Rev. Simon Hudson or Pastor Simon is our only full time and paid staff member. He joined the church in 2001 having been trained at Spurgeons College in London on a MTh course. He is an ordained minister of religion being recognized within the Baptist Union of Great Britain. Before entering the ministry he was a secondary school teacher in Reading where he taught science and chemistry up to 'A' level.
He enjoyed teaching immensely but felt frustrated when encountering young people with so many problems and difficulties and knew however important an education is to a young person that being set free by Jesus to become the people we were created to become is far more important - it is not simply a matter of life and death but more important than that!
So, having been called by God, he gave up his teaching career to become a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is married to Lynda and they have two small children.
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Gwen Kearley is our Children's Minister. Gwen joined the fellowship at NPR in 1999. She has been living and working in S London since the late 1970's and is a trained primary school teacher. For seven years she taught in a primary school in Brixton, where she gained valuable experience working with children aged 5-10 years.
In 1998 she left teaching, feeling God's calling to work with Spinnaker Trust, a Christian charity in SE London supporting primary schools in delivering RE and collective worship. Within Spinnaker Gwen supports other team members who work in churches in Lambeth and Wandsworth.
She was approached by NPR to work for two days a week helping to develop a ministry amongst children and their families in the community. In April 2005 she started working with the church, whilst continuing her work in local schools with Spinnaker Trust.
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Lawrence Ovenden is our Elder who with Pastor Simon provides oversight in the fellowship. Lawrence trained at the Criswell College, Dallas, Texas and Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His full time paid employment is with the e-government section of a local council.
If what the Bible teaches us about God and His son is only of value on Sunday then the message of the gospel does not have the life changing power that it claims. Consequently, Lawrence has a desire to see people understand the Bible not just in the narrow context of what is thought of as “religious” but as it impacts on all of life to show that the message of Jesus Christ is not just for Sunday or when times get hard but all day, every day.
Lawrence is married with 2 children. |
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