The Rt. Rev. Andrew Williams, Bishop
The Right Reverend Andrew "Drew" Williams is an Anglican bishop, theologian, and former corporate litigator serving as the second Bishop of the Anglican Diocese in New England (ADNE) within the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). Consecrated in March 2019, he has been drawn and led by God's relentless love to proclaim a Gospel that shatters the "spiritual sweatshop" of transactional, performance-driven religion—inviting people into a living relationship held entirely in the sovereign grace, unmerited mercy, and tender love of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. Rooted in Spirit filled, Reformed theology, his ministry across three continents reflects the quiet work of God’s grace: from early missional work in the UK and Europe, to serving a growing movement of churches across post-Christian New England, bringing pastoral encouragement to world leaders at the United Nations, and partnering with East African dioceses to bring clean water initiatives to poor rural communities.
Early Life, Legal Career, and Pastoral Ordination (UK & Europe)
Bishop Williams spent nearly a decade as a corporate litigator in the United Kingdom (1989–1998). Despite professional success, his life was turned upside down when he and his wife, Elena, were captured by the unearned love of God through the authentic friendship and community of their local Anglican parish.
Yielding his legal career as God led him toward ordained ministry, Williams studied at Trinity College, Bristol, graduating with honors in theology before his ordination in the Church of England in 2000. He subsequently served for six years as Associate Vicar of St. Andrew’s Church, Chorleywood. There, as God drew believers into organic missional communities across the UK and Europe, Williams co-authored the award-winning book Breakout with Dr. Mark Stibbe to capture what God was doing.
Pastoral Renewal at Trinity Church (Greenwich, CT)
In 2009, God led Williams and his family to the United States to serve as Senior Pastor of Trinity Church in Greenwich, Connecticut. Over a decade of pastoral leadership, he sought to shepherd the congregation into a direct, personal encounter with the living person of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Refusing to treat faith as a legalistic contract or a divine performance review, Williams drew on the power of the Holy Spirit within classic Reformed convictions—echoing Thomas Cranmer’s focus on human dependence on divine mercy and Martin Luther’s revelation of grace as pure gift—anchoring the church's identity in God’s relentless, tender, and unconditional love.
Episcopate & Diocesan Growth in New England (United States)
On March 16, 2019, Williams was consecrated as Bishop of the Anglican Diocese in New England. Overseeing a jurisdiction spanning 62,000 square miles across six states, he ministers in what is recognized as the most secular and post-Christian cultural landscape in the United States. Where cultural trends have drifted toward religious disaffiliation, God’s grace has quietly brought about remarkable spiritual renewal and growth:
83% growth in Average Sunday Attendance (ASA) over a five-year period.
Nearly 20% ASA growth in the past two years alone.
Humbled by this momentum, Bishop Williams is currently guiding the diocese as it prepares for a regional capital campaign to support an ambitious church-planting vision across New England’s urban centers, suburban enclaves, rural farming communities, and university campuses.
Diplomatic Ministry & UN Addresses: Freedom from Performance Religion
Beyond his diocesan oversight, God has opened doors for Bishop Williams to offer pastoral care to world leaders through the Christian Embassy UN at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. On September 8, 2026, he delivered the keynote address at the 41st Annual International Prayer Breakfast before ambassadors and diplomats representing 98 distinct nations—having previously addressed UN Christmas, Easter, and 2020 pandemic gatherings.
Speaking to diplomats carrying the weight of international crises, Williams offered a liberating word against transactional religion:
"Tragically, the church has often operated as a spiritual sweatshop. Bad religion turns God into a celestial bureaucrat running a performance review with quotas that make a UN budget committee look relaxed. But the Gospel is not good advice about what we must do for God; it is the event of what God has done unto us."
Unpacking Jesus' parable of the pearl of great value (Matthew 13:45–46), Williams shared that diplomats are not merchants bargaining for acceptance through metrics; Jesus is the Merchant who gave everything, and humanity is the pearl of priceless value. Drawing from Robert Farrar Capon’s theology of "200-proof Grace," Williams reminded leaders that in Christ, "the saved were home before they started"—liberating souls to work no longer for an identity out of fear, but from an identity held securely in God's love.
Global Mercy: East Africa Clean Water Partnerships
Believing that God's grace naturally overflows into tangible acts of mercy, Bishop Williams has had the privilege of walking alongside African bishops and local leaders in East Africa.
Through multiple pastoral and relief visits, he and the Diocese in New England have partnered with rural communities to complete clean water infrastructure projects. These targeted initiatives have brought essential clean water, health improvements, and community support to under-resourced areas, serving as a reflection of Christ's love.
Theological Core: Rest in Unearned Grace
Bishop Williams’ life work remains centered on celebrating and proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Rejecting legalistic and exhaustion-driven models of church life, his ministry invites the churched, unchurched, and de-churched alike out of self-justification and into a relationship held entirely in God's eternal, unearned love.
Whether praying with diplomats at the United Nations, supporting church leaders in New England, or partnering on water projects in East Africa, his message is simple: through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, we are invited to step out of fear and rest securely in the boundless love, mercy, and grace of Jesus Christ.