Christian Selvaratnam

Revd Canon Dr Christian Selvaratnam is Dean of Church Planting at St Hild College. He oversees the Church Planting Track of Common Awards modules, Seedbed (a lay training pathway), and Camino (a programme for resource church leaders). He also serves as Director of Studies for the Asbury Theological Seminary Doctor of Ministry cohort based in the UK.

Before this, he worked for fifteen years with Alpha International, including as National Director. During this period, he also served for fourteen years as the ordained leader of G2, an Anglican church plant in York, and as Pioneer Minister at St Michael le Belfrey, York.

Christian read Mathematics and Theoretical Computation at the University of Warwick. After graduating, he worked as a Church of England verger, managed a printing business, and served as a pastor and church planter with Newfrontiers. He later trained for ordained ministry at Cranmer Hall and was part of the first cohort of Ordained Pioneer Ministers in 2008.

Over the past twenty years, he has personally led two church plants and has sent, supported or supervised several others. He now serves on a number of boards related to mission, church renewal, church planting and education in the UK, Europe and North America.

Christian is a Canon of Manchester Cathedral and co-leads the College of Archbishops’ Evangelists as one of its ambassadors. He serves as an adviser to the Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication (CCX) and is an Associate Missioner for Fresh Expressions UK. He is also a Visiting Fellow of St John’s College, Durham University, and an adjunct professor at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is a member of the General Synod of the Church of England and serves as a priest at St Stephen’s Acomb, York.

He is the author of several books on church planting, including The Craft of Church Planting: Exploring the Lost Wisdom of Apprenticeship (SCM Press, 2022), which emerged from his doctoral research. He is currently writing a book on intercultural church. He lives in York and owns a caravan.

Teaching modules for 2025–26:

Creating New Christian Communities (TMM1397) (level 4)

Church Planting in Perspective (TMM3861) (level 6)

Advanced Church Planting in Perspective (TMM46120) (level 7)

Introduction to Christian Discipleship (TMM1517) (level 4)

Aspects of Spirituality and Ministry (TMM2577) (level 5)

Christian also supervises level 6 Independent Learning Projects (TMM3341) and level 7 dissertations including those with field research (TMM42360).