FRUITFUL

Day conferences for LGBTQ+ inclusive Christians and allies

What is Fruitful?

Fruitful organise day conferences which bring together a range of charismatic, pentecostal and evangelical Christians who have a couple of things in common:

Firstly, we believe in Jesus. The Jesus we find in the pages of scripture, the Jesus we encounter through the Holy Spirit, bringing redemption, life and hope.

Secondly, we have all discerned or begun to discern that the Spirit is leading us towards becoming a different kind of church, one which is good for everyone, regardless of gender, sexuality, disability or cultural background.

In fact, that’s our Fruitful theme for 2026:

Good for everyone.

Who we’re for

Anyone who wants to taste and see what a Spirit-filled church that is good for everyone might look like.

We welcome LGBTQ people and their friends and families, particularly those who have a hunger to encounter God in a fresh way, but might have struggled to find a church that would fully welcome them.

We also welcome church leaders, who have also come along to taste and see, and also to get to know other church leaders on this journey towards inclusion. This year we are offering a church leaders’ space too, in association with Inclusive Evangelicals.

The next Fruitful is in Whitstable on 12th September 2026.

What to expect

Great worship in the Holy Spirit, in the charismatic/pentecostal tradition.

Inspirational Bible teaching from church leaders and academic theologians, including a particular strand looking at issues surrounding LGBTQ inclusion.

Hope-filled stories of churches that are on the journey to becoming “good for everyone”.

And new for 2026, for church leaders:

A space in partnership with Inclusive Evangelicals for church leaders to connect, see what others have done, be open about the unique challenges they face, and also to inspire others and be inspired themselves about where God might be leading them next in their ministries.

12th September 2026

Fruitful 2026

Whitstable

Book tickets for Whitstable in September

Our Hosts

Fruitful’s Autumn Conference will be hosted by Riverside Church in Whitstable. Riverside is a charismatic affirming church in Whitstable, Kent, who believe that we need each other, with all our diversity and difference, to reflect the creativity, image, and joy of God. Their lead pastors Simon and Keely Bateson are great supporters of Fruitful and are looking forward to welcoming us.

You can hear a range of talks exploring their journey towards inclusion here.

For information about how to get to Riverside Church and where to park, click here.

Speakers in Whitstable

Simon & Keely Bateson

Riverside Church Whitstable

Simon & Keely are the Lead Pastors of Riverside Church in Whitstable. After ministering and raising four children in Birmingham they felt a call to a new adventure which led them to help Riverside transition into a new building and a new future. They love family, food, a good box set and exploring Kent in their little green MGF.

Kate Middleton

Kate is a psychologist with a particular interest in the way our emotions affect us. She's passionate about helping people keep emotionally healthy in spite of what life throws at them, and helping people thrive even through life's challenging times. She's also an ordained Anglican priest, currently based in Brighton, a speaker and author. Kate also led the team behind Headstrong, an online wellbeing space for teenagers and young people in partnership with Youthscape

Mind & Soul Foundation

Seth Pinnock

Symphony Collective

Seth Pinnock is a singer and songwriter, and the founder and leader of the Symphony Collective. He has collaborated with organizations such as the Tony Blair Foundation, the Church of England and Tearfund. In 2024, Seth publicly came out as queer, which sparked important conversations about inclusion within the Black Christian community. This has deepened Seth’s commitment to creating inclusive spaces that
celebrate diversity and empower individuals to be their authentic selves.

Aileen Mkandawire-Mogues

Aileen comes from a richly diverse, multi-racial and multicultural background. Aileen leads the Jigsaw team at St Mary’s London, where she helps guide the church in its ongoing journey to become truly intercultural. She believes deeply in the power of the Holy Spirit to bring true freedom, enabling all people to live as they were intentionally designed by God.

St Mary's, London

Paul Roberts

Trinity College, Bristol

Originally from Swansea, Paul has been based in Bristol since the 80s, where until he retired recently, taught Christian Liturgy at Trinity College. He’s also a convenor of Inclusive Evangelicals and will be co-hosting the leaders’ space at Fruitful.

Rachel Humphrey

Rachel is one of the ministers of Bonny Downs Baptist Church, a part time primary school teacher and is preparing for a PhD in safeguarding in the context of charismatic worship. She is on the leadership team of Fruitful and is married to Pippa.

Bonny Downs Baptist Church

Rose & Claire Jones

Emmanuel, Woodley

Rose and Clare lead Emmanuel Church in Woodley. Before Rose was ordained, she worked in the music industry and can often be found strumming guitar or behind a drum kit. Originally from Cornwall, she loves the coast, pasties, and curling up by a fire with a pint or a good book. Claire has a particular heart for welcoming those who aren’t sure that church (or Jesus) is for them. She’s passionate about preaching, parenting, pancakes, and making three points that start with the same letter.

Dave Pickett

The Hub Church, Hitchin

Dave is on the leadership team of the Hub Church in Hitchin. He is a worship leader and has a passion for reaching out through sport.

Book here for Whitstable

Tickets for our autumn conference on 12th September are available at the following prices:

General admission - £30

Concessions - £15

If you are able to subsidise someone else coming along, you can pay our supporter rate of £45

If you’d struggle to pay anything at all, just let us know at hello@fruitfulconference.com

BOOK NOW

About Fruitful

Fruitful began as a collaboration between St Mary’s London, a large charismatic Anglican church in Marylebone, and Two:23, an LGBTQ+ inclusive worship gathering.

We called it ‘Fruitful’ because the Bible tells us one of the best ways of discerning what the Holy Spirit is doing is to look where the fruit is. So many of us can testify to the fruit of LGBTQ+ inclusion, in terms of faithful, loving relationships, stable families and beautiful vocations realised within and beyond the church.

The first two Fruitful conferences, in 2024 and 2025, were held at St Mary’s, and drew together LGBTQ+ charismatic, Pentecostal and evangelical Christians looking for a welcoming worship space, with allies including church leaders exploring issues around sexuality and gender identity in their contexts.

Whilst Fruitful has been born out of a particular need to address issues of LGBTQ+ inclusion in charismatic, Pentecostal and evangelical churches, we are committed to a vision of church that represents the full diversity of the Body of Christ, and strive to ensure racial, cultural and gender diversity in our contributors and worship leaders.

Our core team members are supported by a wider advisory group featuring charismatic and pentecostal church leaders from diverse backgrounds.

Click here to book one of our 2026 conferences.

Rachel Humphrey

Fruitful & Bonny Downs Baptist Church

Rachel is one of the ministers of Bonny Downs Baptist Church, a part time primary school teacher and is preparing for a PhD in safeguarding in the context of charismatic worship. She is married to Pippa.

Alex Huzzey

Fruitful & St Luke's, St Albans

Alex is a founder member of Two:23, an LGBTQ+ inclusive worship gathering in London. He’s been with his partner Dave for 23 years and has two daughters. His background is in advertising, but he now finds himself vicar of the spectacular St Luke’s, an inclusive evangelical church in St Albans.

Peter Russell

Fruitful & St Mary's London

Peter Russell is part of St Mary’s London, where he helps look after the LGBTQ+ community and leads worship as well as being a member of the PCC. With Chris Hassell he has developed ‘’Faithful’, a 6 week course looking at the Biblical case for inclusion which is currently being developed for use outside of St Mary’s. Peter is a keen musician, enjoys walking in the countryside, and is a solicitor by profession.

Testimonials

  • “Coming from a church which is not inclusive it made me realise how much God loves everyone and that all are blessed by our love for God and from God.”

  • “Honesty, openness, Hope-filled worship, feeling like what is on my heart is shared with others who feel the same.”

  • “It felt as if I had found a spiritual home and connecting with others. Breaking down a sense of isolation. The worship was powerful and healing.”

Highlights from previous Fruitfuls

Check out these talks from the Fruitful conference held in Birmingham in April 2026.

And don’t forget to book your tickets for September in Whitstable here.

Access

Riverside Church has step free access throughout

For more information about access at Riverside, click here.