Held over two days, the Welcome Conference 2026 is a unique opportunity to share stories of hope and celebrate the contribution refugees and people seeking asylum make to the UK Church.
Welcome Churches' vision is for every refugee and asylum-seeker to be welcomed by their local church. Bringing together Christians arriving and settling in the UK along with the churches that are welcoming them, the Welcome Conference is a unique celebration of welcome, inclusion and belonging.
The Welcome Conference is also a place for people of all cultural backgrounds and experiences to discuss the role of the UK Church as part of the integration of new arrivals in the UK. Come ready to be inspired, informed and connected.
Who is the Welcome Conference for?
Church leaders and volunteers who are committed to helping refugees and people seeking asylum, Welcome Network churches, Welcome Plus churches, churches who are at the beginning of learning how to support refugees as well as those who have many years of experience.
Refugees and people seeking asylum who are followers of Jesus Please invite those that you know, maybe consider coming as a group from your church? The Welcome Conference is a unique opportunity to come together as Christians, encourage one another and build connections and community.
Why should I attend the Welcome Conference?
Celebrate and learn from the array of knowledge, gifts and experiences of refugees
Hear stories of God’s faithfulness to refugees and people seeking asylum.
Experience multilingual worship in a larger setting
Be inspired to learn and grow together in our intercultural church communities
Be equipped to provide practical and emotional support and welcome.
Learn new ways to reach refugees and people seeking asylum in your local community.
Support the Christian refugee community by gathering together
We're delighted to offer heavily subsidised ticket prices to help make this conference as accessible as possible. Each ticket includes meals and full access to the relevant conference sessions, with the overnight ticket also including accommodation.
Full Conference (incl. accommodation) Ticket includes:
Admission to all events on 16–17 October
One night’s accommodation in a single room on 16 October
Dinner on 16 October
Breakfast and lunch on 17 October
Now £90 only with early bird discount!
Financial Support:
We want this conference to be accessible to everyone. A limited bursary fund is available to help reduce costs for those who may find the ticket prices difficult to afford. If cost would prevent you from attending, please feel free to contact us at info@welcomechurches.org to enquire confidentially about bursary support.
Speakers and exhibitors
Speakers will include those with personal expertise and many have a lived experience of migration. Our exhibitors will bring helpful multilingual resources for all delegates.
The role of churches in refugee achievement
The journey of refugees, people seeking asylum and migrants continues once they arrive in the UK. Migrants face many challenges on arrival, including social isolation, language barriers, mental wellbeing problems and financial pressures. Yet with the support and encouragement of communities of Christians across the UK, migrants are able to re-establish their lives, and contribute richly to our churches and communities.
Ensuring security during and after the conference
We want the Welcome Conference to be a safe place for everyone and especially refugees from sensitive backgrounds. We will have a strictly no photos policy during the conference, including meal times together and delegates will be reminded of this each day. We are also promoting this event via church leaders and Welcome Network Coordinators and ask that you make sure that church leaders/delegates personally know everyone who is coming to the conference from your church. This will help everyone feel safe as they mix and make new friends. You may be asked to confirm someone's eligibility if they give your name as their church contact. Please speak to us if you have any questions about this.
Further information:
Interpreting
The Welcome Conference will gather people from many different nationalities and language backgrounds. We will do our best to cater for interpretation needs and will be making use of an app to help with this. If you know anyone who could help with interpreting for others, please email us and find out more.
Seminars and workshops
The Welcome Conference is a place for us to learn from each other. In addition to the main sessions, there will be workshops and seminars on the topics of refugee integration, wellbeing, intercultural churches, and more.
Accommodation
The venue offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, which along with Friday night dinner, and lunch on the Saturday, are all included in the full conference ticket price. If you can only attend on the Saturday, then a separate Saturday only Day Rate is offered.
Food
Full conference guests will be offered an evening meal on the Friday night, and breakfast on the Saturday morning. Tickets for all delegates include a hot meal on Saturday lunchtime.
Fund a Refugee Place
We would love it if you were able to help us to cover the cost of refugee tickets, travel and accommodation. Please consider whether you would like to 'pay forward' the cost of a refugee ticket and accommodation to enable a refugee or person seeking asylum to join this unique conference. When you register for the conference you will see the option to donate towards a bursary for people from a refugee background.
More details about the conference will be added soon - please check this page regularly for updates.