Twenty months into our journey as Co-Lead Pastors of Coventry Elim, we are deeply grateful for all that God has done in our church community as we have had the privilege of leading the church forward together. Over this time, we have seen more clearly the strength of leading collaboratively. In a world where separation and division are all too common, we remain committed to demonstrating a radically different way to live and lead, marked by unity, trust and shared purpose. Thank you for the overwhelming encouragement, prayer and support you have given us; it has been a genuine privilege to serve and lead alongside you.

 Pastor Duncan writes:

Over this last year we’ve continued to witness spiritual, numerical and financial growth within our church community. The church-wide ‘Pulse Check’ survey that we conducted in January revealed something that we probablyalready knew; that Coventry Elim is full of people who love Jesus, seek to put Him first in their lives, who make the pursuit of His presence a priority and who regularly experience His presence when they meet together. One of the ‘stand out’ expressions of that desire to be a presence-led people was our recent ‘Presence Week’ where, morning and evening, in the stillness and in the celebration, we met with God together.

Alongside our spiritual growth, we continue to see numerical growth. For those who attend our Sunday services you will also be well aware of the ‘space’ problem that we have, which requires us to hire two rooms in the Ramada hotel for two of kids and youth work groups. During this last year we’ve had more than one thousand people (adults and children combined) attend our services on fourteen different Sundays. While our search for a new building to meet in has yet to come to fruition, we continue to trust the Lord’s timing and His provision.And this year has been a year of financial abundance with the giving of regular tithes and offerings reaching record levels. You will see from our financial report, that through your faithful and sacrificial giving, God has supplied all our needs. We thank Him for His provision and that this has been another year of all round healthy growth! An expression of our faithful financial giving and heart for mission can be witnessed through our support of Compassion over the last 10+ years. As a church community we now sponsor 225 children, many of those living in Ethiopia. The impact report that we shared at our recent ‘Compassion Sunday’ revealed that over the last twelve months we’ve given in excess of £92,000 to the work of Compassion. Wonderful!

During the course of the year, there are many gatherings, groups and special events that take place, and so it’s always difficult to pick out one highlight, but for me, one has to be our Christmas Carol service that we held at the Methodist Central Hall. It was so good to see that venue packed full of people ready to worship Jesus, and we look forward to doing the same again this December. And for me, another highlight has been the relaunch of our RAW men’s ministry. I have loved the opportunity to meet together with a growing group of guys who love to pray together, worship together and eat together. The high point came in the summer when we met for our ‘Forest Fire Night’ where we ate burgers and worshiped Jesus under the trees and around a campfire!

 Shirene and I remain grateful for the faithful love and support we receive from our Eldership team. This autumn three of our existing Elders, Bashir Jimoh, Jeremy Hobday and Kunle Oyeneye, conclude their current five-year term of office and we’re pleased that they have made themselves available to serve again for another term. Our church partners will have the opportunity to submit their confirmatory vote in support of Bash, Jeremy and Kunle before our Annual General Meeting at the start of December.

Pastor Shirene writes:

As I write this, I’ve spent the day at Regents, Elim’s Bible college, teaching on the Pastoring and Preaching module. My subject title was ‘leading a multi-ethnic and multi-generational church’. Today I wasn’t just teaching theory. I was describing what we get to experience every week at Coventry Elim. Our church is a beautiful tapestryof every age, culture and background, woven together by Jesus into something more beautiful than any of us could have designed on our own. It reflects the great multitude John described in Revelation 7, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, gathered around the throne.

Throughout the week, life at Coventry Elim happens in every age and stage. Our children’s work, youth group, young adults, and our over 50s meet in rooms across our building. Each one is a place of friendship, worship and growing faith. What a joy and privilege to be part of what God is doing among us.

At the start of the year, we were delighted to welcome two new members to our staff team. Evangeline joined us as our Additional Needs Coordinator, helping make sure that every child and young person, whatever their needs, can belong and participatefully. Fi joined us as our Children’s Ministry Leader, bringing energy, creativity and a real heart for children and families. Both have settled in well, and we are so grateful to God for them and for the difference they are making.

This year, ROAR Women’s Conference continued to grow in our second year at Warwick Arts Centre, with 600 women gathering from across the country. One of the most special moments came when 50 women arrived carrying a gift for a woman they hadn’t yet met, trusting that God would show them who it was for. Watching them follow his prompting and seeing the faces of the women who received those gifts was a beautiful reminder that He is El Roi, the God who sees.

ROAR would not be possible without our incredible team of volunteers. From welcome and hospitality to tech, production and prayer, they give their time, energy and gifts so that hundreds of women can be refreshed and sent back into their communities with renewed faith. We could not do it without you, and we are so grateful.

As we reflect on this year, we are reminded once again what a privilege it is to serve you, the local church. To our staff team, eldership team, ministry team, management team and the army of volunteers who give so much of their time and energy, THANK YOU! Your faithfulness helps us live out our vision of being a ‘presence-led people’, and Coventry Elim would not be the church it is without you. We are also deeply grateful for the encouragement and support you continue to show us as we lead together. As we look ahead to 2027, we do so with expectation. This year, we have seen again that God is faithful, and we are honoured to walk into the future alongside all of you.

With love Pastor Duncan & Pastor Shirene