Names & Faces
Staff Team
RUN is administrated by a small team based in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. When you
phone or email you are likely to be speaking to one of the following:
Chris
Stoddard - Director
Chris has been the full time Director of RUN since 2001 and is one of the founding
members of the Network. In addition to working with Youth for Christ for 3 years
he has spent over 20 years in pastoral ministry, first in Northamptonshire and more
recently at Southcourt Baptist Church in Aylesbury where he took specific responsibility
for mission and worship. His role within RUN involves giving an overall direction
to the organisation as well as helping churches and their leaders become more effective
in mission. Chris is married to Liz, they have two daughters Louise and Anna and
live in Buckinghamshire. When not RUNning around on business his interests include
skiing, cycling, walking, music and travel.
David Finn
- General Manager
David became a Christian through contact with The Navigators in his third year at
London University. He is married to Jean; they have 3 daughters and live in Aylesbury.
He is a member of Southcourt Baptist Church where he is involved in leading worship.
He is keen on reading (especially historical novels), music and his family. David
initially graduated as a Chemical Engineer and worked for 10 years in industry.
He subsequently served for 20 years in financial services, eventually becoming a
Senior Manager in the Marketing Department of a nationally known life office. He
joined RUN to work part time as General Manager at the beginning of 2003.
Karen Warner - Office
Administrator
Karen joined the RUN team in 2008 as part-time Office Administrator with a brief
to keep the guys in order! Karen originally trained as a nurse, but has been involved
in many things since. She is married to Pete and has two boys, Jacob and Edward.
Karen is involved in the local Anglican church and is passionate about encouraging
others to find creative ways to meet with God. She also loves getting a bargain
and meeting friends for coffee!
Trefor
Williams - Communications Co-ordinator
Trefor has been working with RUN on a part time basis since early 2005. Prior to
that, he worked on the staff of a busy suburban church. Now attends a local Vineyard
church where he is involved in projects for the homeless and disadvantaged. Trefor
is married with 3 teenage children and lives on a smallholding with numerous horses,
sheep, dogs and cats! The outdoors is where Trefor loves to be, but agrees to sit
in front of a computer screen for a few hours each week to keep RUN members up to
date and well informed! More info and shocking picture found at
www.myspace.com/treforW.
We also have a team of backroom technicians, including:
- Gareth Bithell - Web Developer
- Adrian Riley - Web Designer
Executive Team
Rev. Roger
Sutton (Chair) - Altrincham Baptist Church
Chair of RUN since its formation in 1993. Married to Lesley, a visual artist. 4
children. Lived and ministered at Altrincham for 19 years. His ministry passion
is to lead the church to love God and love the World. Altrincham was one of the
first churches in the UK to start Seeker Services in 1992, twinning this with strong
evangelistic and social care ministry in the local area.
Rev.
Chris Stoddard - RUN Director
Chris has been the full time Director of RUN since 2001 and is one of the founding
members of the Network. In addition to working with Youth for Christ for 3 years
he has spent over 20 years in pastoral ministry, first in Northamptonshire and more
recently at Southcourt Baptist Church in Aylesbury where he took specific responsibility
for mission and worship. His role within RUN involves giving an overall direction
to the organisation as well as helping churches and their leaders become more effective
in mission. Chris is married to Liz, they have two daughters Louise and Anna and
live in Buckinghamshire. When not RUNning around on business his interests include
skiing, cycling, walking, music and travel.
Rev.
Peter Hancock - Huddersfield Pennine Methodist Circuit
Pete Hancock is a Methodist superintendent minister in Huddersfield. He is married
to Jane and has three daughters. Before moving North in 2002, Pete spent eight years
leading the planting of "The Bridge", a "church for the unchurched", in Hinckley,
Leicestershire. Through this he joined RUN ten years ago. He has been a resource
person for the Methodist Church nationally in the area of fresh ways of being Church
and believes that new pioneering forms of Church can be a prophetic sign to the
Church as a whole of the future that God is leading it to. He enjoys the non-denominational,
non-party "all in it together for the Gospel and the Kingdom" ethos of RUN.
Rev. Geoff
Lanham - Christ Church, Selly Oak
Geoff Lanham is an Anglican Priest who has worked in Birmingham for more than 14
years. He is married with three children, enjoys sport of all kinds and is passionate
about Liverpool Football club and walking in the country. Geoff first got involved
with RUN back in 1995 because he saw the difficulties un-churched people were having
in belonging to church. The RUN passion to prioritise mission and listen to the
needs of the un-churched match his own. Until recently he led a Network Church based
in Birmingham City Centre called B1 which aimed to cater particularly for people
in their 20s and 30s. Geoff and his team developed a project called 'Breathe' that
created sacred sanctuary space for city centre workers and dwellers in Birmingham.
His passion is to make connections with non-churched people and bridge the cultural
chasm between church and the world outside. From March 09 Geoff has taken on a new
role as vicar of Christ Church, Selly Oak, Birmingham
Dr. Andy
Mackie (Treasurer) - Riverside Church Birmingham
Andy Mackie is leader of Riverside Church in Birmingham, taking on this role in
2004. He became a Christian in Edinburgh at the age of 20 and moved to Birmingham
with a strong missionary pull a few years later. He began working for Riverside
Church around 1992 and has always had a heart for equipping people to be missional
both in the workplace and in the local community, as well as leading some 40 Alpha
Courses since that time and seeing many come to faith through this and other evangelistic
initiatives. His desire is to see ministry teams develop to impact the diverse challenges
of their city. He is married to Ruth and they have 3 children.
Andy has been committed to RUN from the outset, as one of its founding members,
and also helps facilitate its core aims of envisioning, networking and resourcing
church leaders so that all can move forward with the main thing - communicating
the message of God's grace to the people of this land.
Sandra Cobbin
Sandra lives in Preston, she runs her own business providing consultancy and training
for leaders in the commercial and voluntary sectors. Sandra's background is retail
where she worked for 20 years, she ran stores for ten years and provided training
and development for a UK retailer. She spends half her time working for churches,
Dioceses and voluntary organisations, the other half working for businesses, large
and small. She is married to Steve and has two step-sons, Luke and Joshua .
Council of Reference
RUN's executive team is supported by an active Council of Reference, which includes:
- Rev. Ian Coffey - Spring Harvest Leadership Team
- Bishop Graham Cray - Fresh Expressions
- Mr Mark Greene - Executive Director LICC (London Institute for Contemporary
Christianity)
- Rev. Anne Hibbert - Director of The Well Christian Healing Centre, Leamington
Spa
- Rev. Dr Martin Robinson - Exec Director of TIM (Together in Mission)
- Rev. Paul Simmonds - Research Director of Foundations 21
- Rev. John Smith - Milton Baptist Church
Volunteers
Volunteers
During the course of a year we have a number of mailings to members as well as others
who want to be kept in touch with RUN's activities. Have you ever wondered how these
are made up and sent out? Well, the secret is out.
The RUN office is based at RUN Member Southcourt Baptist Church, Aylesbury and we
have a number of folks from the church who are willing, when called upon, to help
us with making up of packs and stuffing envelopes for no other reward than a cup
of coffee and a doughnut!
Our picture shows our volunteers hard at work stuffing envelopes for the mailing
of brochures for the RUN National Conference.
Conference Volunteers
RUN conferences are often held at Member churches where we are very grateful to
those who give of their time to make the days so welcoming and successful when we
are �on the road�.
RUN is a Registered Charity (No. 1080435) and also a
member of the Evangelical Alliance.