General Synod Election Candidates 2026

About me
I’m a 37 year old father of three, and I currently work as the Lead for
Growing Younger in the Diocese of Derby. Previously, I worked as
the Youth, Children and Families Adviser for the Diocese of Chester.
I have worshipped in the Diocese of Chester since September 2009,
when I moved to Alsager to train as a youth worker. I have been
involved in youth and children’s work since I helped at my church’s
children’s group when I was 14.
Growing up as a Christian has meant that the transformational love
of Jesus has guided my career choices. After the joy of working with
the brilliant children and youth leaders in the Diocese of Chester, I
spent three years working with care experienced young people for a
charity that supports them to move into their own home as they leave
care. My role was to ensure their voices shaped and guided the
charity. Amplifying the voices of children and young people is one
of the central reasons I am standing for General Synod.
I worship at Christ Church, Alsager which describes itself as a lively
evangelical church. We have a mixture of formal and informal
worship, and a lot of midweek ministry with children and young
people. Having recently adopted siblings, my family and I are
discovering the joys and challenges of being a family in church,
which is helping me learn and grow personally and professionally.
I have worshipped and led services in a wide variety of churches,
including city contexts and rural settings. Sometimes these churches
have been ‘high church’, at other times they have been very ‘low
church’. Most of the time they have described themselves as ‘middle
of the road’. I have found Jesus Christ is encountered across the
breadth of traditions in the Church of England. I want every parish to
be celebrated and supported for their unique identity and context –
something I will continue to strive for should I be elected.
A personal reason I am standing is because I was inspired by Julie
Withers, who was Chair of the House of Laity, and a faithful General
Synod rep among many roles in our diocese. Julie sadly passed away
earlier this year. Julie was a friend to my husband and I, and her
humility, kindness and humour are missed.
My experience
Enabling young people to find their God given identity, discover
their purpose and grow in confidence is central to my work. In this
quest, I have built a range of experiences to ensure I can represent
the Diocese of Chester at General Synod effectively:

20 years of experience working with children and young
people in a church context, demonstrating a commitment to
children and young people and being comfortable working
with different church traditions.
Four years as a school governor, supporting a ‘Good’ school
to become ‘Outstanding’, using the ability to understand and
digest information quickly, and to challenge and ask questions
to improve an organisation.
Being part of the Bishop of Chester’s Advisory Group for
LLF and facilitating Diocesan LLF courses online, showing a
commitment to shared learning and unity.

Jonathan Masters
Requesting your first
preference vote for
General Synod 2026
Nominated by:
Samuel Wilson, Parish of Bowdon
(Bowdon Deanery)
and Anne Joyce,
Parish of St Mary’s, Alsager
(Congleton Deanery)
Email: [email protected]
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My experience continued…
Facilitating LLF conversations at General Synod, giving me insight into the processes of General Synod
and how difficult some of the topics that are discussed can be.
Working with conservatives, progressives, Catholics and charismatics to ensure children and young
people hear the good news of Jesus Christ.
Responded appropriately to many safeguarding concerns and disclosures over my career, including
challenging poor safeguarding practice. Safeguarding rightly continues to be prioritised in the Church of
England, and I would support further improvements to practice.
Seventeen years of experience as a Trustee, including time on a PCC, and being a trustee for two local
charities that support young people so I am familiar with governance processes and procedures, and the
impact local charities can have. Ensuring General Synod keeps sight of the parish church amidst the big
picture is part of why I am standing.
What will my priorities be?
Keeping Everyday Faith a priority
Our lives, Monday to Saturday, as well as Sunday, can and should be a response to the love of God
expressed to us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. How we respond and follow Jesus is
discipleship. General Synod can go further than supporting an app (which is great, and there should be a
similar one aimed at young people) to help with discipleship. It can be a prophetic and hopeful voice in
reminding each parish and individual in the Church of England what it means to be a follower of Jesus in
our whole lives.
Ensuring genuine voice and participation with young people
Having worked for a charity that was a leader in participative practice, I can appreciate that General
Synod is aiming to get young voices more involved. I would love to support this so that the call of
Growing Faith for the Church of England to instinctively put children and young people at the heart of
mission and ministry can be increasingly genuinely borne out in General Synod and the wider church.
This has the additional and important benefit that the more children and young people feel able to speak
and share their thoughts and experiences, the safer our church will become.
Serving the most vulnerable
As a church we feed thousands of families and individuals, we help hundreds of communities with
holiday clubs, job seeking and pastoral care. We also support people in countless other ways. The extent
of the support provided by the Church of England in our communities points to the vast love of God. I
want to see this celebrated and supported financially so that churches in low income communities are
able to make an even bigger difference.
Supporting Lay ministry and New Worshipping Communities
Training, equipping and supporting lay ministers in developing and sustaining new worshipping
communities will enable more people to encounter the transformational love of God. I want clergy to feel
confident in releasing lay ministers to do this. In my view, this is not to replace clergy, but to expand the
missional capacity of parishes.
Being fully inclusive
I am committed to equality for everyone, at all levels and roles within the church, regardless of disability,
economic power, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, learning disability, mental health, neurodiversity, or
sexuality. I believe all people are made in the image of God, and that our churches should value each
individual for who God has made them to be. This means ensuring accessible spaces, encouraging
ministry in people from underrepresented backgrounds and, as a gay man, this is close to my heart,
supporting LGBT+ Christians, especially young people.
If you’d like to vote for me, please consider putting me as your first preference and please get in touch if you
have any questions.
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