National Director

Revd Sue Cooke is the National Director of Leading Your Church into Growth. Having seen its principles bring renewal and growth in her own parishes, she now helps churches across the UK and beyond embrace a culture of mission and faith.

Associate Director

Fr. Felix oversees communication and team management at LyCiG. With over 12 years of ministry experience in diverse church settings, he is passionate about mission and helping churches grow and flourish. Alongside this role, he is also Focal Ministry Officer for the Diocese of Chichester.

Associate Director

Charlie has a passion for prayer and evangelism, with years of experience leading prayer initiatives and church outreach. She loves equipping local churches to pray for the nations and share the gospel in their communities.

Children & Families

Susie joined LyCiG in May and lives in Weymouth with her husband and four children. She has over 20 years’ experience working with children and families and is passionate about helping churches grow their ministry in this area.

Youth Specialist

Ethan has been part of church life for as long as he can remember and loves walking alongside young people as they explore faith in Jesus. At Youthscape, he is working on new ways to help churches strengthen their youth ministry.

Finance & Administration Assistant

Operations Manager

Gail has experience of business development, venue coordination and administration within both secular and church settings. She is well organised, thorough and loves coming alongside people to support them in their work or ministry. Gail has been a christian for 14 years and has a heartfelt passion for helping churches to grow and for sharing Jesus with others.

Chair of Trustees

Tracey is a Lay Worship Leader & Youth Leader in the Diocese of St Asaph, Church in Wales, living near Ruthin in North East Wales. She previously served as Director of Resources at the Diocesan Office, where she first encountered LyCiG. She joined the speaking team about 10 years ago & later became a trustee.

Bishop Rhiannon is the Bishop of Southampton in the Diocese of Winchester, having also ministered in the dioceses of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich, Birmingham & Ely. She has run LyCiG in Birmingham & Suffolk dioceses & most enjoyably, helped to lead it in New Zealand.

Jane is Trustee & Treasurer for LYCIG. For the past 8 years she’s been part of a team of clergy & lay planting a church in Bradford. In her day job, she’s Finance Manager for the Diocese of Leeds

Harry is chaplain to the Bishop of Sheffield. He’s passionate about sharing the hope and joy of the Gospel with others - in particular through contextual worship and mission. In his spare time he’s chaplain to the men & women’s professional basketball teams in Sheffield.

Neil became a Christian at 17 & spent a gap year at Scargill House before studying at Loughborough University & working as a Civil Engineer. He served curacies in Glossop & Bradford, then spent 11 years growing St John’s Burscough before launching St James in the City, a student church in Liverpool. In 2018, I helped embed LyCiG principles across Liverpool Diocese.

Alasdair is Chair of the Finance Committee. He had a long and successful career in finance, working mainly in risk management for leading international banks. He’s an active member of the congregation at St Michael’s & St Stephens Church in South-West London. He also sits on the trustee board and the finance committee of Mercy Ships UK.

Peter is Director of Mission & Ministry in Ely Diocese having served as curate & parish priest in rural multi-parish benefices Norwich Diocese. He’s passionate about church growth, believing that every church has the potential to grow. When not at work, he enjoys running, cycling and holidays which involve lying on a hot beach!

Mark had a successful commercial career in advertising before moving into the charity sector, holding various roles including serving as CEO of World Vision UK & a trustee of the Disasters Emergency Committee. He’s a member of Archbishops’ Council, a lay leader,, a licensed lay minister in the dioceses of London & St Eds & Ips, & a lay canon of St Eds Cathedral. He chairs the Board of BRF Ministries, is Chair-Designate of Ridley Hall College, & a trustee of Christians Against Poverty.

After 20 years in parish ministry, Bob became a ‘Springboard Missioner’ tasked with researching & disseminating ways of turning round the numerical decline of the C of E. After a spell as an archdeacon, he became a self-employed church growth researcher, consultant, author & speaker. His focus now is on encouraging post-covid attendance & membership recovery, the spread of focal ministry, & the scaling up of LyCiG.

Paul is Archdeacon of Leeds

Darren Collins leads the Bishop’s Hatfield Team Ministry with a vision for growth rooted in welcome, clarity, and everyday witness. Darren is passionate about making church life accessible, especially to working-class and marginalized communities, by fostering a culture of belonging and equipping others to lead with confidence. He mentors clergy and lay leaders to discern their gifts and step into ministry with purpose and joy.

Gareth is originally from Liverpool, and is currently the Vicar of a church in Worksop where he lives with his wife April and their two children.

Gareth is passionate about seeing small churches take simple steps to grow.

After 47 years in ministry Robin is now a retired vicar. He is still serving, however, in a very demanding inner-city parish in Bradford, and is still hungry to see our church growing and people coming to faith.

When not involved in church work he is usually busy reading, walking, painting and supporting Bradford City.

Ed moved to Hope Church in Chesham in Summer 2025 where he leads the church family in Hivings as part of the Parish of Great Chesham. He previously served as a curate in Liverpool and in a pioneering context on the edge of Leicester. He is passionate about churches being rooted in the local community and growing churches that are intercultural and intergenerational.

Rolf has been supporting LYCiG for over 20 years in worship leading. After ordination, he joined the presenting team in 2019. Rolf is vicar of St Philip’s Church in Osmondthorpe, Leeds, where he leads with warmth, joy, and a deep commitment to community. He’s especially passionate about youth work, leading Bible studies, and preaching. With a background in education, worship and theology, Rolf believes in the local church’s role to proclaim Jesus.

Canon Grant Naylor is the Vicar of St Matthew’s Church in Sheffield and is a Mission Development Advisor in the Diocese of Sheffield.

A native of Liverpool he studied at Lampeter and Oxford before serving a curacy in West Auckland, Co Duham. He enjoys travel, hiking and is a loyal Evertonian. 

Alex was born in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, and then grew up on the south coast of England. He is married to Sarah, a psychotherapist, and they have two sons. He was ordained in Oxford in 2000 and has since served as a bishop’s chaplain, inner-city vicar and archdeacon. In his spare time, he is learning to play the piano. He also enjoys riding his Triumph Bonneville motorcycle and running half-marathons.

Having discovered God in Her teen years in a rural parish church, after feeling called to ordination, Kate is passionate about the local, the importance of welcome, and a space to discover the truth of the Gospel.

Now ordained for over 20 years, she is serving as Archdeacon of Stansted in Chelmsford Diocese.

Sarah didn’t encounter real faith until she was forty—an age when many assume they’ve already “figured it all out.” For her, that moment of awakening became the catalyst for the most privileged vocation she could ever imagine. Today, as a priest and evangelist, her heart overflows with gratitude and love for Jesus.

Since 2022 John has been the Growing Healthy Churches Adviser for York Diocese running various projects supporting churches to grow – in disciples, in worship and in mission.He was ordained in 1987 and has served churches in Bradford, Leeds and Christchurch, New Zealand. He was appointed an Archdeacon in 2010 and served in the South Island, NZ, Liverpool and York Dioceses. 

Rachel is a proud Essex girl! She is an incumbent in the Diocese of Chelmsford and looks after three rural churches on the edge of Braintree. Her curacy was in Saffron Walden, and before then she lived in Bristol, London and Cambridge. Rachel is passionate about little churches developing a big heart for growth.

Sarah is the Diocesan renewal officer for Blackburn Diocese. Prior to this, she was a Vicar of a large and growing church in the Diocese of Liverpool. She is passionate about prayer and encouraging leaders both lay and ordained to share their story and to help people know the transforming love of Jesus.

Caitlin is vicar of three churches across East Leeds, in Harehills, Burmantofts and Halton. After training at Oxford and a curacy at Ripon cathedral, she has worked in various inner city and estate contexts, seeking to help people to meet Jesus through the sacraments and scriptures. She is driven to help churches grow and share the good news, even in the most difficult and challenging of circumstances.

Claire began her career as a history teacher, but during a career break to have a baby, she found herself responding to an unexpected call to ordination. She has had the joy of being part of churches across a wide range of traditions. Having come to faith as a teenager through a friend’s youth group mission month, mission remains at the heart of all she does.

Anna serves a Rector of the parish of St Leonard, Streatham. She was formally the Canon Chancellor at Exeter Cathedral and Diocesan Missioner supporting churches in Devon in their church growth strategy and outreach. Anna served as a Parish Priest in both a Devon Market town and several rural villages and as a School Chaplain.