Ascension Trust Representatives

Ascension Trust Representatives (ATR’s) help to further the mission of Ascension Trust by raising awareness, promoting the work of Street Pastors and delivering the vital training of Street Pastors.

Malcolm Murray (2)MALCOM MURRAY

Malcolm is an ATR and volunteer coordinator for Basingstoke Street Pastors, which started in Basingstoke in July 2008. He is highly passionate about his faith and Street Pastors and the impact it can have on a community. He is a member and on the leadership team of North Basingstoke Community Church.

In his day job Malcolm is a Co-Founder and Director of the Entrepreneurs Hub, they work with company owners to help them grow and build valuable businesses; and prepare for their eventual exit from the business.

As an established Entrepreneur and accomplished motivational speaker, he is passionate about helping people to grow and develop in business and life. Malcolm has delivered seminars, training and motivational talks to over 60,000 people in businesses, churches and Street Pastor initiatives across the UK.

Malcolm strongly believes that ‘if you grow your people, you will grow your business, your church, your Street Pastor initiative’

Malcolm enjoys spending time with his family, eating out and going to the cinema with his wife Julie, cycling on his road bike, playing golf (not so good at times!), and watching Southampton Football Club.

 

David Grant

David became an ATR in 2024 and has been the volunteer coordinator for Basingstoke Street Pastors since 2020. He is passionate about seeing Christians take their faith into the community and demonstrate the love of Jesus through practical care and compassion which often leads to being able to talk about his faith. He worships at Mosaic Church, Basingstoke and frequently preaches at churches across Hampshire.

David has a varied career which includes 20 years as a teacher, 4 years in industry as an IT Trainer and 10 years as the lead pastor of a Newfrontiers church.  In addition to his role a volunteer coordinator in Basingstoke he is the administrator for OneChurch Basingstoke and is coordinator for the Basingstoke Night Light Winter Shelter for rough sleepers. He is a part-time chaplain at Hampshire Hospital Foundation Trust and an occasional handyman and gardener. He also volunteers for Care for the Family and Kintsugi Hope.

David enjoys spending time with his wife Ann, and growing family, especially his grandchildren. He is a keen runner having completed over 20 marathons and ultra-marathons and he is a qualified running coach and membership secretary for Hook Runners.

My personal email address is davidacgrant@gmail.com

ROSHNI VERGHESE

BANGOR

ROSHNI ELIZABETH VERGHESE

I live in beautiful North Wales, admittedly far from any place which would make it ‘easy’ for me to go as an ATR given the distance I will have to travel to get to it; still very pretty a place and nice to live in!

I have been a member of the Bangor Street Pastor Team (one of the only two in North Wales) since its inception in 2010; have been a Senior Pastor for most of it. I love working in Bangor, a university town, home to some 14,000 students and of a four- fold increase in population over summer with holiday makers. But then I love working as a street pastor, wherever. I consider it a privilege to take my Faith to the local community not by words but by deeds; it works.

I was indeed blessed to be part of the team that went to Badagry, Lagos, Nigeria in 2013; we trained, commissioned and led for a few days a team of 60 or so Street Pastors there. This was the first Street Pastor initiative in the African continent.

It is also my prayer and hope that the Lord will open up further opportunities for me to venture into setting up similar SP initiatives in troubled and broken places/countries.

 

 

 

DUNCAN WITHALL

I am now a retired (they tell me) Bideford businessman. Actually I seem to be a full-time volunteer working far harder than ever. Volunteering is a good excuse for not doing housework, so I am:

• A Lay preacher (more than 50 years), with experience of Church Planting, mass evangelism & 1to1 counselling.

• Coordinator of Bideford Street Pastors,

• Founder and CEO of Northern Devon Foodbank

• Accredited Marshal for British Cycling,

• Part of a team involved in restoring an old steamship

• and now an Ascension Trust Representative.

• Sometimes I sleep.

Richard and Shirley Wormsley

MALCOM HARRIS

Having spent 31 years as a secondary teacher, including twice being Deputy Head, I moved into Health and Safety and qualified with an MSc in 2007.

Having thought that Street Pastoring would be for me when I retire, I was able to start training earlier with the loss of my mother in 2014.

I have lived in East Sussex for nearly forty years and have been part of Rye and District Street Pastors since their launch in May 2015, where I am a Senior/ Team Leader and act as co-ordinator when required. Last year, I also trained as a Response Pastor.

I wanted to assist Ascension Trust further and so trained as an ATR, where I hope and pray that with my education background, I will be able to train and encourage more recruits to serve as Street Pastors and I look forward to what the future holds for me.

Interests: Driving, cooking and music – learning to play French Horn Grade 5 and I play drums.

 SIMON HESTER

Hi, I’m Simon and I live in North Dorset. I work as a         manager in the NHS Ambulance Service and it is a     privilege to represent the Ascension Trust in my spare time.

I came across Street Pastors through attending 999 calls as a paramedic. I saw first-hand the positive impact that Street Pastors were having in the urban night-time economy and  it motivated me to want to work with the organisation.

I first started delivering training for the Ascension Trust in 2010. I have delivered training to Street Pastors, School Pastors and Prayer Pastors in subjects including the management of alcohol and drug intoxication, street safety, trauma stress management, teamwork and leadership skills. I have also contributed to the design of national training material.

In my other spare time, I play bass in a ska band and enjoy spending time with my family.

CORK

DAVE HOEY

A Dubliner, Dave and his wife Fiona (on the original Management team) and their two children moved to Cork in 1996. He is Co-ordinator of the Cork area, a former insurance Risk Surveyor and obtained a diploma in Addiction Intervention and Counselling after retiring. Dave has found both areas of experience to be very helpful to him as a Stret Pastor.

Dave and Fiona, along with some colleagues operated a soup run and to homeless people for 4 years before morphing into Cork SP in 2012. He is very encouraged by the efforts to grow the relationship between between Cork and the SP areas in Northern Ireland and the development of an initiative in Dublin. He regards Street Pastors as a great platform for building and in some cases, mending, bridges in cthe community. Dave is a member of Grace Christian Church in Cork, a passionate sports fan, loves fly-fishing and motorcycle road racing.

NEWTOWNABBEY

MARK WELSH

I am a 53 years old from Newtownabbey, married to Karen and have two daughters 26 & 23. I work as an Energy Services Manager for Energia based in Belfast and as a member of the Energy Institute can talk about electricity for hours.

I am an Elder in New Mossley Presbyterian Church which is based is a housing estate on the outskirts of North Belfast; our passion is to share the love of Jesus in all of our community. Although a socially deprived area the people are a blessing and there is a real community spirit. When the local council moved their offices in to our parish about 4 years ago it gave us opportunities to work closer with the council.

It was God at work when a friend said we should check out Street Pastors, the idea of being part of the Urban Trinity involving The Church, Council and Police (caring, listening and helping) was something we had to take seriously. To cut a long story short we started Newtownabbey Street Pastors in spring 2012, I was Chair of the scheme for first two years and now serve as a member of the management team coordinating the training and projects. We have over 70 trained volunteers and we are keen to develop our work in more areas within our council area.

My passion is for the community; I have been running various youth clubs in the church for over 30 years and successfully applied for funding for the church to appoint a Youth & Community worker over the last 7 years.

Trevor Betts

Barbara Brown – Prayer

Martin PointingMARTIN POINTING

Martin came to know Jesus when he was 15 years of age, he was in the Met Police from 16 yrs of age until he retired in 2011. When he retired he worked for the Ascension Trust as the National Co ordinator for School and College Pastors. He and his wife both work at City Gates church in Soho and he is married with 3 children, and at the moment just 2 grandchildren. I oversee work with homeless people, I work with people from around the world and love, mentor and encourage many young people. I currently train for a number of charities, including Christian charities, using Restorative Justice, I also work one day a week for Croydon Youth Offending service.

AnwarANWAR BOURAZZA

Anwar Bourazza has worked with Ascension Trust & Street Pastors for over 16 years and has been a Street Pastor since 2004. Over the years Anwar was the Street Pastors Coordinator for Hackney & Southwark in London and Gravesham & Ashford in Kent. He is extremely passionate about the vision of Street Pastors and has had the privilege of training Street Pastors from all over the UK for many years and has met some fantastic people. His main focus is managing the uniforms and merchandising ranges, helping to equip Street Pastors to serve. Anwar has also completed Stage 3-5 for new areas, alongside launches and commissioning services. Anwar is based within the Kent Area.

Sharon 1-2SHARON CONSTANCE

Sharon Constance was one of the original 18 who went out on the street of Lambert and Hackney back in 2003.

Sharon has been involved with the training side of Street Pastors both in the UK and Internationally. She is also an international Trainer of trainers

Sharon is not affiliated with one particular area Street Pastor area, so is in the privilege position being able to patrol in various areas

She has a passion for people and Street Pastors meets that passion by Caring , Listening and Helping.

 

Eustace Constance

 

Louise Isaac – Prayer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bejoy Pal

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tony Winter

SARAH WILLIAMS

I love to see people develop their full potential and to share from my own experiences. I have been a Christian for many years becoming a Street Pastor Northampton in 2008. I was a volunteer coordinator in Northampton for 2.5 years but needed to stand down due to the demands of my paid employment with in the NHS.  I have since become semi-retired allowing me more time to enjoy my love of skiing and pursue different areas of Street Pastors.

Since becoming an ATR I have found a real joy in training and refreshing Street Pastors. I am also a Response Pastor and a Director of Springs family Centre (my churches outreach to our area). I volunteer at the youth hub loving to interact with those who attend. I was privileged in 2015 to receive The High Sheriff award for significant contributions to the community through Street Pastors and the youth group. I look forward to the ongoing challenges of being an ATR and being part of this great ministry.

MARTIN HILL

Martin Hill has been associated with Street Pastors since 2007 when he was involved in the setting up and co-ordinating of Aberdeen Street Pastors. He is currently based in South London and recently joined the management committee of Southwark Street Pastors.

Martin has been in full-time ministry with The Salvation Army for over thirty years. As well as leading churches, his roles have included regional youth and children’s work and regional leadership. He currently works at the Army’s UK headquarters with responsibility for publishing.

Keith Leslie

George & Dawn Thurkettle

Dawn has been actively involved with Rugby Street Pastors since 2013, trained to be an ATR and Response Pastor in 2016 and joined Barbara, Louise and Dave on the Ascension Trust National Prayer Team in 2018.

Also in 2018 Dawn became Rugby Street Pastors Coordinator with George training and joining the team during lockdown. Their eldest son is also a Street Pastor. Dawn trained with the Bridge Watch team in 2023 and enjoys learning, interactions and conversations that this unique team brings to London’s bridges.

George is the Chairman for Youth for Christ in Rugby, he is passionate about serving Jesus in our community.  George works full time as an IT Consultant and supports Rugby Street Pastors with recruitment and training. He enjoys supporting and encouraging the Ascension Trust team with training also.   When not in uniform, patrolling or training, they both enjoy spending time with family and friends, walking their spaniel, and visiting the beautiful countryside.  Together they strive to make Rugby a safe and vibrant place to live and work.

IMG_0145DR NIZAM MOHAMMED

Nizam is a retired Principal Lecturer in Management and Research at Kingston University and St George’s University of London. . Married with two children, sadly loosing my daughter to cancer in 2010. I have been a street pastor in Epsom and Ewell for 10 years before moving to settle in Camber East Sussex post retirement. Was appointed Coordinator of Rye and District SP initiative Feb 2015.

Rye and District is a new initiative which was launched on May 2nd 2015 with 7 street pastors and 7 prayer pastors. We now have 12 street pastors and continue to grow. Currently working in partnership with Bexhill, Hastings, Tonbridge and East Grinstead to train our future street pastors.

Mike's photo LondonMIKE FREEMAN; MBE

Lives in Stamford, Lincolnshire.After completing 30 years in the Police Service I then worked for several Christian charities including in 2010 ‘More Than Gold’; whilst with them I implemented, recruited, trained and managed the ‘Games Pastor’ programme, where just under 300 Games Pastors deployed for the Olympic Games in 2012. That was when I first networked with Ascension Trust (Games Pastors).

After the Olympics my involvement increased with Ascension Trust when I became a Street Pastor (in Stamford) and also took on the role of ATR. I have trained Street Pastors both in R & R and also Refresher Training both in the UK and abroad. In 2013 I assisted to train, launch and deploy the first Street Pastor programme in Africa, in Lagos,Nigeria; where we trained and deployed 60 Street Pastors.

My role is as an ATR concentrating on delivering the Response Pastor training day.

ADRIAN PRIOR-SANKEY150420 A Head and Shoulders DSC_0401

Adrian Prior-Sankey is a former Baptist Minister based in Taunton, Somerset, with lots of life experience having served as a Special Constable, Chairman of a local authority and an ecumenical represenative, leading him to being described on one occasion as a ‘one man urban Trinity’! He is the author of the Street Pastors’ Leadership Course and enjoys travelling widely to share his passion for making Jesus known to people of all ages through the care we offer.

 

.Catharine (Kate) Nichols

I am an Ordained Pastor in the United Methodist Church in New England. I have been the President of the Management Team for Street Pastors since we launched the ministry in 2014. This ministry has been transformative in Bangor Maine and I can’t wait to see what possibilities are out there for this ministry to expand in the United States.

EBBW VALE

R. WAYNE EVANS

Wayne is an ATR and Coordinator/Treasurer of Ebbw Vale Street Pastors initiative which was launched in June 2010. He was born in the Swansea Valley but is now living in Beaufort, Ebbw Vale parallel to the highest point on the Heads of the Valley region of South Wales and which borders the beautiful Brecon Beacons National Park.

He became a Christian as child of 9 years old having been brought up in a Christian family. Started his public speaking as a 14yr old sharing his testimony on Llandudno promenade during a beach mission week with hundreds listening. Has been involved in a lot of open air evangelism and youth work throughout the years.

Wayne retired as a Bank Manager just before the 2008 banking crash having worked for Lloyds Bank for 36 years in over 22 branches in South Wales during that time. He had already been a Senior Elder of Churh on the Rise, Beaufort since 1989 so when he retired he became their Senior Leader of this Baptist Church. He is heavily involved in the community being on the Management and Media Team for the Blaenau Gwent Foodbank, a CAP (Christians Against Poverty) Money Coach and CAP Speaker, Chair of Governors for a local Special School, a member of SACRE, Treasurer and Director for the Local Cricket Club and various treasurers for local church and community organisations.

He is keen to see the work of Street Pastors in Wales thrive and develop and very passionate about what God is doing in Wales as a nation and wants all Welsh SPI’s to grow and be a blessing to their communities. In June 2016, he had the privilege of going on a 10 day mission with Les Isaac to Antigua to see first-hand the work of Street Pastors out there and thoroughly enjoyed the experience of engaging with the Management Team and going out on patrol with the team together with meeting up with the Antiguan Prime Minister. There was also a little time to enjoy the delights of the beautiful beaches!!!

He has 2 boys James, 30 this year and Benjamin, 27 in January. Loves walking the mountains, travelling, cricket and is an aviation geek in any spare time he may have!

TYwbay022LCCHRIS LINCOLN

Hi I’m Chris, I felt my calling to joining Street pastors in 2009 starting in Newcastle upon Tyne, I was appointed a Senior the following year and in 2011 was called to Whitley Bay Street Pastors to be their first Coordinator. Our first patrol was in December 2011 and we have had the most amazing and blessed journey, we have our mobile safe place which is a huge asset and in 2012 we were also called to patrol in Tynemouth as well.

We started our patrols on the Metro system in 2014 and have just recently started discussions with the police in Wallsend as they would like us to patrol there. I love being a Street pastor, a wonderful calling.