When Stewardship’s trustee board and executive team gathered at High Leigh for their annual residential meeting, they weren’t simply coming together to work through an agenda. For Janie Oliver, Chief Executive Officer, and Chris Gillies, Chair of Trustees, this time away was about creating space to worship, pray, listen to God and strengthen relationships, alongside the governance and strategic conversations that help shape Stewardship’s future.
The organisation helps Christians manage resources for God's glory by providing donor-advised giving accounts, supporting churches with payroll and governance, facilitating donations, and offering philanthropic advice.
The Challenge
For Stewardship, one of the more important things for them was creating the kind of time and space that simply doesn’t happen easily in a normal working environment. Day meetings can cover the essentials, but they don’t always allow for deeper conversations, worship, prayer and relationship-building in the same way.
As Janie explained:
“Meeting together in person is always really wonderful. It’s really different to meeting virtually or in a hybrid setting. Being away from the office changes the atmosphere as well.”
This annual gathering has become an important part of Stewardship’s rhythm because it creates room for more than decision-making. It gives trustees and senior leaders the opportunity to slow down, listen well, and spend meaningful time together before the Lord.
Chris put it like this:
“There are things that we do here that there’s rarely time to do if you have a regular board meeting in the office, especially if people are joining virtually. This is the one event in the year that you cannot dial in for. You’re either here or you miss it.”
Stewardship wanted time together that would deepen trust, strengthen chemistry and help the board and executive team work with greater unity and effectiveness.
The Solution
High Leigh gave Stewardship the setting they needed to make that happen. Returning for a second year, they found a venue that supported both the practical needs of the meeting and the spiritual heart behind it.
Janie shared why High Leigh stood out:
“It’s convenient for a number of our trustees, but it’s also a really beautiful venue. The grounds are lovely, the atmosphere is special, the catering is great, and it serves our purpose really well.”
The Christian character of the venue also mattered deeply. For Stewardship, choosing somewhere aligned with their values made a real difference to the feel of the time away.
As Janie said:
“The fact that it’s a Christian retreat centre is really important to us. We want to find suppliers that meet our values as an organisation. You can feel the presence of God in this place, and that matters to us.”
The overnight stay was another important part of the solution. It meant the team could move naturally between meetings, meals, worship and informal conversations, rather than trying to fit everything into a tighter schedule.
Chris said:
“The social time is really important. A lot of that comes through improving trust and helping the chemistry to work better. Unless you are physically together, it’s very hard to grow that relational capital beyond a certain level.”
Chris also reflected on the standard of the venue itself, especially compared with earlier visits many years ago:
“I came here with my church about 15 years ago, and I have to tell you now, it’s so different. The quality is in a really different place now than it was back then. Anyone who hasn’t been to High Leigh for a while might be pleasantly surprised.”
The Impact
By the end of their time away, Stewardship left with more than a completed meeting. They left with a greater sense of unity and cohesion, something they described plainly in their follow-up reflections.
There was also a clear spiritual impact. Stewardship shared that one of the most special moments during their time away was a time of prophetic ministry, and it stood out as a moment where God moved in a profound way among the group.
Janie described the wider fruit of these times away like this:
“We make more time for worship, more time for prayer, and more time for strategic conversations. We always find that the Lord meets with us in a really special and quite profound way. The relationship we have with one another goes up a notch after these times away too.”
For Chris, the impact was closely tied to the team’s long-term effectiveness:
“Greater effectiveness as a team sums it up for me. We allow God to speak. We take time to listen. We do governance stuff, we do strategy conversations, we plan, we budget, but all of it is about being more effective.”
That is why this annual gathering matters so much to Stewardship. It isn’t simply a useful meeting in the diary. It has become an essential part of their governance routine, giving them the extended time together that would otherwise be hard to achieve.
High Leigh is one of 3 exclusively Christian manor house venues run by Christian Conference Trust. To find out more about High Leigh, Highgate House, or The Hayes, simply call our friendly sales team at 0300 111 4444.
