Encouragement, Envisioning, and Equipping at Summit 2025
Coventry was the setting for the first ever Summit in January – a two-day gathering for leaders and staff teams in the HTB Network to come away together for encouragement, envisioning, and equipping. We were thrilled to welcome around 600 guests from 97 Network churches from destinations across the UK as far away as Cardiff, Gateshead and Hastings.
With a sense that God was calling us to centralise and unify our Network gatherings, plans began to gather pace from the summer onwards, and there was a growing sense of excitement across the Network as we got closer to the event.
An extensive and varied programme was on offer throughout the 48-hours. This included main sessions with worship led by musicians from across the Network, streams curated for different staff teams, and seminars led by inspirational leaders.
Humility, Honesty, and Humour
We were delighted that Jay Pathak, Director of Vineyard USA joined us as guest speaker for the main sessions and one of the seminars. His down to earth practical teaching and dry sense of humour was welcomed by everyone. One leader shared,
“Might be the best conference I've ever attended. Jay was such a gift. Every word he spoke was for me. I was so overcome with emotion and with the Spirit that I could hardly speak at the end of it. My soul has been restored.”
Curated Content
There were separate streams for Senior Leaders, Associate Vicars, Curates & Ordinands, Operations, Students & Young Adults, Youth, Kids, Worship & Production, and Social Transformation, where teams were able to take a deep-dive into role-specific learning and training.
“The Kids stream was brilliant... great balance of connecting with other kids pastors, sharing resources, input and teaching, and envisioning, was really helpful!”
Seminars were also an integral part of the programme. Amy Orr-Ewing spoke about the challenges we're facing in our current cultural landscape, and how these might also be opportunities for us. Will Van Der Hart led a seminar looking at resilience hacks to help leaders move from unsustainable to sustainable leadership. Jay Pathak was a refreshing voice on what it means to lead effectively in the midst of conflict, and a panel headed up by Jon Finch from Saint Mary’s Southampton looked at how to raise up and nurture strong volunteer teams in different contexts.
Prayer and Friendship
Space was also created in the programme for church teams to meet together and chat through what God might be saying to them. The coffee and tea flowed freely, as did the opportunities for prayer ministry, catching up with old friends, and making new connections.
“The tone was really good. It was faith-filled but humble. It was more about growing healthy than growing large.”
God’s Plans for the Year Ahead
A key priority for the Revitalise Trust is to support our Network Senior Leaders and staff teams to enable them to lead healthy, thriving churches. With this in mind, plans have already begun for Summit 2026! However, for now - we’re just loving re-living the memories. How wonderful to be able to start the new year together as one church family - encouraged, envisioned, and equipped for all that God has in store for us in the year ahead.
“I think it has been one of the best events I’ve come to in all my years of leadership. The content has been really good, the stream I attended was super practical and informative, worship has been powerful, and I have been able to meet with God and reset.”
To stay informed about Summit, head to the Summit page on the website.