Every participant will be paired with a dedicated and experienced gospel coach, committed to uplifting them in their ministry journey through personalized meetings at least twice a month for a year or two.

The Incubator, initially designed for a two-year interactive learning environment, consists of sixteen modules. Each learning module addresses the specific needs of urban leaders, including skills in thinking theologically about ministry and growth in the various areas of urban ministry. Each session contains time for peer to peer coaching, personal spiritual formation and reflection, and application to real-world problems you face as a planter. The training will focus on the following areas:

• Gospel Renewal: First and foremost, this learning experience is designed to immerse church planters deeply in the gospel, help them to apply the gospel to themselves and understand how the gospel shapes and empowers every aspect of their church plant.

• Contextualisation and Ministry Design: The Intensive helps leaders to think through the following questions: How do we contextualise our ministry approaches to our urban context? What will the unique, city-focused ministry of our church plant or revitalisation look like for our neighbourhood?

• Balanced Ministry: How do we plant or revitalise churches that address the different ministry fronts in the city? How will the gospel influence and propel our preaching, evangelism, discipleship, faith and work, and mercy and justice initiatives and bear fruit for our city?

• Leading a Missional Church: How do we gather and train a core group for a church plant or revitalisation? How can we implement a missional mindset into our community from the earliest stages on? And how do we lead this community through the various first steps of a church plant or revitalisation?

Modules in year 1 include

• Orientation: Monday | 21st Sep 2026 | 6-9PM

• Session 1: Monday | 5th & 19th Oct 2026 | 6-9PM                             Understanding the gospel and how it shapes everything in ministry

• Session 2: Monday | 2nd & 16th Nov 2026 | 6-9PM                            Personal life of the Leader: including Ministry & Character, models of leadership, unique temptations in ministry (Part 1)

• Church Planting Panel | 7th of December 2026 | 6-9PM

• Session 3: Monday | 4th & 18th Jan 2027 | 6-9PM                 Personal life of the Leader: including Ministry & Character, models of leadership, unique temptations in ministry (Part 2)

• Session 4: Monday | 1st & 15th Feb 2027 | 6-9PM                   Culture and Contextualisation: including writing a contextual profile for your community and recognising cultural bias.

• Church Planting Panel | 1st of March 2027 | 6-9PM

• Session 5: Monday | 5th & 19th April 2027 | 6-9PM                   Evangelistic Networking: including how to grow in consistency, creativity and winsomeness in our own personal evangelism and how to ‘network’ evangelistically (Part 1)

• Session 6: Monday| 17th & 24th May 2027 | 6-9PM                   Evangelistic Networking: including how to grow in consistency, creativity and winsomeness in our own personal evangelism and how to ‘network’ evangelistically (Part 2)

• Session 7: Monday | 7th & 21st June 2027 | 6-9PM                 Missional Ecclesiology: including how to develop ‘outward-facing’ and ‘balanced’ ministries along with how to read your city and how your theological vision relates to the city.

• Session 8: Monday | 5th & 19th July 2026 | 6-9PM                  Grace renewal: including how to grow in personal transparency and gospel renewal in our own lives, how to practice a lifestyle of repentance and faith.

• Break in August

The full cost of participation for one person in the program is £660 per year. A deposit of £160 is made at the beginning of the academic year with the remaining balance paid before the end of the year. The cost covers all training materials, access to the online platform for the program, lunches on Incubator training days and coaching between classes.

At the Incubator, we emphasise having church planting couples attend. Therefore, we are offering the planter to bring their spouse for only an additional 15% of the planter's cost.

We anticipate that the sending churches or church planting networks will be able to cover the fees associated with this training. However, if there are any challenges regarding these costs—such as if a sending church, denomination, church planting network or affiliation is unable to provide coverage—please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We are pleased to offer full scholarships and bursaries for those who require assistance. For further details, click here.

This program will require a high commitment level in order to get the most out of it. In return, you will have trainers and a cohort of peers who will support you in your journey. Please review the expectations below to determine whether the program is right for you.

• You plan to revitalise or plant or are already revitalising or planting/replanting a new congregation/parish in the greater London area.

• You will make every effort to bring this church planting project to fruition.

• If you are not already part of a church planting network or denomination, you will explore possibilities for affiliation and evaluate those opportunities in conjunction with your coach.

• You will take the initiative in regularly updating the Incubator facilitators/trainers on the status of your church planting project and all related activities. At any time during the program, if you are unable to continue with your project or if you engage in conduct unbecoming a minister of the gospel (e.g. moral issues), you will inform the facilitators immediately.

• You will complete all of the assigned pre-reading and practical projects before arriving at each session.

• You will attend each of the Incubator sessions in their entirety. A detailed program calendar will be provided after admission into the program, and you will need to plan ahead to avoid conflicts with the dates provided. More than two absences from these sessions will be grounds for dismissal from the program even if you give advance notice that you will be absent.

• You will be paired with a qualified City to City coach. You will meet every month with your coach to apply the principles that you are learning in the Incubator modules as you plant your church.

Can my spouse or people from my cohort join it?

Yes. We are confident that leaders who train alongside their teammates and spouses are far more likely to fully absorb the material and successfully apply it in real situations. Learning in a shared environment reinforces understanding, encourages accountability, and creates stronger support systems—making it easier to turn knowledge into consistent action.

Do I need to commit to the full two-year training program?

Not at all. The incubator runs over two years, but you only need to commit to eight sessions. It’s designed to be flexible, while still giving you real value. And honestly, people who go through it with their team or spouse tend to get even more out of it and actually put things into practice.

How are training sessions structured?

Each training session is preceded by readings, reflection, and field work to prepare you for discussion, application, and practice during the session. Each session is highly interactive. Participants are expected to be prepared for discussions and learning activities. Each session contains three primary elements:

• Gospel community and kingdom prayer

• Theological discussion and application

• Skill training and practical tools for church planting and ministry

What is expected of participants?

This learning community will require a high commitment level in order to get the most out of it. In return, you will have trainers and a cohort of peers who will support you in your church planting and revitalisation journey.

Please review the expectations below to determine whether the program is right for you.

1. You plan to plant or are already planting/revitalising a congregation in the greater London area. You will make every effort to bring this church planting/revitalisation project to fruition.

2. If you are not already part of a church planting network or denomination, you will explore possibilities for affiliation and evaluate those opportunities in conjunction with your coach.

3. You will take the initiative in regularly updating the Incubator facilitators on the status of your church planting project and all related activities. At any time during the program, if you are unable to continue with this church planting project or if you engage in conduct unbecoming a minister of the gospel (e.g. moral issues), you will inform the facilitators immediately.

4. You will complete all of the assigned pre-reading and practical projects before arriving at each session.

5. You will attend each of the Incubator sessions in their entirety. A detailed program calendar will be provided after admission into the program, and you will need to plan ahead to avoid conflicts with the dates provided. More than four absences from these sessions will be grounds for dismissal from the program even if you give advance notice that you will be absent.

6. You will be paired with a qualified CTC coach. You will meet with your coach at least once every two months to apply the principles that you are learning in the Incubator modules as you plant your church.

I still have questions. Can I talk with someone from the City to City team about this?

If you still have questions after reading the program description in its entirety, please contact us, and we’ll do our best to clear up any lingering questions.