I am married to Lynn and we have 3 children aged 23, 20 & 17.

I became a Christian in 1980 through a combination of surprising circumstances. My brother was converted that year while living in Paris and witnessed to me, which set me thinking. Prior to this I had been an atheist, but it collapsed when confronted with the truth. However I did not become a Christian at that time, but spent a summer wrestling against the idea (nobody likes submitting to God!). It was not until a good friend was nearly killed in a motorbike accident that I began to pray (all the while thinking it was something strange for an atheist to do!). God met me and changed me (even before I knew my friend was going to make a good recovery) and buried my atheism altogether. Funnily enough, I didn’t realise that I had become a Christian until I met a Moonie in the city centre

From quite early on in my Christian life I realised that I wanted to communicate the good news about Jesus. I sensed God’s call to ministry after I left university, so made plans to go to Bible College as soon as I could. This meant spending a year as an unofficial assistant to the youth pastor in my home church in Pontefract before spending two years at the London Theological Seminary.

In 1984 Lynn and I were married and at the end of the year we moved down to a church in Somerset. The Congregational Church in Wiveliscombe (11 miles west of Taunton) welcomed us openly though we were both very young and inexperienced, and we remained there for 14 years (a measure of how good they were to us).

In December 1998 we moved to Northampton where I joined the home staff of European Christian Mission, supporting church workers across Europe. I represented the mission across Britain in churches and at Christian conferences, also serving as British Director to the mission for a short time, but left in 2004 when the fellowship appointed me as a part-time associate to work alongside Phil Walter. Since then I have also helped at Sharnbrook Evangelical Church during a period without a minister and am currently acting as fellowship leader at Lavendon Baptist Church.

How about a few interesting facts?

Age: 49

Sporting interest: a longing to get back on skis and an irrational enjoyment of American Football.

Guilty pleasure: Watching “Britain’s Got Talent”

Memorable family moment: My youngest daughter, aged 7 at the time, looking concerned as I tightened a screw on our washing machine door and asking me, “Dad, don’t you need a professional?”

My first LP: Mike Oldfield’s boxed set which included Tubular Bells. And the latest CD was by James Morrison.

Dislikes: DIY (especially when it goes wrong – as it frequently does).

Likes: Photography, playing the piano, reading, cinema, France, speaking French (la plus belle langue du monde).

One thing that might surprise you: The only football game I have ever attended was to see the mighty Benfica play at home in Lisbon.

And a motto for life: ‘To know Christ.’