Meet Church Growth Trust’s Trustee: Dave Foster

Meet Church Growth Trust’s trustee

Dave Foster

How did you first hear about Church Growth Trust (CGT) and what were your first connections with CGT?

I was a trustee of The Midland Evangelization Trust, which due to a lack of trustees and the increasing complexity of running a charity, decided to pass the properties we were responsible for to another trust. In looking for a suitable trust, CGT stood out, for a number of reasons. Not only because of the way they dealt with the initial enquiry, but also the name, Church Growth Trust; it shows the intent to assist with the growth of churches.

What areas do you feel you contribute most to as a trustee of CGT and what have you enjoyed about being involved?

Not having qualifications in the main areas of expertise for the running of the Trust my main contribution has been as a church leader, from a background similar to the churches occupying CGT’s properties. Also, I have an overall appreciation of the needs of these churches without being too influenced by a particular expertise. Working with a group of Christians with the same aims and being able to discuss issued openly to come to an agreed decision has been a highlight of my time as a trustee.

What changes with CGT have you seen since you became a trustee?

There have been many changes in my time with CGT, including with trustees, staff, premises and working practices. They have not all been easy, but have been worked through very well mainly due to the excellent staff. One thing that does standout as a change that has proved so helpful in the time of the pandemic was moving to a cloud-based office structure which made the transition to home working much quicker and easier. Fortunately, as I will be retiring soon,

understanding and working with the new systems is not a major priority for me!

How would you summarise the work of CGT?

With the sad decline of the church in many areas in this country, CGT is making positive steps to counter this. One area is giving those with vision to grow the Christian faith the opportunity, where a building becomes available and a new building is needed, of a new place to work from. This is bringing encouragement in showing that there is a future for the Christian faith in this country. Often church buildings can cease to be welcoming by their poor condition. CGT, by its diligence and by putting in place good processes of inspection and checking, is helping occupying churches maintain their building to a high standard.

What challenges do you perceive are ahead for CGT and what is the greatest need?

One of the greatest challenges is going to be managing growth. This will include how to wisely spread into other geographical areas, position staff to maintain efficiency and continue to meet the growing emphasis on the wise use of renewable resources. The greatest need is to maintain good staff relations and continue to keep true to our values.

What do you think is happening with independent evangelical churches and what do you think CGT can do to help them?

Although there are still a good number of strong independent evangelical churches, their future depends on good leadership and members of the churches being disciples of Jesus. Fierce independence can create an arrogance that can be counterproductive and damaging to the faith. Seeking the wise counsel of others will continue to be important. Although CGT is involved in bringing organisations who are like-minded together, the challenge of encouraging churches to work together and share skills and resources is even more challenging.

Can you think of one memorable moment in your time with Church Growth Trust?

The day Miracle House in Wickford opened stands out in my mind. It was to me the culmination of a process of working together with a church to achieve a grand outcome to meet the then need of their growth. Now to find that they want to start a further phase of development shows that there is a future for independent evangelical churches. Praise God!

As you step down as a trustee next year, what are you going to be doing in your “retirement”?

Although I will retire from CGT, as yet I have not been able to retire as an elder in my local church, where there are many challenges and continuing growth. I do enjoy travel, so as long as I am fit I will continue to do so, especially on my motorbike with the encouragement of my pillion wife.