Bishop Ruth recently reflected on the remarkable journey of St James in the City with Revd Jude Padfield and Revd Mike Hindley.
After being closed for 40 years, the church was reopened in 2009. Now, as it approaches the 250th anniversary of the original building, it stands as a vibrant diocesan Resource Church with a missional focus on the so-called “missing generation” of 11-30-year-olds.
What began with a near-derelict building-lacking a functioning roof, toilets, or running water-has been steadily transformed into a dynamic centre for worship, discipleship, and community engagement. Through the diocesan Missing Generations project, and in collaboration with other churches, secondary schools and universities across Liverpool, St James has seen over 1,000 young people engage in new expressions of Christian faith over the past five years.
In a further step forward, St James has recently launched a Church Revitalisation project at St Mary’s Wavertree. Since the initiative began, attendance at St Mary’s has more than doubled, with growing missional outreach across the parish.
A notable fruit of this ministry has been the number of vocations emerging from the church. Since reopening, more than a dozen lay members-nearly all under the age of 30-have gone forward for ordination.
This journey of renewal has been marked by teamwork, intentional prayer, and a shared missional strategy. St James is now preparing for its next phase: planting new congregations and continuing to strengthen its ministry among younger generations.
Commenting Bishop Ruth said “It is exciting to hear how young people are responding to the call of God on their lives when there is an intentionality to reach out to those who we do not usually see amongst us.”
