Steve Kneale

Steve is minister at Oldham Bethel Church. He is married to Rachel and has two children. Steve’s blog – Building Jerusalem – can be found at stephenkneale.com and he also hosts a weekly podcast. Both focus on ministry in deprived communities. He writes a regular column for Evangelicals Now and has also written some books.

Oldham Bethel Church is located in the Glodwick area of Oldham. Oldham was once labelled ‘England’s most deprived town’ with Glodwick the epicentre of the 2001 Oldham riots. The town is highly segregated, Glodwick being overwhelmingly South Asian. Nonetheless, Bethel aims to be a church for all kinds of people in Oldham and is significantly more diverse than the area in which it stands.

The church has a significant ministry to Middle Eastern asylum seekers and is active in reaching out to the local Muslim community. We also aim to reach the indigenous white working-class population.