UNITED KINGDOM / AGILITYPR.NEWS / July 11, 2020 / The Revd Dr John Bradbury has been inducted as General Secretary of the United Reformed Church (URC) at a unique digital meeting of the General Assembly, the URC’s main decision-making body.

At the age of 43, John is one of the youngest people to be leading a mainstream Christian denomination.

Speaking in a statement during the act of worship, John shared that God’s call is discerned in many ways: “For me, the start of discernment has always been in people taking me to one side and saying: ‘have you thought … ?’ We believe we discern better together than apart – this call is one discerned very much in that way. I thank all the conversation partners along the way, including the appointment group.”

John was ordained in Liverpool in 2004 to work as part of an ecumenical team in the centre of the city, and to minister with Earle Road URC in Picton, an inner-city area of Liverpool.

As part of his work, John worked closely with the Bread Church, part of the Somewhere Else community, an early Fresh Expression (new type) of church. In 2007, John was appointed to teach Systematic Theology and Church History at Westminster College, where he ultimately served as Vice-Principal and Acting Principal.

In 2017, John was inducted to serve at the local Cambridgeshire churches. He has been heavily involved in ecumenism and has served on various groups for the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE). In 2019, John was elected as one of the three presidents of the CPCE.

Continuing on the theme of answering God’s call, John added: “The immediate context out of which this particular call to serve as General Secretary, came from serving a group of churches in Cambridge. In the city centre, two long established congregations with proud histories, set their faces to the cross, gave up a huge amount and allowed those identities to be reinvented in response to the call of God to unite.

“From that has flowed rich blessings, new life, new worshipping congregations, new lives walking with Christ. I’ve served congregations who recognised that their work in a place was done and set it down. Which is an ending, but from which resources are released to allow new life to emerge elsewhere. I’ve served congregations who faithfully keep serving their communities when many would have given up – and remain places of hope.

“Those convictions and those contexts have shaped this call. I pray, and I ask for your prayers, that I may play my part in helping us together. That we may read the signs of the times well, seek new ways to proclaim the gospel, and reshape the life of the Church in faithful response to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.”

John asked for prayers for his new role as General Secretary, and the whole URC, as all members of the Church “seek to be faithful disciples here and now”.

You can watch John’s statement here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u6K8GFJ6is