CHURCH BY THE BAY, MORECAMBE

Gerry Straker, formerly our Assistant Pastor at Moorlands, heads up Church by the Bay, supported by his wife Catherine (and four children Jack, May, Izzy and Phoebe). The church was planted in 2011 by a team of people originally from Moorlands Church who lived in the Morecambe area. The Strakers have lived in the West End since moving to the area in July 2008 and love living in Morecambe and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ to people in their town.

TRINITY CHURCH, MILNTHORPE

Peter graduated from Moore Theological College in 2010, after which he worked at Christ Church Fulwood in Sheffield as a student worker. Peter, Kirsty, Nathaniel, Harry and Joel moved to Milnthorpe in June 2016, where Peter became the pastor of the newly-formed Trinity Church Milnthorpe. Planted by Parr Street Evangelical Church in Kendal, Peter leads the church plant as they seek to grow as disciples of Jesus and proclaim the life changing news of Jesus to people in Milnthorpe and the surrounding areas.

BRUSSELS BIBLE INSTITUTE

James, an Irishman, is married to Myriam, a Frenchwoman, and they have a daughter, Clara (born 2011). He has been training gospel workers in French-speaking Europe since 2000 and has been Director of the Brussels Bible Institute since 2007. The aim of the Institute is ‘train faithful, competent, godly gospel workers for the harvest field of French-speaking Europe in order to promote God’s glory.’ He teaches mainly Old Testament, biblical theology and biblical languages, and he has recently begun writing books designed to help people understand and apply God’s word. Myriam supports James in his role, including in serving the women students and graduates’ wives; she also looks after Clara, teaches in Sunday School at church and seizes evangelistic opportunities in a variety of contexts.

FRIENDS INTERNATIONAL STAFF WORKER

Sally moved to Lancaster to study in 2010 and since then has been a member of Moorlands Church. During her time here she has lovingly taught and discipled international students and families at church. In 2014 Sally began a job as one of the Friends International Staff Workers in Lancaster, she is now the Lancaster Centre Team Leader. This role enables her to meet and disciple many international people. As part of the internationals team, Sally will be working hard to reach out to international students as they arrive into Lancaster this year.

KANTIPUR CHURCH, KATHMANDU, NEPAL

Prem pastors Kantipur Church in Nepal, a country where Christians face significant opposition and evangelism is prohibited. As well as teaching his own congregation and leading Bible handling workshops, he is also involved in training other church leaders to faithfully preach the Bible. Prem trained on the Cornhill Ministry Training course in London and served as a Pastoral Intern/Apprentice at St Stephen’s Westbourne Park and the Evangelical Christian Church of Dubai, before moving back to Nepal to serve at Kantipur Church, along with his wife Sushma.

OAK HILL THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE, LONDON

Chloe grew up in Hong Kong in a Christian family and came to Lancaster in 2017 to study Film, Media and Cultural Studies. She has been part of Moorlands since her third year and has loved the Bible-centred teaching of the church and the love and support from her church family ever since. She previously served as a Ministry Trainee at Moorlands for 2 years and now has moved to London to train at Oakhill Theological College. She hopes this 3-year degree will further equip her to be useful for the kingdom.