Meet Clare and Soobie from FAB Church in Birmingham, both have of whom studied with the Newbigin Pioneering Hub.

Clare and Soobie, thank you for agreeing to be interviewed? Can you tell me a bit about yourselves in general?

Hey I’m Clare, a mother of four, and grandmother of three. I have lived on Firs and Bromford estate all my life. This is where my passion is, for young people and my community. My parents weren’t religious and I grew up knowing something was missing from my life. My mum did community work, so I followed in her footsteps.

I’m Soobie. I moved to Birmingham five years ago to live in a community house on The Firs and Bromford Estate. My background is in the performing arts, teaching and applied theatre. I have three grown up sons. My Mum is 94, and both she and Dad lived out their Christian faith in very practical ways. I have a brother who works with A Rocha International, so I guess we were both quite influenced by their quiet but dedicated example of discipleship.

You joined the Newbigin hub for Pioneer study; can you tell me what led you to do that, and how you found it?

Clare: I was put forward to the pioneer study by my boss Paul. I was really nervous and didn’t think I belonged as my journey of faith was just beginning. I felt better that my friend Soobie (we both help shape FAB Church) was also doing it. I felt so out of place to begin with as everyone had a background of churches, Bible knowledge etc. I was just beginning my faith journey, but in reality, I was the lucky one. I had no baggage of church and didn’t have to undo any old learning. It was all a clean slate pioneering; it’s the right way.

Soobie: Paul suggested that I join Clare on the Newbigin course as we had both taken on facilitating FAB Church. I was quite reluctant, to be honest! I had all the baggage Clare talks about and had visions of it being very much in the style of evangelism I remembered from my youth – basically very formulaic. However, the reality was so different. I loved studying again and the approach was creative, practical and reflective. It really helped me feel I could share faith in an authentic way and connect deeper with the geographical area I had moved to and the local community.

What were the highs and lows of studying part-time in a hub?

Clare: It was lovely meeting new people, listening to the stories, having different perspectives, having new materials, and meeting in new places. I wish I had more time. I’m not very good on a computer.

Soobie: I’m glad Clare and I got to do the course together. We got to know one another much better and Clare’s such a natural connector it was great to study alongside her. It was also brilliant being able to spend time with other trainee pioneers in the region and we still meet up and support one another. The only difficult thing I found was finding enough time and a suitable place to complete reading and assessments. I also had to have a different final project to Clare and so I chose the creation of a Peace Garden which we now use for community activities and FAB Church. It’s not been easy to maintain this, however, alongside everyday work and volunteer pioneering.

What type of pioneering activities have you been involved with, before and after your involvement in the hub?

Clare: I have been part of FAB Church for many years, meeting once a month sharing food, being creative in how we learn the Bible stories. After doing the course I have taken on more of a leadership role alongside Soobie. I help planning and shaping FAB Church: taking FAB Church into our community – showing up as FAB Church when we hold our community events. Being part of taking a bunch of our community to be baptised at Holy Island: myself, my daughter and granddaughter were also baptised with others. This year taking 31 people from our community to Wales for a weekend on ‘The Spirit and Water’, walking and eating lunch by waterfalls: a dream come true for many in our community.

Soobie: Until I did the course I didn’t think of myself as a pioneer but then realised I had done quite a few pioneer activities in the past, like co-founding a small Christian community which functioned as a physical theatre company in the 1990s. I also left mainstream church and joined a Fresh Expressions project in the early 2000s where I started to explore embodied spirituality and connect with less conventional faith seekers more. So, I guess I do have a pioneering spirit.

Since the course I have been mainly focussing on pioneering alongside Clare, making FAB Church a place of welcome; a family for all the various cultures and ages that want to explore faith. Seeing 10 of the FAB Church family baptised last year was so joyful. I have also been involved in connecting with sanctuary seekers at a local hotel.

How do you feel about connecting with people outside the church (the emotions involved, but also the practical areas of doing things with people who would not normally visit a church)?

Clare: Myself and Soobie have started a FAB Church youth group. We meet at church every other week. I have also been involved in peaceful protests in my community, calling ourselves peace chaplains, handing out peace doves, flowers, and cake. I love connecting with people outside the church, showing love, kindness, a listening ear, helping when I can but also giving them experiences like going to Holy Island and Wales, showing people they are worth it and are loved.

Soobie: I think Clare sums it up well! I’d just add that I have learned so much from the insights and reflections of those outside the ‘church’. The fresh way they approach Bible stories or connect to the Divine. It’s exciting and has expanded my faith. There are of course sad times too and I find pastorally it’s difficult, and exhausting, to balance working for a living alongside being available for people. I have also had to unlearn a lot of my expectations around what a ‘session’ may look like. Plan for the unexpected and be open to being interrupted!

Clare and Soobie, how can we pray for you?

Clare: My prayers go to my community. As the weather gets colder so do people’s homes. We have a lot of families who can’t afford to put the heating on.

Soobie: People frequently comment that I am a very busy person.  Pray that I might be better at finding the balance between doing and being.

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If you’re busy doing the day to day work of pioneering mission but feel you’d like more theological credibility then Church Mission Society (CMS) Pioneer Mission Training is for you.

Students who study with us don’t just work towards a university award; they get so much more!

For pioneers by pioneers

Our courses are specifically designed for pioneers by pioneers. Connect with experienced pioneer practitioners who want to see you flourish and your imagination channelled into action. We approach all our teaching through the lens of mission, understanding its significance and enabling everyone in their pioneering practice.

Everyone has a piece of the wisdom

We know that everyone who studies with us comes with experience, knowledge and a sense of calling. This means that everyone has things to offer as well as learn. Our courses allow that wisdom and experience to be shared – we all learn from one another.

Learn with the global church

We are committed to learning from across the diversity of the church, giving opportunities to hear from speakers from around the world and to learn with others across our diverse streams.

Choosing where to study is a big decision, so meet our team for yourself and find out what makes Church Mission Society Pioneer Mission Training a unique place to learn and grow at our next open day event on Tuesday 3 November, from 7.30pm to 8.30pm (UK time). It’s online so you can attend from anywhere in the world. Book your place now.

If that date and time aren’t convenient for you, find out more about our other open day events. 

And if those dates and times don’t work for you, book a visit us at a time that’s convenient for you via our website.

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AI is rapidly reshaping our world, this Conversation Day will explore what it means to be in pioneering mission in an age of AI.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping the ways we work, learn, communicate and participate in community. For Christian communities, this moment presents more than a set of technological challenges. It is an opportunity to ask deeper questions about mission, vocation, human flourishing and how we are joining in with what the Holy Spirit is doing.

More about Human, Holy, Artificial: Mission and Pioneering in the Age of AI

Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping the ways we work, learn, communicate and participate in community. For Christian communities, this moment presents more than a set of technological challenges. It is an opportunity to ask deeper questions about mission, vocation, human flourishing and how we are joining in with what the Holy Spirit is doing.

This Conversations Day brings together theologians, scholars, practitioners, pioneers and Christian leaders to explore the emerging landscape of AI through the lens of mission and pioneering. Rather than asking only what AI can do, we will ask what this new technological context means for mission and pioneering.

Through keynote contributions, interdisciplinary conversation and practical engagement, our Conversations Day will explore the opportunities and challenges AI presents for Christian mission.

Keynote speakers

Fr Dr Gabriel Hanganu

Gabriel is an anthropologist and community manager at the Alan Turing Institute in London, the UK’s National Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. He is also a priest in the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Kester Brewin

Kester is an acclaimed writer and speaker. He is associate director at the
Institute for the Future of Work, a research institute exploring how AI and automation technologies are impacting labour markets.

At the heart of the day is a conviction that pioneering is not simply about keeping up with change. It is about cultivating the imagination, courage and discernment to explore new possibilities, experiment with new forms of community and mission, and ask where God might be at work in the midst of profound cultural change which may seem unsettling and even threatening to some.

The conference will therefore create space not simply to respond to developments in AI, but to imagine, discern and begin to try to shape the future. What new forms of mission might emerge? What might pioneering look like? And how can Christian communities bring wisdom, hope and human connection into a world which is increasingly shaped by AI?

Join us for a day of theological imagination, pioneering practice and forward-looking conversations as we explore how Christian communities can not only navigate the age of artificial intelligence, but also thrive in it.

Take part

This event is free. Join us in person or online!

Book now via eventbrite

• See all pioneer events

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Church was simply irrelevant to many people in Jane Robins’s Nottinghamshire village – yet last year 11 people were baptised and are now involved in God’s mission.

Here, Jane shares how, equipped by CMS training, she sees God at work and faith growing.

In my journey as a pioneer, I’ve learned that our skill is often our ability to adapt and make the most of what we have. I think of Moses in Exodus 4 – given a fearsome commission by God, he is anxious. God, who could have given him any miraculous help, simply asked Moses what he had in his hand: a staff. This provided the means to rescue a nation and perform signs and wonders in God’s name. The simplest thing, with God’s blessing, becomes a powerful force.

Unexpected direction

No one expected me to lead a church. Raised a Jehovah’s Witness, I spent 25 years away before personal trauma drew me to the Anglican church. Driven to active ministry, I became a licensed reader in 2014, breaking traditional moulds. In 2016, my diocese recommended I train with CMS as an ordained pioneer. Despite ordination no longer being possible under a new bishop, I found my home among fellow pioneers at CMS and persevered.

Frustrating beginnings

Full of enthusiasm after training, I began my ministry as a lay pioneer. I established a successful church plant in a social club in a nearby parish, but it was closed by a new incumbent and I was back to square one. I came back to working with what I had and began to think more about where people were, what was important to them and who were the “influencers” in my village of Ruddington.

I realised there wasn’t any animosity towards the church, simply a view that it was totally irrelevant. An affluent, leafy village full of amenities, little deprivation, with many valuable community groups; why would God need to be part of it?

From disinterest to dear friends

I became a parish councillor because that seemed an obvious way for me to pioneer God’s message by joining the influencers. Through this, church, council and the village partnership group have increasingly worked together for the good of the village. The church is now seen as “one of us”.

I believe success is more than numbers, but at the Christmas services last year, over 1,100 people came through the church doors, up from 300 two years ago. People see it as “us and ours”.

Andrew, the vicar of St Peter’s, Ruddington, is now referred to as “our Andrew” by people he meets, whether they have a faith or not. He regularly walks around the monthly village market, talking to people, listening to their stories. At a recent village event, thanks were given to “our dear friends at St Peter’s” – a massive shift from the disinterest a few years ago.

Planting again

With a hardworking team, I started and now lead a second church plant, Framework Church, which runs from a coffee shop. It is a relaxed and informal community, accessible to people moving on from the Alpha course, or who find church intimidating. It has seen as many as 40 people attending and continues to develop its own unique style: distinct from, yet part of, St Peter’s.

Although primarily a missional enterprise, we have found that discipleship among the leaders has grown too. We’re currently using [CMS Britain hub director] Jonny Baker’s book Fringe Dweller, and the whole team love exploring the pioneer thinking that formed so much of my equipping at CMS. Our incumbent has commented that this plant has been one of the greatest motivators of change and growth within the church.

Pioneering Alpha

You might think there is not much pioneering in running Alpha, but there can be! I follow my inclination to relax things: a welcome time, glass of wine and chat to start.

We allow room for where the discussion takes us. WhatsApp groups for each course have been transformational to form relationships on this road people travel together. Last year saw 11 adult baptisms following the course, with everyone now involved regularly in mission.

Two of those baptised are prison wardens, working in one of the toughest prisons in the region. One has established a weekly prayer group at the prison, which currently has about 20 members including both staff and inmates.

The other warden looks after pregnant women prisoners and regularly speaks of her faith while offering comfort. God is alive and well in this prison!

Another baptism candidate came to faith after a 20-year gap. She had given up a baby for adoption in her youth and had carried guilt ever since, believing that Jesus could never forgive her. She is now truly free, experiencing a wonderful deliverance from her guilt during the Alpha Holy Spirit day, realising how truly loved she is. She certainly is a new creation.

This year sees us planning something totally new for our church – Family Alpha. Last year, three people were unable to finish the course because of childcare issues, so I thought, why don’t we make a course for them? We are now well into planning a multi-generational approach that caters for every age, with pizza, kids’ activities and teaching for the whole family, with over 30 people signed up.

Family pioneering

One of the most unexpected results from Alpha involved my youngest daughter, Liz. She was scathing that her mum had become a “Jesus nut”, had trained to become a pioneer (whatever that means!) and was now running Alpha. Liz decided to see who was brainwashing her mum, so signed up to show these people just how false it all was.

On week one, Liz was bowled over by the food. Then after the discussion, a voice I could not believe belonged to my daughter suddenly poured forth her worries about my granddaughter. A team member suggested we pray for her. Instead of “not likely” there was a heartfelt “yes please”. She was completely overcome by the Holy Spirit, in floods of tears and joined in the discussion later about God as if he was the best friend she had known for years. The story doesn’t end there: Liz is now a vicar running a benefice of six churches and, I suspect, a fledgling pioneer herself!

A long road

It’s taken me over 10 years to get the pioneer message into mainstream thinking in my church context – this is a journey for the long haul, and I have learned not to give up, to believe in the impossible, listen to God and wait for his timing. Key to building bridges with the rest of my church and community has been finding the language they speak and learning to talk in ways they understand. Now, both my vicar and an 83-year-old ministry colleague enthuse about the pioneer thinking in Jonny Baker’s book Fringe Dweller – and we’re all finding life at the edges.

Take part

Are you passionate about discovering creative ways to share the hope of Jesus? Find out more about CMS Pioneer Mission Training:

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We have been involved with and exhibited at Greenbelt for some years and 2026 was no different! We had a great time connecting with friends old and new this August bank holiday, for the last time at Boughton.

The team had a great time meeting visitors and hearing their stories, joys, questions, and challenges. We were in a superb location which meant a steady flow of visitors through the days.

Our exhibition space was based on the book Fringe Dweller by Jonny Baker and David Cotterill. We had postcards of the striking artwork from the book to give away.

We also invited visitors to the stand the add their thoughts, reflections and answers to the questions we had displayed on the walls of our exhibition space. We had some great answers and really thoughtful contributions.

Jonny and David led a very popular seminar on a reflection from the book in the shelter venue. If you missed the chance to sign up for the Fringe Dweller emails, you’re not too late – you can sign up here.

If we met you there and you’ve been thinking about studying with us, please do take a look at our Prospectus. We’ll be announcing our open days soon so make sure you’re the first to hear by contacting us.

As Greenbelt is taking a breather in 2027, we’d love to hear about which festivals, conferences and events you’ll be going to next year so we can see you there. Please do drop an email to Jayne.runacres@churchmissionsociety.org to let us know.

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At the start of the academic year, we meet CMS’s new Undergraduate Programme Coordinator, Natalie Burfitt, who longs to help students find treasure in the course.

HH: Firstly, Natalie, can I ask what are you excited about as you begin your role coordinating the undergraduate programme?

NB: Lots of things! I really enjoy meeting all the amazing people that come to study at CMS and hearing their stories – it’s very inspiring.

I learn so much from being around the teaching team and the students so I’m excited for the ways that I’ll be challenged and changed.

I do think studying theology is a spiritual practice and that God effects the transformative ‘renewing of the mind’ that Paul refers to in Romans through it (if we’re open to it). I’m looking forward to finding out how the course can best support this process of renewal for students.

How did you get into pioneering?

I’ve had formative experiences in churches that have had a clear purpose around connecting with the wider community at various times in my life and those have been the most life-giving. I’ve also been part of churches that have been introspective and self-absorbed and that’s been the opposite! So being ‘missional’ is in the DNA of my spirituality. It was when I was looking for next steps from my Anglican curacy and contemplating running a pub instead of a church that I really came out as a pioneer.

In what way are you currently pioneering?

I do small scale community building in my neighbourhood – Advent windows, street parties, that kind of thing. I’ve been offering something called Sacred Space in my local park which has been going for almost a year. It follows the Celtic seasons and is very simple and open to all. 

I also work for a Gloucester Diocese organisation called Sportily and we are pioneering growing Christian community with children, families and young people in ways that are active and involve movement.

You’re not new to Pioneer Mission Training, how have you been involved up to now?

I studied on the MA programme a few years ago. I’ve since been working as part of the Post-Christian Britain Hub, coordinating the regional hubs that deliver this wonderful training on a non-academic pathway.

I’ve also been a volunteer chaplain for the undergraduate programme. I am the proverbial bad penny!

Oh no, Natalie, you are definitely a ‘good penny’! What are your hopes for the Pioneers who come to train with us?

Oof – I have a long list there! That they bond with each other and find a community that is supportive and nurturing. Also, that they find treasure in this course – things that excite them and that equip them practically. 

I hope that they enjoy the ride and are able to sense God’s leading in this commitment. It’s a big undertaking and I hope God meets them in their needs and aspirations.

How can we pray for you in your new role?

Thank you. I’ll make mistakes as I learn – pray for grace for those around me!

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The Acts 11 Project is convening in September to address essential questions for the church in mission today.

by Harvey Kwiyani

10 August 2026

Shifting Centres, Moving Peoples: Rethinking Partnership in an Age of Migration

For more than three decades, partnership has been one of the defining aspirations of Christian mission. It appears in our strategic plans, conference themes, and mission statements. Yet despite our shared commitment to partnership, many churches and mission organisations recognise that genuine mutuality remains difficult to achieve.

Across the UK and beyond, conversations with church leaders, academics, mission practitioners, and diaspora Christians reveal a common question: How do we move beyond good intentions towards genuine mutuality?

The challenge is not a lack of goodwill. Rather, many of our patterns of mission and church life were shaped in a world where authority, resources, and theological leadership flowed from a handful of centres to the rest of the world. Christianity today, however, is unmistakably polycentric. The demographic centre of the Church now lies in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and among migrant communities around the world. Migration has transformed the landscape of mission, bringing Christians from every continent into our towns, cities, and congregations.

This changing reality invites us to ask important questions. What does partnership look like when mission is no longer a movement from the West to the rest? How can churches move beyond host–guest relationships towards genuine reciprocity? How do we share leadership, resources, and decision-making in ways that reflect the diversity of the global body of Christ?

These are not merely theoretical questions. They shape how denominations relate to diaspora churches, how theological colleges prepare future leaders, how mission agencies collaborate across cultures, and how local congregations witness in increasingly multicultural communities.

These are precisely the questions that will be explored at the Acts 11 Project Mission and Migration Conference, taking place on 4–5 September 2026 at Liverpool Hope University.

Under the theme Shifting Centres, Moving Peoples: Rethinking Partnership and Mutuality in an Age of Migration, the conference will bring together church leaders, theologians, mission practitioners, students, policymakers, and diaspora church leaders for two days of theological reflection, practical learning, and honest conversation.

We are delighted to welcome keynote speakers including Dr Alexander Chow, Dr Sheila Akomiah-Conteh, Adam Martin, and Dr Nuam Hatzaw, alongside workshops led by practitioners from organisations such as Welcome Churches, Agapé UK, WEAVE, and the Acts 11 Project.

Rather than simply discussing migration, the conference seeks to create space for genuine encounter. Together we will explore practical questions including:

• How can established churches and diaspora churches move beyond host–guest relationships towards genuine partnership?
• What can churches learn from successful intercultural ministry partnerships?
• Why is cultural intelligence becoming an essential leadership skill?
• How are refugees and migrant communities reshaping the Church’s understanding of mission?
• What can the multicultural church in Antioch teach us about partnership today?

Our hope is that participants will leave not only with fresh ideas, but also with new relationships, deeper theological insight, and renewed confidence that God is using migration to reshape the Church for faithful witness in the twenty-first century.

Whether you serve in church leadership, theological education, mission, research, or a multicultural congregation, we warmly invite you to join us.

Take part

The conference is available in person or online, with registration options for one day or both days.

We look forward to welcoming you to Liverpool as we continue this important conversation together.

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We catch up with ordinand Jez Drury at the end of his first year on the MA programme at CMS Pioneer Mission Training.

HH: Hi Jez, and thanks for agreeing to be interviewed a second time. Can you tell us a bit about your context and where you are based?

JD: I am based in the Parish of Maybush in Southampton, a large parish of around 28,500 people. We sit very close to Southampton Docks, the second‑largest container terminal in the UK. The parish includes a large post‑war urban estate originally built to rehouse people after the city centre was heavily bombed during the Blitz.

This area continues to experience significant levels of deprivation. Issues associated with poverty are common – including high levels of child poverty, social housing, single‑parent households, and single‑occupancy households. As of 2019, Maybush had the lowest per‑capita church attendance in the diocese.

Since lockdown, our church community has been actively seeking new ways to respond to local need. On Tuesdays, we have Crafty Cafe and run Marketplace every Wednesday to help alleviate food poverty. From this, we now have social prescribers attending to support people in accessing doctors, dentists, and other essential services. We’ve also begun conversations with Mountbatten Hospice around issues of death and dying.

We are intentionally building relationships across the community – with statutory agencies, local organisations, and residents. This has meant stepping outside our buildings, meeting people where they are, and inviting the community into our churches and halls. It has prompted us to rethink what it means to be church, here. Increasingly, we are creating safe, hospitable spaces where people can gather, belong, and encounter God.

You are studying the Pioneer MA with us; can you tell us what led you to join the course?

I’ve always had a heart for mission – especially for those outside the church walls and on the edges of society. That’s where I feel most at home. I often feel like I’m on the inside looking out, noticing the things we could be doing and wanting to make a difference to the people I meet.

For many years I’ve wrestled with how I fit within the church, and how we welcome people who may never walk through the doors on a Sunday. I’m hoping that being here will help me discern what that looks like for me as I move forward.

When you first joined us, your application said: “This is part of my discernment process towards ordained ministry. I need a better understanding of what it means to be a pioneer and what that looks like for me in reality, within the context of people I meet.” Can you tell us how this has panned out so far?

I am almost 12 months into my journey with CMS, and I’m beginning to get a clearer sense of what a pioneer is. In many ways, it still feels like the beginning, so I’m trying to stay open‑minded about what this might look like as I continue. I’m aware that the word pioneer means different things to different people. What I do know is that I’m called to the margins – to those who are institutionalised, however we understand that term. I’m not comfortable with the church simply repeating what it has always done. I don’t believe God calls us to comfortable Christianity; he calls us to make a difference.

Part of living that out is the Crafty Cafe group on a Tuesday. It began with around eight people, and now, less than a year later, we regularly welcome about 20 each week. I’m taking an organic approach to evangelism, and over the past six months I’ve started to see four or five of our regulars coming along to church on a Sunday morning. They come for their own reasons, and our response is simply: you are welcome.

Jez, can you tell us more about leading an intergenerational congregation?

I have recently begun to lead services that genuinely cater to an intergenerational congregation, helping people of all ages easily understand what’s being shared from the front. This is very much a work in progress – I’ve only led two services in this style so far – so it’s still early to know how effective it is. But the initial feedback has been encouraging, and I’m hopeful about how this approach might grow.

In terms of your lectures and assignments, what have you found useful at CMS; what might make an impact in your future ministry?

The bits from college that have been most useful to me are the sessions on culture and how we understand the culture we find ourselves in, and liberation theology and seeing the reality of this in the community I find myself in. 

It’s helping me understand the people I meet and how I work more effectively with them.  

How can we pray for you, Jez?

A year into this new chapter, please pray that I am able to sustain a good pattern of study alongside my work commitments. Please also pray for my family as we continue to adjust to this rhythm and discern how study, ministry, and daily life fit together. And please pray for the Parish of Maybush as we keep working together to understand and follow what God is asking of us next. My own prayer life continues to grow, and I am finding an early‑morning rhythm of prayer especially life‑giving as I keep trusting God for whatever lies ahead.  

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From books co-authored by CMS staff to anticipated inspiration from (other!) brilliant minds, here’s this year’s list of tantalising titles…

Fringe Dweller, Jonny Baker and David Cotterill, Getsidetracked, 2026

Jesus was loved by fringe dwellers – the poor, lame, blind, lepers, the oppressed, the possessed, foreigners, beggars, outsiders, those deemed unclean, women who experienced shame, tax collectors and sinners. He spent time with them. Fringe Dweller is a collection of 40 reflections with 20 original illustrations by artist Jon Birch, based on encounters in the gospels with Jesus the Fringe Dweller. Each reflection includes a scripture reading, a practice and a liturgy. Ideal for personal use, for groups and for those preaching or curating worship.

Into All the Parish: Pioneering Practices for Every Local Church, Greg Bakker and Tina Hodgett, Church House Publishing, 2026

Arising out of the Pioneering Parishes project, Into All the Parish holds together pioneering and parochial forms of ministry, which are frequently in tension. It honours both as distinct yet connected modes of ministry, seeing pioneering as an integral dynamic within vibrant parochial ministry and essential for widening the possibilities to fulfil the “care of souls” in a local area. Into all the Parish offers practical principles, stories and case studies, forming a framework for corporate discipleship in which congregations identify their aspirations, commit to live out of shared values and create space to pursue ministry within and beyond the church walls.

In the Fullness of Time: A Story From the Past and Future of the Church, Paul Bradbury, Canterbury Press, 2024

This is a book about the present and future of the church in our own challenging context: a secular age, decline, stretched resources, complex and fragmented communities requiring diverse missional approaches. Weaving together storytelling, travelogue and poetry, Paul Bradbury journeys from rural Norfolk to inner-city London, from a radical missional community in Lincolnshire, to a traditional village parish in Dorset, to explore what the church looks like today, and how local parish communities are wrestling with the tensions between the value of inherited church and the need to look to the future.

Being the People of God: Missional Ecclesiology for Uncertain Times, Paul Bradbury, Isabelle Hamley, Andy Smith, SCM, 2025

In unsteady political, societal and ecclesial times, what might a missional ecclesiology offer? Drawn from a consultation by the Church of England’s Faith and Order Commission, this book seeks to offer a conversation involving theologians and practitioners across three key themes – the church’s worship as a gathered community, its witness as a scattered community and its walk as a pilgrim community. With contributors including: Jonny Baker, Angus Ritchie and Cathy Ross.

Decolonizing Mission, Harvey Kwiyani, SCM Press, 2025

For the past 500 years, the idea of the mission of God has been synonymous with that of the expansion of Western civilisation and its influence in the world. In Decolonizing Mission, Harvey Kwiyani traces the history of Christian mission alongside the history of empire, showing the influence that one had on the other. Imagining what mission without imperialism would look like, Kwiyani sheds light on the connection between colonialism and mission and invites us to realign our missional methods with God’s. One of the International Bulletin of Mission Research’s Ten Outstanding Books in Mission Studies, World Christianity, and Intercultural Theology for 2025.

Words Fitly Spoken: Everyday African Theology for Millennials and Gen Z, Joseph Ola, Word Alive, 2025

What does it mean to live faithfully as a young African Christian in a digitally connected, culturally complex world? In Words Fitly Spoken, Joseph Ola weaves together powerful quotations, African proverbs and personal testimony to offer a refreshing vision of Christian discipleship – one that honours both global wisdom and African identity. Through 13 compelling reflections, this book addresses the core struggles of millennials and Gen Z: the pressure to succeed, the fear of failure, the tyranny of busyness and the search for authentic faith in an age of performance and comparison.

Chinese Heritage in British Christianity: More than Foreigners, Alexander Chow (ed), SCM, 2025

This is a critical time for British Chinese Christians. On the one hand, the national churches of each of Britain’s four nations have experienced an unprecedented decline in attendance. On the other hand, British Chinese Christianity is among the fastest growing Christian populations in the UK. But there is a much longer history, with the first Chinese Christian in Britain dated to the 17th century. This book tells the story of the rise of British Chinese Christianity, and how British Chinese people have been shaping and reshaping the future of British Christianity. It brings together theological educators, church ministers and parachurch leaders, including a contribution from Mark Nam, chaplain to the Asian Christianity MA students at CMS.

The Starter’s Way: Leading New Contextual Christian Communities, Ed Olsworth-Peter and Dwight J Zscheile (eds.), Church Publishing Inc, 2025

A call for new ways of starting thriving church communities, based on global case studies of churches who have innovated from within their local communities. As many established churches struggle to connect with people in increasingly post-Christian societies, there has been a vital shift in focus toward starting new Christian communities. This book – edited by two leading thinkers around innovation in the Church, one from the United States, the other from the UK – brings a rich and international array of practitioners and scholars together to explore starting new contextual Christian communities as a way of life. Includes contributions from Jonny Baker, Ali Boulton, Tina Hodgett and Harvey Kwiyani.

Imagining Mission with John V Taylor, Jonny Baker and Cathy Ross, SCM, 2020

The impact that John V Taylor, former general secretary of CMS, had on our contemporary understanding of mission is vast – his determination that mission should mean engagement across cultural boundaries has deep resonance today. In Imagining Mission with John V Taylor, leading missional thinkers Cathy Ross and Jonny Baker invite us into a vision of church, mission and society which takes John V Taylor’s ideas seriously, seeking to imagine what Taylor’s insights might mean for these three areas in our contemporary context. The result is a clarion call to the church to take bigger risks and dream bigger dreams.

• The Gratitude Way: Creating Common Ground in a Divided World, Girma Bishaw, IVP, 2025
• When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor… and Yourself, Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett, 2014
• Living for Jesus and Justice: Daily Prayers for Radical Christians, Simon Jones, Red Letter Christians UK, DLT 2026
• Walking with the Poor: Principles and Practices of Transformational Development, Bryant L Myers, Orbis, 1999
• The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission, Lesslie Newbigin, SPCK, 1995 (2nd edition)
• God’s Heart for Child Protection and Safeguarding: Practical Theology from Global Perspectives, Nativity A Petallar, Roseline Olumbe and Martin Munyao (eds), Langham Global Library, 2026
• Positive Urban Theology: Finding God in the Grit and Glory of the City, Revd Dr Cris Rogers, CCX, 2026
• Liturgies of the Wild: Myths that Make Us, Martin Shaw, Rider (PRH), 2026
• Justice of Jesus: Reimagining Your Church’s Life Together to Pursue Liberation and Wholeness, Joash P Thomas, Baker Books, 2025
• Love made me an inventor: The story of Maggy Barankitse, Humanitarian, Genocide Survivor, Citizen without Borders, David Toole, Orbis Books, 2025
• Solidarity: The Work of Recognition, Rowan Williams, Bloomsbury, 2026

• Grace Abounds: God’s Abundance Against the Fear of Scarcity, Walter Brueggemann, Westminster/John Knox Press, 2024
• Earthbound: God at the Intersection of Climate and Justice, Grace Ji-Sun Kim, Orbis, 2025
• Reconciling Mission: Realizing God’s Reign through Community Engagement, Alastair McKay and David Brubaker, T&T Clark, 2026
• The Cross and the Olive Tree: Cultivating Palestinian Theology amid Gaza, John Munayer and Samuel Munayer (eds.), Orbis, 2025

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In April this year, Dr Harvey Kwiyani, African Christianity Programme Lead for CMS Pioneer Mission Training and Director of the Acts 11 Project, travelled to Jamaica to attend the African Forum on Religion & Government (AFReG).

by Harvey Kwiyani

30 July 2026

AFReG emerged roughly two decades ago as an effort to bring together African Christian leaders, government officials, business leaders, educators, and civil society actors around a shared vision for the transformation of Africa grounded in what is described as “God-centred values.”

From the beginning, AFReG sought to move beyond narrowly ecclesial concerns toward broader engagement with public life, governance, economics, leadership, and social transformation. Subsequent gatherings in Kenya, Zambia, and Ghana gradually expanded the movement’s Pan-African vision while strengthening relationships between church leaders, policymakers, and African diasporic communities.

The 2026 conference was the fifth event and brought together around 100 participants, representing 10 African countries alongside a strong Global African presence from the UK, the Caribbean, South America, and North America.

The fifth gathering, held in Montego Bay, Jamaica, marked a particularly significant development by foregrounding the relationship between continental Africa and the African diaspora within the framework of the African Union’s “Sixth Region” vision. Under the theme “Building Bridges: A Call for Pan-African Unity and Transformation,” AFReG 5 brought together leaders from Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and the Americas to explore questions of identity, governance, leadership, economic development, historical trauma, reconciliation, and the role of the church in public life.

What especially impressed me was AFReG’s refusal to separate spiritual renewal from social transformation. The conference treated trauma, mental health, governance, economics, education, technology, and theological decolonisation as deeply interconnected realities. There was a persistent insistence that prayer and spirituality must lead to ethical leadership, institution-building, economic imagination, and collective action. Discussions on healing explored the long shadow of slavery and colonialism not only psychologically but spiritually and culturally, while conversations on AI, leadership, education, and the African Union’s “Sixth Region” framework challenged participants to imagine new forms of African agency and global collaboration.

The range and calibre of speakers reflected the ambition of the gathering. Among them were the former President of Nigeria, President Olusegun Obasanjo, Dr Macaulay Kalu, (Director of the Sixth Region of Africa), Mrs Tsitsi Masiyiwa, (Zimbabwean philanthropist and Executive Director of the Higher Life Foundation), Professor Anna Bailey of Binghamton University, and Dr Lisa Pal, Head of Racial Justice Priority in the Diocese of London. Together, they framed a conversation that moved across public life, economics, diaspora identity, and the moral responsibilities of leadership.

My presentation was delivered in collaboration with Professor Stephen-Dione Jennings of the University of the West Indies. I argued for the need to decolonise not only African theology and missiology, but also the wider expressions of Christianity across both the continent and the Global African world. Professor Jennings offered a historically grounded account of the development of Christianity in Jamaica, providing a rich contextual frame for our shared concerns. Our contributions were mutually reinforcing and resonated closely with the work of Anna Bailey and Lisa Pal on fostering dialogue between Africans and the African diaspora. There was a clear convergence among us that any meaningful outcome from the conference will require intentional, sustained collaboration between us all, both in Africa and in its diasporas.

By the end of the conference, it was clear that AFReG is attempting something much larger than hosting inspirational events. It is helping cultivate a Global African Christian imagination capable of reconnecting fragmented histories, healing wounded identities, and mobilising Africans and members of the diaspora as architects of their own future rather than passive recipients of external agendas.

What I encountered in Jamaica left me deeply hopeful. There was a seriousness to the conversations, a willingness to think beyond inherited limitations, and a growing recognition that African Christianity has entered a new historical moment. The church in Africa and across Global Africa is no longer simply responding to agendas set elsewhere. Increasingly, it is beginning to ask its own questions, recover its own memory, and imagine its own future.

You can read more about Harvey’s trip here and here.

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The latest issue of Anvil, the journal of theology and mission from the Church Mission Society, is out now. The theme of this issue is movements, communities and sodalities.

The idea for this issue was prompted by the launch of Aspen in November 2025. Aspen is a spread-out community, set up to look after the charism of pioneering mission and to generate more of that practice. It is a response to the movement in mission we have seen grow in Britain and other post-Christian contexts over the last 30 years.

There is an article on movements in which Jonny Baker examines this notoriously slippery concept. Ade Green has contributed an article on being a Franciscan, one incredible movement that has been running for over 800 years. It makes quite a good ‘compare and contrast’ with Matt Richards’ article on new monasticism and mission.

Looking internationally, Tim Soerens of the Parish Collective has a conversation with Tina Hodgett and Kris Rocke of Street Psalms speaks to Johnny Sertin. Katharina Haubold reflects on the Fresh X-Network through conversation with others who have been part of the movement in Germany around mission and fresh expressions. Common Grace is a movement in Aotearoa/New Zealand that is focused on activism and justice, seeking to transform unjust structures in society. Alex Johnston tells their story.

There are further articles reflecting on practice. Idina Dunmore reflects on her experience of being part of a mission community, Servants Southall, London. Kairos is a new movement and community in Yorkshire catalysed through the Methodist church’s New Places for New People work. Liane Kensett tells their story and how they have developed a rhythm to the community’s life as they seek to reimagine what that might look like if we become future-facing. Harvey Kwiyani and Nuam Hatzaw have a conversation around Harvey’s book Decolonizing Mission. This conversation took place at the Assembly which is our annual get-together with people in the network.

At CMS we have been pondering what sort of spirituality enables a life lived in mission. Ian Adams has been conducting lots of conversations with people about their own practice under the header “Presence”. Together with a couple of others, this has been distilled to a pattern of five principles to aid a life of prayerful presence, a mission spirituality if you will.

It is a bumper issue of Anvil so do take your time with it. Read Anvil here.

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Meet first year undergraduate student Adam Robson who has discovered life-changing theology and radical honesty at CMS

HH: Please can you share a little about the journey that led you to CMS?

AR: After a period of prayer and discernment, I felt called to theological study as the next step in helping me understand where God might be calling me.

The next challenge was deciding where to study for an undergraduate degree, and I must admit, I had a preconceived idea that theological study was only for a very particular type of person or demographic.

My local DDO mentioned CMS to me and spoke about its focus on pioneering, so I picked up the phone, called CMS, and from that first conversation, I knew it was the right place.

CMS has an openness and realness that I had not experienced before. It is a place where people are truly met where they are, and until you experience the honesty of CMS for yourself, it is hard to put into words.

Can you tell us about life before CMS?

I have been married to my wife for 16 years. I am a Chartered Quantity Surveyor with over 20 years’ experience, and I currently work in the rail industry, dealing with commercial disputes, contractual governance and assurance. I am also a former business owner.

I was raised in a single-parent family and did not meet my father until I was 11 years old, so I experienced many of the financial and class challenges that often come with that kind of journey.

I feel called by God, in some way, to help flip the script on how class is currently viewed and managed in mission, ministry and society. That is a big part of what shapes me, my faith, and the way I understand mission. I see so many people in the community with gifts that are often overlooked.

Jesus came and did mission on the fringes of this world, and I think recognising that is a big part of what it means to be a disciple.

I am dying to ask about your role as Mission Lead in Soup for the Soul Cafe.

Soup for the Soul Cafe is part of a larger St Frideswide community outreach mission called the Water Eaton Community Hub, or WECH. This includes a cafe with a free meal once a week, a food larder, pastoral care, debt advice and a Bible study class.

The WECH is located in Bletchley, Milton Keynes and it is an initiative that began during the Covid pandemic, in response to the rising food and loneliness crisis.

Soup for the Soul Cafe feeds, on average, around 60 people each week, and it serves enormous amounts of tea and coffee.

We are an open space where we have a 20-minute God slot while people eat, and it is always theologically rich.

We welcome any theological questions, and we operate on the basis that people can ask us anything they want about the Christian faith and the nature of God.

It is also not uncommon for whole tables of atheists to request prayer or join in with prayer. It is a place where we witness the Holy Spirit at work, and I feel so blessed to be part of it.

How do you feel the course is going so far, and have you been able to use what you are learning outside the classroom?

From the day you turn up to CMS for your first lesson, you know that your theology is going to be challenged, in a good way.

I feel really blessed to have been taught by people who are truly doing mission and ministry on the front line, in places near and far that we, as Christians, sometimes prefer not to venture into.

The contextual and cultural theology tools I have been given have been life-changing. I now approach my own mission by first looking for where God is already at work, because he is always at work, you just have to slow down enough to see it.

Studying at CMS has been fantastic, when you remove God from a box and the manmade limitations we sometimes place upon him, his mission emerges from the fog of our assumptions. 

What might be next for you, Adam? Is it more study, or is it a change of direction?

I am staying on to complete the BA, while I continue the process of discerning ordination.

I am open to wherever God might be calling me, but I also feel very assured that I am supposed to be at CMS.

How can we pray for you?

Please pray for WECH. We are currently rolling out a fundraising framework with the aim of becoming self-sufficient, or at least less reliant on grants, and we would really appreciate prayers for success in that.

Please also pray for our wonderful WECH volunteer team, clergy and ministry leaders at St Frideswide. I am always deeply moved by people who are willing to help others, while they themselves are often healing in the process.

And finally, please pray that we all continue to value the ordinary: the tea shared with one another, the tears and laughter, and the simple moments of human connection. This is the theology that holds Soup for the Soul so tightly.

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