Vision and Strategy Stories

Read a selection of inspiring stories from churches across the country.
  1. Emily Emmerson-Finch standing outside in front of a blurred out tree and village

    ‘My passion is for reaching out to people who don’t come to church’

    22/06/2021

    Emily Emmerson-Finch’s journey started when she got the bus.

    Not catching a bus though: at the age of 22 she took the extraordinary decision to spend her savings buying a double decker bus and transforming it into a youth and community centre.
     

    2 min read
  2. Father Jack (a priest with a dog collar) is shown in his church with the altar below him

    Why hundreds of people are joining the ‘Spiritual Gym’

    15/06/2021

    Once a week, at 7.40am, children on their way to school, office workers and all kinds of local people attend the Spiritual Gym at Marylebone Church in London.

    2 min read
  3. A man in an orange jumpsuit looks out from the deck of a boat

    ‘When you experience the power of the sea and storms at night it makes you open to something beyond’ – former captain charts new course training for ministry

    28/05/2021

    Lee Higson recently left his 22-year career at sea to train as an Ordinand with the Diocese of Manchester. 

    2 min read
  4. The TikTok logo is shown on a smartphone

    ‘It was ridiculous!’ How vicar’s TikTok meant for seven teenagers reached 1.7 million

    10/05/2021

    What began as an amusing way to keep up with seven teenagers in her congregation is now serious outreach for Revd Anne Beverley.

    2 min read
  5. The vicar breaks a loaf of bread with the backs of children's heads in the foreground

    Children come forward to be baptised as Messy Church continues to thrive

    06/05/2021

    Several children who are regular attendees of Messy Church have come forward for baptism.

    2 min read
  6. Shalom Youth Project

    ‘It made me believe in myself’ – seed of hope planted five decades ago bears fruit today

    06/05/2021

    A youth project that has provided support in one of the country’s most deprived areas during the pandemic has marked almost five decades of success. 

    2 min read
  7. A woman is shown with outreached hands in prayer wearing a facemask in church

    Almost 90 new church communities established in Diocese of London alone

    26/03/2021

    London has seen a wave of new Church of England congregations in the last few years, with everything from a German-language Eucharist service to ‘disco worship’.

    2 min read
  8. Durham Cathedral choir looking to the reredos window

    New Community of Prayer for cathedral's soaring online congregation

    26/10/2020

    An online Community of Prayer is to be launched after a cathedral saw digital worship numbers soar after Covid-19 restrictions came into force.

    2 min read
  9. Streaming from a local church

    How digital services brought me to faith during the Covid-19 lockdown

    03/09/2020

    People are exploring faith during lockdown through Facebook comments and the Church of England’s national services streamed online.

    2 min read
  10. Drive in service

    Hymns beamed into car radios at cinema-style church service

    21/08/2020

    Churches continue to test drive new ideas for socially distanced services during the pandemic.

    2 min read