Christopher "Cris" Rogers (born 4 February 1979) is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

priest. He was among the first to be ordained to the ordained pioneer ministry in the

. He is currently the

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of All Hallows' Church, Bow, London.

Early life

Rogers was born in

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wake ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

and attended Freeston High School, Normanton, where he gained 10 GCSEs. In 1996, he went on to study for a

BTech A Bachelor of Technology (Latin ''Baccalaureus Technologiae'', commonly abbreviated as B.Tech. or BTech; with honours as B.Tech. (Hons.)) is an undergraduate academic degree conferred after the completion of a three to five-year program of studi ...

in Art at Leeds College of Art and Design. In 2000, he received his bachelor's degree in Theology from

Trinity College, Bristol Trinity College, Bristol is an evangelical Anglican theological college located in Stoke Bishop, Bristol, England. It offers a range of full-time and part-time taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses which are validated by the University o ...

Christian Ministry

After his bachelor's degree, Rogers went on to establish and lead a Christian Youth Congregation called The Gathering working with St Michael's Church

Boldmere Boldmere is a suburban village and residential area of Sutton Coldfield, near Birmingham, England. It is bordered by New Oscott, Sutton Park, Wylde Green and Erdington, and is in the ward of Sutton Vesey. History Toponymy "Boldmere" is ...

in the

Diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

of Birmingham under the leadership of the then Vicar Peter Howell-Jones. Whilst leading the youth congregation, Rogers pioneered several creative ministry opportunities including a

skate park A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, qua ...

ministry, which met on Saturdays and involved young people around the area. In 2004, Rogers went on to study for his

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Theology from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, and became the lead

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of Soul Survivor Church in Harrow, North West

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Rogers was ordained deacon by the Bishop of London

Richard Chartres Richard John Carew Chartres, Baron Chartres , FBS (; born 11 July 1947) is a retired bishop of the Church of England. He was area Bishop of Stepney from 1992 to 1995 and Bishop of London from 1995 to 2017. He was sworn of the Privy Council in t ...

to the

Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

in June 2007. He was then ordained as a Pioneer Minister and a

Priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

by the Area Bishop of Willesden

Pete Broadbent Peter Alan Broadbent (born 31 July 1952), known as Pete Broadbent, is an English Anglican bishop. He served as the Bishop of Willesden, an area bishop in the Church of England Diocese of London for twenty years, 2001–2021. During the va ...

in June 2008. Rogers was one of the first to be ordained to the role, which was seen as a breakthrough in creative leadership within the Church of England. In September 2010 he moved to

Devons Road Devons Road is a road in Bow Common and Bromley-by-Bow in east London. Part of the B140 road, it gives its name to the Devons Road DLR station. Motive power depots The North London Railway established a large motive power depot at Bow around 18 ...

, Bow in the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

, where he was Associate Vicar at All Hallows, ChurchClergy moves August 2010
, Diocese of London before being licensed as Rector to the same church in January 2015. In 2020 Rogers became the Chair of the

Spring Harvest Spring Harvest is an inter-denominational evangelical conference and gathering in the United Kingdom that started in 1979. The festival arose in the late 1970s at a time when evangelicalism was growing in the UK and there was uncertainty as to ...

Planning Group. Rogers has been teaching at Spring Harvest since 2002 joining the Planning Group in 2012.

Other projects

Spring Harvest

Rogers is Planning Group Chair at

Christian Easter Conference where he has been involved in theological teaching and writing since 2011.

Magazine and Radio

Rogers is becoming known for his dynamic bible teaching and was recently quoted in Christianity Magazine speaking about the future of the art form. Rogers was quoted as saying that

''"Preaching has come to a desperate state where we now are on borrowed time. Communicating the gospel isn't dead but the traditional forms may well be. We need to put to death the monologue and be re-inspired with two-way communication. I don't think we have the liberty not to be creative anymore." Christianity Magazine, May 09 ''

The article describes Rogers as a dynamic preacher who is always coming up with new ways of teaching the Bible. Cris is creative through appealing to the senses, physically giving people some salt or water if that's what he's talking about, or cooking a bacon sandwich while talking about the food laws of Leviticus. "Jesus had illustrations right there where they were touchable. Yet when we preach so often we simply show a photo or describe a situation. What if we did what Jesus did and actually had the thing that was the illustration there for them to touch smell or taste?" Rogers has also been a monthly theology writer for YouthWork Magazine, writing for youth workers to understand the background to the books of the Bible.

Author

In January 2004, Kevin Mayhew Publishing published Rogers' first book, ''Naked Christianity: Helping young people grasp issues of faith''. Rogers undertook a speaking tour across the UK also titled "Naked Christianity" in the same year. In October 2022, Rogers updated edition of The Bible Book by Book, won the CRT Bible Reference Award.

Television appearances

In December 2004, Rogers was also involved with

Teachers TV Teachers TV was a UK government–funded website and former free-to-air distance education television channel which operated from 2005–2011. The website provided video and support materials for those who work in education, including teachers ...

when he was interviewed about how to communicate effectively in the RE class room while using one of Teachers TV's discussion resources as an example.

Kingdom Rise

Rogers worked with Rob Peabody on a series called ''Kingdom Rise''. A new way forward in Christian resources, this small group study combined Bible study with films and a worship album promoting issues of worship and justice.

The Pursuit

Rogers worked with Peabody on The Pursuit conference, a four-day, 24/7 worship, prayer gathering discussing community and justice issues. It is a weekend of retreat for people to engage with God and people in a real and authentic way. The first conference was in May 2015 followed up in 2016.

Personal life

Rogers and his wife, Beki, have two children and live in

Bow, London Bow () is an area of East London within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is primarily a built-up and mostly residential area and is east of Charing Cross. It was in the traditional county of Middlesex but became part of the County of ...

. She is also Associate Rector at the church. The family are keen science fiction, especially Star Wars, fans, and have gained media attention for combining this interest with church activities.

Podcasts by Cris Rogers

since 2019 Rogers speaks weekly on the Making Disciples Podcast found on podbean covering a wide range of Christian topics

Books by Cris Rogers

* ''The Bible Book by Book Updated Edition'' (Monarch, 2022) *''What if We Knew What God Knows About Us (Monarch Books; (20 Mar. 2018)) *''Making Disciples''(Monarch Books; 1st New edition (20 Mar. 2015)) *''Immeasurably More: To a Dehydrated Church Jesus Has Immeasurably More to Offer.'' (Essential Christian (20 April 2018)) *''Naked Christianity: Helping young people grasp issues of faith'' (Kevin Mayhew, 2004) (out of print) *''Am I A Freak'' (Kevin Mayhew, 2005) * ''A Monkey's Orientation, A Book About Holiness'' (Authentic, 2008) * ''Practising Resurrection: The church being the hands feet and heart of Jesus'' (Authentic, 2010) * ''The Bible Book by Book'' (Monarch, 2012) Book review: The Bible Book by Book by Cris Rogers
, ''Baptist Times'', 24 June 2012 * ''The Rebel's Guide to the Good News'' (Elevation, 2013)

Footnotes

External links

All Hallows, Bow

A Monkey's Orientation
book review

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20081231181539/http://www.cofe.anglican.org/podcast/apr08/voices18.html Interview with Cris Rogers on C Of E websitebr>Cris Rogers Teaching at Essential Christian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Cris 1979 births Living people Christian writers People from Pontefract Alumni of King's College London Alumni of Leeds Arts University Church of England priests 21st-century English Anglican priests Alumni of Trinity College, Bristol