We are here to start many fires.

I was born in Canada and raised in a family that was always hungry for God.

My parents sought Him—in church, at home and alongside friends who shared that same hunger. Some of my earliest memories are of attending revival meetings and being around people who genuinely expected God to move.

When our family moved to the UK, my parents were returning home. For me, it felt like something more. England had been in my heart for as long as I could remember. I was determined to come, whether my parents made the move or not. I couldn’t have explained it then, but I believe God was already drawing me towards this nation.

We settled in Hebden Bridge, a small town in the Calder Valley. It felt very different from the spiritual environment I had known growing up. But before long, I encountered revival again through what became known as the Toronto Blessing, which was spreading across the country.

During that time, God began to kindle a fire within me—a hunger for His presence and purposes that has remained with me ever since.

A hunger for God and His Word

That hunger led me to study and listen to the Word of God. I wanted to know God, understand what He was saying and build my life around it.

Eventually, I completed a discipleship training course with Youth With A Mission. Through YWAM, I travelled to India and experienced mission in a way that deeply affected me. I saw God working across cultures and discovered what can happen when ordinary people make themselves available to Him.

After YWAM, I moved to Southport and soon married my wife, Louise. She shared the same hunger for God, and our life together has been shaped by a desire to follow Him and serve His Church.

We joined a church in Liverpool, where I believe much of our practical ministry training began. Over approximately fifteen years, we served wherever we were needed—as part of the worship team, creative team, ushering team and in many other areas of local church life.

Those years taught me that ministry is not primarily about having a platform. It is about loving people, serving faithfully and helping to build the local church.

As our family grew, we moved to a church in Southport before later joining the team at Faith Life Manchester. After completing Rhema UK, we connected more closely with Faith Life, and today Louise and I pastor its Preston location in Lancashire.

A fire for people

My heart for the local church is enormous.

I want to see people encounter God, grow strong in His Word and become sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. I want them to discover that God can work through their lives—not only through people who stand on platforms or carry recognised ministry titles.

The fire God placed within me was never meant to stop with me. I want to help that same hunger come alive in other people. I want to encourage them to hear God, respond in faith and begin what He has placed in their hearts.

I carry that desire as I pastor in Preston, minister in other churches and follow the opportunities God places in front of me.

A vision for the UK

The vision for the UK has never left me.

I see the coasts of Britain on fire for Jesus. I see towns and cities being touched by fresh moves of the Holy Spirit. I see people coming alive to God, churches strengthened and new works beginning in places where someone was willing to recognise a spark and act upon it.

I want to help. I want to be a catalyst for people who are hungry to encounter the God of fire and salvation. Sometimes that may happen through preaching. Sometimes through pastoring, encouragement, a conversation, a creative idea or helping someone take their first step into something new.

I do not know every form these fires will take. But I know the assignment God has placed in my heart:

I exist to start many fires.