Celebrate Recovery UK Conference
Celebrate Recovery UK Conferences 2025
They say that good things come in threes… and that includes the CR UK Conferences!
We had the privilege of hosting three CR UK Conferences this year: starting with Edinburgh in May, Gloucester in September and Lancaster in October.
All three were very well attended and each had its own unique feel. The Edinburgh conference was primarily focused on helping interested churches to set up a new Celebrate Recovery ministry; whereas Gloucester and Lancaster were tailored for both new ministries as well as helping existing teams to grow and develop – all through a variety of seminars and workshops where people could glean ideas as well as ask / share any thoughts from their own experiences.
We were encouraged at the sincerity and enthusiasm of those who asked questions as they sought to understand the DNA of Celebrate Recovery as well as ways to develop and enhance ministries that are already running. And it was wonderful to hear of new churches looking to start Celebrate Recovery as a result.
We also had opportunity to pay a proper tribute to Tony and Val Turner as they step down from the National Director role to enjoy a different pace of life. We are most grateful to them for their vision and guidance over the years in bringing Celebrate Recovery to the UK, and the many lives that have been transformed by Jesus as a result.
During the break times it was wonderful to see people using the opportunity to network with one another, share experiences as well as buy resources and materials that will help them and their participants in the ministry. We were very grateful to Mark and Julie Macklin from Purpose Driven UK for their support at these events and their generosity in providing for churches looking to resource their Celebrate Recovery ministries.
We were exceptionally well hosted in all three venues, with the local churches really taking the idea of ‘giving back’ to heart. This created such a positive and welcoming environment which certainly promoted great fellowship and times of connection with others during each event. There is nothing better than hearing first hand how God is using CR in different settings and locations to change people’s lives!
Feedback from those attending has been very positive and encouraging with comments such as:
“Thought structure of day to be very good – mix of talks and seminars and time to chat a bit”
“So much encouragement. Moving testimonies”
“Helpful reminders of DNA and ideas for growing and developing the group”
“I found the workshops very helpful. It made me think about how we can build on our group”
“It’s good to connect with others outside of our local context. Good to hear what is happening in the wider world of CR around the UK”
“Moving, relevant, inspiring in terms of being part of a CR team and recovering on the way”
“Having reps available to answer queries. Excitement of where CR is going!”
“Personal testimonies shared and practical helpful steps. Good to hear others’ experience and benefit from it”
We are more than grateful to all those who attended and facilitated each Conference – without the generosity of the local churches they could not have happened, and without the commitment from each person who attended they would have been less successful.
As we reflect on how God used our conferences in 2025 we are very excited to plan ahead for further opportunities in 2026!
So please watch this space!
Here are a selection of photos from the Conference in Edinburgh. Visit our Facebook page for additional photos.
Here are a selection of photos from the Conference in Gloucester. Visit our Facebook page for additional photos.
Here are a selection of photos from the Conference in Lancaster. Visit our Facebook page for additional photos.
Celebrate Recovery UK Conference 2023
The Celebrate Recovery Conference 2023 took place in Derby on the 7th October 2023.
Thank you to everyone for coming; some travelled many miles to join the Celebrate Recovery UK
family. It was good to be together.
The event was aimed at our Celebrate Recovery (CR) leaders and participants as well as church leaders investigating the programme for their own churches.
Someone who had been considering running CR commented:
“Because of this conference, I’m closer to starting a Celebrate Recovery group.”
One CR leader said the day had provided:
“Time to reflect on what makes our CR group successful.”
We covered a lot of content and most people appreciated the variety of speakers, testimonies and interaction.
Someone summed up the day with this reflection:
“I liked that there was some fun as well as the serious stuff.”
The Order of the Day
This year’s conference was opened with a time of worship; this is a key element of Celebrate Recovery, keeping us looking to Jesus for hope, healing and help. With a packed programme, our UK Director, Tony Turner, kicked off our first session by modelling a CR General Meeting Night. The Large Group Time included a powerful testimony from Liam. We then had some fun with role play, modelling a badly run Open Share Group meeting (with Tony sneaking into the women’s group!) to highlight some common mistakes, before modelling a correctly run group which followed the small group guidelines for safe sharing.
Session 2 focused on ‘7 Keys’ to starting a Celebrate Recovery group and keeping it growing. Catherine Robinson (North East & Scotland Rep) organised a game of word ‘Bingo’ during our focus on CR’s ‘7 Unique Features’ led by Kath Leigh (North West & N.Ireland Rep) and Val Turner; this ensured that delegates were glued to every word spoken. Later, Catherine took us on the journey to recovery; our lost and heavily burdened actor – Kath – was encouraged along the path to recovery with Jesus leading the way.
After lunch, we looked at the practicalities of starting a CR ministry following the 90-day kick-off strategy, before discussing around our tables the important qualities of a Celebrate Recovery leader – in ‘Top Trumps’ style. Other sessions included sponsoring people through the eight principles, and the top 10 hints from CR leaders for keeping a CR group thriving.
It was great to hear from Andy Townsend, a Celebrate Recovery UK Trustee, about our vision for growth, looking to develop 50 new groups in the next 5 years, and to hear further wonderful testimonies from Claire and Iain showing how God is using CR to bring hope to different situations.
We were also blessed to have Mark and Julie Macklin from Purpose Driven UK on hand for advice about the many Celebrate Recovery resources on sale.
It was certainly a day to remember, and our Celebrate Recovery UK family has just got a little bigger!
Take a look back at some of our previous conferences
Celebrate Recovery in the UK has hosted Conferences for many years. The conclusion we always reach after the event is of happy, shared times, where God’s blessing has been truly apparent. The highlights of recent conferences would be too numerous to list, but we’ve tried to provide a flavour here of events held over the years.
In 2006 we held our first Celebrate Recovery UK conference, input being received from from Dave Dent (as guest speaker) and a small team from the US. Seeds were sown at this time for the beginning of our UK growth strategy; taking Celebrate Recovery to every area of the UK.
The 2012 Conference saw significant growth in Celebrate Recovery in the UK. We had the privilege of John and Cheryl Baker being with us and sharing during the conference. This was a time of great blessing to us. John and Cheryl Baker are the founders of Celebrate Recovery and first started Celebrate Recovery in Saddleback, USA, in 1991.
We held our first online Celebrate Recovery UK Conference, ‘Come on a Journey’, in October 2021. This huge team effort included six testimonies shared by participants in the main sessions, and 12 seminars led by Ministry Leaders from around the UK. Our guest speaker was Richard Cobb, Celebrate Recovery’s International Field Director, who not only pre-recorded his interview for us but also joined us live from Alabama, US. Around 90 people attended and the conference feedback was very positive. The team’s effort to make pre-recorded videos means we now have 12 recordings of very varied seminars which are a great resource for events going into 2022.
