Church Growth

Inspiring the Church in practices of health, renewal and multiplication

Jesus said ‘go and make disciples of all nations’. We know that he longs for the Church to grow, and for everyone to respond to the Good News of the Gospel. He teaches that it’s God who makes things grow. Our role is to be fellow workers, planting and nurturing the seeds of the Kingdom.

We offer learning and coaching with some of the most experienced people in church growth, helping churches to contextualise what church growth looks like in each unique setting. Growth isn’t measured only in numbers, but in depth and impact; our growth training reflects this rounded approach. Church growth is healthy and normal. We encourage churches to pray for and enable, as well as develop leaders, and create diverse church structures for growth.

Grow Course

Helping churches grow by being intentional about their health, depth and impact

Get in touch with us

We help the Church reach new people in new and renewed ways with the love of Jesus Christ. If you want to participate in one of our courses or partner with us, we’d love to hear from you. Fill in this form and we’ll be in touch.

Church growth stories

New growth for Christ Church Freemantle

In 2020, the congregation of Christ Church Freemantle was dwindling. Based in one of Southampton’s most deprived areas, the church had been without a vicar for five years, and the Sunday School had shrunk to two children. Visit today, and you’ll meet a transformed community; a diverse, vibrant congregation now calling the church home, with a Sunday School of 25 children and 13 confirmations amongst new members in the last year.

Growing in depth and discipleship in Kensington Deanery

A group of predominantly Anglo-Catholic churches in London’s Kensington deanery started CCX’s Grow Course together in 2024, seeking to grow in breadth, depth and impact. Fr James Heard, Vicar of the United Benefice Holland Park and Mother Emma Dinwiddy Smith, Vicar of St Mary Abbots, reflect on their experiences, the benefits of joining alongside others of a similar tradition, and how they are seeing the fruit of this journey in their own contexts.

The new Families Church of St Kat’s

A new season for St Kat’s, West London, heralded fresh energy, vision and a focus on the church’s priorities. Doing the Grow Course helped the team to make a shift that has allowed the church to flourish, with new leaders being raised up and a new worshipping community – Families Church – planted.

The new worshipping community of ‘unseen’ City workers

A church in the City of London is reaching out to some of the City’s unseen workers. Having identified a need for English classes, St Katharine Cree is seeing the growth of a whole new Spanish-speaking worshipping community.

Growing at God’s pace: Restoration Church, Tameside

Beatrice Smith and Joe Brady both felt a call to plant a new church in Greater Manchester – but the fruit of that call, the planting of Restoration Church, took the better part of a decade to emerge.

Pub outreach shares Jesus with the people of Oadby

A new area of ministry has opened up for St Peter's church in Oadby, Leicester, at a pub opposite the church. Pub-goers are taking up the opportunity to hear and discuss the gospel in this familiar space at the heart of the Oadby community.

Growth Conversations: Holy Trinity Hounslow

Being intentional about growth, discipleship and developing a culture where everyone is involved is bearing fruit at Holy Trinity Hounslow, a diverse Christian community worshipping God in West London.

Growth Conversations: St Martin’s Church, Gospel Oak

St Martin’s Church NW5 describes itself as ‘a community of faith, hope and love in Gospel Oak’ in North London. The Vicar, Mother Carol Barrett Ford, spoke to CCX about her own role and how the Grow Course played a part in encouraging St Martin’s to reflect on depth of discipleship as well as to adapt and innovate post-Covid.

“The Grow Course has helped us create a space to think more intentionally about what we’re doing rather than just go from day-to-day firefighting. In stopping we’re also able to look back and see what has changed.”

Revd Neil Traynor, United Benefice of Holland Park

Church growth resources

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CCX Research | Children & young people | Church Growth | Church operations | Church Planting | Culture & diversity | Disciple-making & formation | Estates | Evangelism & mission | Grow Course | Lay-led Planting | Leadership development | Mixed Ecology | Multiply 2022 | Multiply 2023 | Multiply 2024 | Multiply 2025 | Pioneering | Planting new worshipping communities | Prayer | Research | Resource Churches | Rural church | Sacramental church | Theology & ecclesiology | Vision & strategy
read / Research

Recognising the Communion Dilemma

Phil Hoyle, CCX Pioneer Developer, recognises the challenges at the heart of The Communion Dilemma, a new research piece from the Bede Centre.
read / Children & young people

Changing the mission for young people

Sam Donoghue, Head of Children and Youth for the Diocese of London, reflects on the exciting findings of the latest research from Youth for Christ.
watch / Disciple-making & formation

Gerald Griffin: Discipleship lessons from Bridgetown Church

Gerald Griffin has been in leadership at Bridgetown Church in Portland, Oregon, for over 14 years. Gerald also serves with Practicing the Way, coaching pastors as they lead their churches in discipleship and formation.
read / Disciple-making & formation

Rooted in Christ: Remembering our own discipleship

Mirjam Ngoy-Verhage, Discipleship Enabler for the Diocese of London, supports church leaders and communities in deepening discipleship and spiritual formation. She explores three key movements of discipleship for leaders to maintain.
read / Children & young people

The joy of discipling others

Diane Grano leads Lightwave church in Red Lodge, an area of rural new housing in Suffolk. The church plant is growing new disciples and working with surrounding rural villages to revitalise their mission and discipleship. For Diane, recognising where discipleship begins is vital.
watch / Disciple-making & formation

Bishop Philip North: Learning the art of joy from Jesus

At Multiply 2025, the annual church planting conference of CCX, Bishop Philip addressed the topic of multiplying missionary disciples with a talk that invited the Church to learn the art of joy from Jesus, for joy is our purpose.
read / Disciple-making & formation

How do we become a church of missionary disciples?

Dave Gardner reflects on his first year as Missionary Disciples Project Manager of the Church of England’s Vision & Strategy Team
read / Disciple-making & formation

Multiplying Missionary Disciples

Matthew Frost, Discipleship Lead of CCX, shares an invitation of what to do after the dust has settled on Multiply 2025
read / Children & young people

Four priorities to nurture young disciples

Chris Curtis, CEO of Youthscape, outlines some key focuses to help the Church grow its work with young people.
read / Disciple-making & formation

How church planting stimulates disciple-making

Ric Thorpe, Bishop of Islington, believes it is impossible to separate church planting and disciple-making.
read / Disciple-making & formation

How to start a disciple-making movement

Fusion, an organisation committed to championing a worldwide movement of student mission, shares its latest resource to help establish disciple-making cultures.
read / Disciple-making & formation

How to establish disciple-making practices

Ken Benjamin, Director of Church Relationships at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, maps the route from good intentions to transformative disciple formation.

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Working together with others

Faith in the North
M4 Europe
St Hild Centre for Church Planting
The Church of England
Divine Renovation
Diocese of London
CPAS