May 2026 Commission meeting

ChurchWorks Commissioners used their first meeting following February’s Summit to meet with a newly appointed Minister for Faith and Communities - in her very first formal engagement with a faith community.

Nesil Caliskan MP, appointed as the new Minister for Faith and Communities on 14th May 2026, welcomed the opportunity to speak with senior church and denominational leaders so soon after her appointment.

Commissioners were able to provide exciting and encouraging updates about the progress that has been made since the ChurchWorks Summit, including the launch of new resources to help churches get involved in the Pride in Place programme running across the country, and the increasing recognition of the role of faith communities in supporting social prescribing in local communities.

The Minister spoke warmly about the good work already being done by churches and drew on her own experience of working with faith communities as a council leader in East London prior to her election. She praised their work in meeting urgent needs, noting that “faith communities...step in and give a voice to individuals who have been left behind or abandoned.”

Joy Johnston, Director of the Prime Minister’s Partnerships Unit, also joined the meeting. Joy has previously served as the Prime Minister’s Special Adviser for Faith, Communities and Civil Society, and is a long-standing advocate for stronger partnership between churches and government. 

Commissioners, who represent a diverse range of Christian denominations, spent time together in prayer and fellowship, sharing news from their churches demonstrating the breadth and depth of the church’s role in caring for their communities.

Following on from the success of the ChurchWorks Summit earlier this year, Commissioners are planning how to build on this success, with early plans emerging for a series of regional events in 2027 and 2028 to build networks of expertise and support among churches right across the country. 

Commissioners also invited Danny Kruger MP, Head of Preparing for Government for Reform UK, to join them during the meeting. Commissioners were interested to learn more about how Reform UK is developing its policy platform, particularly as it relates to the ChurchWorks Mission Areas and the role of the local church in communities. 

Commissioners meet twice a year, with the meetings providing the opportunity for dialogue with senior government decision-makers, prayer and fellowship, and to make decisions about how to work together. Commissioners then delegate more detailed work to the Mission Area Colabs, which gather experts from across the church to agree practical actions that can resource local churches. Examples of this work include the Family Hubs Toolkit and the new Pride in Place resources.

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