Introduction

For as long as I can remember, I have felt led to consistently pray for the nation, the Church at large and my beloved Baptist denomination. This has been an intrinsic pattern of my prayer life. I share this with you so that you may know that I deeply care about what is happening in other churches; I want your church to do well, to grow numerically and spiritually and to become the Bride who is ready to meet her Groom.

It is in this spirit that I offer up this book to you. Maybe you will find it helpful as you make your merger plans, or maybe it will simply inspire you to look beyond your local church to the wider landscape of what is happening both in your vicinity and further afield. However the Lord uses this book to speak into your context, I hope it encourages you and your church to seek God’s face and ask Him that all important question: what would You have us do?

Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
Show us your unfailing love, Lord,
and grant us your salvation.
I will listen to what God the Lord says;
he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants –
but let them not turn to folly.
Surely his salvation is near those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.
Love and faithfulness meet together;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.
The Lord will indeed give what is good,
and our land will yield its harvest.
Righteousness goes before him
and prepares the way for his steps.
Psalm 85:6-13

Part One

Our Merger Journey

1

Joining God’s mission

If God is indeed the true missionary, it was said, our business is to not promote the mission of the church, but to get out into the world, find out ‘what God is doing in the world,’ and join forces with him.
Lesslie Newbigin[1]

At the time of writing this book, I do so against the backdrop of the recently published ‘The Quiet Revival’ report, by the Bible Society. Following years of disheartening news stories about church decline, here is a survey that has filled the Church with hope – and what hope it is! The report, which was released in April 2025, states not only that the decline has stopped, but also that the Church is now gaining momentum in the opposite direction. Yes, the Church is actually growing! And this at some pace, with Gen Z – those aged thirteen to twenty-eight – leading the exciting turnaround.[2]

Following years of personally telling others that more than 50 per cent of the churches in the Baptist Union – the denomination I belong to – are classed as small, that is having a membership of forty persons or fewer, even I have changed my rhetoric. One might argue that this is all hype, but the statistics speak for themselves. Even my beloved Baptist denomination has reported growth in both church membership and baptisms over the last year. But it isn’t only recent reports from elsewhere that have given me a spring in my step.

At the time of writing, I have entered the sixth year of serving as the minister of Pinner Baptist Church (PBC) in North West London. Over this time, the church has encountered gradual growth each year, primarily through transferrals. However, the sudden arrival of two new people earlier this year made me realise that the spiritual climate was beginning to change. Take the story of Max.

Max is sixteen years old and does not come from a Christian background. Over the course of a few months, he felt prompted to research about faith. He arrived at the answer to his question, this being Jesus Christ. Shortly after, he rocked up to church professing to be a new Christian. With the support of his parents, Max has recently been baptised. He shares his testimony here.

My journey to faith started about a year ago. I grew up in a non-religious household, and for the majority of my life never believed that there even was a God, never mind that He would want a relationship with me. But nevertheless, I was always interested in what could be out there; I was curious and had many questions. I’d heard of Jesus before but I never thought He was more than just another elaborate story. I began to explore and do my own research, keeping an open mind. I quickly encountered a mountain of evidence not only for the existence of God, but also for the Christian faith. Jesus wasn't just a made-up fairy tale, but the most documented man in ancient history. A real historical figure. Questions spiralled: who was this Jesus, what did He do, what's written about Him? It was something I became not just curious about but desperate to know. So I decided to read the Gospels, and it was something like I’d never read before. All the evidence, all the stories, everything I’d heard just clicked into one. The character of Jesus, the miracles which I found hard to believe at first; and the moral teachings were unbelievable. It was like wisdom, grace, love and truth that I’d never heard,  God Himself unfolding through Jesus. My heart was opened to the truth set before me and from there I received countless unexplainable signs, visions, dreams and miracles in my life that I couldn’t explain. I vividly remember the first time I ever prayed to Jesus, and when I finished praying, I opened my eyes to see the shape of the cross on my wall. From that moment on I knew there was something special about this man, something special about this religion. It wasn’t long before I said with my mouth, ‘Lord, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour, I put my trust in You, I surrender to You.’ Now I wish I could say that was the end of my story and it was happy ever after. But that was not the case. Being a believer is not a straightforward journey.

I know that I spoke words of surrender to the Lord, but I found it hard to really do that. That brings uncertainty about whether I am failing Him. There’s fear and worry of what others might think – will they still like me and accept me? – and it’s not easy to lead a life without mistakes. I felt my actions and inactions were proof of my lack of true commitment to the Lord. But the thing that hits the hardest is that the Lord never left me through any of it. He is always there, waiting, calling to me every moment, supporting me and being faithful even when He may not always be at the front of my mind.

He is my God. And He has been there for me, every step of my life. When I expected him to leave, He was still there, waiting for me. Knocking at the door. The signs, miracles and messages never stopped (and trust me, I could talk to you about those for hours). He has never left my side. Even until this very day, I said, ‘God please carry me into baptism. I don’t know if I can be the person You want me to be and so I opened my Bible to read, Isaiah 46:4, ‘Even to your old age and grey hairs … I will carry you.’ He reminded me that He was still there, waiting for me, always by my side.

That’s why I’m here today, getting baptised. I want to show my commitment to Jesus.

I want to finish off by saying thank you to all the people at this church as well. You have always made me feel so welcome and cared for. And, to everyone that has preached here, especially our pastor Manoj, thank you as well, for the support. Your sermons always seem to match perfectly with what I need, but I think I should also be praising the Lord for that, who has spoken through you. And, finally, credit also goes to my parents who brought me to this church and have supported me with all their love and heart through my journey, despite their differing beliefs.

I trust and hope in the Lord. My strength comes from Him and my hope from His Son and His sacrifice on the cross. And I pray that today can be the day to mark the old from the new. To let the old pass and the new come. Amen

What I find fascinating about Max’s journey to faith is that it didn’t involve a specific individual reaching out to him with the good news of Jesus. There is no Christian youth camp in his story and neither of his parents is a ‘churchgoer’. Instead, the Holy Spirit sovereignly led him to search for a deeper meaning to life, and through that process God revealed His love to Max. The words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:30-31 come to mind:

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.’

In a world that seeks glory for itself, isn’t it amazing that no human being can take any glory for Max’s journey to faith in Jesus? The glory rightfully belongs to God alone, as it does in the story of Stephanie, who arrived at  PBC around the same time. Below is her testimony of coming to faith, which she shared at her recent baptism.

Though I was raised Catholic, my journey to faith really began around 2023. This was prompted by my friend and sister in Christ who started talking to me about God. I was intrigued. I subsequently joined my first WhatsApp prayer and Bible group. At first, I thought just being in the group and doing a prayer each day was enough, but deep down, I knew I was still lukewarm. I needed to make a commitment.

Then, on 27th January 2024, I lost my beloved nan. For those who know me, my nan was like a mum to me. I had moved in with her when I was five, and the pain of losing her was just overwhelming. In that grief, I felt God calling out to me again. I kept thinking, where has she gone? She’s with You, Lord, right? She loved God deeply, and I continue to pray that she is with Him now.

Still deep in grief, a lovely patient at my place of work spoke to me about God in April 2024. I told him I was searching for a new church. That man – you may know him as Winston Lewinson – said, ‘Come to Pinner Baptist.’ I told him I would, but the thought of walking into a new church terrified me. I was still only praying occasionally, barely reading the Bible, and letting life and its battles overwhelm me.

Then, in March 2025, I began struggling with further health issues and anxiety. That’s when I really felt God calling me again. I knew only He could get me through this and so I started watching Pinner Baptist Church online. It was the Mother’s Day service that really struck a chord. After watching it, I went to visit my nan’s grave.

On the way back, I felt I had to stop at my local supermarket – even though I really didn’t want to. I picked up what I needed, turned around and bumped into a lovely lady who quickly helped me to pick up the items I had dropped. When I looked up, I realised I had seen her on the Pinner Baptist Church livestream that morning! That lovely lady was Sunny, their new children’s worker. I teared up as I explained to her how I’d been looking for a church. We both agreed that this was a sign of God calling me. I felt God saying, ‘Come on now, Steph – I’m calling you to PBC. How many signs do I need to give you?’

So I came to Pinner Baptist Church the following Sunday, and it was the best thing I could have done. Everyone was so lovely and welcoming. I knew this was where I was meant to be. I’m so grateful for my PBC family. I’ve made some truly wonderful friendships – you all know who you are, and I’m so thankful for each of you. You’ve been part of this journey with me, and I’ve grown so much in such a short time. I’m now on fire for the Lord!

On finding faith, I knew I wanted to be baptised, but I wasn’t sure when. After witnessing the last baptisms on Easter Sunday, I had hoped maybe I’d do mine the following Easter. But then one Sunday, Manoj said, ‘If anyone wants to be baptised, come and see me.’ And once again, I felt God calling.

And so today, I stand here – ready, more than ever, to commit fully to Christ. I know God has big plans for me, and I believe He will heal me physically and mentally as I continue in this journey. I trust God and I am moving forward with faith and joy in Him. Praise the Lord!

It should seem obvious as to why I have begun this book by commenting on the spiritual climate of our day. At a time when we are witnessing more people asking questions about purpose and meaning, and coming to faith in Jesus, it makes me question how our church buildings are being utilised. While some churches may be thriving through sustained numerical growth, what about those churches, often situated squarely in the middle of their communities, that need revitalising? Don’t they have a part to play in God’s kingdom purposes? Weren’t such buildings conceived to be places of Christian worship and witness for the generations to come? And if we truly believe God to be on the move, don’t we need these churches, as well as new church plants, in order to welcome in what we hope and pray will be a true harvest of souls? Following our experience at PBC and Hatch End Baptist Church (HEBC), I firmly believe that church mergers could be a significant part of the answer. In what follows, we will explore just what a church merger is and why it may be an attractive model for others to follow.

Broadly speaking, then, this is a book for anyone who loves the Church and wants to see it grow and flourish as we partner with God in His mission. More specifically, it is for those who don’t want to see numerically declining churches close down and their buildings being sold off, but long for them to be revived for the purposes of God. So it is a book for church leaders – be they pastors, denomination heads, pioneers, church planters or indeed anyone else who wants to dream together of what could be possible if we are prepared to think bigger and wider. And this brings me to the primary purpose for its writing.

In reflecting on how PBC merged with HEBC to become one fellowship across two distinct sites, it is my hope to stimulate conversations between churches who sense God might be calling them to do something similar. Through both my roles on the Evangelical Alliance board and being part of the Small Church Connexion team in London Baptists, I am acutely aware of the need for churches of differing sizes to be talking to one another as we seek to serve God’s mission together. This being the case, I hope this book will speak to those churches who are outgrowing their buildings and want a wider missional footprint. Equally, I hope our merger story will inspire smaller churches to see that there can be benefits to amalgamation, and that their identity and mission need not be lost in the process, but rather can be affirmed. This is not about conformity, but rather about maintaining our unique identities in unity.

Now, while what follows will detail the process we went through to become one church across two sites, I would encourage you not to see our case study as an exact model to be replicated. I say this because God ordered our steps in a particular fashion, and in your context things may look different. Nonetheless, this book strongly advocates for a model that puts relationships first. What I mean by this is that congregants from both locations journey together in mutual respect and love, with a genuine desire to learn from one another. Churches are not businesses but living bodies of believers. While there are legal and financial elements that must be considered, we are not dealing with products or employees, but with individual sons and daughters of God, many of whom will have invested years, if not decades, into their fellowships. Remembering this – their prayers, service and commitment – is essential to honouring both God and one another in the process. ‘Big’ churches may be surprised by how much they can learn from the faithful testimony of ‘small’ churches. In fact, it can be hard to think of a truer test of a larger church’s maturity than seeing how they respond to, and work with, a smaller congregation.

Putting relationships first may seem obvious, but language matters, and it is all too easy to fall into a commercial mindset. For example, while I found the Church Amalgamations and Mergers Leaflet produced by Baptists Together enormously helpful, and I strongly encourage you to read it for the insights and information it shares, the language of ‘takeover’ didn’t sit right with me.[3]When churches seek to merge, I believe we should be thinking in terms of ‘covenant’ rather than ‘takeover’. So later in the book we will explore some reflections on covenant theology, which underpins our particular approach to working together as one church across two sites.

It is amazing what God can do when we let go of the ‘this is my church’ mentality and allow ourselves to be open to new possibilities as we are led by the Holy Spirit. As you prayerfully explore what God may want you to do in your own context, the following Pentecost Prayer, in Gathering for Worship: Patterns and Prayers for the Community of Disciples, might be a helpful starting point.

Spirit of God,
you are the breath of creation,
the wind of change that blows through our lives,
opening us up to new dreams, and new hopes,
new life in Jesus Christ.
Forgive us our closed minds
which barricade themselves against new ideas,
preferring the past
to what you might want to do through us tomorrow.
Forgive us our closed eyes
which fail to see the needs of your world,
blind to opportunities of service and love.
Forgive us our closed hands which clutch our gifts and our wealth
for our own use alone.
Forgive us our closed hearts
which limit our affections to ourselves and our own.
Spirit of new life, forgive us
and break down the prison walls of our selfishness,
that we might be open to your love
and open to the service of your world;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen[4]

2

Tracing God’s plan

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.
Søren Kierkegaard[5]

In terms of God leading me to become involved in a church merger, I can now see where the seed was first planted – though it would be many years before it would break ground. Until then I would just have to live with a nagging feeling that church could take a variety of forms and sizes, even if the idea found no expression.

Sixteen years ago, I had just become a Christian, having grown up in a committed Hindu family. At the time, my son had been taken seriously ill. He was just two years old when his airways shut down one day in A&E, and the prognosis wasn’t good. He was hurriedly transferred to an ICU ward in St Thomas’ Hospital in London, though the consultant gave little hope.

In desperation, I welcomed the prayers from a Christian couple my wife and I had recently befriended. Their compassion deeply touched me as they galvanised other Christians to pray for my son. To everyone’s surprise, a few days later my little boy bolted upright in bed. It was a sight to be seen as he pulled away at the multitude of tubes that were connected to him. Amid the tears of elation, I turned to my wife and said we would in time thank our Christian friends for their prayer support by visiting their church – a promise I firmly held on to.

Some weeks would pass before my family and I rocked up. Secretly, I had committed to attending two successive Sundays as I wanted them to know how thankful I was for their prayers, but when they invited me to visit another church on what would be the third Sunday, I failed to have the courage to say ‘no’. After all, they had loved my son like their own, and so I followed them to a large charismatic evangelical church which would end up being my spiritual home for the next nine years. My conversion was fast, a few weeks at most. How could I not believe when here was a God who had died a tortured death for a sinner like me? As I write in my autobiography, Filthy Rich: How the Property Crash Saved My Life:

I spent most Sundays weeping at the foot of the cross. Why did He do it? Why had He been prepared to be whipped, beaten, tortured, abused, mocked and nailed to a cross? Why had He suffered for the sake of no-hopers like me?[6]

Overwhelmed by God’s grace, I quickly immersed myself in church life and enjoyed it greatly. Nonetheless, with my business background, which had been as a property trader, I struggled with the idea of how many people in church were unable to find opportunities to serve in their gifting. As an entrepreneur, I had relished the opportunity of raising up people to exercise their skills for a common goal. Why were churches not doing the same thing for the cause of Christ?

In time, I would come to appreciate that this is the challenge all large churches face. After all, how can you incorporate the whole church into a limited set of roles? Evidently, large churches have a hugely significant role to play in God’s kingdom, and for me the recurring questions about releasing people in their giftings was God’s way of preparing me for a different type of church experience – that of a small Baptist church in East London.

I had no plans to leave my church and certainly had no desire to move into a different denomination, but the signs were clear. I preached at the church in 2017. Having been without a minister for some time, they had grown accustomed to inviting different speakers to fill the pulpit, and so I was just another person to offer my support, invited through my association with the Evangelical Alliance.

On heading home after this preach, I had a strong sense that God was calling me to help them. But how? With limited knowledge of the Baptist denomination and without the necessary training of a church minister, I was ill equipped to offer any services. Still, the thought simply would not go away. All became clear a few days later when one of the church parishioners spotted me on a plane heading away on holiday. You can imagine my surprise when she introduced herself and asked if I would come to help them.

A few months later, I began a part-time interim role as the lay pastor. With my limited experience, I did the best I could. With training, I would have done so many things differently! Nonetheless, a love for small churches was blossoming in my heart. Here was an opportunity to nurture people to use their Spirit-given gifts for the building up of God’s church. Over the course of my time there, I invited somewhere in the region of thirty people to lead intercessions during Sunday worship. In a church of approximately forty-five congregants on a Sunday, this was no mean feat. The motivation behind this was simple: for everyone to see themselves as a disciple of Jesus who is called to serve in God’s Church. Clearly, some were more suited than others to leading intercessions. Nonetheless, the resounding message that God has a role for each of us was clear, and I carried this idea with immense passion into my next pastorate at PBC, who called me as a minister-in-training in 2019.

My new church family was numerically similar in size, but with gradual growth over the ensuing years came a recurring question. If we were to become a community of approximately 120 people – the church capacity being about 150 persons – would I look to commence a second service? In seeking to answer this question, two further questions came to mind. As the church grew, how would we be able to identify and release the gifts of each congregant to be used for the building up of God’s Church? The second question came through reading a book entitled The Best of Friends by Phil Knox.[7]

As suggested by the title of Knox’s book, the author advocates the importance of human friendships in a world where, despite better connectivity through social media and other online channels, many people are lonely. Knox not only gives the biblical basis behind humanity’s design for living in relationships with one another, but also shares the scientific evidence, showing the physiological importance of relational connections, along with research illustrating the importance of friendship for mental and emotional wellbeing. All this made me think about the importance of the local church being a place where Christian community is valued and fostered. Further points in Knox’s book, such as underlining how friendships are made and not simply born, and that one can seldom have meaningful relationships beyond 150 persons, left me pondering the optimum congregation size for a Christian community where members could have significant connections with one another.

So what should we do as PBC if we continued to grow in steady numbers? While it could be an evening service, wouldn’t a local church plant or graft be a better option? After all, I had developed a heart for smaller churches and seeing them revived. Little did I know that my experiences of church to date was God’s way of preparing me for what lay ahead: a merger with another local Baptist church. The unexpected idea of being involved in this dropped into my mind through an unusual set of events that had never happened to me before.

It was about 5.30am one Sunday morning in spring 2023 when I suddenly woke up with the word ‘revive’ coming out of my mouth. Knowing this to be of God, I knelt and prayed, and with it came the conviction that God was calling us, as a church, to a wider work. A few days later I found myself in conversation with London Baptists, who informed me that HEBC, while having a thriving small congregation, faced the threat of closure as the existing trustees were stepping down after many years of service. Knowing that such scenarios can also lead to church buildings being sold off, the question came, ‘Is God calling us to get involved?’ And so began the process of discerning the mind of Christ and discovering what He had already been putting in place, not only in me and  PBC, but also in the fellowship at Hatch End.

[1] Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An introduction to the Theology of Mission (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), p18.

[2] www.biblesociety.org.uk/research/quiet-revival (accessed 23rd July 2025).

[3] www.baptist.org.uk/Articles/368683/Guideline_Leaflet_L04.aspx (accessed 1st August 2025).

[4] Christopher J Ellis and Myra Blyth (ed), Gathering for Worship: Patterns and Prayers for the Community of Disciples (Norwich, Norfolk: Canterbury Press, 2005), pp391-392.

[5]  www.philosophybreak.com/articles/kierkegaard-life-can-only-be-understood-backwards-but-must-be-lived-forwards (accessed 5th August 2025).

[6] Manoj Raithatha, Filthy Rich: How the Property Crash Saved My Life (Rickmansworth: Instant Apostle, 2022), p110.

[7] Phil Knox, The Best of Friends (London: IVP, 2023).