Staff and Leadership

Please find below an introduction to our church leaders and members of staff.


Ian Olliver - Minister		Michael Agyeman - Trustee
Ian became our pastor in 2024. He had his first powerful encounter with Jesus as a teenager. He worked in the furniture industry for a number of years before being called to train for Baptist ministry in 2008. He lives with his amazing wife Clare and sporadically with their increasingly adult children Bethan and Stuart. He enjoys sharing his time with all kinds of people, also writing and taking every opportunity to get outside and make the most of the natural playground that is God's creation.		Hi, I'm Michael. With 4 young girls at home it's no wonder I've not had time to write my bio. Michael has oversight of the technical aspect within the church as well as being the Deputy Designated Person for Safeguarding.


Dave Berry - Pastoral Lead		Liz Blake - Pastoral Lead
Dave works part time running a small gardening and decorating business. Retired from the Probation Service, he also has a background in theatre and gospel music outreach and pastoral care to people in the arts and entertainment business. His pastoral work within Ross Baptist Church is delivered on a voluntary basis. Dave is married to Karen and has four grown up children and an adorable sprocker spaniel called Chester! If he is able to share his love of Jesus with people alongside him, he is never happier!		Liz was raised in a longstanding missionary family in Central Africa. She made a firm commitment to follow Jesus as a child. She is married to Geoff and they have 3 children and 5 grandsons! She trained as a nurse and has been involved in caring for mainly elderly people ever since, within Care Homes and in the community. They have been involved in a variety of churches, serving in many different ways. Geoff and Liz worship regularly at Ross Baptist, where Liz has a particular involvement with Pastoral Care.


Pete Brown - Trustee		Andrew Downing - Chair of Trustees
Pete and his wife Michaela moved to Ross-on-Wye nearly 4 years ago after retiring from a church ‘caretaker’ appointment in Cheltenham. He has a hobby in music and can often be seen playing bass guitar with the worship group on Sundays. Pete has oversight of the fabric of Ross Baptist Church.		Andrew, and his wife Jane, started attending RBC in 2018 and he became Chair of Trustees in April 2022. Andrew currently works as the CFO of Let's Talk Well, a charity providing a 'free to access' counselling service for young people aged 9-25.


Philla Moore - Trustee		Irene Rothwell - Trustee
Despite living six miles from Ross Philla has attended RBC since August 1997, drawn here by the quality of the children’s work. She has helped with the children on Sunday mornings since arriving. She retired from full-time work in November 2022, but volunteers to help with children locally, and abroad through a long association with local charity Hands around the World. She is a member of the RBC pastoral team and would love to have time to do more pastoral work. She is married to Graham and they have two grown-up daughters. Philla has oversight of the Families, Children and Youth work within the church.		Irene moved to Ross on Wye with her husband John in 2014. She was an Early Years Teacher in London for 28 years before taking on the role of Pastoral Care Coordinator for the school in 2006. In 2008 Irene took early retirement to become the Centre Manager for Christians Against Poverty for her church in South London and also as an Advocate for ACTS435. Irene continues to be involved with CAP as a debt Coach, ACTS435 and the local Community Larder. She has a great love for Jesus, and her cats. Irene has oversight of the church's partnering with other agencies.


Martin Skirrow - Treasurer		Rosemary Sutton - Trustee
I started attending the church in 1992. I came to faith in 1995 through the Just Looking course. Since then, I have served in a number of different areas of the church. Small group leader, youth work, Alpha courses, part of the leadership team, treasurer, Christians Against Poverty (CAP) and Churches Together in Ross & District (CTRD). Outside church I can be found spending time with the family, my wife, our children and grandchildren, on the cricket field, running and sometimes watching Hereford FC. Now that I have retired, I’m hoping to become more involved with Street Pastors and CAP, along with more walking and possibly the odd bike ride. Apparently, I go on holiday a lot!		I'm an Essex girl by birth. My working career included working for a Chartered Accountants, Estate Agent/Surveyor and then for 28 years for a Travel Management Company who as Credit Controller. In 1995 I attended an Alpha Course and I was baptised that same year. I moved to Ross-on-Wye in 2007 where I soon felt relaxed and at home at RBC. My hobbies are definitely on the crafty side but I also belong to a local walking group and thoroughly enjoy being out in the beautiful Herefordshire countryside. Rosemary is our Church Registrar and has oversight of the office.


Peter Wade - Trustee		Nick Wardale - Trustee
Peter was a Baptist Minister in Coleford before retiring to Ross. He and his wife are very involved in the Horizons lunch club. Peter has oversight of the support of our missionaries.		Nick and his family have been part of the RBC family for over 20 years. Nick has a background in Education / Theology and teaches at the local high school. You will sometimes spot Nick playing keyboard with the worship group. Nick has oversight of the music and worship within the church.


Karen Berry - Children and Families Ministry Team Lead		Jane Griffiths - Children and Families Worker
Karen heads up our children and families ministry after leaving primary school teaching and has the job of keeping children’s church and groups fun and relevant, engaging with some of the local schools and the community to offer support, run family events and provide or signpost help where needed. Karen loves reading, craft and spending time with her family.		Jane is the part time children and family worker. She has a sunny disposition and is always on hand to help and support when needed.


Pete Martin - Youth Worker		Steph Ray - Administrator
I was appointed to be the Youth Worker at Ross Baptist Church on 1 January 2006. I arrived here with my wife, Miriam, who currently works as a nursery assistant having worked as a primary school teacher for over 20 years. We now have two sons born in 2007 and 2010. I love working with young people and my inspiration for working with them is John 10:10. Jesus said "I have come that they may have life, a more and better life that they ever dreamed of." I believe a life with Jesus in the centre is the best life ever. I hope all of our groups are fun and point to Jesus. I try to put Jesus first in my life, in my marriage and in my family life. My other interests include playing and coaching football, supporting Ipswich Town FC. I also like other active sports, gardening and cooking.		Steph is usually your first point of contact for enquiries via the website.


Kim Skirrow - Administrator		Elaine Loe - Christians Against Poverty Debt Centre Manager
I’m Kim, a wife, mother and Grannie. I have lived most of my life in Ross, attending RBC for the past 32 years. I’m retired now, but turn up now and again to help Steph with the office admin. I enjoy time with the family, knitting and sewing projects, holidays and a good cappuccino.		Elaine studied Theology, taught at Secondary school and was head of women's ministry at a large international church in Germany before coming to RBC. CAP partners with our church to provide free debt counselling to anyone struggling with their finances. Elaine loves working in our community and sharing that Jesus paid the ultimate debt for us. She loves seeing transformed lives.

If you need to contact the Church then please visit the Contact Us page.

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Visitors click here.

Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello

The following information is designed to help you have the most positive experience when visiting us on a Sunday morning.Where and When

We meet in our beautiful Victorian Church Building on Broad Street (details here) for our Sunday Service starting at 10:30am. If you are arriving by car we recommend the nearby Maltings (Sainsbury's) carpark which is free for use on a Sunday. For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you will be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team who will be wearing a Welcome lanyard.

Accessibility

There is chair lift, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up. To make our Sunday service more fully accessible, live translation via Microsoft Translator app is available.

Our Service

Our main service begins at 10.30am and lasts about an hour and a quarter. The service usually includes a mixture of new vibrant worship songs coupled with more traditional hymns, the words are projected on the big screen. There will also be opportunities to pray and to hear some of the bible read and explained. Somebody will always be available to pray or chat with you after the service if you would like that. Please stay after the service for free refreshments which may even include cake!

Church Service Feature - COPY

Refreshments are served downstairs in the church hall after the service. We hope you will stay and have a chat.

What about my kids?

We have a great programme lined up for kids of all ages:

Kingdom Crew (0 months to year 6). Children under 6 months are welcome but must be accompanied by their parent/grown-up at all times.
Youth Group (Years 7+)
Young people (15+ years) Stay in service.

Children and young people stay with their parent or grown-up at the start of the service for the welcome, notices and first song. We really value worshipping God all together as a family. A slide will be shown when it is time for children and young people to go to their groups. Parents / carers will need to go with their children to register them as part of our child safety policy. Children and youth groups meet in the Venue, a member of the Welcome Team will be able to show you where that is. Before the end of the service you will be prompted to go and pick up children. Youth will return to church independently after their group.

Kingdom Crew begins with a game and includes items from a range of activities but always a terrific craft!

kingdom crew - COPY

The Youth Group meet to study the Bible and pray together. The group is designed to be of a size that can sustain meaningful discussion, and yet also allow the young people to get to know and support one another.

****photo of Sunday Youth Group ***

Getting Connected

Small Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our small groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week, some during the day and many during the evenings. Our Encounter group is a good place to start, they meet in the church hall Tuesday evenings, 7.30-9pm. Contact us if you would like to explore joining a small group.

*** photo of Encounter Group ***

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to serve on a team, or you can help at one of our regular ministries that run during the week, children, youth or senior citizens.

*** slide show of serving on a Sunday ***

Get in touch with us to plan your visit

If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you.

We hope that whoever you are, you will feel at home at our church.

Best Wishes

Get in touch with us to plan your visit

If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you.

Name:

Telephone:

Email Address:
Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.

Minister


Ian Olliver

We hope that whoever you are, you will feel at home at our church.

Best Wishes

(Handwritten Signature)