Faithful generosity: equipping future pastors for Gospel mission

What began as a bold plan to resource new leaders became a powerful story of God’s provision. 

With a vision for Gospel impact, Co-Mission’s REVIVE appeal stirred God’s people to respond with open handed generosity, equipping pastors and Gospel workers to share Christ across London and beyond.

For more than two decades, Co-Mission churches have gathered each summer for REVIVE — a weekend of teaching, worship and fellowship. In 2025, alongside the usual encouragements, REVIVE carried a bold vision: to launch a giving initiative that would resource the next generation of pastor-teachers for Gospel ministry in London.

The scale of the need was clear. As Matthew Dalton, Chief Operating Officer at Co-Mission, explains:

“If we want to see London reached with the Gospel, we need more faithful Bible-teaching churches. And that means more leaders. Looking ahead, we realised we could need as many as 80 new leaders in the next 25 years. But the cost of training is a barrier for many. We needed to act.”

Setting a bold generosity target

The plan was ambitious. Co-Mission set a target of £48,000, enough to support three pastors-in-training for their first year, contributing to their salary and theological training.

For context, previous Revive giving appeals had raised around 20% of that total. Reaching £48,000 felt like a leap of faith. Yet as Matthew recalls: “We thought, why not? We could do something bigger. Who knows what God might do?”

A remarkable response

From the first evening of REVIVE, generosity began to flow. Before the main ask had even been presented, £10,000 had already been given. By the end, the total had reached £131,000 from congregational giving, with an additional £48,000 in match-funding pledged by a generous supporter family.

In total, more than £180,000 was given, nearly four times the original goal with almost 300 people generously giving.

“It was phenomenal,” says Matthew:

“We are truly humbled by the incredible response — praise be to God. Heads, hearts and hands were moved to give in a way that none of us could have engineered. This was God’s work.”

From vision to impact

Instead of three pastors-in-training, Co-Mission will now be able to fund four pastors-in-training through their full programme, plus five additional ministry trainees for up to two years.

Further stories of generosity have already multiplied. Some Co-Mission churches with more financial resources are exploring how to fund not only their own trainees but also those at less-resourced congregations. Other pastors have been inspired to launch local giving initiatives, with one church raising a significant amount for a revitalisation project just weeks after REVIVE.

“Generosity creates generosity,” Matthew reflects. “We underestimate the resources God has placed in His Kingdom. When people see what’s possible, it inspires them to act.”

The value of partnership

Behind the scenes, we provided advice, practical tools, encouragement and prayer.

“Having Stewardship alongside us gave us the confidence to have a go,” Matthew says. “Their experience meant we didn’t feel alone. From structuring the appeal to providing a platform that could cope with the volume of donations, they helped us focus on vision rather than mechanics.”

For Felicity Griffiths, Stewardship’s COO, the role was simple:

“Our part was giving Co-Mission the best chance of success, whether that was practical details, confidence in the ask or simply aligning around shared values. Ultimately, only God moves people. But we could help create the conditions where that could flourish.”

Looking ahead

This faithful generosity has done more than meet a target. It has helped shape a culture of giving across Co-Mission’s thirty churches, one where generosity is seen not as a burden, but as a joyful act of discipleship.

As Matthew concludes:

“We love Stewardship. But ultimately, we want to give all glory to God. The generosity we saw at REVIVE was His work, and our prayer is that it will bear fruit for many years to come — in London and beyond.”