25th September 2025
Stories
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Recently, St Hild College was proud to host a new initiative, an international online symposium entitled ‘Both/And Church: Micro Meets Congregation’.
Rev. Dr Nick Allan, the Director of the St Hild Centre for Baptist Ministry, shared his insights on the Symposium.
“A collaboration between our Centres for Church Planting and Baptist Ministry, the Symposium gathered an inspiring variety of practitioners from across the UK and beyond, all eager to explore whether and how multiplying missionary movements—like those seen globally—can be achieved through integrating pioneering microchurch and disciple-making practices with the traditional church context in the UK and Europe.
Bringing many pioneers into a shared learning space alongside leaders of ‘traditional’ gathered-style churches encouraged us all to consider new practices, new paradigms and how we might integrate, implement and contextualise such models and strategies into the contexts in which we live and minister. It was significant to bring many people together in an attitude of humility and collaboration for the kingdom of God.
We delved into the insights and missional effectiveness of micro churches—small, neighbourhood-based communities marked by intentional disciple making and grassroots leadership—and considered how these movements’ relational, mission-focused practices could be woven into the fabric of traditional congregations to foster renewal, growth, and greater kingdom impact. There was honest sharing, of our failures and frustrations, as well as fruitful progress.
We have this situation in our country today, where we have an inherited or traditional pattern of church who are seeking to grow, seeking to plant, seeking to multiply, and they are alongside Christians who are innovating disciple-making practices at the grassroots. The question is, are there ways that we can learn from each other?
Through global perspectives, collaborative learning, and practical stories, the symposium provided a space to imagine hybrid models where micro church practices enrich existing structures, empowering every believer to be a disciple-maker and ensuring that church life remains contextually relevant and missionally vibrant for the next generation.
Here's what one participant said: ‘The day was brilliant and clearly a much-needed space given the level of interest/enthusiasm/hunger for learning. You managed to get together a brilliant and diverse group of people to speak - from people pioneering across Europe, to local church leaders mobilising disciple makers and helping people start micro churches.’ (Tim, microchurch planter UK)
We believe there is an appetite for this conversation to continue.”
Rev Dr Christian Selvaratnam, St Hild Dean of Church Planting, concluded the sessions. “And perhaps there is something helpful in that idea of the mixed ecology: seeing the church as an ecosystem that's diverse, where there's equal dignity given to different expressions. We don't look down on the small or the different where we share a common good. We each want each other to thrive. We have a solidarity that we work together where we can.”
