 Alex Wolvers, leader of the Encounter Stoke project which will develop new worshipping communities linking with schools and familes in multiple locations in Stoke-on-Trent. |
Three hope-filled missional projects
Growing new communities. Revitalising existing churches. Making Jesus known across our region.
Across our diocese, God is stirring new life in places where faith, creativity and local partnerships are transforming communities. As part of our wider Seeking the Kingdom strategy, three significant locally-based projects — Encounter Stoke, All Saints Hanley, and Telford Minster — are helping us grow younger, more diverse and more outward‑facing.
Each has a distinct local flavour, but all share the same purpose: to form flourishing, missional, intergenerational Christian communities at the heart of the places they serve.
Together: Signs of a Growing, Hopeful Church
These three projects — Encounter Stoke, All Saints Hanley and Telford Minster — are different in style, context and history. Yet together they demonstrate the shape of our diocesan vision:
- purposeful about evangelism
- engaging with local communities
- becoming more diverse
- growing younger
They represent renewal in action: hopeful, rooted in prayer, shaped by partnership, and committed to seeing lives transformed by the love of Jesus Christ.
Encounter Stoke
Community. Hope. Love. New worshipping communities across the city.
Encounter Stoke is a major diocesan initiative designed to serve Stoke‑on‑Trent through deep partnership between local churches, schools and community groups. Born from a desire to “bring God’s best to Stoke‑on‑Trent,” Encounter Stoke creates safe, welcoming spaces where local people can meet, connect, grow and explore faith.
The project’s vision is ambitious and deeply rooted in community:
- Establishing nine new intergenerational worshipping communities, each reflecting its neighbourhood’s unique character.
- Building local oversight teams made up of school leaders, clergy, community representatives, PCC members and young people. These groups act as “critical friends,” supporting mission, fostering healthy leadership, ensuring safeguarding, and making sure every voice is heard.
- Meeting real local needs through activities such as cafés, youth groups, children’s initiatives and Bubble Church, all shaped around the distinct needs of each community.
Encounter Stoke represents a fresh, collaborative way of being church — one that begins with listening, builds trust, and grows new community‑rooted expressions of Christian faith. It works alongside a second project:
All Saints Hanley
A historic church replanted for a new generation.
All Saints Hanley is being replanted as a vibrant, welcoming worshipping community for the people of Stoke‑on‑Trent
Several strands of renewal are shaping this project:
- A full church replant in partnership with the HTB Network, developing a friendly, mission‑focused church for the city. Currently in preparation for launch, the team is gathering people passionate about what God is doing in Stoke.
- Restoration and revitalisation of the building, including major works such as replacing the outdated heating system to make the space sustainable and fit for community use.
- A missional focus on community engagement, with the new planting team forming relationships, inviting local participation, and preparing to serve the surrounding area with energy and openness.
With its historic architecture and its renewed missional heart, All Saints Hanley embodies a hopeful blend of old and new — honouring its past while courageously embracing its future.
Telford Minster
A pioneering resource church at the heart of a growing town.
Telford Minster is a bold, Spirit‑filled response to the rapid growth and changing demographics of Telford. Rooted in the town centre, it was launched by the Diocese of Lichfield as a new resource church with a clear purpose:
to make Jesus known across Telford and to help local churches grow and thrive.
Key features of the project include:
- A large, flexible worship and community space created inside a repurposed unit at Meeting Point House — designed to serve families, young adults, and a rapidly expanding population.
- A pioneering vision to plant congregations in neighbourhoods, homes, cafés, toddler groups and more — a mixed‑ecology approach responding to the realities of 21st‑century mission.
- Vibrant Sunday gatherings, strong teaching, worship, discipleship pathways, and a warm welcome for newcomers.
- A leadership team passionate about serving the borough, supporting local churches, and strengthening mission across Telford’s communities.