Christ Church Glasgow
Jonathan de Groot
christchurchglasgow.org
Christ Church Glasgow exists to be a Christ-centered church, seeking to make disciples of all nations and impact Glasgow for the glory of God. The city of Glasgow’s motto is “Lord, let Glasgow flourish through the preaching of thy Word and praising thy name.” While everyone wants Glasgow to flourish, sadly not many believe this will happen through the preaching of God’s Word. Yet Glasgow is urgently in need of more diverse churches to preach God’s Word and praise his name amongst the many people who are lost and know nothing of the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. Through our mission statement: ‘Loving God – Loving each other – Loving Glasgow’ we seek to establish a church in this urban context where people can hear the Gospel, see it lived out, and come to believe it for themselves.
Jonathan de Groot lives in and loves Glasgow, Scotland. He is married to Sheona and they have three children: Joshua, Matthew, and Rebekah. He has been an ordained minister in the Church of Scotland for 10 years and is now part of the Free Church of Scotland. Jonathan is leading a team to plant Christ Church Glasgow in the northwest part of the city. This is the area where they live, where Sheona works as an English teacher, where their children go to school, and where Jonathan serves as the chaplain to Partick Thistle Football Club.
City Church Manchester
Ralph Cunnington and Matt Waldock
citychurchmanchester.org
City Church Manchester was planted in September 2014 in the city center of Manchester, England. Manchester is the UK’s second largest city with a population of 2.7 million. It is home to 95,000 university students, studying at four universities. Being the home of the BBC, and two of the largest soccer teams in the world, it is a center of cultural influence in England. City Church Manchester has grown from a church of 40 to more than 300 adults in the sphere of the church over the past four years. City Church Manchester is committed to being a large hub church that trains and resources gospel workers for Manchester, the North West and beyond.
Ralph Cunnington is married to Anna and they have three children: Sophie, Zach, and Jacob. Ralph became a Christian shortly before going to university in 1996. After seven years working as a university law lecturer he trained for pastoral ministry at WEST and Westminster Seminary London and was then Assistant Pastor at Aigburth Community Church, Liverpool. Ralph is on the Steering Group of City to City UK, he represents the FIEC on the Council of Affinity and is also on the Board of UCCF: the Christian Unions. Ralph is passionate about church planting and convenes Plant North and co-hosts (with Mike Tindall) the Planters Collective in Manchester. Ralph recently authored a book on Word and Spirit in preaching titled Preaching with Spiritual Power (2015, Mentor). When he hasn’t got his hands full looking after his children or pastoring the church he enjoys playing squash and watching cricket and football.
Before joining City Church, Matt Waldock studied Theatre and English Literature and went on to teach at a secondary school before becoming a university campus evangelist. Matt then worked with the charity Emerging Leaders to teach leadership across grassroots communities in central Africa. Following this he worked as the associate pastor in the city of Liverpool. Five years ago he moved to Manchester to plant City Church. Matt is married to Jacky and they have a son, Reuben.
christ church central leeds
Jonty Rhodes
centralleeds.church
Leeds has a population of just over 750,000, making it the third largest city in the UK and the second biggest financial and legal center after London. It was third on a recent City to City list of the most significant cities in the UK. It has five universities and a student population of over 55,000. Leeds is the largest city in Yorkshire, itself the largest county in England, with a population the same as the entire of Scotland. Yet evangelical church attendance is on a similar level to that of Bangladesh – around 0.4%! Leeds is therefore a key city for reaching the north of England. God-willing, a strong, Bible-based, and evangelistic church in the city centre could prove a wonderful base from which to win, train, and send out men and women to plant further churches around the city and area. Christ Church Central began in September 2017 with a core group of 11 adults and 8 children who moved to Leeds from Derby. A year later, Christ Church Central Leeds has around 35 adults and 12 children attending. Much of the growth comes from Christians who have moved to Leeds, but we’ve also grown a ‘fringe’ of non-Christians and some who aren’t sure what they believe.
Jonty is married to Georgina and they have four children: Charlotte, Mathilda, Ottilie, and Henry. Jonty is a Presbyterian minister in the International Presbyterian Church and until April 2017 was pastor of Christ Church Derby, a plant that began under his leadership in October 2010. He currently serves as minister and planter of Christ Church Central Leeds.
trinity church manchester
Pete Evans and Malc Clark
trinitychurchmanchester.org
Trinity Church was planted into the north of Manchester in June 2020 from City Church Manchester. The church began with 23 adults and eight children and has grown already despite the significant restrictions faced during the COVID pandemic. Manchester as a whole is strongly secular, with less than 3% of people attending any church. The north of the city is particularly underserved by evangelical churches, and Trinity Church was planted to be a hub church for the communities around it. Our vision is to be a gospel community for north Manchester that gives, grows and partners for God’s glory.
Pete is married to Hannah and has two boys, Jack and Owen. He completed an MA in Biblical and Theological Studies at Phoenix Seminary, Arizona and has served in church ministry for more than a decade. He is passionate about church planting and helping people meet Jesus. He loves sports, good food, and spending time with family and friends.
Malc is married to Judy and has two girls, Lilah and Jovie. He served as a trainee minister at City Church Manchester for two years where he began his studies with Crosslands Seminary. Prior to that, he worked as a schools outreach worker in York sharing the message of Jesus with young people. He has a huge love for music and used to enjoy playing guitar in bands and touring.
canada water church london
Kruger de Kock
canadawaterchurch.com
Canada Water Church London is located in Canada Water, a neighbourhood just on the edge of central London, a short walk from London’s iconic Tower Bridge. However, for such a central location, it has a very quiet and suburban feel about it. The area is home to an established, local population, together with professionals from around the world who commute from Canada Water into Central London. The surrounding area has no other Reformed church.
Canada Water Church London was planted in 2008. We seek to gather Christians in the area to grow in maturity, so that they can pour out their lives in love and service to this great city. We seek to reach this neighbourhood, with its wonderful diversity and diverse challenges, for the glory of God. Lord-willing, we hope and long to grow to such an extent that we can plant into other areas of South East London that desperately need a gospel witness.
Kruger de Kock is married to Stephanie, with four children: Steffan, Timothy, Ruben and Rachel. Originally from South Africa, where he trained and is ordained as a minister in the Gereformeerde Kerk, Kruger has ministered in London since 2004. When he’s not working, he loves spending time with his family, cycling, or fixing an old classic car.