Mike Pilavachi

Mike Pilavachi, MBE (born 7 March 1958) is a British charismatic Christian evangelist and author. He is of Greek Cypriot descent. He is the co-founder and leader of the Soul Survivor charity based in Watford, England.[1]

Mike Pilavachi

MBE
Pilavachi speaking at Soul Survivor 2009 Week C
Born (1958-03-07) 7 March 1958
Alma materSt Mellitus College
ReligionChristianity
ChurchChurch of England
Ordained2012 (deacon)
2013 (priest)
Congregations served
  • St Andrew's Church, Chorleywood
  • St Peter's Church, Watford
  • Soul Survivor

Christian Ministry

Pilavachi one of three senior pastors of the Soul Survivor Watford church, which is based in North Watford. He founded it in 1993, along with worship leader Matt Redman.[2] He is a former accountant, who went on to become a youth worker at St Andrew's C of E church in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire. It was here that two of the ministers of St Andrew's, David Pytches and Barry Kissell launched the New Wine Christian Family Conferences.[3] Pilavachi has written several books on Christianity including Soul Survivor (with Nicky Gumbel, 2004), Live the Life (with Craig Borlaise, 2001), Storylines: Tracing the Threads of the Bible and most recently, “Everyday Supernatural: Living A Spirit-Led Life Without Being Weird”, which he co-authored with friend and colleague Andy Croft.

Pilavachi is celibate and encourages celibacy to those outside of marriage.[4] He has stated in interviews and seminars that the "gift of celibacy" enables him to do certain work which he would not be able to with a family.[3]

Pilavachi helped run the international evangelistic event, Soul in the City, London in 2004 and Soul in the City Durban in 2009. He was also one of the founders of the Hope 08 project,[5] an initiative of the churches of Britain and Ireland which sought to demonstrate Christian faith in action.

He trained for ordination at St Mellitus College, an Anglican theological college. He was made a deacon in the Church of England at St Albans Abbey on 1 July 2012, and ordained a priest the following year.[6] He has been based at St Peter's Church, Watford in the Diocese of St Albans since 2012, and was made an honorary canon of St Albans Cathedral in 2016.[6]

In April 2023, it was announced that Pilavachi had stepped back from all ministry while "non-recent safeguarding concerns" were investigated. Richard Atkinson, Bishop of Bedford, stated "We would like to stress that the police are not involved; this is not a criminal investigation and Mike has not been suspended."[7][8]

Soul Survivor
Main article: Soul Survivor (charity)

Pilavachi launched Soul Survivor in the summer of 1993.[9] The event is a 5-day long charismatic Christian festival aimed at youth and the initial Soul Survivor attracted 1,896 delegates. Under the guidance of Pilavachi, the event has grown to accommodate around 30,000 people over four weeks along with the fifth week, being Momentum (aimed at those in their twenties and thirties). Matt Redman, who had attended Pilavachi's youth club at St Andrews Church of England Chorleywood, was a worship leader at early Soul Survivor camps. Matt Redman returned as a worship leader in 2011. From summer 2014 a fifth week of Soul Survivor is held in Scotland.[10]

In May 2018, Pilavachi announced that the Soul Survivor conference would be ending after the summer events of 2019.[11]

Personal life

In the 2020 New Year Honours, Pilavachi was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to young people.[12]

See also

References
  1. Hope Together, accessed 27 July 2011
  2. Soul Survivor Watford – Church Staff Archived 4 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 27 July 2011
  3. Jesus Army Magazine – Talking To Mike Pilavachi, taken from Jesus Life magazine first published in January 2005
  4. Sex and Celibacy – Mike Pilavachi, YouTube, uploaded by 777agapelive777 on 6 May 2009, excerpt from Principles of Leadership
  5. Donovan, Kevin (15 March 2007). "'Hope08 Reveals Signs of Change' in UK Mission". Christian Today. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  6. "Michael Pilavachi". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  7. "Canon Mike Pilavachi 'steps back' during safeguarding investigation". Church Times. 3 April 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  8. "Latest Updates". Soul Survivor Watford. 2 April 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  9. I, Vineyard Churches UK &. "The Soul Survivor Story | Mike Pilavachi". Vineyard Churches UK & I.
  10. "summer: Soul Survivor Scotland | Soul Survivor UK". Archived from the original on 13 August 2013.
  11. "Soul Survivor summer festival to end in 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  12. "New Year Honours: Hertfordshire". ITV News. Retrieved 28 December 2019.

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