Bishop of Islington’s office
T: 0203 837 5275
E: info@ccx.org.uk
St Edmund the King,
Lombard Street,
London, EC3V 9EA
About
About Us
Our team at the Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication is led by the Bishop of Islington, the Rt Revd Ric Thorpe. In 2015, Bishop Ric was consecrated as the Bishop of Islington in order to support the Diocese of London’s goal of creating new worshipping communities across the capital. Since 2015, our team has grown and we now support leaders and church teams across London, England and beyond as they look to multiply disciples, churches and networks.
Our Team
Our team, led by the Bishop of Islington, exists to support leaders and church teams across London, England and beyond to multiply disciples, churches and networks. We are based at St Edmund the King in the City of London, where the majority of our courses are held.
Bishop Ric is responsible for the London Diocesan goal of creating 100 New Worshipping Communities by 2020 and also works nationally to support other dioceses to plant new churches. Previously, Bishop Ric was the Bishop of London’s Adviser for Church Planting and the Rector of St Paul’s Shadwell. He is married to Louie and they have three children.
H works closely with teams in the development stage of church planting, overseeing the coaching programme and grant funding. He also serves as Associate Vicar at St. Barnabas Kensington. He is married to Shelly and they have two children.
Andrea organises the diary, meetings, finance and administration for Ric as well as looking after the rest of team. She lives in North London with her family.
Darren oversees the work on church growth for the team. He is also the Associate Minister at Christ Church Spitalfields. He lives in East London and he's married to Rachel.
Inger plans and coordinates the work of the Centre for Church Multiplication. She has been part of three church plants in London (Acton, Shadwell and Hampton Wick) and has a heart for intercession. She is married to Henrik and they have teenage twins.
Ros supports city centre resource churches across the country. She is actively involved in mission at her church St Barnabas North London, as well as being a church warden there. She's married to John and lives in Enfield.
Sharon is the Support and Relationship Coordinator for church planting. Supporting H Miller, she’s a point of contact for support, development and communication for church planters in London. She lives with her family in Northwood.
Philippa looks after the communications for the team. She joined St Saviour’s Church, Wendell Park in West London to help with planting a new family and youth service for the local area. Philippa also works as a private tutor and freelance writer.
Catherine works with Darren to support the work on church growth. This includes encouraging churches to join a Grow Course, and overseeing the administration and running of these courses. She lives with her family in North London.
Phil Hoyle is a pioneer priest and member of the 'Room' Community in Shepherds Bush. As an Islington Associate, Phil helps support the network of missional communities springing up across London and beyond, as well as heading up the School of Pioneers with Mark Bishop.
Mark is an Ordained Pioneer Minister. He planted a missional community in Acton Vale, a council estate in West London. He works closely with the Lee Abbey Movement and Tierra Neuva Europe. As an Islington Associate, Mark supports the network of missional communities in London and beyond, as well as looking after our School of Pioneers with Phil Hoyle.
John Valentine is married to Catherine, and they have two children. John was the Rector of St George's Holborn, a church plant from Holy Trinity Brompton and an Islington Associate before joining our team. St George's planted two further churches (in partnership with others) in the last 10 years. John has written the book, 'Follow Me', on Christian discipleship.
Islington Associates
As the National Church Planting Course Developer, Toria helps to lead the London Plant Course and is making it accessible to planting teams across the UK. She also works as a strategic coach for churches, charities and small businesses as a Director of Newlands Ventures. She is married to Matt and lives in Guildford with two teenage boys.
In 2010 Helen and her team planted an estates church where she lives in North London called church@five, which she still leads today. She also is one of the founding trustees and Projects Director for Hope North London; and she is an Associate Minister at St Barnabas North London. Her vision is for there to be a worshipping community on every estate in London. Helen is married to Mark and they have six kids.
Andy has helped lead the Plant Course with the Bishop of Islington since it began in 2013. He develops and delivers the sessions on strategic planning, leading change and recruiting and building your team. He also works with the Church Commissioners and various other dioceses on their strategic plans as well consulting around strategy and change in the private sector. He is the co-author of 'Leaders' Journal' and 'LEAD: 50 models for success in work and life.'
Wole Agbaje is the senior leader of IMPRINT Church, which has plants in both Leicester and London UK. He planted IMPRINT Church Leicester with a group friends at the age of 22, with a special focus on reaching prodigals and those apathetic towards the Christian faith. Since then, Wole and his team have also planted IMPRINT Church London located in the Bank area. Wole is passionate about creative evangelism and equipping people to share the gospel in contemporary ways. He is also a recording artist and uses music to talk about his faith.
Christian Selvaratnam is the leader of G2, a church plant in York, and also Director of Church Planting and Revitalisation at St Hild College in Yorkshire. He is a priest in the Church of England and an Ordained Pioneer Minister. He is also a part-time doctoral student researching ancient models of apprenticeship and their relevance to training church planters today. He is the author of the short guide 'Alpha as a Church Planting Tool.' Christian is married to Amanda and they have three children.
John is on the staff of Holy Trinity Church, Leicester where he has overseen the planting of four churches, two of whom have planted again. He is Head of Church Planting Development for New Wine and is conducting doctoral studies into apostolic leadership of church planting movements. He is married to Bridget and they have two children.
Winfield Bevins is the director of church planting at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is passionate about helping others connect to the roots of the Christian faith for spiritual formation and mission. As a seasoned practitioner, he has helped plant several churches and frequently speaks at conferences, seminaries and universities on a variety of topics. He is also the author of Ever Ancient Ever New: The Allure of Liturgy for a New Generation and Marks of a Movement: What the Church Today Can Learn from the Wesleyan Revival. He and his wife Kay have three beautiful girls and live in the Bluegrass state of Kentucky. You can find out more about him at his website winfieldbevins.com.
