missional kingdom community in one of America’s leading post-Christian cities. Teaching from Ger Jones, John Mark Comer and Tom and Sarah Jackson helped to envision and equip us for the task at hand. It was a powerful weekend, and we can’t wait for next year!
CANADA
Winter Focus is hosted by St Jax Montreal as an opportunity to get away as a church family and friends, whilst also inviting some of our beloved leaders from across the HTB Network to come and share vision and values with our growing community. Worship, prayer, teaching and more – but with ice hockey and cross-country skiing instead of the English countryside! In Canada, much renewal of the church happens in independent evangelical churches. In our case, within the heart of our historic Anglican Church of Canada. We continue to pray for the gifts of the Holy Spirit and Winter Focus is a wonderful way to do that. Please keep us in your prayers, especially for growing diversity in cultures and a diocese in great need of new structures. The Lord is on the move!
John Mark Comer, Focus LA Winter Focus, Canada Prayer Ministry, Focus South Africa
Focus LA
SOUTH AFRICA
Africa’s very first Focus took place this year in August at Goudini Spa, a mountainous resort boasting thermal hot springs and a water slide, just 100km out of Cape Town. The Christ Church Kenilworth team welcomed close to 350 guests, 100 of whom were kids and youth. Our theme was ‘In It Together’ as we unpacked Ephesians with some gifted local and international teachers as our guides. Abel Cheah and Jacintha Tagal flew in from HTBB in Malaysia and from Johannesburg, Langa Mbonambi, pioneer of We Will Worship, challenged us in our journey towards true reconciliation in Christ as a nation, church and individuals.
‘Youth Culture – Why the youth are disinterested in the Church’ was the title of a seminar run by Luxolo Kentane, Director of Alpha SA, and also a driving question behind our inaugural Focus. How can we truly be ‘In It together’ as a multigenerational family of God? These were our prayers as we embarked on this ambitious weekend away as a church, something we had not done since 2018. The answers came in moments of courageous connection – a dance workshop attended by young and old, a testimony from a former sex worker finding her home and her faith in Jesus at CCK, and an evening of uproarious laughter as we proved undeniably that CCK’s Got Talent! Post Focus, we are so grateful for the wealth of positive feedback and depth of relationships we are experiencing across CCK’s diverse congregation.
GLOBAL
“FOCUS WAS A GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN ON EARTH, WORSHIPPING, LEARNING ABOUT GOD, AND SPENDING TIME IN LIFE-GIVING COMMUNITY”
REACHING ‘GEN Z’ WITH THE LOVE OF JESUS CHURCHES ARE SEEING AN INCREASED HUNGER IN YOUNG PEOPLE TO ENCOUNTER JESUS AND FIND CONNECTION AND BELONGING
According to a recent survey by Fusion, 74% of students who don’t attend church regularly said they would go to church if a friend invited them. So how can we best encourage and equip young adults to invite friends to church? And how can we ensure our churches are engaging and welcoming spaces for students and young adults who are interested in spirituality and finding out more about Jesus? We caught up with Sam Gristwood, ordinand and Collective Lead (18–29s) at Saint Mary’s Southampton, to find out more about what’s been going on at his church, and more widely, across the Network.
WE WANT OUR YOUNG ADULTS TO TAKE THEIR DISCIPLESHIP SERIOUSLY”
SAM, YOU HEAD UP STUDENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS AT SAINT MARY’S SOUTHAMPTON, CAN YOU TELL US A BIT MORE ABOUT THAT?
When I joined the church just over two years ago, Saint Mary’s already had an existing student ministry. However, as my wife and I began to pray about it, we realised there were lots of people coming on Alpha who were between the ages of 18 to 30 who were coming to faith, and then it was like, well what would it look like to have a ministry not just for students but for 18 to 29 year olds?
AND HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT THAT?
Students were saying to us that they wanted a more multi-generational community, to connect and ‘do life’ with – people who were a little bit further in their faith. So we decided to create ‘Saints Collective’. We gather once a month for Collective, but we also meet weekly in smaller groups, which we call Tables. It’s been amazing! From January this year through to the summer, we’ve baptised around 30 young adults and students.
WHAT DO YOU DO AT THE MONTHLY COLLECTIVE NIGHTS?
At our Collective Nights we try and fire people up and create a hunger for Jesus. We eat, worship, pray and we’ll have talks with questions and discussions, or we invite the wider church community to be on panels to talk about different topics such as relationships. We’ve also had one on alcohol and another one on what it looks like to be set apart in your workplace or on campus. They are invitational and lots of non-Christians come to those.
WHY ARE THE TABLES SO IMPORTANT?
We want our young adults to take their discipleship seriously and it’s something we really push for. We do Bible studies, go deeper in our relationships with each other and Jesus, and generally just do life together in these smaller groups.
IS A LOT OF WHAT YOU DO INVITATIONAL?
Yes, a big part of what we do is Alpha, and Bridge the Gap football as well, which is an easy thing to invite people to. It means we’ve got the evangelistic side with that and Collective Nights, and then discipleship with Tables. But for us, Tables are really the core – to find that smaller group of people to meet regularly with – to contend, confess and have compassion for one another.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE CHURCHES WHO ARE LOOKING TO CONNECT WITH NEW STUDENTS?
Try to connect with the Christian Unions. It can be an interesting dynamic, but if you can find someone to connect with there it’s really helpful. Over the last year we’ve been raising up and training more leaders to get groups ready for September so that when people come, there is always a place for them at the Table and people can get plugged in straightaway.
HAVE YOU GOT ANY TOP TIPS FOR CHURCHES WHO’D LOVE TO ATTRACT MORE 18–29 YEAR OLDS?
It’s about trying to create a space for post-grads and young adults as well as students. If you’re seeking the renewal of your town or city people catch on to that, and they want to be there because they’ve found community and belonging. It’s not easy though, especially if you are a town or city where people just go to university and then move on. Two years ago at Focus, we began to look at this as a team and that’s when we kicked off Collective. There’s nothing special about what we do, but other churches are beginning to use the model and there’s a bit of a shift in the Network now towards this.
AS HTB NETWORK LEAD FOR STUDENTS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGE OTHER CHURCHES IN THE NETWORK?
We have a WhatsApp group for all those involved in this area of ministry, and it’s been great because we’re starting to build relationships there. We have a few Zoom calls throughout the year, and everyone involved with students and young adults connected at Focus this year as well. We spent time encouraging those who were finding it tough, and did things like splitting into geographical regions to pray for each other. We’ll also be meeting together at the new Summit in January.
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FINAL THOUGHTS TO SHARE?
There was a recent survey called ‘Talking Jesus’ and the stats are really interesting. The questions people are asking in this generation are around – How can I be happy? How do I belong? People are interested in spirituality, they are seeking experiences and belonging, and there is a hunger to encounter the presence of God. We’re trying to encourage people to pray prophetically over their non-Christian friends, and pray for healing, because people are open to experiencing the supernatural. They don’t just want to have their questions answered anymore, they want to encounter Jesus. We’ve seen some amazing answers to prayer and people who have literally just walked in off the streets and become Christians!
KAI IS A MEMBER OF THE COLLECTIVE COMMUNITY AT SAINT MARY’S AND THIS IS HIS STORY.
Kai’s story is reprinted by kind permission of Fusion. First published on their website March 2024.
‘I grew up with a Christian grandmother and when I was eight years old, my mother also became a Christian. I enjoyed church but I didn’t experience a deep relationship with the Lord because I was so busy trying to become a football player. At the age of 17 I stopped going to church, and after some time, I sustained a knee injury, ending my dream of being a football player. As a result, I blamed God for my failure and walked away from him.
I moved from Brazil to Italy and started to live a dark life. My measure of happiness was how much alcohol, women, and drugs I had. I moved to the UK and at this point, I started to deal drugs in London.
In January, I went to make a deal with other dealers, and they kidnapped me. When I was in that room, I remembered about Jesus. I asked him to free me from that place safely and that I was going to stop all my business with drugs. After a few hours, they liberated me without touching a hair on my head. After that day, God started to change the route of my life.
I moved to Southampton to study, but I discovered the real reason I moved a few months later. I went to the fresher’s fair, praying to God to help me find a church. I was introduced to Sam, a local student worker in Southampton. He extended an invitation to come to church on that same Thursday, and I accepted. The Holy Spirit filled my heart that night.
I went to Bridge the Gap football (a Christian football charity) and I met another Sam, called Sam Bell. I wanted to be around Christians. After we finished playing, Sam Bell asked me if everything was OK? I explained my knee was hurting. He kindly asked if he could pray for my knee injury. I allowed it; but after the prayer my knee was still hurting. I told him maybe God was not willing to heal me. He replied, ‘God is always willing to heal.’ That phrase stayed in my head for the following hours. I decided to believe God could heal me.
I woke up without any pain the next morning, followed by two days of trying to make sense of what happened to me. The supernatural power of the Holy Spirit changed the course of my life that day. I began to pray, read the Bible and fast consistently to learn more from God and create a relationship. On 12th November 2023 at a morning service, I heard the Holy Spirit speaking into my soul the reason why I was in Southampton. I cried for an entire hour; it was difficult to explain to people around me why I was crying in that way. The experiences since that day are changing and shaping how I see the world.’ In January 2024, Kai committed his life to Jesus by getting baptised. Before his submersion, he explained, ‘Jesus has changed my existence; I was blind, and now I can see. I found the treasure, and today, I’m ready to go into the water and be washed and reborn as a new creation.’
Saint Mary’s Collective weekend away Bridge the Gap tournament
Baptisms at Andover Parish Church Commissioning new plants at Focus
Church Crawley coffee cart
Easter Gardens at St Paul’s Andover
Alpha at Preston Minster
St James in the City Liverpool curry night
St John’s Hampton Wick The Big Lunch
St Mark’s Grimsby Love Christmas
St Luke’s Earl’s Court Collective at Focus
Student team at Trinity Nottingham
St Win’s Totton team
Baptisms at St Nicholas Bristol
Family Carols at Blackpool Church
Saint Paul’s Hammersmith at Home event
Holy Trinity Clapham summer party
City Rise St Mark’s Battersea funday
Harbour Church Portsmouth summer social
Kids Club at Gas Street Longbridge
Peter Stream ordinations 2024
Caleb Stream ordinations 2024
Orchard Women’s Conference
Accelerate 2024 launch
Lodge Road Southampton Launch
Sarah Jackson, CEO of the Revitalise Trust, shares her reflections on servant leadership, and how the challenges and opportunities we experience are faced better together.
BETTER TOGETHER
I have always found deep inspiration in the remarkable leadership of Nelson Mandela, particularly as he was released from prison in 1994 following years of solitary confinement, to make history by becoming the new President of South Africa. I remember seeing this man, who had many justifiable reasons to seek violent retribution, yet still with this humble posture of forgiveness and reconciliation. This made him a statesman like no other and defied the media who predicted national bloodshed. I suspect it was not the mountain peak moments, but the isolated prison years that forged such resilience in Mandela. When asked about his ‘successful’ leadership, Mandela with typical humility replied, ‘Do not judge me on my successes, but on how many times I fell down and got up again.’ He was the epitome of knowing what it meant to be ‘hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.’ (2 Corinthians 4:8–10).
Even more so, Jesus is the perfect role model of servant leadership. He demonstrated resilience and total forgiveness while suffering persecution, betrayal, and acute pressure whilst he continually faced the insurmountable scale of societal needs. Jesus’s ability to withdraw to a quiet place with his Father is a clue to where we can find that deeper resource, as we face our daily setbacks.
You and I may not be facing personal imprisonment, nevertheless, this is unquestionably a challenging season to be a leader, and developing daily resilience is critical. As a Network we are particularly alert to the pressures on leaders at this time and are paying great attention to what healthy leadership looks like, and how we can best raise up and support resilient Christ-like followers who will ‘Never be lacking in zeal, but keep their spiritual fervour, serving the Lord.’ (Romans 12:11). For this reason, we have launched Summit, to gather church leaders and their teams over three days, to be encouraged, envisioned and equipped to serve Jesus wherever He has called them, as we work together to see our nation re-evangelised, our churches revitalised, and society transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit.
I hope you have found encouragement from reading stories of the remarkable things we are seeing God do across the nation through churches in our Network. I continually marvel at how the Holy Spirit is calling diverse leaders through the Peter Stream, mature leaders through the Caleb Stream, and servant leaders who are planting and re-missioning churches in low-income areas. It feels like a time of significant challenge but also significant opportunity. Thank you for being on this journey with us.
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