Your City, Your Summit - Roger Sutton explains what it’s all about.
Last year we had a National Summit, in 2023 we had Regional Summits in London and Sheffield. Next year 2026 we will meet again for a National Summit in June which will be held in Oxford. So this year we wanted to give the opportunity for cities and towns themselves to devise a means of getting the whole church together to celebrate and to talk around the future of the place, of the city, the town, the borough.
The idea is a city devises what it wants to do and we come alongside to support. We've got a menu of things that we can offer along with our partners. For example, we can do an overview of the unity scene across the globe or focus on developing unity or faith sharing or we can talk about mapping or do a workshop on strategy using the 1414 method - which is asking the question “where do we want to be in 10 years time?” then breaking that down into manageable goals. There’s also a wealth of resources and expertise available through our partners.
So far, some cities are getting civic leaders into the room and engaging that kind of conversation, others are focusing more around prayer and evangelism. Some cities are using the occasion to highlight ministries within the city, it can be a great opportunity for networking, learning and sharing best practice together or focusing on strategic thinking. In some places they’re bringing together several cities across their region, it’s entirely up to you!
The key is that it's run by the city and we’re available to support in whatever way is helpful for your plans.
Here are 3 possible ways you can shape your Summit:
INSPIRATION
Members of the core team join your regular leaders gathering for a two-hour session that involves being inspired about what God is doing around the world and leading a conversation about the Gather Movement Hexagon model as to how you can develop your next steps.
MINI SUMMIT
This is for a wider leaders gathering, for a half-day event for church, charities and sphere leaders. As well as making space for encouragement and inspiration with stories from around the UK and the globe, we would work with you to develop a bespoke workshop to focus on one area of specific interest for your place.
TOWN/CITY SUMMIT
This is a full day and larger event for all the Church to celebrate what’s happening and plan ahead together for the future. We will add value to your event with speakers, national partners and targeted workshops to support your own city or town Summit. This is where the work of the church and charities is celebrated, people are inspired and trained to develop in social, spiritual and cultural transformation.
Contact Kay to register your interest or ask your questions at kaygrieves a_t gathermovement d_o_t org
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Gather Leeds Mini Summit
Dave Paterson shares a bit more about their Gather Leeds Mini Summit which happened in February giving us insights on what they did and what they discovered for the city…
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The Gather Movement Learning Community is a vital journey into a new paradigm of church leadership led by experts and practitioners with space for questions, discussions and sharing best practice. We meet every first Tuesday of the month on Zoom at 2-3pm.
We always share the recordings of our webinars so you can catch up afterwards but we do encourage you to join the Zoom call to get the full benefit of discussion and shared learning together.
REGISTER NOW for our upcoming sessions. |
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Join us for our Gather Movement Learning Community.
Here’s the learning community programme for H1 2025.
Please register in advance
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13 MAY 2025 • CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION
(Intercultural Church Leadership)
Osoba Otaigbe - Bible Society
Tani Omideyi - Liverpool Lighthouse |
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10 JUN 2025 • SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION
(Towards a Poverty Free City)
Alison Dawson - One Voice Social Action York
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Does your church want to connect those you serve with services and support from other organisations?
Our Learning Community last month was a deep discussion on the process and best practices of referrals. Sir Peter Heywood from the Genesis Trust along with others working in Family Hubs, Social Prescribing and Church leadership shared practical insights from their experience and on-the-job learnings.
If you missed it, you can catch up here. |
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You can also catch-up on any Learning Communities that you missed by visiting our Learning Community Playlist on YouTube.
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The Commonsense Approach to Transformation in Harrogate and Wakefield
Two very different approaches to the needs of the city have been working out in these Yorkshire cities. Find out how collaboration and research have risen up from decades of unity and prayer.
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This month we’re getting to know our Yorkshire Regional Connector.
What's your name and where do you live?
Sam Corderoy and I live in Harrogate.
If you were a chocolate bar, which one would you be?
So, I chose Cadbury’s Dairy Milk, because it's like Yorkshire. It's simple, it's straightforward, it's nothing fancy, it says what it is. It doesn't pretend to be something it's not, it's chocolate and it tastes great!
Why are you passionate about unity?
I would go back to scripture for this and say there are two verses that stand out to me. The first one is Matthew 28:19, where Jesus says to his followers, “Go make disciples of all nations”. Then if you look at John 17, Jesus prays, “that they [we today] may be brought to complete unity, then the world will know that you sent me”. So, literally just before he is arrested, the thing Jesus prays for is our unity. And if Jesus believes that our unity will show the world that the Father sent him, then that's a critical part of us going out and doing the Great Commission. I think stewardship is another reason I'm really passionate about unity - in a context where we have limited resources, I think working together, avoiding competition and duplication is just common sense.
What is one thing that excites you about your region?
Yorkshire, and the North East in general, has got a very long and rich spiritual history. So we go right back to the 600s and you've got the start of Celtic Christianity, the monastery in Lindisfarne, the establishment of York Minister, the Synod at Whitby. There's a really rich history that goes back 1,400 years and the countryside is full of places of worship that have been there for an incredibly long time. When a place has been prayed in and worshipped
in for that long, I think it creates a really amazing spiritual foundation for what God seems to be doing today where he's bringing about the spiritual transformation of his towns, his cities and the places that we live.
What's your favourite part about working with Gather Movement?
I'd definitely say it's the team; being with like-minded people who put kingdom-building in the city before personal projects and ministry. People who are thinking bigger, who want to be part of something bigger, who keep their eyes on the future, it's really good!
If you’re from the Yorkshire 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 Sam at sam a_t netmakers d_o_t org d_o_t uk
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Gather Movement Podcast
In this episode Dr. Megan Blake from Sheffield University along with Dr. Diana Smith from Southampton University and Dani Malone from the Trussell Trust, director of the Network Programs and Innovation think about food security, in particular food deserts, and how we can empower communities.
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Tearfund Myanmar Appeal
On Friday 28 March, a deadly earthquake ripped through central Myanmar, destroying homes and livelihoods, killing and injuring thousands.
As part of the Disasters Emergency Committee – a group of humanitarian agencies – Tearfund has launched an emergency appeal www.tearfund.org/myanmarappeal
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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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