03/07/2026
Bishop Martyn, the Church of England's lead bishop for welfare, convened a roundtable discussion at St Mark’s Church in Kennington, South London, with the Employment Minister, Dame Diana Johnson, and representatives from church-based employment support programmes.
St Mark's hosts a Spear coaching programme, run by the Christian charity Spear, which works with 16-to-24-year-olds not in education, employment or training.
The programme provides specialist coaching and support such as help with CV writing and mock interviews and aims to build confidence and communication skills for young adults who already face additional barriers to finding work, such as growing up in poverty or having been in care.
The programme offers 4-6 weeks of coaching and one to one sessions, with follow up support for between six months and a year.
Founded in 2003, it now partners with 17 churches across England and Wales, and helped 1,200 young people last year. More than 70 per cent of young adults who had taken part in the programme were in work or education a year after completing the course.
Bishop Martyn (pictured above) said the Spear programme was an ‘absolute flagship’ for its comprehensive coaching support and excellent outcomes.
He said: "Whilst activity and provision will look different depending on the context, I would encourage every church to discern how it could be involved in the wider support for young people to enable them to use their gifts and skills, including through meaningful work.
"This support could range from hosting job clubs, to doing what we already do well - getting alongside young people in our communities and valuing them for the people God created them to be."
Bishop Martyn and Dame Diana heard from Rocky Uddin, a Spear Ambassador, who took part in the programme and is now an assistant manager in a restaurant, having been promoted twice in the last three years. Describing the impact of having taken part in the Spear programme, he said: "It boosted my confidence to another level."
Iona Ledwidge, Chief Executive of Spear, (pictured, centre, above) said: "We were delighted that Dame Diana and Bishop Martyn were able to see the Spear Programme in action for themselves and meet some of our trainees and coaches.
"We were also delighted to discuss how third-sector organisations such as Spear can play a part in supporting young people into work.
"Former Spear trainee Rocky shared his experience of Jobcentre appointments before he did Spear in 2023, and the minister was interested to hear it. We look forward to seeing plans develop for the transformation of Jobcentres to provide more tailored and effective support for young people."