A call to unity, transformation, and hope 

Baptist minister Osoba Otaigbe introduces the Manchester 2026 Intercultural Church and City Transformation (ICCT) Gathering

 
From 5-6 February 2026, leaders from across the UK will converge in Manchester for the Intercultural Church and City Transformation (ICCT) Gathering - a gathering for church, charity and community leaders to grapple with what it means to be an intercultural Church that impacts our towns and cities after a very successful Leeds and London gathering.
 
The Manchester 2026 Gathering will be a bold, Spirit-led space to explore the theme: Imago Dei – Made in the Image and Likeness of God - Genesis 1:26

At the heart of our time together will be the unshakable truth that every person reflects God’s image. In a world fractured by difference, division, and distrust, the Gathering will be a testimony to what can happen when we see one another not through the lens of separation, but through the divine reflection that unites us all.
 

What to expect

Plenary sessions and key conversations
Dynamic speakers, intercultural worship, and testimonies from across the globe will anchor the gathering. Together, we will ask: What does it mean to live out the image of God in our churches, neighbourhoods, and cities today? There is strong Baptist representation too, with Jane Henderson (co-Team Leader, North Western Baptist Association), Joe Kapolyo (former minister of Edmonton Baptist Church) and Roger Sutton (Gather Movement) among the contributors.  
 

 

Four Tracks

Participants will be able to engage in focused learning spaces designed to equip, challenge, and inspire:

1 Intercultural Leadership

• Exploring the posture, integrity, and skills needed to lead across cultural, racial, and generational lines
• Intentionally embedding an intercultural understanding into children and youth ministry
• Practical tools for creating inclusive teams and leadership structures that reflect the diversity of God’s people.

2 Intercultural Worship: Music, Arts, and Storytelling

• Celebrating the richness of global worship expressions.
• Learning how music, creativity, and storytelling can become bridges across difference and vessels of transformation.

3 Reimagining Church and the City

• Rethinking church planting, revitalisation, and mission in intercultural and urban contexts.
• Discovering new models for church and community life that embody God’s Kingdom in diverse settings.

4 Intercultural Theology and Biblical Reflection

• Rooting our practice in Scripture and theological wisdom.
• Wrestling with what it means to live out “Imago Dei” in fractured communities, and how God’s Word calls us to reconciliation and justice.
   

The ICCT Experience Hub

Beyond the main sessions and tracks, the Experience Hub will provide an immersive environment of exhibitions, practical workshops, storytelling corners, and creative expressions. This will be a space for connection, collaboration, and fresh imagination.
 

Who should come?

• Church leaders and planters reimagining ministry in diverse contexts.
• Civic leaders and community organisers working for the common good.
• Worship Leaders
• Children and Youth Leaders
• Emerging leaders and the next generation seeking belonging, vision, and equipping.
• Anyone with a passion for unity in diversity and for God’s Kingdom to be made visible in the city.

 

A movement, not just a conference

We have previously had fruitful gatherings in Leeds (2024) and London (2025), but the ICCT Gathering is more than an event. It is part of a growing movement across the UK and beyond, a movement where churches, organisations, and communities are joining hands across divides to demonstrate what reconciliation and unity in Christ look like in practice. 
 

Find out more here, and book your place here.

The Revd Osoba Otaigbe is Church Engagement Manager (north) at Bible Society, a Gather Movement associate, and a Baptist minister.

He is the author of Building Cultural Intelligence in Church and Ministry and passionate about fostering unity, diversity, and transformation within the Church and the wider community.

He is the convenor and host of the Intercultural Church and City Transformation Gathering