Over 200 leaders with a shared heart for estates and low-income ministry came together at gatherings in London and Bristol for resourcing and encouragement. David Cornish summarises what took place.
By David CornishApril 2025
‘The theme of our gathering is “sent together”,’ explained Helen Shannon, Estates Ministry lead of CCX. ‘Estates mission has never been a sole sport, we’re just not built for it. We’re designed for partnership — to go with God and with each other.’
In its third year, Multiply Estates Mission 2025 drew together leaders and practitioners, curious onlookers and keen church team members, for a morning of inspiration and resourcing.
Over 140 gathered in St Barnabas North London, on Tuesday 25 February, while 87 came to B&A Church, Bristol, for the first Multiply Estates Mission event in the south west. Delegates heard from a range of contributors, sharing insights from frontline experiences. Bishop Rob Wickham, group chief executive of the Church Urban Fund, opened the morning with a keynote that called on us to notice that God is a geographer – that ‘place’ truly matters.
‘God’s story starts in a garden and ends in a city. It’s ultimately a story of God’s interaction with peoples and places…’ said Bishop Rob. ‘This means that place and built environment matters, housing matters – as Jeremiah suggests, we seek the welfare of the city by joining in, not building walls around ourselves… Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, unique to Luke’s Gospel… Jesus intimates that if the crowds were silent, the rocks could themselves cry out.
‘Let’s think about that. The geology, the geography itself speaks of God, the one through whom all things came into being, and all things shout of his glory. Your estate, where you work, cries out hosanna, as Jesus pitches his tent and goes about amongst us – whether you see him or not, and whether you can hear or not. It’s perhaps as natural as breathing.’
Revd Dr Grace Bally-Balogun, lecturer at St Mellitus College and change management professional, reflected on the complexity of estates communities, drawing on her own childhood experiences of growing up on an estate in Brixton, South London, in the 1980s and a passage from Acts 6:1-7.
‘The common identity that we must teach is that every human being is made in the image of God,’ said Grace. ‘This must become the language of the community, that everyone is valued. We have been given a great role model, Jesus, who has shown us what humanness is meant to be. It should overshadow the many labels that society throws at us.’
Each location featured a Q&A session with panellists drawn from the local region, reflecting on questions raised by delegates. Our thanks goes to Andrew Kwapong for hosting in London, alongside panellists Claire Clarke, Theresa Jackson, Gary Jenkins and David Atkinson, and to Andy Murray for hosting in Bristol, with Michelle Taylor, Rob Smith, Simon Halls and Fatima Sibanda.
Stories of what God is doing in estates communities are always central to Multiply Estates Mission gatherings. This year, delegates heard from two inspiring leaders. Shannon Walsh shared her experience of Hope Café, a social enterprise based at St Barnabas Church, which trains individuals with key hospitality skills while taking them through a discipleship process.
Alan Moss, the ‘illustrated priest’, shared his story of serving the youth of an estate in Walthamstow, reaching over 400 young people with a regular outreach programme that introduced them to the love of Jesus and blocked gang members from recruiting them.
Helen Shannon encouraged delegates to go out confident in our invitation, to know that there is a spiritual hunger in the world that only Jesus can answer. ‘It may feel uncomfortable. We might feel out of our depth. But in those spaces, we’ll have the opportunity to proclaim the good news in ways people can actually hear.’
To help delegates dig deeper into the topics shared across the morning and unpack their own experiences, Multiply Estates Mission 2025 hosted a roundtable at both London and Bristol gatherings. Andrew Kwapong facilitated sessions that examined migrant and refugee perspective on estates life, inviting delegates to share experiences and reflections, seeking to learn what we can all do better in our estates ministry.
Two questions were posed at the close of the roundtable – the CCX Estates team would love to hear more thoughts from anyone with a passion for estates and low-income ministry, regardless of whether you were able to make it to Multiply Estates Mission 2025. You can email your thoughts to estates@ccx.org.uk.
Thank you to everyone who came to our London and Bristol gatherings – as Helen Shannon reminded us, estates mission has never been a sole sport, we’re designed for a partnership with God and with each other. The CCX Estates team would love to hear from you if you have any questions about its work or resources that could support your ministry.
