Union: Growing leaders, growing churches

Union in Bridgend, South Wales, increased their ministry capacity with the help of a £200,000 loan from us.  

Joel Morris, Executive Director for the charity, recently shared their story with us. 

Can you tell us about the history of the charity? 

Our ministry started life in the wake of the Welsh Revival of 1905 as a Bible training institute in Porth. Over the years, it has grown and moved locations and changed names. In 1986, the college became accredited and relocated to its current premises in Bridgend. I joined the ministry in December 2011, leaving a career in engineering in South Korea. Through a patron, we were able to purchase the site in 2015. In 2016, Michael Reeves was appointed to lead the work, broadening and reshaping it into Union. Our renewed vision, mission and strategy are a response to the challenges facing the church today in the UK and around the world.  

Union's mission statement is ‘Growing leaders, growing churches’. We are an organisation comprising of Union Publishing, Union School of Theology, Union Scholars and Union Mission, all working together as a missional ecosystem that aims to accelerate healthy, sustainable church growth. 

We started with a School of Theology which has progressed from residential education to decentralised Learning Communities which, in partnership with local churches, provide accessible training in their areas; the other branches of the ministry grew when churches and people started to give us funds to support students with church planting (Mission), then a content ministry (Publishing) to support future students and everyday believers. Union Scholars is our latest development, through which we disciple and mentor PhD students to equip them with the convictions, character, and competencies to strengthen Christ’s church through their academic research.

How did Stewardship help the charity? 

First of all, we’re grateful for the tremendous encouragement and recognition from an organisation like Stewardship that what we’ve been pioneering is making a lasting impact for the Kingdom and is a sustainable way forward for theological training and education in our European context.  

Stewardship helped us improve some of our financial policies, processes and management of our site in Bridgend. The loan that Stewardship has provided has given us more headroom to plan for growth in a structured way. So, instead of being driven to fundraise in the short term and looking to fix short term pressures, we can be more strategic and plan further ahead.  

What has the loan allowed you to do as a ministry? 

We’ve been heavily investing in technology, including digital platforms to support growth in our student body and the delivery of theological education through our Learning Communities. The upfront cost of this rapid development put some pressure on our finances in the short-term, as income from fundraising couldn’t keep up with the speed at which we were growing and needing to increase our provision. 

The loan from Stewardship gives us the headroom to stay on top of this continued growth in our student numbers and increase in Learning Community locations, and do more to partner with local churches to help them raise leaders and resource their people. 

Can you share with us any stories of how God has been at work? 

• Over the past couple of years it’s been a privilege to grow partnerships with organisations around the world who are in desperate need of resourcing and sound theological education for budding church leaders. One such example is from Madagascar, a land in desperate spiritual need. In a country of 30 million, just 5% are evangelical Christians, while the rest are crippled by traditional religions, syncretism, and the prosperity gospel. We’ve been able to work with local pastors to open a Learning Community and provide scholarships for students to take part in our programme there and we are currently working to translate resources and organise a conference for pastors in-country to support them in their ministries.  

• 33% of our students are directly involved in church planting across the UK, Europe and the rest of the world and it’s always a great blessing to receive updates from them about the work that God is doing through them in their communities to bring people to Himself! One such example is GodFirst Church in Barry, South Wales. Planted in 2019, the church has grown from six adults to over 60 attendees and they are now preparing to start a new church plant in the east of Barry by 2026. Support from Union has allowed them to speed up some of their missional plans for the town, including offering an Alpha course in their community, and to develop their leadership team by providing training programs and development opportunities for their emerging leaders. 

“We are so grateful for the partnership and support of Union in standing with us as we strive to bring the gospel to the unchurched and unreached in our community." Rhys, Pastor and Union student

• We’ve also been able to open up our site to serve the local community here in Bridgend, with a café and Christian bookshop and retreat facilities. We’ve had several members of the public come in with no prior contact and had opportunities to share the Gospel with them – we know of at least one person who was baptised as a result! 

What is your vision for the future of the charity? 

A major bottleneck to church multiplication is the steady supply of leaders. 

The vision for Union’s future is to see a church growth ecosystem deployed locally in the UK as well as around the world, where we can work with churches and networks year by year to disciple and raise up future church leaders. The next phase of growth is to bring all four ministry streams to bear in our partnerships - books, content, conferences, training (nonformal and formal) and ongoing support; to walk alongside churches and networks, year by year, as a trusted partner committed to raising leaders who love God and are equipped for a lifetime of ministry; to growing healthy churches; and to helping everyday believers delight in God. 

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