A new way to stretch out to your local community
When surfing the internet people are unlikely to search for a specific church website but they will look for local parent and toddler groups, craft clubs, debt advice, prayer guidance and church service times.
A new platform helps them search and find your church’s activities.
‘Stretch-wide enables churches to work as one, as Jesus prayed,’ founder David Lee told CRE News. ‘The more churches join, the more your church’s activities will be seen on page one. People won’t have to scroll through loads of other offerings before they come to yours!’
The company has already successfully developed christmas-events.co.uk and easter-events.co.uk .
‘These festivals celebrate Jesus but it would be easy to think the church no longer exists,’ said David. ‘We want to put them at the top of every seasonal search.
‘As a CRE special offer, we will advertise your church’s prayer times FREE.
We’re looking forward to meeting you and promoting the amazing things your church does!’
- Stretch-wide are on stand V1 at CRE 25
‘Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left…’ Isaiah 54:1
CRE 2025
See a complete list of exhibitors at CRE 25
CRE 25 is Wed 15 and Thu 16 Oct
Book your ticket here for as little as £3
Time to get to know your way around safeguarding
If churches needing a system to manage safeguarding, we have the required tool.
So says Kyle Cottingham, managing director of iKnow Software, used by thousands of organisations, from small community groups to major charities. Based in Solihull, the team is passionate about helping organisations use technology effectively.
‘Our iKnow safeguarding software is a powerful solution to meet the needs of churches, community groups, charities and business organisations, securely managing concerns and checks within the one place,’ Kyle told CRE News. ‘It tracks issues raised through various stages and is highly customisable with a full audit history of who added what and when. Safeguarding concerns can be raised securely by QR Code or website embeds with the concerns going straight into iKnow Safeguarding for review.’
The checks module means you can easily manage and stay on top of checks with all the information in one place.
‘Organisations in England and Wales can also set reminders for the DBS Update Service,’ said Kyle. ‘There is also integration with fellow CRE exhibitor Thirtyone:eight for churches that use them for their DBS checks.’
iKnow Safeguarding, demonstrated at CRE 25, works in a single location or on multiple sites and is used by whole denominations.
- IKnow Safeguarding is on the Church Edit stand L9 at CRE 25
CRE 2025
See a complete list of exhibitors at CRE 25
CRE 25 is Wed 15 and Thu 16 Oct
Book your ticket here for as little as £3
Celebrating 40 years of finer furniture
As well as CRE, Fullers Finer Furniture are celebrating 40 years of excellence in craftsmanship and service.
Best known for their award-winning, gas height-adjustable Canterbury and York lecterns, they are also one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of bespoke church furniture.
‘We felt that marking such a milestone deserved something special,’ said Paul Fuller, proprietor and founder of the company, ‘so we hosted a charity ball in support of Children’s Hospice South West – a cause very close to our hearts.’
The evening proved truly spectacular, with incredible generosity from fellow businesses donating raffle and auction prizes.
‘We were thrilled to raise an outstanding £6,008.75 for the charity, Paul told CRE News. ‘I was delighted to present the cheque to Lucie Perryman from Children’s Hospice South West on behalf of everyone who contributed.
‘For nearly three decades, CRE has been a highlight of our calendar, giving us the privilege of meeting countless customers. Whether you’re looking for a lectern, altar table, font, audio-visual cabinet, or even a complete vestry re-model, our team will be delighted to meet you and discuss your needs.’
- Fullers Finer Furniture are on stand H8 at CRE 25
Photo: Paul Fuller (right) presents a cheque to Lucie Perryman of the Children’s Hospice South West
CRE 2025
See a complete list of exhibitors at CRE 25
CRE 25 is Wed 15 and Thu 16 Oct
Book your ticket here for as little as £3
Your church and Net Zero: a practical guide
Making your church sustainable: a practical guide to getting to Net Zero is the title of a talk at CRE 25 given by Apostolos Petrakis and Jack Boyn (pictured) of Archangel Architects/Church Build (11am, Wed 15 Oct).
It’s one of dozens of free talks and presentations at CRE 25. For a full list click here.
Based on a recently published book with the same title, in this session you will:
- Be equipped with principles and resources for delivering change to buildings, including the theological and missional aspects of sustainability
- Be shown an overview of the technologies available and changes that can be made to move away from fossil fuels and reduce energy use
- Learn about the processes involved working with experts to determine the most appropriate solution for your church building and navigating the permissions process in making changes (planning, listed building consent, faculty etc)
- Be shown case studies of churches that have made sustainability improvements to their buildings
- Be given the opportunity to participate in a brief Q+A session
Archangel Architects, exhibiting as Church Build at CRE 25, have worked for more than 20 years to design and deliver excellent buildings.
‘As a team, we work collaboratively from our studio near Cambridge,’ said Church Build’s Nigel Walter. ‘We believe the best buildings are created from a close partnership between client and architect. We like to think of our role as being your critical friend: at your side to support and guide, but also there to question.
‘When choosing an architect, what you are really buying is not a product (any half-decent architect can deliver a completed building), nor even a service, but a relationship; and we’re looking for a matching degree of engagement and enthusiasm in our clients.’
- Church Build are on stand G1 at CRE 25
CRE 2025
See a complete list of exhibitors at CRE 25
CRE 25 is Wed 15 and Thu 16 Oct
Book your ticket here for as little as £3
Heating firm’s great green giveaway
Cherry or apple – the choice of free sapling will be yours on the ChurchEcoMiser stand at CRE 25.
‘They’ll be given to people who visit our stand for information,’ said ChurchEcoMiser’s Chris Dunphy. ‘Our commitment to working towards a greener future is to plant 500 square metres of woodland for every church heating system installed. We do this through the National Trust and each church is issued with a certificate and proof of purchase.’
Chris has spent nearly all his working life designing and installing heating systems exclusively for churches. He developed ChurchEcoMiser in 2016 as the ideal system for remote churches where gas was either unavailable or expensive to install but it proved a popular option with all churches.
Before that he served as the heating advisor to the Diocese of Sheffield for more than 10 years and was also chairman of Rochdale Football Club until 2018. Over the past four decades, he has personally overseen more than 1200 church heating installations, ranging from historically significant buildings to modern churches, all of which play a vital role in their respective communities.
He’ll be available to talk over the problems brought to him by visitors to CRE 25 – and hand out 100 trees each day as he does so!
- ChurchEcoMiser are on stand J1 at CRE 25
Photo: Chris Dunphy (right) at CRE South West 22 with Sky Sports’ Simon Thomas.
CRE 2025
See a complete list of exhibitors at CRE 25
CRE 25 is Wed 15 and Thu 16 Oct
Book your ticket here for as little as £3
Lyric videos for worship: the ultimate solution from CCLI
A growing number of churches are turning to lyric videos as a simple and effective solution when musicians aren’t available.
Lyric videos (see example here) are music videos featuring lyrics that appear on screen in time with the lead vocal. This makes them a more effective alternative to backing tracks.
Recent surveys show that the use of lyric videos increased during the pandemic and has continued since. But while demand for lyric videos remains strong, sourcing versions that are suitable and legal can be a real challenge.
Rich Burrough, of CRE 25 exhibitor Christian Copyright Licensing Inc, said: ‘Unsurprisingly, the obvious source for many churches is YouTube. However, as YouTube prohibits the use of its videos in public without explicit permission of the copyright owner, many churches are unwittingly infringing copyright by playing them during services.
‘Many lyric videos on YouTube are not authorised, can be interrupted by ads, sometimes contain long instrumental sections, and may not be in a suitable key – so a better solution is needed. That’s exactly what CCLI provides with our new range of lyric videos.’
SongSelect Lyric Videos are fully legal for use in all areas of church life, from worship services to small groups. Purpose built in response to customer research, they are recorded in congregation-friendly keys, with valued features such as Next Line Preview. But what really makes them stand out is their simple customisation options.
‘While all our lyric videos are easy to use, and can be played just as they are, it is also possible to format them to fit your specific needs,’ Rich told CRE News. ‘You can adjust the text size and position, change the font and the number of lines shown. You can select a solid colour background, or choose a background image or motion graphic. You can even adjust the volume of the vocal in relation to the music.’
Because smaller churches are most likely to rely on lyric videos, SongSelect Lyric Videos are available via an annual subscription tiered to the average attendance at the main weekly service. No additional copyright licence is required.
Launched this month with more than 500 popular titles, the number has already grown to 600 – with more being added all the time.
Officials from CCLI will be at CRE 25 to show visitors the wealth of available songs and how the system works.
- CCLI are on stand H7 at CRE 25
CRE 2025
See a complete list of exhibitors at CRE 25
CRE 25 is Wed 15 and Thu 16 Oct
Book your ticket here for as little as £3
Bringing life to wherever you are
If your church is looking for a way of collaborating, resourcing and sharing the Bible through real lives, real contexts and a shared hope – the solution can be found in Lifebringers.
That’s the view of Matt Currey, UK development manager for CRE 25 exhibitor Lifewords.
‘Whether you’re a church leader, chaplain, youth worker, volunteer, or simply someone trying to live out your faith day-to-day – Lifebringers is for you,’ he told CRE News. ‘To be a Lifebringer is to bring life where you are – in your neighbourhood, your church, your workplace. It’s about sharing the life-giving message of the Bible in word and deed.
‘We are here to celebrate, support and resource you, providing practical tools, innovative ideas and opportunities to partner with a global movement of people who are bringing life to their communities.’
Matt and Elizabeth King, supporter engagement lead, will be speak on ‘10 fresh ideas for sharing the Bible’ in the My Church Needs One of Those talks area at CRE 25 (11.40am, Wed 15 Oct).
Representatives from Lifewords will be available on stand C2 to provide information on how the organisation can help provide literature for use in classrooms, hospitals, homes, streets and churches – sharing the Bible with all ages in ways that are authentic, contextual and deeply human.
The Rev Helen Shannon, estates enabler at the Diocese of London said: ‘I’d recommend Lifewords to anyone who is looking for well-produced and attractive materials to help them share the Bible in services, groups or in their community. My team is very grateful for these amazing resources.’
- Lifewords are on stand C2 at CRE 25
CRE 2025
See a complete list of exhibitors at CRE 25
CRE 25 is Wed 15 and Thu 16 Oct
Book your ticket here for as little as £3
Choose wise stewards at comfortable venues
Church leaders looking for a centre to provide facilities for retreat, conferences and special events should consider The Venues Collection – ‘a hospitality model perfectly aligning with Christian values around stewardship, care for creation and social responsibility.’
That’s the view of Laurina Rushworth, director of faith for the five residential conference venues in the UK, including Yarnfield Park in Staffordshire and Kents Hill Park in Milton Keynes. The Venues Collection, exhibitors at CRE 25, offers spaces for churches, charities and Christian organisations to meet, learn and worship.
‘Yarnfield Park is centrally located in the Midlands and offers extensive grounds, peaceful settings and large-scale capacity, with rooms for up to 500 guests – making it the ideal venue for church weekends, training events or ministry gatherings,’ said Laurina. ‘Kents Hill Park in Milton Keynes, with excellent transport links, provides modern, accessible facilities supported by advanced, energy-saving technology and eco-conscious operations. Both sites maintain wildflower areas, beehives and wildlife habitats – demonstrating their care for God’s creation.’
The Venues Collection received a gold award for ‘Sustainability Award for Venues’ at the Conference & Event Awards 2025.
‘It is testament to the hard work and passion by the team, and reinforces the group’s commitment to deep decarbonisation, positioning them as a true pioneer in sustainable events,’ said Laurina.
- The Venues Collection are on stand D10 at CRE 25
CRE 2025
See a complete list of exhibitors at CRE 25
CRE 25 is Wed 15 and Thu 16 Oct
Book your ticket here for as little as £3
The eyes (and ears) have it
Ground-breaking technology that delivers live speech transcription – in any language and directly to a mobile phone or AV system – will be a major focus at CRE 25.
SpeakSee will have church leaders amazed at how it can help deaf people and those hard of hearing, as well as doubling as a live-translation device for non-native speakers. This is a brand-new product in the UK, solely distributed to churches by long-standing CRE exhibitor DM Music, who have been established for more than 30 years as one of the leading, dedicated church audio-visual system installers.
Adam Lee, the UK regional director for the Dutch-based SpeakSee company, will join DM Music on their stand as well as giving a live demonstration of SpeakSee’s capabilities at the ‘My Church Needs One of Those’ presentation area (1.40pm, Wed 15 Oct).
‘SpeakSee’s live dictation will also be in constant use in all the CRE talks areas,’ Adam told CRE News. ‘By scanning the QR code at the relevant stage, you will be able connect to SpeakSee on your phone!’
- SpeakSee are on the DM Music stand F1 at CRE 25
CRE 2025
See a complete list of exhibitors at CRE 25
CRE 25 is Wed 15 and Thu 16 Oct
Book your ticket here for as little as £3
Flagging down the faithful
A range of ready-made church flags – designed to support outreach, services and events throughout the Christian calendar – will be on display at CRE for the first time this year.
Themes include Welcome, Prayer Space, Messy Church, Christmas and Easter services – and many more.
Adam Haycock, managing director of Sailflags, said: ‘All the flags are printed in our UK factory using eco-friendly, recycled polyester and water-based inks. This not only helps reduce environmental impact but ensures excellent durability and colour vibrancy – even in the unpredictable British weather!
‘They are highly visual, easy to set up, and ideal for churches looking to boost visibility or promote community events. They also come in a variety of sizes with a wide range of base options to suit grass, tarmac and indoor surfaces. We also offer a free design service for churches that want to include their own logos, themes, or colours. The right flag can be a powerful tool for outreach – and we’d love to help more churches stand out and be seen.’
Visitors to CRE 25 can take advantage of exclusive event offers and speak to the Sailflags team about bespoke options for churches and special events.
- Sailflags are on stand C4 at CRE 25
CRE 2025
See a complete list of exhibitors at CRE 25
CRE 25 is Wed 15 and Thu 16 Oct
Book your ticket here for as little as £3