Supporting Churches & Gospel Workers in Council Estates & Hard Places
Medhurst Ministries exists to support pastors, churches, and gospel workers serving in UK council estates and other hard places. We provide training, encouragement, and practical resources for those ministering in deprived and working-class communities.
Training & Support for Council Estate Churches
Resources for Gospel Ministry in Working-Class Communities
Why Ministry in Council Estates Matters
Across the UK, many council estates remain unreached with the gospel—not because working-class communities are uninterested in faith, but because the gospel has rarely been shared in ways that reflect their culture and lived realities. Over time, the church has often withdrawn from these communities, leaving a shortage of trained preachers, gospel workers, and equipped church members who understand life on the estates.
Medhurst Ministries exists to address this gap. Inspired by Charles Spurgeon, we train and equip working-class preachers, gospel workers, and church members within local churches, removing unnecessary barriers and providing robust, culturally rooted theological training. Our vision is to see working-class communities reached with the gospel through strengthened local churches.
Why We’re Called Medhurst Ministries
Medhurst Ministries is named after Thomas Medhurst, a working-class rope maker who came to faith under the preaching of Charles Haddon Spurgeon in 1855. Soon after his conversion, Medhurst began preaching the gospel in some of the poorest communities of Victorian London. Although his preaching bore fruit, he faced opposition—not because of error or lack of zeal, but because he was uneducated and working-class.
Rather than silencing him, Spurgeon recognised Medhurst’s calling and ensured he received training, care, and theological formation. That decision led to the founding of the Pastors’ College, which went on to train hundreds of working-class preachers to reach working-class communities.
We carry Medhurst’s name because his story captures our conviction: God calls ordinary people to proclaim an extraordinary gospel—and the church must be willing to recognise, train, and release them.
