Pioneering & Church Planting
As a YBA Regional Minister, Alex Harris’s focus is on Pioneering and Church Planting
His role reflects one of the YBA's key priorities - planting, revitalising and reimagining churches.
He also serves as Director of Baptist Church Planting at the St Hild Centre for Church Planting, Yorkshire.
He has extensive experience and expertise in church planting and his doctoral studies were in church planting in post-Christendom Europe.
"Ask me how we could work together to start a new church or begin a new venture that helps people meet Jesus. I would love to help!"
Alex
How God is at work
ALEX Harris, our Regional Minister for Pioneering and Church Planting, is encouraging people to consider and to think about what pioneering and church planting really means in our communities today.
Below, he highlights encouraging stories that show how God is using ordinary Baptist churches, whether new churches reaching new people, or new leaders being inspired in new ways.
Sheffield Church Planting
Since Gareth, his family, and the Eden Team from St Thomas Crookes Church, Sheffield all felt called by Christ to the Fir Vale estate in Sheffield, they have seen God at work in all sorts of ways.
In 2022, they reached a wonderful moment in that journey! A growing and vibrant church for Fir Vale was born! Gareth tells us more of the story in this short video:
Gareth has provided a further update for us in February, 2025, so we can see how God has continued working:
Share this news in church services, church meetings and small groups! It reminds us of the growing number of churches now experiencing this growth as a normal expectation and within ordinary reach.
Need help? Have questions? Need ideas of how we could work together to start a new church or begin a new venture that helps people meet Jesus - just like Gareth? Then contact
Alex: alex.harris@yba.org.uk
Young Leaders in Action: Insights from Asher Wiggers
Asher Wiggers, a young adult leader at The Well, Sheffield, shares inspiring reflections from the 2024 Networking and Strategy Day of the National Church Planting Network (NCPN) in a recent article published by The Baptist Union of Great Britain.
ALEX’S DESK
Challenges and Opportunities for Church Planting in the UK
Church planting in the UK is full of promise, but there are still challenges to overcome. One significant issue is that many Christians lack meaningful relationships with non-believers, making it difficult to share their faith. Additionally, we’ve often made the gospel too complicated, which can alienate those unfamiliar with Christian terminology.
For UKME and GMH churches, the challenge is navigating the shift from mono-cultural to multi-cultural mission, as second- and third-generation immigrants live very different lives from their parents. There’s also the question of how legacy denominations, with their resources and status, can collaborate with newer, more energetic streams of church planting.
Despite these challenges, there are incredible opportunities ahead. The key will be focusing on relationships and simplifying how we communicate the gospel. As churches grow more flexible, adaptable, and prayerful—especially with an emphasis on fasting—we may see the Spirit move in unprecedented ways. The task of reaching people with the gospel is spiritual at its core, and that’s where the real battle lies. Prayer, fasting, and reliance on the Spirit are the tools that will carry the church forward in this season
Article first published in Together, the Christian resources magazine. Each issue of Together addresses a key topic relevant to the UK church today, with discussion from church leaders, book reviews, extracts and interviews. To find out more or to subscribe, visit www.togethermagazine.org
