Leadership at the Threshold
2 December 2025
For leaders shaping unity and transformation in our towns and cities
If you're involved in church, charity, or city-wide mission, this day is for you.
Designed for those leading local movements or working on the ground in urban settings.
“In such a fast-changing and increasingly spiritually open world, the leadership of God’s Church is at a threshold moment. Old certainties are dying, and the new normal has yet to be formed. How, then, shall we lead in our communities, towns, and cities? What is now required of us?”
Paul and Sarah Williams will open up this subject from a biblical, historical, cultural and missional perspective.
Guest Speakers:
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Prof Paul Williams, CEO, Bible Society
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Dr Sarah Williams, Church Historian and Author
Hosted by:
Steve Jones (Oxford Community Church) & Roger Sutton (Gather Movement)
Venue: Oxford Community Church
Date: Tuesday 2 December 2025
Time: 9:30am – 4:30pm
Cost: £39 (includes lunch and refreshments) |
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5 Reasons to Get Excited About Swindon!
When Paul Hildreth from the Gather Movement team conducted a Place Review it revealed some exciting truths about the only industrial town of the South, encouraging leaders with plenty of reasons to get excited about Swindon. |
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Your City Your Summit Updates - Reading are “Dreaming for Transformation”
After all the planning it was great to have over 85 leaders of churches and charities together for our ‘Dreaming for Transformation Summit.’ It was an inspiring day as we welcomed the town centre police inspector, James Tribe as well as Reading Borough Council Leader, Liz Terry.
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Gather Movement National Summit 2026 – Save the date!
We’ve fixed the date and venue for our next National Summit. So, this is the moment where you add the event to your calendar and start planning who from your city, town or borough will be coming along.
DATE: 8th - 9th June 2026
VENUE: Oxford Community Church, Kings Centre, Osney Mead, Oxford OX2 0E |
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We’re taking a break through the summer but our Learning Community will be back in September, so take a look at what's coming up and get registered in advance. |
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Join us for our Gather Movement Learning Community.
We're taking a break through the summer but our Learning Community will be back in September, so here’s a look at what's coming up.
Please register in advance
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9 SEPT 2025 • ARTISTS IN THE CITY
How can the church better support the role of artists speaking to the city
Martin Young
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9 OCT 2025 • THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL ACTION MAPPING
Hearing from Coventry Council on what part social action mapping of churches has played in supporting children and families *Please note, this LC is on a Thursday
Jane Moffatt - Coventry Council
Steve Elton - Hope Coventry |
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11 NOV 2025 • ADDRESSING HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING
How can churches and church unity movements be more ambitious in addressing housing and homelessness
Ian Rutherford - Greater Manchester Homelessness Action Network |
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9 DEC 2025 • AFTER HOURS CRISIS MENTAL HEALTH CAFES
Hearing from the church and health organisations in Stockport about collaborating on After Hours Crisis Metal Cafes piloting a Greater Manchester Systems Leadership approach
Adrian Nottingham - Reach Stockport
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In June we had a thought-provoking Learning Community with Alison Dawson from One Voice York on How can a church unity group work towards a poverty free city.
If you missed it, you can catch up here.
You can also catch-up on any Learning Communities that you missed by visiting our Learning Community Playlist of YouTube. |
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Gather Movement Podcast Episode 5 out now!
Listen to our latest episode on Spotify - In this episode we are joined by Simon Barrington, Founder of Forge Leadership and Together for Ipswich to help us explore the question - “How can churches build social enterprise which drives economic transformation in our communities? |
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This month we’re getting to know our Regional Connector for Lancashire.
What's your name and where do you live? I'm Peter Lumsden, and I live in central Lancashire, more specifically in the Ribble Valley, outside a little village called Worley
If you were a chocolate bar, which one would you be?
I'd be a double-decker. Very often when you open it, some of the nougat has actually sort of seeped out of the chocolate covering. I think of Leonard Cohen saying “there's a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in.” It's a bit flawed. It's not perfect, but the goodness is coming out of it.
Why are you passionate about unity?
Because there is so much potential with what the church is doing and offering, which is untapped and often unknown by our public sector partners who really want to work with us, but we don't know ourselves what we're doing. So many churches are operating in isolation, so our unity movement, our unity network in a place can be so much more powerful in enabling partnership development. I think it’s so important for people to see the church as not a fragmentation but as the body of Christ.
What is one thing that excites you about your region?
I think it's the variety of landscapes you find in Lancashire: The West Pennine Moors in the south, the Lancashire Fells sort of in the north, the flat coastal plain of the Fylde, Blackpool, Morecambe Bay and the river estuaries. The diversity of landscapes reflects a diversity of history as well. For example, with the mill towns of East Lancashire to the more affluent parts of North Lancashire, that divide still persists today. George Fox, of the Quaker movement started in the Northwest and Lancashire was also a hotbed of Catholic resistance centuries back. So it's got a strong and colorful historical past, which kind of goes along with that geographical variety as well.
What's your favourite part about working with Gather Movement?
I often badge myself as a sector connector, pulling together public services, health, local authority and faith sectors. In that, I’m working alongside people who have a shared ethos and finding support in that. I'm a big fan of communities of practice and shared ethos and colleagues at Gather Movement offer that. It's a real living, lovely example of a community of practice.
If you’re from the Lancashire region and you’d like to find out more about Gather Movement or share a story about your Unity Group, please get in touch with Peter
at pjlumsden58@gmail.com
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“We need more leaders. No not leaders to keep the church going but leaders who send the church out.” Read the latest thought provoking article by Steve Botham
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Another important date for your diary is coming up. The National Week of Prayer will be 6th - 14th September 2025 |
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We’re happy to announce the Manchester 2026 Intercultural Church and City Transformation (ICCT) Gathering, taking place on 5th–6th February 2026! With the theme “Imago Dei: Made in the Image and Likeness of God”
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Christian Community Hub Movement
Christian led community hubs are springing up all over the UK, with churches using their facilities as hubs to bring local people together - providing encouragement and support in many different ways, and bringing the church into the heart of local communities. Find out more at www.christiancommunityhubs.uk
Pre-launch Event: Wednesday 16th July - 1:30-3pm on Zoom
This pre-launch event will provide a taste of what’s to come! |
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What makes a person seek Jesus in their adulthood? How can our church be more effective in reaching out to adults with the gospel? |
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‘Harvest Trussell tables’ and other resources ready to order for churches in your area
Harvest is a crucially important time of the year for donations to come into food banks. Sadly, people in your community will find themselves unable to afford essentials all year round, but at Harvest we have chance to galvanise our community’s gratitude and generosity: to sustain the work of food banks into the year ahead.
Will you, as a unity group or church, focus on your local food bank this Harvest? Will you guide your churches to transform their gratitude into compassion for their community? And why not inspire and support people to head ‘up stream’ too, and encourage churches to call out the injustice of hunger in your community.
This year’s Harvest Trussell tables, with all the ideas and practical resources you need, is now ready and you can view it here today.
New for 2025: we are making all our justice focused campaign materials featured in Harvest Trussell tables available, and free to order.
Order a copy of Harvest Trussell tables and select some (or all) of the other materials to use at Harvest time – or throughout the year. Help people in your unity movement and churches talk about, pray for and take action about the injustice of hunger in your community. |
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Free Summer Reading from Bear Grylls
Thanks so much for all you do in championing church unity and city transformation.
In thanks for the vital role you play, we’d love to send you a FREE copy of Bear Grylls’ new book, The Greatest Story Ever Told. This short, powerful book is Bear’s personal invitation to explore the Christian faith - written with warmth, honesty, and a heart for reaching people right where they are. It’s an ideal tool for outreach and discipleship. |
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Our Vision is to see a unified Church working together across every city and town, to see social, cultural and spiritual transformation across the UK. We are grateful to God for how far the Movement has come but we still have a long way to go.
Could you, or your unity group, help us to deliver this vision by becoming a Gather Movement Supporter?
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