Short-term mission trips sometimes get a bad rep. Others find them wonderfully challenging and life-changing.

What part does short-term mission have in the world of mission, and how can local churches maximise this opportunity whilst avoiding the pitfalls?

Mike Smailes (Lansdowne Church, Bournemouth) leads this seminar. He is a trustee of a mission organisation and started his interest in mission with short-term mission trips.

This is a seminar from the 2025 FIEC Leaders' Conference held in Blackpool from 10-12 November 2025.

About the speaker: Mike is one of the Associate Pastors at Lansdowne Church, Bournemouth, with specific responsibility for mission.

About the Leaders' Conference: The title of the 2025 Leaders' Conference was Church Without Borders, exploring how we can serve God’s mission in a mobile world.

About FIEC: We are a fellowship of Independent churches with members of the family across England, Scotland and Wales. Our mission is to see those Independent churches working together with a big vision: to reach Britain for Christ. Find out more: https://fiec.org.uk.

Our mobile world is more connected than ever. This has profound implications for the work of mission, and also for supporting those who serve around the world.

OneHundredFold uses mobile technology to enable mission and works with churches and organisations, such as UFM Worldwide. In this seminar, Ed (OneHundredFold) will energise and enthuse us about this kind of work without overwhelming us.

Maybe your next church missionary will be an IT specialist?

This is a seminar from the 2025 FIEC Leaders' Conference held in Blackpool from 10-12 November 2025.

About the speaker: Ed (identity hidden) is the founder and CEO of OneHundredFold, a missional team focused on redeeming technology, making Christ known, and changing nations.

About the Leaders' Conference: The title of the 2025 Leaders' Conference was Church Without Borders, exploring how we can serve God’s mission in a mobile world.

About FIEC: We are a fellowship of Independent churches with members of the family across England, Scotland and Wales. Our mission is to see those Independent churches working together with a big vision: to reach Britain for Christ. Find out more: https://fiec.org.uk.

English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) classes are a great way to connect with the world on our doorstep. Lots of churches are finding these are manageable ways to make friends in the communities where our churches are located.

David and Maura Baldwin (2:19 Teach to Reach) have many years of cross-cultural experience and will help us see how ESOL classes can form a significant part of a church’s mission strategy.

This is a seminar from the 2025 FIEC Leaders' Conference held in Blackpool from 10-12 November 2025.

About the speakers: David the CEO of 2:19 Teach to Reach, a ministry that seeks to serve local churches as they reach out to the nations living in their own communities.

Maura is Director of Operations at 2:19 Teach to Reach, a ministry supporting and equipping local churches to meet the needs of their international communities.

About the Leaders' Conference: The title of the 2025 Leaders' Conference was Church Without Borders, exploring how we can serve God’s mission in a mobile world.

About FIEC: We are a fellowship of Independent churches with members of the family across England, Scotland and Wales. Our mission is to see those Independent churches working together with a big vision: to reach Britain for Christ. Find out more: https://fiec.org.uk.

We have moved from the classic mission agency model of detached mission to seeing the value of leader-to-leader and church-to-church connection.

What is the value of us as leaders building relationships with church leaders in the mission field? And how can those connections be truly two-way?

Leonardo De Chirico (Reformanda Initiative) and Emanuel Tundrea (Romanian Christian leader) will show how they have been helped by such connections and give ideas for how churches can maximise connections.

This is a seminar from the 2025 FIEC Leaders' Conference held in Blackpool from 10-12 November 2025.

About the speakers: Leonardo De Chirico is pastor of the Church Breccia di Roma, and a lecturer in historical theology in Padova, Italy, and the director of the Reformanda Initiative, seeking to resource Evangelical leaders to understand Catholicism.Emanuel Tundrea is an Associate Professor at Emanuel University of Oradea, the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Ethics in Entrepreneurship and Technology, and is leading the Romanian Christian Academic Network.

About the Leaders' Conference: The title of the 2025 Leaders' Conference was Church Without Borders, exploring how we can serve God’s mission in a mobile world.

About FIEC: We are a fellowship of Independent churches with members of the family across England, Scotland and Wales. Our mission is to see those Independent churches working together with a big vision: to reach Britain for Christ. Find out more: https://fiec.org.uk.

How can our desire to see the nations reached impact what we sing, our sermon applications, our prayer life, our small groups?

In this seminar, Kev Croft (Hope Church Vauxhall, London, and London City Mission) helps us think about how we make mission part of the church culture, not just a regular slot in the prayer meeting and service.

This seminar was given at the 2025 FIEC Leaders' Conference held in Blackpool from 10-12 November 2025.

About the speaker: Kev serves as Field Director for South London with London City Mission, and is an elder of Hope Church Vauxhall - a church that was planted in 2018 on the Vauxhall Gardens estate.

About the Leaders' Conference: The title of the 2025 Leaders' Conference was Church Without Borders, exploring how we can serve God’s mission in a mobile world.

About FIEC: We are a fellowship of Independent churches with members of the family across England, Scotland and Wales. Our mission is to see those Independent churches working together with a big vision: to reach Britain for Christ. Find out more: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://fiec.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Our communities and churches are more diverse than ever before. In that context, how do we take the first steps towards becoming an intercultural church?

Members of the FIEC Intercultural Ministry Team lead this seminar to explore the theological underpinnings of intercultural church before hearing from three FIEC churches engaged in this ministry to help us consider how churches can adapt to these changes.

With stories from Alan McKnight (Harper Church, Glasgow), Lucas Coelho (Sunbridge Road Mission, Bradford), and Debbie Dickson (Cornerstone Church, Nottingham).

This seminar was given at the 2025 FIEC Leaders' Conference held in Blackpool from 10-12 November 2025.

About the Leaders' Conference: The title of the 2025 Leaders' Conference was Church Without Borders, exploring how we can serve God’s mission in a mobile world.

About FIEC: We are a fellowship of Independent churches with members of the family across England, Scotland and Wales. Our mission is to see those Independent churches working together with a big vision: to reach Britain for Christ. Find out more: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://fiec.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

One of the recurring challenges in church life for both operations teams and trustees is the overwhelming nature of governance - either recommended or mandated.

This seminar leads us through how to keep a cool head and serve the church well as leaders and trustees - by thinking about why good governance matters and how we can do the essentials well.

It is led by Becky Thomas (FIEC Director for Church Governance) and Gavin Smith (The Church Office), who also look at some helpful resources to support good governance.

About the speakers: Becky supports churches with administration and governance as FIEC's Director for Church Governance.

Gavin is the Church Manager at Christchurch, Newport, and the founder of The Church Office, an online resource that supports leadership and the work of ministry behind the scenes.

About the Leaders' Conference: The title of the 2025 Leaders' Conference was Church Without Borders, exploring how we can serve God’s mission in a mobile world.

About FIEC: We are a fellowship of Independent churches with members of the family across England, Scotland and Wales. Our mission is to see those Independent churches working together with a big vision: to reach Britain for Christ. Find out more: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://fiec.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Many famous missionaries felt the burden to serve at a young age. Now, mission seems like a topic for old people in many of our churches.

We’d love to see young people on fire for Jesus when it comes to world mission, but where do we start?

Mel Lacy (Growing Young Disciples) leads this seminar to help us think how we engage young people with the challenge of and call to mission.

About the speaker: Mel is the Executive Director of Growing Young Disciples, a charitable organisation devoted to promoting and supporting biblical children’s and youth ministry.

About the Leaders' Conference: The title of the 2025 Leaders' Conference was Church Without Borders, exploring how we can serve God’s mission in a mobile world.

About FIEC: We are a fellowship of Independent churches with members of the family across England, Scotland and Wales. Our mission is to see those Independent churches working together with a big vision: to reach Britain for Christ. Find out more: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://fiec.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Supporting mission partners is easier than it’s ever been. Yet few of us really maximise the potential of connecting mission partners with our church congregations.

This practical seminar, led by Mary Hodson (UFM Worldwide), shows us the benefits and also explores some of the challenges of doing so.

This seminar was given at the 2025 FIEC Leaders' Conference held in Blackpool from 10-12 November 2025.

About the speaker: Mary is Head of Women's Pastoral Ministry at UFM Worldwide, encouraging women and families to thrive in their international context.

About the Leaders' Conference: The title of the 2025 Leaders' Conference was Church Without Borders, exploring how we can serve God’s mission in a mobile world.

About FIEC: We are a fellowship of Independent churches with members of the family across England, Scotland and Wales. Our mission is to see those Independent churches working together with a big vision: to reach Britain for Christ. Find out more: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://fiec.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

All across the world, church leaders have learnt how to disciple new believers from ground zero, whereas in the UK, we have often been trading off an inherited Judeo-Christian heritage. That is fast disappearing, and leaders are having to learn how to rethink discipleship.

In this seminar, Emanuel Tundrea, a Romanian Christian leader and part-time worker for the European Leadership Forum, helps us think about this topic using his experience of working in Eastern Europe.

This seminar was given at the 2025 FIEC Leaders' Conference held in Blackpool from 10-12 November 2025.

About the speaker: Emanuel is an Associate Professor at Emanuel University of Oradea, the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Ethics in Entrepreneurship and Technology, and is leading the Romanian Christian Academic Network.

About the Leaders' Conference: The title of the 2025 Leaders' Conference was Church Without Borders, exploring how we can serve God’s mission in a mobile world.

About FIEC: We are a fellowship of Independent churches with members of the family across England, Scotland and Wales. Our mission is to see those Independent churches working together with a big vision: to reach Britain for Christ. Find out more: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://fiec.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.