After nearly twenty-five years of ordained ministry, Revd Libby Talbot has come to recognise a consistent thread running through every context she has served: a deep, practical commitment to helping people grow as disciples of Jesus. Now Vicar of St Stephen’s, East Twickenham, she brings wisdom shaped by parish ministry, school chaplaincy, and large-church leadership – along with a conviction that discipleship must be both authentic and adaptable.
A ministry shaped by discipleship
“I’ve just always intentionally grown disciples,” Libby reflects. “Wherever people are – exploring faith for the first time or having been Christians for forty years – I’ve worked to help them deepen their faith.” That vision has travelled with her from her early curacy in Southampton, through a decade as a chaplain in a Christian-ethos boarding school in Cheltenham, to a large evangelical-charismatic church in central Edinburgh, where she spent eight years developing leadership and discipleship systems for a congregation with a striking number of 18- to 35-year-olds.
Across these varied settings, she observed that people increasingly arrive with little or no Christian background. Moving from England to Scotland sharpened that insight further: “Scotland is much more secular. You can’t assume anything.” Yet at the other end of the spectrum, she also encounters long-faithful Christians “whose fire has gone out,” and who need opportunities to rekindle depth, passion, and practice.
Her solution? Not a single programme, but what she repeatedly describes as a smorgasbord of pathways.
A smorgasbord, not a pipeline
Libby is wary of formulaic approaches. “I don’t like this language of a discipleship pipeline,” she says. “It sounds like a sausage machine – people going in one end and coming out mature Christians at the other.” Instead, she aims to create layered, flexible pathways that allow individuals to enter from any point.
At St Stephen’s, everything is filtered through one question: Will this grow whole-life disciples? If not, they don’t do it.
Gateway ministries – such as a craft-based “Meet and Make” group – create low-pressure points of connection that are genuinely pastoral and missional. “They’re not just social activities,” she insists. “They share life, invite people on, and we’ve seen people come to faith and be baptised through them.”
From there, opportunities widen: Alpha and Bible courses for those exploring faith; life groups and interest-based groups (including a bouldering community that prays together); workplace-focused gatherings for high-level professionals; theological formation; and senior-focused daytime Scripture groups. “We’re not saying everyone has to do the same thing,” Libby explains. “Different people need different environments to grow.”
Beyond a menu of options, she emphasises giving people resources – books, podcasts, diocesan offerings, theological study recommendations – so they can take ownership of their formation.
Authenticity in suffering and spiritual search
A major shift Libby sees in recent years is the need for churches to respond honestly to suffering. The turning point, she suggests, is cultural authenticity: “I’m very much not an avoider. I think being real and creating space for questions and doubts is vital.”
This approach shaped the church’s 150th anniversary event, “Divine Comedy in Conversation with Milton Jones,” where the comedian spoke candidly about bereavement, cancer, and unanswered prayer. The result wasn’t neat answers, but trust. “People responded because Milton didn’t pretend he had it all sorted. It was authentic.”
That authenticity, she believes, is also key in a culture where younger generations are searching intensely for spirituality – often gravitating toward occult or alternative practices rather than atheism. “If they’re turning up at church or watching online, they’re interested in Jesus. But many others are going to TikTok for spiritual answers. We need Christians in that space.”
Adapting to new patterns of life
Another shift she has observed concerns how people engage with time. Traditional monthly prayer meetings draw mainly those over sixty, she notes. Instead, short seasons of focused prayer – pre-work gatherings at 7am, week-long prayer rooms, or one-off events – have proved remarkably effective in creating broader participation.
“I’ve seen that work so well,” she says. “It fits people’s lives now.”
What spiritual maturity looks like
While cautious about quantifying spiritual growth, Libby has explored various frameworks, including work with CCX and Multiply, and even piloted bespoke questionnaires in a previous church. She also uses a spiritual health-check tool in mentoring contexts, helping people reflect on practices, community, accountability, and engagement with culture.
But she ultimately measures maturity less through scorecards and more through signs of lived discipleship:
“A spiritually mature person can self-sustain their discipleship,” she says. Not in isolation, but through a rhythm of practice, community, accountability, and commitment. They can navigate seasons of joy and difficulty; they know how to keep growing; and crucially, they possess biblical literacy – the ability to weigh cultural messages against Scripture.
Belonging as the soil of growth
One trend she sees everywhere is a longing for community. “People are asking: Where is my community? Who are my people? Where do I belong?” Churches with a healthy culture of belonging often see newcomers respond with surprise: This feels different.
For Libby, that sense of belonging is essential not only as a gateway but as the foundation of ongoing formation. “Our ministry is based around community and belonging, and the discipleship flows from that.”
What sustains her
For all her strategic thought and cultural analysis, Libby’s own spiritual life is rooted in simple rhythms: daily time with God, constant conversation with Christ throughout the day, and the privilege of worshipping with the community she leads.
“I’m such a weird hodgepodge,” she laughs. “But corporate worship and my own time with God – woven through the everyday – are what sustain me.”