Planting with creativity in Croydon

Imprint Croydon is the latest plant of the rapidly growing Imprint Network. Leader Benita Daniel shares the joy and challenges of their planting journey.

Benita Daniel is the pastor of IMPRINT Croydon, the third church plant she has been part of and the first she has led.

Supported by a dedicated core team of nine, IMPRINT Croydon is rooted in prayer and worship and is shaping a missional community passionate about following Jesus and serving the city through creativity, discipleship, social justice and raising the next generation to live with purpose and faith.

Just months after launching in South Norwood, Benita is thrilled to share stories of the early growth and sense of spiritual fire emerging within the community, as people gather to explore faith, build relationships and discover a sense of belonging.

‘We planted in October 2025, so it’s still early days, but I’m really enjoying all that comes with an early church plant. I feel excited, stretched, fulfilled, hopeful, expectant!’ Benita says.

IMPRINT Croydon is the latest plant of the rapidly growing IMPRINT Network, a family of Church of England churches that began in Leicester in 2017 under the leadership of Wole Agbaje. In 2019, IMPRINT was invited to plant in the Bank area of London, where the network has grown to become a parish congregation across St Mary Woolnoth, St Edmund the King and St Clement Eastcheap, hosting five services across the week in the heart of the City of London.

Having been part of the IMPRINT journey, Benita has been able to draw on a wealth of planting experience, including discerning God’s vision for a new worshipping community.

‘There are a number of challenges and barriers that you have to navigate,’ she explains. ‘The first aspect is having the right environment for growth, and the second is taking risks and being obedient to what God is calling us to.

‘From the outset of our planting journey, the team was clear that the vision for IMPRINT Croydon was not simply about establishing a Sunday service, but about being a people that are desperate for the Lord, becoming a house a prayer in the heart of South Norwood that contends and prays for transformation and revival in our city – like the image in Ezekiel 47, rivers of living water flowing into the local community. We are also responding to God’s call to serve the community and build genuine relationships. The aim has been to approach South Norwood not as outsiders arriving with an agenda, but as people seeking to love and serve the neighbourhood, investing in its life and flourishing.’

The team has been outworking this vision through a number of community-facing projects, from hosting Christmas carols to building local partnerships. One early collaboration was with Mamma Dough, a local restaurant in South Norwood, where the team hosted a community dinner. With a warm welcome from the restaurant and a generous community discount, the evening created a relaxed space for people to gather, share food and build relationships in a setting already familiar to the neighbourhood.

A huge encouragement for IMPRINT Croydon is the number of young adults already making their home at their Sunday services, curious to learn more about Jesus and the church.

‘It has been beautiful to witness that fire and passion for the Lord, for prayer and for worship amongst young people,’ Benita says.

‘With that growth comes the need to disciple people well. I think my focus now is that we have the ability to do many ‘good’ things but what are we called to do? What does it look like to be courageously creative? What would it look like for church to be a place where the Lord dwells and is truly honoured and glorified, where we are hungry for his presence, and desperate for prayer, worship and revival in our day?’

Alongside this growth, Benita also sees a deepening sense of unity emerging across churches.

‘There’s a growing sense that churches are standing together,’ she says. ‘Leaders are asking collectively: what is God doing in this moment, how can we be part of it and learn from this spiritual hunger and openness is evident in our world today? How can we reprioritise obedience and prayer, teaching the next generation to pray, and contend – discipling them to hold onto their faith for the rest of their lives.’

That spirit of unity is being expressed through joint prayer gatherings, bringing together a network of churches hosted by IMPRINT, Saint Church (a network of churches in East London), and KXC (King’s Cross Church). Hundreds have gathered to pray for London, reflecting a shared desire to see faith renewed across the capital.

Unity is also being cultivated within the IMPRINT family of churches. At the start of 2026, the network entered a January fast, accompanied by early morning Bible studies, where over a hundred people gathered daily at 7am to study the book of Ephesians.

Alongside this wider sense of unity, Benita’s participation in the CCX Plant Course also challenged the IMPRINT Croydon team to think creatively about discipleship beyond the traditional church setting.

Through the course, the team reflected on how a new church plant could form disciple-making communities that extend beyond the four walls of the church building.

‘I wanted to see what we could learn from pioneering contexts, particularly the work that Phil Hoyle is doing through CCX,’ Benita explains. ‘It helped us think about how we take the church beyond the building, so we can reach people who may be open to faith but not yet comfortable stepping into a traditional church space.’

Out of those conversations came the launch of Hubs, smaller communities where people gather around shared interests or life stages. Whether through activities like dance, hiking or social gatherings, Hubs create natural spaces where church members can invite friends and build relationships while exploring faith together.

‘Sunday services are one doorway into church life and a relationship with Jesus,’ Benita says, ‘but we also want to create other spaces where people can find belonging and safe spaces to discuss faith and Jesus.’

The church has also recently launched Alpha, creating a welcoming environment where people can ask questions and explore faith in an open and supportive setting.

Just a few months after launching, steady growth is already visible, with around 50 people gathering on Sundays and more than 350 engaging with IMPRINT Croydon online, as the team continues to build momentum through smaller gatherings and community initiatives.

Looking ahead, the next season for IMPRINT Croydon will focus on deepening these spaces of connection, strengthening discipleship and expanding opportunities for people to engage with the church through both community activities and creative initiatives.

The experience of planting has also reinforced the importance of IMPRINT Croydon’s team taking this journey together. ‘Having a diverse team around you has been incredibly important,’ Benita says. ‘Church planting isn’t something you do alone. Being able to lean on one another makes all the difference.’

For those considering church planting themselves, Benita offers simple encouragement.

‘The Lord is calling us to be courageous and obedient in this season,’ she says. ‘His ways are so much better than our ways, and it’s such a joy and an adventure to partner with God’s plans on earth!’

She would strongly recommend the CCX Plant Course to anyone exploring that calling.

‘The Plant Course gave me and my team a roadmap and guide, using their wealth of research and experience in the unknowns and unpredictability of the early days of church planting. The Plant Course gave us confidence and structure to think through discipleship structures, creative initiatives, and discerning what the Lord was calling us to together as a team in this next season!’

If you would like to know more about how CCX can support you in church planting, or for more details on the Plant Course, please get in touch with the enquiry form below.