Baptist Union Presidency for Tim Presswood 

Baptists have discerned that the Revd Tim Presswood will serve as Baptists Together President 2023-24 

 
Tim has spent the last 30 years re-inventing the church in one of the most deprived inner city communities in the country. Today he is team leader the Urban Expression Team in Openshaw, east Manchester, and minister of Forest Church, Manchester. 

In 2014 Tim was invited to join the staff of the North Western Baptist Association, where he led the team through a transition process. He is now enjoying leading the Church Life Team at NWBA half time, while acting as College Manager for Northern Baptist College and continuing in ministry in Openshaw.

Tim was the only candidate nominated for President 2023-24, a nomination subsequently supported during a discernment process throughout the first quarter of the year.   
 
Tim will succeed the Revd Hayley Young, Nothern Baptist Association Team Leader who will be inducted as President at the forthcoming Baptist Assembly. 
 
He said, ‘I am honoured and excited to have been elected to follow Hayley Young as President of Baptists Together. I look forward to working closely with her over the coming year to ‘build a bigger table’ (Hayley’s Presidential theme).
 
‘Having built the table, my theme will be to ensure that everyone can share fully in Christ’s Great Banquet. 
 
‘In Luke 14, Jesus speaks of filling the banquet with the misfits from the lanes of the town. He is inviting us to the feast, not to sit under the table gathering up crumbs. As we emerge from lockdown, we have the opportunity to re-set, and reflect prayerfully. 
 
‘Do we need to change anything in order to ensure that our churches – and Baptists Together - reflect the full glory of God’s rainbow community?’
 
Tim is a keen rock climber who has held a number of community roles in East Manchester, including senior roles in the NHS. For 20 years Tim was on the board of Manchester Credit Union as either treasurer or chair, building it from 85 members to more than 20,000. He has an interest in alternative economic solutions. 

In both his candidate profile and supporting video, Tim has highlighted the need to discover new ways of being church. 
 
‘As we emerge from the trauma and pain of lockdown, many churches are already beginning to reflect upon what their mission and ministry will look like. 
 
‘As President, I would encourage them to listen to the variety of voices within their community. Some of those voices will have things to say which we will find painful and troubling.’
 
He added, ‘My prayer for our churches as we begin to emerge from the tragedy of Covid and the enforced break from the day-to-day tasks of running a church is that we will be enabled to reflect upon what a bigger table church might look like.
 
‘How do we ensure that the new faces at the table are enabled fully to share in Christ's great banquet?’  
 
To find out more about Tim's candidacy, here's a short video he prepared.

The President of the Baptist Union of Great Britain is elected annually. Their main role is as a communicator/facilitator of our Union’s vision and mission. The President travels around our Union, engaging with local churches, regional Associations and Colleges.  
 
Our current President is the Revd Geoff Colmer, whose theme is “Attentive to rhythms of grace". Geoff’s term ends in May.