40 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE

How it all began

It all started with a need to find a suitable furniture project for a new church building project. 

Gospatric Home was a parishioner and while poring over directories of possible suppliers, the idea for an exhibition to bring church leaders of all denominations to meet suppliers was born. 

Founded by Gospatric (‘Gos’) and Diana Home in 1985, the National Christian Resources Exhibition grew quickly to become the largest annual event of its kind in Europe, with regular regional exhibitions in cities such as Surrey, Manchester, Birmingham, Exeter, Glasgow and Belfast.

On his retirement in 2006, Gos sold CRE to the Bible Society. In 2016, the Bible Society decided to focus on core ministries and find a new owner for the exhibition. Stephen Goddard, the event’s media consultant for more than 25 years, took over the reins with his wife, Allison, contracting a team of highly experienced staff. Gos returned to advise the CRE team as its honorary president until his death in April 2020. 

In November 2025 just as CRE celebrated it's 40th anniversary at Sandown Park, the ownership of the event was passed to Quartz Business Media.

Looking to the future

Based in Redhill, Surrey, Quartz is a privately-owned exhibitions business, and has been delivering highly valued business experiences for over 30 years. 

Tony Crinion, managing director of Quartz commented: "We are committed to honouring such a successful legacy and starting a fresh chapter full of new ideas,’ said Crinion.

"Importantly, our event communities have a similar set of values to us as an organisation - trust, integrity, compassion, teamwork and community. When the opportunity arose to become the new custodians of CRE, we felt it was a real opportunity to make a positive contribution. 

Our goal is simple - help modernise and grow the event whilst keeping its core ethos and values at the forefront of what it is.  

We want to strengthen connections within the Christian community and raise the profile of the event so to make it more appealing to a wider demographic. This in turn will provide a better platform that serves churches and charities.

I sincerely hope you will join us on this journey."

The team today

Tony Crinion

Tony Crinion - Managing Director

Tony Crinion brings extensive experience in senior management, leading global teams and driving innovation across the events industry. Thriving on the challenge of introducing fresh ideas, Tony is committed to ensuring every event under his direction meets the highest standards of excellence.

With a focus on creativity, operational excellence, and sustainable success, Tony continues to shape impactful events that inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Steve Goddard - Consultant

Steve became editor of Buzz magazine in 1981, then the UK’s leading Christian monthly with a circulation of more than 30,000 at its peak. In 1987 he established a public relations consultancy serving publishers, retailers, film producers and exhibitions organisers, one of which was CRE. His second novel, Whatever Happened to Billy Shears? was published by Marylebone House, a division of SPCK, in 2017. In November 2016, he bought CRE from the Bible Society with his wife, Allison and now continues to help drive development of the event as a consultant. 
James Batterbee

James Batterbee - Sales Manager

Before joining CRE, James was sales and marketing manager for Scripture Union, having previously worked for Integrity Music and Wesley Owen, where he was a store manager for 10 years. Highly-motivated and enthusiastic, James specialism is people skills, developing connections and delivering a service to best meet their needs. An entrepreneur at heart, he often accompanies his wife on trips to French markets, buying stock for her start-up business. He’s also a West Ham United supporter and a big fan of American Football.
Rebecca McConnell

Rebecca McConnell - Marketing Director

Leading a marketing team at Quartz, Rebecca oversees audience strategy and brand growth across a broad portfolio of international exhibitions and conferences. With over two decades of experience launching and scaling events in both B2B and B2C markets, she oversees audience acquisition and is working closely with the team to reposition and digitalise shows like CRE to reflect contemporary communities and grow inclusivity.