Prayer is the heartbeat of the Christian life, and so it should be the heartbeat of church life. But Christians can struggle in their prayer lives individually, and the prayer meeting is often the least attended in the church calendar.
More than 1,000 men and women in local church leadership gathered in Blackpool’s Winter Gardens this week (9–11 November) for FIEC’s [the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches] 2026 Leaders’ Conference.
The conference took the theme of prayer to encourage church leaders in their own prayer lives, and to help them lead their churches to become more prayerful.
Bible teaching in the main gatherings came from Psalms 145-150, focusing on the God who is near us, the one who is for us, the one who provides for us, and the one who delights in us. Speakers included Aubrey Sequeira (Evangelical Community Church of Abu Dhabi), Andy Mason (Co-Mission), and FIEC’s National Director John Stevens.
Three seminar sessions explored particular aspects of prayers and other practical areas of church leadership. Topics included digital technology, pornography, lament, spiritual warfare, and how to respond when God seems silent.
FIEC Leaders' Conference 2026
A significant aspect of the conference is to help leaders connect, to encourage and support one another during mealtimes, coffee breaks, and through sharing stories on stage.
A women’s gathering connected women in ministry to encourage one another, and meet-ups for those in children’s and youth ministry enabled them to share and grow in friendships.
Joel is FIEC's Communications and Media Officer, helping to produce resources for church leaders and looking after FIEC's online presence. He lives in Leicester with his wife, Hannah, and three children, where he is an elder in a local church.
