Our vision

Find out the story behind the work of the Trust and our vision as we seek to multiply, fund and train gospel workers for the church in England and Wales.

The context: much of England and Wales is unreached

Across the whole of the UK, there are approximately 150,000 people in conservative or complementarian evangelical churches, 0.2% of the population. The figure for all evangelicals is around 3%.

That means 97% of the population are not regularly hearing the gospel proclaimed, and the gospel need is massive.

A consultation of conservative evangelical training stakeholders at Yarnton Manor, Oxfordshire in May 2024, convened by 9:38, marked a turning point. Facing up to the urgent need for gospel workers, the group left convinced that ministry is a noble task, convicted to pray to the Lord for workers, and committed to work together as training stakeholders, believing much more can be achieved together than apart.

In autumn 2024 a working group of training stakeholders was formed. The group was tasked with understanding the current landscape across England and Wales and building collaboration and consensus among training stakeholders to enable the ecosystem of movements to multiply gospel workers.

The aim: re-evangelisation of England and Wales

The Yarnton Trust is a new ministry borne of both a sense of urgent need and God-ordained opportunity at this defining moment in history. Across the UK there is increasing evidence of people turning back to God, or turning to God for the first time. We pray for revival.

Moreover, the crisis in the Church of England, and a strong FIEC, create the potential to bring Anglicans, Independents and Others together, behind a centrist movement that galvanizes the training and sending of gospel workers.

The Lord Jesus promises to build His Church. And in this light, the Lord Jesus urges us to pray for workers because the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few - this is an urgent need .

This is the context in which Yarnton has been founded. The Trust aims to catalyse the raising up of gospel workers by changing attitudes and approaches to training, along with provision of funding for that training. With strong and generous convictions, the Trust aims to bring together evangelicals in support and encouragement of one another, for the sake of reaching those who are lost.

The funding gap: training before appointment

In the current landscape – gospel need, challenges and opportunity – the Yarnton Trust is seeking to do two things to change the culture around training :

• To enable training in a number of ways

• To fund the training of gospel workers

Funding a ministry role when it begins is much more likely than funding the training for it beforehand. The Yarnton Trust seeks to plug that funding gap.

Thorough identification, selection, training and support of leaders is important. Funding makes this possible. The Trust's vision is to create a long-term sustainable annual investment in training to ensure that the pipeline doesn't dry up.

Through the matched funding model — with founding trustees matching all received funding up to £1.5 million per annum — every donor's gift is doubled. And because the founding trustees cover 100% of the Trust's running costs, 100% of donations fund gospel workers directly.

The strategy: an ecosystem of movements

Yarnton is committed to building an ecosystem of many movements, not a single pipeline. We work across Anglicans, Independents, and Others, convinced we can achieve more together than apart.

The Trust funds gospel workers in two pathways:

1. Foundation Training (2 years): an individual is enrolled in a two-year Apprenticeship or Associate programme in a local church alongside external study at a training provider. This is a first step into ministry, testing and developing gifts. Expectation: 80% continue to Advanced training.

2. Advanced Training (3–4 years). There are two further routes within this pathway:

• i: individuals train in a local church as a Pastor in Training or Trainee Christian Leader, or

• ii: pursue full-time residential theological study

Both Advanced pathways partner with an external training provider. Expectation: 100% go on to set-apart gospel work..

It is planned that grant recipients will meet annually for gatherings focused on preaching, leadership, and gospel partnership. These peer groups foster the collaboration that will lead to a national gospel vision and strategy.

A UK-wide family of ministries

Yarnton Gospel Workers Trust is one of a family of ministries across the UK enabling the multiplication of gospel workers to reach those who are lost: Sychar Gospel Fund (UK-wide), Yarnton Gospel Workers Trust (England and Wales), and Bonar Trust (Scotland).