ASK the Rev Mack Deptula what his job title should be and he will immediately say: ‘church-planter’.

And he’s delighted that his new role is to create a new congregation at St Peter and St Paul Fareham – and then to develop that congregation so they can plant another new church in Welborne.

Bishop Jonathan has appointed him to be our new church-planter in Fareham, subject to DBS. He’ll lead a group from St John’s, Fareham, to create a new, vibrant congregation of hundreds of adults and children at St Peter and St Paul over the next five years. At the same time, he’ll cherish the existing congregation, with a Eucharist in the church’s historic Lady Chapel each Sunday.

The idea is that the congregation at St Peter and St Paul grows large enough so that it then plants another new church in the brand new housing development of Welborne, which is currently taking shape to the north of the M27.

Mack is currently a curate at Co Church Exeter and a Church Planter at Exwick. He arrived in July 2023 to revitalise St Andrew’s Exwick with help from strategic funding from the national Church.

Before that, he studied theology at St Mellitus College while also working at the Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication and continued as an ordinand at St Barnabas Church, Woodside Park. He would describe himself as evangelical, but originally grew up as a Roman Catholic in Poland before moving to the UK.

“I do believe that God has called me to plant churches, and so I’m very happy to be known as ‘church-planter’ rather than ‘vicar’,” he said. “I’m very comfortable with the idea of planting a church and then inspiring that congregation to plant another new church. Ultimately, I’d love to be involved in planting hundreds of new churches.

“I genuinely cannot wait to get started. I’m buzzing with ideas about how we could do this. I’m also really happy that there is already a congregation that prefers to worship in a more traditional style. My background is Catholic and over the past couple of years, the Book of Common Prayer has also become really important to me. I see traditional and contemporary worship as like bread and water – they complement each other, and I can’t survive on a diet of just one of those things.”

Mack came originally from Gdansk in Poland, and began work at the age of 16. Among other things, he worked in the fashion industry, in logistics and even modelling some of the clothes. In 2012 he came to England, settling in Leicester with only £70 in his pocket. He worked in a warehouse, working his way up to team leader, and then in digital marketing and e-commerce.

He made a firm commitment to the Christian faith aged 24, and at 29 became an intern at a Church of England church in Leicester. He decided he wanted to study theology and signed up initially as an independent student at St Mellitus College.

He moved to London and became involved with a conference on church-planting that was in danger of being cancelled when the first Covid lockdown began. Mack found a way for 3,000 people to take part in the conference online. Meanwhile his theological study became a pathway towards ordination.

He felt called by God to St Matts and St Andrew’s in Exeter as a curate, working under lead pastor Ed Hodges. Since 2019, it has grown into a vibrant, multi-generational church, running groups for children and young people, Alpha Courses and more. The two churches acquired their new name of Co Church last year.

The project to create a new congregation in St Peter and St Paul, Fareham, and then a new worshipping community in Welborne is part of our diocese’s rejuvenate strategy. It is being supported by strategic funding from the national Church, as well as funding from our diocese. It is being led by the Rev Henry Kendal, who is vicar of St John’s as well as priest-in-charge of St Peter and St Paul.

Part of the initiative involves refurbishing the grade II listed building at St Peter and St Paul. The leaking roof of the church hall has been replaced by more modern roofing, there are plans to refurbish its bell tower and historic clock, and some refurbishment is planned inside the church hall.

Mack is married to Alison who is from Colombia, and they have a one-year-old daughter. He expects to be licensed by the bishop on June 10.