Search Results

Our people Living Leadership is a collaborative network of staff , Associates , Affiliates , Trustees and Volunteers, united by the vision to see Christ glorified through leaders who abide in him Affiliate Associate Staff Trustee Filter by Location Filter by Ministry Areas Alastair Gledhill Trustee Ministries involved in: Charity Trustee Find out more Alli Clear Associate England Ministries involved in: Refresh One to One, Refreshment Days, Refresh Groups, Refresh Network Online, Refresh Community for Spouses Find out more Claire Cromartie Trustee England Ministries involved in: Charity Trustee Find out more Alison Mark Associate Northern Ireland Ministries involved in: Refresh One to One, Refresh Groups, Refresh Network Online, Refreshment Days, Refresh Community for Spouses Find out more Bettina Collins Associate England Ministries involved in: Refresh Network Online, Refresh One to One, Refresh Groups, Formation School, Refresh Community for Spouses Find out more Claire Reynolds Operations Manager England Ministries involved in: Ministry Support Staff Find out more Alistair Bill Associate Northern Ireland Ministries involved in: Refresh One to One, Refresh Groups, Refresh Network Online Find out more Brian Gooding Associate Scotland Ministries involved in: Refresh One to One, Refresh Groups, Refreshment Days, Refresh Network Online Find out more Claire Wroe Associate England Ministries involved in: Refresh One to One, Refreshment Days, Refresh Groups Find out more Alistair Magowan Associate England Ministries involved in: Refresh One to One, Refresh Network Online Find out more Cassells Morrell Associate Republic of Ireland Ministries involved in: Refresh One to One, Refresh Groups, Refreshment Days, Formation Seminars Find out more Dafydd Job Associate Wales Ministries involved in: Refresh One to One, Refresh Groups, Refresh Network Online, Resources, Formation Seminars Find out more 1 2 3 4 5 1 ... 1 2 3 4 5 ... 5 Related links Associates Scheme Affiliates Scheme How we work

Refresh Network Online a community of church leaders and their spouses together for refreshment, encouragement and prayer. Refresh Groups for Spouses Online and in person communities for gospel encouragement and refreshment for ministry spouses There are many unique joys and challenges that come with being married to someone in a formal ministry role. Our Spouses Groups provide space to breathe in the fresh air of the gospel, build friendships with others who understand your experiences and find support and encouragement. "The LORD will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring." Isaiah 58:11 Online Groups Monthly meetings are hosted on Zoom at 8pm and last one hour. Upcoming Dates: Monday 9th February Monday 16th March Monday 20th April - A Life Poured Out - A Ministry Spouses Seminar Monday 18th May Monday 15th June In-person Groups We currently have in person groups meeting in Birmingham and Sevenoaks in Kent. We understand that joining a group like this can be daunting. You are very welcome to give it a go with the freedom to leave if it's not for you. For more information please express your interest using the form below. Express an interest in our Refresh Groups for Spouses Express an interest Our Spouses' Groups are primarily for ministry spouses based in the UK and Ireland. Related links Women in Ministry Groups Pastoral Refreshment Conferences Refreshment Days Refresh Network Online Refresh One-to-Ones

Welcome to Living Leadership: growing disciple-making leaders through training, support and resources Encouraging leaders & leaders' spouses to live joyfully in Christ and serve him faithfully Find out how we can support and encourage you today OUR MINISTRIES FAQ How we can serve you... Tell us a bit more about who you are and what you are looking for and the slider will filter our ministries to show you how we may be able to help you: I am a... Church Leader Church Member Lay Leader Organisation Leader Spouse Woman in Ministry Living in... Select your region or country Looking for... Resources Support Training Leadership Toolkits Formation Residential Conferences Groups for Women in Ministry Refreshment Days Blog Formation Courses Formation School Leadership Commitments Scheme Living Leadership Podcast Nigel Lee Archive Podcast Pastoral Care Foundations Course Refresh Community for Spouses Refresh Network Online Refresh One-to-One (Online) Refresh-One-to-One (In person) Articles Book Reviews Books Formation Seminars Gospel Shaped Pastoral Care Course Mental Health First Aid Course Ministry Masterclasses Pastoral Refreshment Conference: Central Pastoral Refreshment Conference: Lakes Refreshment Groups Not sure what we can do to help? View all our ministries Contact us Become a partner Would you partner with us through regular giving and prayer, so we can support more leaders and spouses to serve joyfully, faithfully and fruitfully? Find out more Latest news, blogs, & resources When Nothing is Working Refreshing Resolutions A Prayer for Busy Festive Days Listen to our latest podcast episodes Listen online Now booking... Formation Residential Conferences Refreshment Days Women in Ministry Groups Refresh Community for Spouses Pastoral Care Foundations Course Refresh Network Online See all our events currently booking Formation Residential Conferences Refreshment Days Women in Ministry Groups Refresh Community for Spouses Pastoral Care Foundations Course Refresh Network Online See all our events currently booking Formation Residential Conferences Refreshment Days Women in Ministry Groups Refresh Community for Spouses Pastoral Care Foundations Course Refresh Network Online See all our events currently booking Formation Residential Conferences Refreshment Days Women in Ministry Groups Refresh Community for Spouses Pastoral Care Foundations Course Refresh Network Online See all our events currently booking Formation Residential Conferences Refreshment Days Women in Ministry Groups Refresh Community for Spouses Pastoral Care Foundations Course Refresh Network Online See all our events currently booking Conferences & events now booking View all our current ministries

Sometimes, nothing seems to work. Many—perhaps most—church leaders have experienced this, though it’s often hard to admit. Here are some examples. You pray faithfully, but the breakthrough doesn’t come. You plan carefully, but momentum stalls. You preach your heart out, yet it feels like the words barely land. The harder you try to fix things, the heavier it all feels. I experienced all of these during my forty years in Christian ministry. They can quietly erode our confidence and leave us wondering if we’re doing something wrong or even worse—that we have missed out on what God’s doing somewhere? The good news is this: the Bible, with its ‘warts and all’ revelation is full of leaders who found themselves in exactly this place. And God met them there—not with shame, but with purpose. GOD MAY BE DOING DEEP WORK IN YOU Moses didn’t step from the palace straight into deliverance leadership. He spent forty years in the wilderness, tending sheep—far from influence, progress, or visible impact. (Exodus 2–3) From the outside, it may have looked like a wasted calling, but from God’s perspective, it was preparation. ‘Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law.’ (Ex 3.1) Sometimes ministry slows not because God has stepped back, but because he is shaping character before expanding influence. Reflection questions for you to consider with your team (or alone). What might God be forming in me during this season that effectiveness alone could not? Have I equated fruitfulness with faithfulness in ways Scripture does not? How am I responding to obscurity or lack of recognition? FAITHFULNESS IN THE ABSENCE OF ‘RESULTS’ STILL MATTERS Jeremiah preached for years with little response. People resisted his message, questioned his calling, and ignored his warnings. By most modern standards, his ministry would be labelled ‘ineffective’. Yet, God never measured Jeremiah by measurable outputs—only obedience. The following verse is particularly pertinent. So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you. Jer 7.27, 28 This can be hard to accept in a results-driven church culture. However, God’s metrics have always valued faithfulness over visibility. Reflection questions for you and your team. If I stopped seeking ‘results’, would I still see my ministry as valuable? Am I obeying God’s call, or chasing reassurance through outcomes? How do we, as a leadership team, define 'success' in this season? DISCOURAGEMENT DOES NOT DISQUALIFY YOU After the dramatic victory on Mount Carmel, Elijah expected change. Instead, he ran for his life and collapsed under the weight of disappointment. ‘I have had enough, Lord… Take my life.’ (1 Kings 19.4) God’s response is deeply pastoral. He gives Elijah food, rest, and his gentle presence, before offering direction. ‘And after the fire came a gentle whisper.’ (1 Kings 19.12) When nothing is working, God often meets us not with correction, but with care. Reflection questions for you and your team. What signals of exhaustion or discouragement am I ignoring? Do I allow myself to receive care, or only give it? What might it look like to listen for God’s whisper rather than demand his intervention? PERSEVERANCE OFTEN LOOKS ORDINARY Perseverance in ministry is rarely dramatic. More often, it’s the quiet decision to keep going, to pray again, preach again, love again. Paul admitted how overwhelmed he felt. ‘We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure.’ (2 Cor 1.8–9) Yet he discovered something essential: desperation taught him dependence . Reflection questions for you and your team. In what areas of my life am I relying on my own strength instead of God’s? What does faithful perseverance look like right now—not ideally, but realistically? How can we support one another in staying the course together? WHEN NOTHING IS WORKING, GOD MAY BE INVITING CHANGE Not every stuck season is meant to be endured indefinitely. Sometimes God uses frustration to signal transition. Jesus said, ‘Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.’ (John 12.24) While this was a profound truth about his own mission and death, we may also use it as a prompt for change. That’s because some methods, models, or even roles may need to end before new life can emerge. This requires discernment, not panic—and courage, not fear. Reflection questions for you and your team. What needs to be released rather than fixed? Are we clinging to what once worked but no longer fits? What kind of new life might God be inviting us into?  YOU ARE NOT THE SAVIOUR AND THAT’S A RELIEF When ministry feels like it’s failing, it often reveals how much weight we’ve been carrying. Jesus reminds us, ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’ (Matt 11.28) The church belongs to Jesus. The mission is his. Our role is faithfulness, not rescue. Remember Paul’s profound experience of pain, in which he heard the Lord speak to him. ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ (2 Cor 12.9) Weakness does not mean failure. It creates space for grace. Reflection questions for you and your team What responsibilities have I taken on that were never mine to carry? How would my leadership change if I truly trusted Christ to build His church? What would rest look like as an act of faith? A CLOSING WORD If nothing is working right now, you are not alone—and you are not failing. You may be in a season where God is doing quieter, deeper work than you expected; work that doesn’t show up in metrics, but shapes hearts. Starting with yours. And that work, Scripture assures us, is never wasted. Consider this verse in the book of James. Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Jas 5.7–8 A farmer can do everything right—prepare the soil, plant the seed, water faithfully, yet for a long season there is nothing visible above the ground. If you walked past the field, you might assume nothing is happening. However, beneath the surface, roots are forming, nutrients are being absorbed, and life is quietly taking hold. If the farmer dug up the seed every week to ‘check progress,’ he would destroy what he planted. Church leadership often works ‘underground’. Sermons reshape thinking long before behaviour changes. Pastoral conversations soften hearts long before repentance shows. Prayer alters spiritual ground long before revival appears. Faithful leadership is less like managing a factory and more like tending a field. And remember that the Bible does not call leaders to produce results. He calls them to be faithful stewards (1 Cor 4.2). Growth belongs to God. Even Paul makes use of the agricultural metaphor. ‘I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.’ (1 Cor 3.6) So be encouraged. Invisible work is still real work. Delayed fruit is still fruit. Jesus himself led crowds that later vanished, preached sermons that thinned his following, and invested years in just twelve men—one of whom failed him badly. Yet no leadership in history was more fruitful. If you are teaching truth, loving people, praying faithfully, and walking in integrity , then success is already happening. Even if heaven alone can see it for now. So . . . ‘Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.’ Gal 6.9

What were you doing last Friday? Well, if you’re someone who made a physical New Year's resolution, statistics from Strava suggest that was the day you first broke it; the first day your running shoes stayed in the porch untouched, and the day the gym began to go quiet. What’s more, research suggests that by the 19th January, 92% of people with resolutions will have already quit them. It can be easy to feel guilty about that. We once again have “failed”. We “haven’t tried hard enough”. We didn’t persevere. But what if the issue at hand isn’t simply a problem of willpower? What if it’s that we are pushing ourselves, depleting ourselves, trying to do more in lives that are already stretched? What if there is a better “resolution” available that isn’t just a goal to achieve but a refreshing rhythm to live by? REST At the beginning of every year, it is like the collective cultural narrative becomes one of striving. A universal cry of “more” – more goals, more discipline, more activities. But what if we chose a different focus? From the very beginning, God has woven the pattern of rest and renewal into creation. We can remember how God rested on the seventh day, and then established that same rhythm for his people through the weekly Sabbath (see Exodus 20:8-11). It ensured regular time for God’s people to put away work, and devote themselves to rest, worship and to be refreshed in the Lord. Whilst this is not a requirement for us now, it is still a good gift. A joy-inducing rhythm that offers us rich spiritual, emotional and physical benefits, and one we at Living Leadership wholeheartedly encourage. It is good for us all to have regular occasions where we remind ourselves that our fruitfulness doesn’t depend on the things that we are doing but rather springs from a heart that is abiding in Christ (John 15). Times when we dwell in him and receive the refreshment that flows only from the true vine, that is Jesus himself. It is also good for us to be reminded that our God neither slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121:4). He does not need us to hold everything together. While we lay down our burdens and give ourselves over to rest, he continues his work. So, why not consider a better “resolution” this year? One that does not ask you to do more, but to stop. One that does not ask you to achieve something, but rather for you to regularly relinquish everything over to the God who has it all in hand. One that does not ask that you deplete yourself, but to be refreshed. Why not resolve to find your own rhythm of refreshment this year? A note for the overburdened (or for whom this sounds like “one more thing to do”): The blessing of this invitation is that it is not a standard to reach. There is no formula to follow, prescription to get right, or metric to measure its success. It is simply an invitation to create a regular rhythm of rest and refreshment. You can decide what this looks like to you and allow it to evolve as you discover what this can look like in your life. For many, a weekly sabbath can be a good place to start. For others, or eventually, it may include daily, monthly, quarterly or annual rhythms of rest and refreshment. Some questions for reflection: Do you have a regular practice of resting in Jesus? What helps you to abide in Christ? What often pulls you away or prevents you from that? Where might you be able to commit space to a new rhythm like this? What is one small, realistic rhythm you can start? What would help you do this? Some events and resources to help: Our DIY Refreshment Day resource Living Leadership Refreshment Days Living Leadership Groups ( Leaders or Spouses | Spouses only | Women in Ministry only ) A map of retreat centres in the UK

If you’re anything like me, in this busy season of ministry, I can get so caught up in the “doing”, I scarcely take time to pause. I can end up spending all the time talking about the awe and wonder of that first Christmas, and not truly basking in it myself. So today, no especially deep thoughts, but an invitation to join me in prayer. Won't you join me as we approach with wonder and worship, and ask the Lord to be at work in us, as well as through us, in this busy season. Everlasting Father, Father of our Lord Jesus, whose birth we are proclaiming through these busy festive days, we draw near now. We exhale from the rush of this ministry season to sit in your presence. We still in reverence and awe at your works. We breathe in deep the truths of your love, shown in the gift of your Son to this sin-marred world, for sinners like us. Protect us from overfamiliarity with the wonderous story, that it ceases to move us as we share it with others. Startle us in awe and wonder, even as we draw others close to marvel at the incarnated Saviour, and the hope offered to all in his life, death, resurrection and return. As this season of ministry progresses, it is easy to find ourselves feeling poured out. Yet, we trust in your character and promises as you supply our every need, at every turn. We are not the source of the message but simply the hands, feet and mouthpieces through which your Spirit works to flow out the gospel to those who need the truth of it. But we are also more than that: We are your beloved children in whom you delight to do your work, too, and who need the truths proclaimed this season as much as anyone. So, Spirit, we ask that you pour into our hearts as we pour out. Satisfy us as we share with others. Pour in your comfort, even as we comfort others. Pour in your peace, even as we enter the strife. Pour in your love, even as we move towards those who feel lonely and unseen. Pour in your forgiveness, even as we seek to minister with grace. Pour in your joy, even as we declare the joy of that first Christmas to those who need it. Let our every act of service be done in your strength, not our own; your wisdom, not our own; for your name, not our own. We thank you that you are an abundant and generous Father, who gives more than we can imagine and delights in giving good gifts to his children. May our every service be done as an overflow of thankfulness and worship for all you have first given us. We thank and praise you most of all for the gift of salvation through your Son, our Lord Jesus. May our hearts never cease from overflowing in praise of him this Christmas, and all the days of our life. It is in his name, we pray. Amen Wishing you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year from all of us at Living Leadership Ministries