Replanting in Abingdon
Is God calling you to play a part?
Is God stirring you to play a part in prayer, in support, in ‘co-creating’, visiting or joining the team in this season, when God is calling us, the Salt & Light Advance family of churches, to ‘replant’ a church in Abingdon, to better serve all the people in this fast-growing town and its region.
In 2026, we’re asking people from across our family of churches, especially friends in nearby Oxford Community Church, to help us replant a church for the increasingly diverse range of people living in fast-growing Abingdon and surrounding villages. We’re determined to grow a church that ‘bridges’, bringing people together in a multigenerational and intercultural church, serving as a ‘hub’ for the surrounding rural area.
‘Replanting’ sums up 5 priorities: to reinvigorate culture, renew vision, recruit people to play their part, relocate Sunday gatherings to be more accessible and rename the church reflecting all those changes.
Could God be leading you to help us in this exciting venture?
Who is involved?
Andy and Ruth O’Connell are leading the replant team. Andy and Ruth have been part of the S&L Advance family of churches since the 1980s. They have a strong track record of growing people of all ages through discipleship and leadership development. They are currently seconded from leadership in Oxford Community Church to serve Hope Church Abingdon, its current leadership team, and the replant. They are also members of the S&L Advance Vision team and Church Oversight apostolic teams.
Oxford Community Church, as our sister church in the city, is a key partner in this replant, encouraging OCC people living in South Oxon and Abingdon to consider how they might play a part in this exciting initiative, while remaining strongly supported by OCC. If you’re in Oxford Community Church and want to know more, please contact Andy and Ruth, or Al or Caroline McNicoll, or OCC leaders Steve Jones, Liam Thatcher or Sanjay Mahtani.
Salt & Light Advance, as our family of churches, are bring oversight, strategic support and wisdom to the replant. Mark Eley is closely supporting Andy and Ruth, and the replant team. Mark leads Lifehouse Community Church, is a key prophetic leader in our family of churches, and is supporting on behalf of the S&L Advance teams. See the Advance blog about the replant.
Next steps
If you’re interested in finding our more about what involvement in the replant could look like, please reach out to Andy and Ruth for a conversation by clicking the button below. Or, visit our FAQs page.