Leadership Team
There are lots of people involved in leadership at Welcome Church, far too many to list them all!
The ultimate responsibility to set the vision, and to lead and care for the church is carried by our Eldership team, who are:
Steve Petch
Steve is the Lead Pastor at Welcome Church, and is also part of the UK Leadership Team for the Commission network of churches.
Before starting at Welcome church Steve was involved in church planting and has started four congregations, as well as giving input and oversight to others.
You can read’s Steve’s Welcome Church blog by clicking here.
Steve is married to Jo, who is the Executive Headteacher for a Federation of schools for children with Special Educational Needs.
Jo also helps lead the worship at Welcome Church. Together they have 3 grown up children.
Christopher Hawes
Christopher is married to Sarah and they have three children. After a career in Theatre and in Arts Education, Christopher joined our staff team as Teaching and Creativity Pastor, bringing a strong Bible teaching gift and his creative vision to the team. He is also one of our Sunday morning worship leaders.
Dean Guy
Dean is married to Ros and they have been part of the church since 1999. Dean joined the leadership team in 2012.
In his pastoral role, amongst many other things, Dean oversees the welcome of people and their pathway into the church, so if you want to find out more about what it means to belong, Dean would love to chat with you.
Before working for the church Dean enjoyed a career in architecture and construction. He loves sport, particularly football and fishing, and has a go at painting. Together, Dean and Ros are foster carers, and Ros also gives her time to training guide dog puppies. They have 3 grown up sons.
Dub Everitt
Dub is our Outreach Pastor, helping people connect with and find their place within Welcome Church. He oversees Alpha Online – a brilliant course involving great episodes from the Alpha Film Series and conversations about life and faith in small online groups. Dub also oversees our CAP services for Woking and other areas of Social Action.
Dub was the Sales Director of Benross Golf before joining Welcome Church in January 2015. He loves football – Dub is an ex-professional who is passionate about his team Fulham!
He is married to Tanya, who is a part-time primary school teacher and a full-time Mum. She also uses her creative juices overseeing all the craft for Welcome Kids! They’ve got three awesome kids and two cats in their noisy and fun home.
Eugene Engelbrecht
Eugene is married to Jody and they have four children. Together Eugene and Jody run a business called Engel construction.
Eugene has a strong pastoral gift and loves to see people discipled, set free, full of the Spirit and thriving in God. Eugene and Jody have a passion for prayer and also lead a Life Group.
Mike Reid
Mike is married to Lou and they have three children. Mike works in London in the insurance industry and Lou regularly gives time as a volunteer, serving in our church offices and helping lead our pastoral care.
Mike and Lou both have a clear pastoral heart and Mike has a strong prophetic gift too. Mike is also one of our church trustees.
Nnamdi Anyaegbunam
Nnamdi is married to Uti and they have three children. He previously worked in the City of London in the banking sector but now works from home supporting his large multinational clients with research and advisory services. Uti is a qualified Trademark Attorney and full time Mum. Nnamdi and Uti are passionate about family, friends and food and will often be seen combining all three passions.
They both have a pastoral heart and a passion for seeing lives transformed by the gospel.
Robin Willison
Robin is married to Anna and they have 4 grown-up children and 9 grandchildren; the grandchildren are the fourth generation of the family in Welcome Church so, they’ve been around for a while!
Robin sits on two company boards as a Non-Executive Director, whilst Anna is part of the team that leads the pastoral ministry of Welcome Church, with particular responsibility for marriage.
One of Robin’s main passions, in business and in the church, is the identification and development of leaders; so, he’s deeply involved in leadership training within Welcome Church as well as providing oversight for Life Groups.
Staff Members
Our Eldership team is supported by staff members who are based in our office during the week, plus a range of volunteers who are often in the office helping.
Darren Forsdyke
Darren is the Director of Operations for Welcome Church. He is responsible for making sure everything we do runs smoothly. Before joining Welcome Church, Darren worked in operations in two other large churches. He has also worked in manufacturing industry and in school business management.
He is married to Lois and together they run our Freedom in Christ course. They have two grown up daughters.
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