Jo joins CCX with a background in church ministry, theological study and planting new worshipping communities. Ordained in the Church of England, she brings a wealth of experience from church leadership and Christian movements, and holds a deep belief that God is calling his Church to be a radically more humble and a radically more honest church.
Born in Scotland, raised in New Zealand, Jo moved around England before settling in the North East. She describes herself as “a third culture kid”.
‘I sound like I belong, but I actually have a heritage of a whole bunch of different traditions,’ she says. ‘It’s a joy and a privilege to be part of the community up here in the North East.’
Jo’s love of theology and Scripture began early on in her life and has remained a central to her ministry.
‘I love studying, I absolutely love the Bible, so much so that I went to theological college twice,’ reflects Jo. ‘I’m a words geek, as well as a Bible geek. I love the Book of John, which I wrote most of my Masters on. For me, there’s one verse that just holds so much together – John 10.10. “I’ve come that they might have life and have it to the full”.
‘If I wanted people to know what Jesus was about, he’s about that. That doesn’t mean a life that’s easy, that doesn’t mean that life that’s always happy, that doesn’t mean that life that’s full of stuff or full of money, but life that is full and rich, purposeful and hopeful, peaceful and glorious, that is a taste of the life that is to come.’
Closely aligned with this enduring love of study and learning is Jo’s passion for helping start and grow Christian communities. Jo fondly recalls one of her first experiences of this while studying in Leeds, when she and a group of friends began gathering students together at St George’s Church.
‘There were four or five of us attending St George’s while we were students,’ says Jo. ‘Many would now view St George’s as the obvious student church in Leeds, but when we were there, it wasn’t.’
The leaders of St George’s invited Jo and her friends to help shape a student ministry, formed less by strategy and more by hospitality, friendship and shared life.
‘We had the joy of gathering people, lots of eating together, lots of getting to know each other over food, lots of putting on absolutely ridiculous musical events, and inviting our friends, and getting together, and learning what it was like to be a community of Christians,’ she shares. ‘People were allowed to risk things. I think that was one of the big distinctives of that season. We, as students turning up on the doorstep of this church, were allowed to risk building a student ministry that felt like us. We were allowed to not just be in the worship band, but to run the worship band. We just spent time together, learning about Jesus, and then we’d go to the pub after. So we had this great amount of community that sat around a service that we were allowed to be not only part of, but part of shaping.’
The experience was formative for Jo.
‘I think that kind of got under my skin, how exciting it is to start something new with a bunch of people who have all sorts of difference, and all sorts of different experiences, coming together around Jesus, and around the Bible – and usually around some food – working out what it means to be the church together.’
Jo joins CCX at what she believes is a significant moment for the Church in the UK.
‘I think this is a really precious moment that we shouldn’t miss,’ Jo says. ‘God is doing stuff, he’s bringing new people into our churches and communities, both physically and online.’
She points to stories of people unexpectedly finding themselves drawn towards church and faith.
‘I love hearing these stories, like a couple walking into a church for the first time on Christmas Eve,’ she says. ‘They’d never been in church before other than for weddings, but both of them looked at each other on the sofa on Christmas Eve and said, “I feel like we really should go to church”.
‘That’s humbling,’ says Jo. ‘That’s got nothing to do with our great branding, that’s not about our wonderful schemes, that’s not about us having done anything fabulous. The Spirit is moving, and the question for us is how do we respond?’
As Partnership & Learning Development Lead, Jo will support churches, dioceses and networks, linking them with the training and resources they need to help multiply, whether through the Grow Course, Plant Course, estates ministry or pioneering new worshipping communities.
‘I sit between the churches and the diocese and the networks, and the training that is CCX,’ she explains. ‘My job is to help people who are excited about the possibility of starting something new, to connect them with an organisation that is really good at equipping them, and giving them permission to try new stuff.’
For Jo, this moment is an invitation for the Church to become more humble, more honest and more open to what God is doing.
‘I think God is humbling us, and letting us see that actually it doesn’t all depend on us,’ she says. ‘I think he’s calling us to be a radically more humble and a radically more honest church.’
That hope shapes her invitation to churches, networks and leaders considering partnering with CCX.
‘I would love to invite churches, networks, denominations, to come and work with us, not because we’ve got everything sewn up, but because we are in that space where we’re trying to do leadership well, we’re trying to innovate new things well,’ says Jo.
‘We’ve learned some amazing things from the people that we’ve worked with, and we want to offer those to the Church, so that we can be a humble and holy church, who do things to the best of our ability, and who lead well into this season.’
‘There’s so much to play for, and there’s so much that’s unknown, but the call of God is so exciting.’
To find out how CCX can help and support you, or to get in touch with Jo, please use the yellow form below.
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.
Receive the latest inspiring stories, useful resources and insightful research from CCX every month
