Upcoming events

Refresh - Empowering Christians working in Education

Saturday 21st November 2026 - book here

Current/Regular events

Leaders Collective Lunches

Next one:

Thursday 5th November 2026 12:00-13:30

- At Southampton Elim Church Building, Shirley (location)

All church and project leaders welcome, sign up either by the WhatsApp group or by emailing Alice - contact@onebodysouthampton.com

Other dates coming in the autumn:

• - December - Wednesday 2nd

We really want to encourage the body of Christ across the city to come together in prayer so seek to provide opportunities to do that across the city:

Regular Prayer gatherings

Prayer meeting every Wednesday morning @06:30 at Ascension Church

PRAY THIS CITY

Following on from 'Strike the Ground' we are encouraging every believer from across Southampton to join us in praying for our streets

See the progress at PrayerWalk.app

Get the app and pray your part...

With the App you can mark the routes you have prayed or you can live track as you pray. You can also add specific prayer needs for the areas you are praying for.

Please

Be a part of it...

OneBody Southampton - Events Calendar

Previous events

The summit event saw 72 leaders from churches and Christian charities across the city came together to worship and pray together and consider how the body of Christ could work more effectively together for the Kingdom in Southampton.

Adrienne from Central Baptist Church, along with Nathan and Joe from Kings Church, Lordswood, opened the day in prayer and a time of sung worship.

Then John Paul from Covenant Church shared a biblical message about the centrality of our unity in Christ:

• God is not calling us to create unity, rather He calls us to keep the unity that He has already made. (Eph 4:3-6)

• Unity is evidence that Jesus sent us. The world is watching; our unity is a witness to the world. (John 17:20)

• Our unity is not sameness or uniformity. The biggest threat to our unity is not differences in doctrine it is our own insecurity. (Rom 14:13, 19)

• Our unity must become visible. We need to ensure that our own congregations can see that we are united. Our unity in Christ is what makes us powerful as a church.

Dan from St James by the Park reminded those present of the purpose and goals of OneBody Southampton, stressing that OneBody Southampton is a network for all Christians, not just leaders. There are three main goals that OneBody seeks to achieve and Dan explained how we would be touching on each of these topics throughout the course of the day:

1. Cultivate Connections

2. Catalyse Collaboration

3. Co-ordinate Communication

Christine then reflected on how Jesus talks about unity in John 13, highlighting the strength of mutuality conveyed in the original Greek language for "one another". It is about who you are and not what you do.

The morning session continued into a time of consideration and discussion on some ideas for collaborative work across the city. Temi from Oasis of Life church introduced this section and invited various leaders from across the city to introduce each of the three ideas:

1. Nathan started by talking about the mission opportunities afforded to the church in Southampton by the annual marathon that takes place through the city. Next year this will be on the 27th April and there are expected to be 10,000 runners and approximately 35,000 spectators. Nathan highlighted how so much of this event happens in front of many of our church buildings and although some churches already engage there is clearly opportunity for a wider co-ordinated approach across the city.

2. Dan then shared (standing in briefly for Jon from St Mary's church) about the possibility of a co-ordinated run of Alpha courses across the city and how this could be advertised and used to increase uptake and engagement in the course. Dan talked of a similar initiative in Ipswich and the fruit that had borne for the Kingdom.

3. Finally Si from Life Church challenged everyone to "do the work of an evangelist" (2 Tim 4:5), proposing the possibility of holding a co-ordinated mission week across the city. Si talked about how "Open Studios" and "Music in the City" have gained a status of clear recognition in Hampshire and Southampton respectively and the potential for something similar across churches. It could create a visible and collective witness. The idea would not be to all do the same thing but rather each church expressing the Gospel in their own context and in their own way, but all in the same week or month.

After an excellent lunch there were quickfire updates from various of the Enabling Collective Team:

• Christine talked about prayer and highlighted that the city would be engaging again in the national Turn the Battle initiative in January 2027 (11th-13th). It is hoped to run prayer gatherings across the city over those three days and Christine would be pleased to hear from any churches willing to organise and host prayer meetings over that time. Christine also highlighted the PrayerWalk App that OneBody Southampton are providing and encouraged people to share that and get involved with praying the streets of our city.

• Andrew then gave an update on the mapping initiative, explaining the background to the work and how they are seeking to be guided on how it should develop rather than having a fixed view now on an outcome. Andrew explained how "Jesus' Footprint - Southampton" was being developed and demonstrated progress so far. He highlighted how the survey had been guided by the Gather Movement work but also covered an even greater range of ministries including evangelism and teaching. Andrew explained how the survey is being conducted over the phone by volunteers and put out a plea for church leaders to engage with them in a timely manner when contacted.

• Duncan from SCM and Matt from Crossconnecting then gave an outline on the spheres activities that OneBody is supporting and encouraging, to gather groups in Healthcare, Education and Arts (initially). They particularly highlighted the teachers' event that is coming up in November and encouraged church leaders to invite, and pay for, people in their congregations involved in education to come.

• Finally Emily from Kova gave an update on the release of the next series of The Chosen in the UK and encouraged churches to engage with that and make good opportunities from the conversations that it will stir in people.

The day ended with a time of prayer both corporately and in small groups and Dan encouraged everyone to keep engaging with and supporting the work of OneBody Southampton.

OneBody Summit - 7th October 2026

Then after a time of clarification questions the attendees broke off into groups to discuss these ideas and consider what they might mean in each of their own contexts. There was then a brief poll conducted on support across the three ideas, the results of which will be considered further by the Enabling Collective.

Above Bar work with refugees

For generations our city has welcomed people in need from other parts of the world. As church here we joyously carry the privilege of welcoming others just as God has welcomed us. More than that we share in the one body of Christ, not just here but with all those who know, love and serve Jesus across the globe.

This has come into sharp focus for Above Bar Church as they have been blessed to share Christ with people from Iran. Late in 2021 newly arrived refugees were accommodated in the Dolphin Hotel and started arriving at their Church services. There they found other Persian people who themselves had followed the same paths a few years earlier, now growing in their faith and engaged in ministry with Internationals.

Many of those had fled Iran as very new believers or seekers. Their journey here started with police raids on house-churches or being caught with a New Testament out on the street. Some were fleeing because they were part of the protests after the murder of Mahsa Amini in late 2022. The International ministries team at Above Bar include Iranian believers and together they spent time with people, sharing the Lord, meeting him in the Word in small groups, eating together a lot, praying even more, and being blessed as they shared in the life of the Church.

It’s been a challenging, wild, overwhelming and astonishing journey as they’ve been caught up in what the Holy Spirit is doing bringing revival amongst Persian people wherever they are. Over 50 have been baptised; the dynamic faith of the early refugees has spread the fire as they have shared with other Iranians, not refugees, who have also come to know Jesus.

It continues to be something of a wild ride in which even those who have been in ministry for decades feel like they’re learning, growing, and experiencing the Lord in ways they’ve never known before. They also realise that there’s a massive battle going on, not just with missiles and drones but in the heavenly realms and they’d really be glad of your prayers in all of that.

YouthFest 2026

YouthFest would not have been possible without the commitment of over 50 volunteers who gave their time to serve in countless ways—from catering and logistics to worship, teaching, pastoral care, and activities. Their willingness to serve made the weekend possible, and we are deeply grateful for every person who played a part.

As we look ahead, we are excited to continue building on the relationships formed and to keep working together as churches to reach and disciple the young people of our city.

As Paul writes in Ephesians 4:3–6: "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit... one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

YouthFest 2026 was an incredible weekend that brought together over 170 young people from 12 churches from across Southampton. Our vision has always been to see young people reached with the gospel and to provide a residential for those young people and churches that wouldn't be able to facilitate this on their own.

The theme for the weekend was One Church, focusing on the importance of looking beyond our own church setting and realising that, though we may do things differently, we are all one Church. Over the weekend we had four main sessions where we unpacked our theme by looking at One Body, One Foundation, One Spirit, and One Mission.

Video from YouthFest 2026

Throughout the weekend, young people engaged in passionate worship, biblical teaching, games, activities, and opportunities to build lasting friendships with other Christians from across the city. It was encouraging to see churches working together with a shared heart to invest in the next generation.

The greatest encouragement came from seeing God at work. Many young people responded to the messages, took new steps in their faith, and experienced a deeper relationship with Jesus.

Prayer and Worship night - 22nd May 2026

Around 100 people from across the city to pray and worship, particularly praying for unity across the city

Good Friday Gathering - 3rd April 2026

Hundreds of Christians from across the city turned out on the 3rd April to mark Good Friday in the Guildhall Square, at the event run by Paul Woodman and Steve Lee.

Daily Echo article

Connect: contact@onebodysouthampton.com

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