Steve Chalke

Steve Chalke is a social entrepreneur, justice campaigner, author, motivational speaker, church leader and former UN Special Advisor on Human Trafficking. Steve trained in theology and in 1985 founded the Oasis Trust – which has now grown into a large group of charities – which he still leads. Oasis now has over 5,500 staff, as well as many more thousands of volunteers.

Oasis pioneers housing, education, healthcare, and many other community initiatives in the UK and elsewhere around the world. Steve also serves as the senior minister of Oasis Church, Waterloo, in central London.

Steve holds an MBE, a number of honorary fellowships and a doctorate from Staffordshire University, all awarded for his work in social inclusion and justice. In 2017 Steve was installed as a Canon of Southwark Cathedral.

Oasis currently works in 60 local neighbourhoods around the world – 36 of which are in the UK – where it seeks to bring together the resources, expertise and infrastructure that we have developed in order to build on existing strengths and assets in the local community.

Wherever Oasis works its goal is to build, and to help others build, integrated, high quality and diverse services to benefit local communities through a wide variety of activities and partnerships. It serves and respects all people regardless of their gender, race, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or physical and mental capability and works within local communities to create neighbourhoods in which people feel known, able to thrive and can build deep and nourishing relationships.

Steve lives in Central London where he also serves as the leader of Oasis work in the Waterloo community. Oasis Hub Waterloo currently serves its local community through the delivery of a children’s centre, a primary school, a secondary school, various adult education opportunities, a foodbank, a debt advice centre, a church, a community farm, a coffee house, the local public library, a higher education college, a range of youth work schemes and a breadth of other programmes.