Leadership

Jesus Christ is Lord and Head of the church. We are his hands and feet, seeking to do His work.

Elders

Emmanuel Church is led by a team of five elders, with many others leading in areas where God has given them particular gifts.

Alan Bell

Our lead elder is Alan Bell. Alan is married to Sandra. They are both from the North East and were both formerly teachers. They became members of Emmanuel in 1986. After leaving his profession, Alan entered full-time ministry and joined the eldership team in 1990. He has strong links with churches in India. Alan and Sandra have two daughters, Elizabeth and Victoria.

Ian

Ian is married to Anne. Both are graduates of Durham University. They have three children and live in The Sands area of Durham. Ian taught science for seven years in South Shields. He enjoys cycling & sailing.

John Parker

John met his future wife Chris Done while they were both postgraduate students in Cambridge. Shortly after they got married, they moved to the United States for two years. Following some time in the Midlands, they moved to Durham in 1994 and have both worked for the university ever since. John joined the eldership team in 2008. Part of his role is to help people develop their God-given spiritual gifts. Chris is involved in evangelism and has run several Alpha courses.

Keith Mallard

Keith and Sally initially worked in teaching; Keith in the secondary sector, eventually working as a Deputy Headteacher in Middlesbrough, and Sally in the primary sector. Keith now leads his own leadership training and coaching company. They both have a heart for serving within the church. Keith became an elder in January 2017.

Jonny Higgins

Jonny leads the student work here at Emmanuel, facilitating students to get stuck into the local church, grow in Christ and share their faith. He joined Emmanuel in 2016 as a student and he lives in Gilesgate with his wife Ashaleigh.

Deacons

We have seven deacons. They are responsible for leading service in a particular area of church life.

Ryan Marklew

Ryan has been married to Naomi since 2011 and they live in Durham, where Ryan is a secondary Maths teacher. He took up responsibility for the church music team in 2012, having played in Emmanuel, and in previous churches, for a number of years.

Jenny Booth 

Jenny oversees church finances. She lives in Belmont.

Lisa Lavender

Lisa leads our Welcome, including our stewarding and refreshments. Lisa is married to Stuart, who serves on the worship team. They live in Carrville and have three grown-up children who have flown the nest.

Lisa works for Hartlepool Foodbank as the current Coordinator and loves the quietness and simple things in life.

Steve Varty

Steve leads our communications team. He is married to Amanda and works for Durham University.

Stephen Jones

Stephen oversees our pastoral care network. He has a heart for coming alongside others and supporting them, helping them to become free to experience the fullness of life offered to us all by God. Originally from Durham, Stephen previously worked in full-time ministry for the Salvation Army. He is now a Head teacher. He is married to Lorraine and they have three grown-up children, Amy, Richard and Megan.

If you have any concerns over a Safeguarding issue please see Stephen who is our Safeguarding coordinator.

Dan Baker co-leads the Rising Generations team (Children & Youth) with Matt Jackson. He has a big passion for seeing young people come to know Jesus and achieve things they thought they couldn't. He is married to Rachel who helps to lead creche and they have two sons and live in Belmont.

Matt Jackson co-leads the Rising Generations team (Children & Youth) with Dan Baker. He is passionate about seeing young people’s lives changed through the power of Jesus and to see churches working together to share the good news across Durham. He is also a sailing instructor and mountain biker. Matt is married to Rosie. They love to play board games and live in Carrville.

Other colleagues

Peter Aidoo is a Pastoral Assistant. He loves Jesus passionately! Peter moved to England from Italy in 2015 and lives in Ushaw Moor with his son. He has a heart to see people develop through pastoral care, and loves to worship Jesus.

Ashaleigh Higgins is part of the Youth Team working with Dan and Matt and she is so keen to see young people have loads of fun and passionately love Jesus in all areas of their lives. She arrived in Durham as a student, is married to Jonny and they live in Gilesgate. Ashaleigh is currently on maternity leave.