Gather: To build relationships and unity
We gather Christians engaged in social action and politics across the region, for example in 14 strands, or networks, of activity such as Debt Advice, Food Poverty, Homelessness and Housing, Prison Ministry and Ex-offenders, or Trafficking and Vulnerable Women(see the list at the bottom of this page). We gather Christians at a variety of events, for example the
Building Bristol as a City of Hope conference in City Hall. This gathered 200 key city leaders from business, public sector, charities and churches to explore the Christian community's engagement with the council's
City Office, through seven Offers and Asks, such the
Bristol Churches Winter Night Shelter, with about 500 volunteers from 16 churches.
Grow: To learn from God and each other
We pray together about three times a year and have had a couple of weeks of Prayer and Fasting for social action and politics across the city. We had seminars to explore social action and politics issues from Christian perspectives, such as at the
Going Deeper city-wide gathering at the Colston Hall (now called Bristol Beacon). We have also set up the
Bristol Churches City Fund, which raised over £130k to help alleviate food poverty during the COVID-19 crisis.
Go!: To act together and as individuals
We started at a gathering with over 5k people at Ashton Gate stadium in 2012, where we prayed for and released individuals involved in social action and politics. During the COVID-19 crisis, 300 volunteers from 67 churches, supported isolated and vulnerable people in the community through
The Noise. Demand for food was four times higher during lockdown and this was met through Feeding Bristol, with foodbanks, which fed over 20k people, and food clubs (which expanded from 5 to 16). Fareshare worked through 250 community projects. As
this film shows, the overall response was extraordinary.
See the
Timeline for more examples of how we are helping transform the Bristol region for good.