Ken Burns
Ken was brought up in a Christian family, and soon became very involved in running Portrack Baptist Church in Stockton-on-Tees, eventually as a deacon and church secretary. It was during this period that Ken first met Roy Searle, when Roy took up his first pastorate at Portrack!
Later, after moving to Wensleydale, Ken experienced the “Toronto blessing”, became a Kinship leader in the North Yorkshire Vineyard, and after some years, the pastor of the Dales Community Church.
Ken moved to Arran in 2003, and has been involved in Christian work on the Island, but specifically at Sannox from the beginning. Ken is married to Jackie, and despite being “retired”, both are very busy, Ken particularly with part time consultancy work as a chemical engineer.
Roy Searle
Roy came from an non-churched background, came to faith in the Cairngorms of Scotland and has been involved in pioneering, church planting, pastoring churches and establishing missional communities. He is one of the founders of the Northumbria Community, a geographically dispersed new monastic community that spans the world. A former President of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, Roy is now one of the denominations Pioneer Ambassadors. He is a Fellow of St John’s College, Durham and a tutor at Spurgeons College, London and visiting lecturer and speaker. A writer, mentor, spiritual director, retreat leader and popular speaker and a member of the Renovare Board, Roy brings a love of Arran, an island he has known for many years, a breadth of experience and some wisdom from his extensive ministry. He is currently engaged in writing, mentoring pioneers and advisory work with churches, communities and charities.
He and his wife live in Northumbria and they have four children and seven grandchildren. A keen sportsman, having hung up his football boots several years ago, he enjoys playing tennis, badminton, golf and curling and every opportunity to sail in the Inner Hebrides. He describes his ministry as seeking to encourage people to love God, think deeply and live generously.
Gilbert McKinnon
Gilbert’s family have lived on Arran for generations and his home was in Sannox. They attended Corrie Free Church and, on occasions, Sannox Church.
He and his wife attended Bible College in Berwick, a valued experience. They lived and worked in Israel for two years and he continued BD studies. He has revisited Israel in recent years and loves the land. Later, they moved south to teach Religious Studies. He wrote GCSE courses on “Christianity”, “Gospels” and “Christian Perspectives on Contemporary Issues” that went to many schools in England and he taught A-Level New Testament and John’s Gospel. They moved back to Scotland two years ago. Having been part of evangelical Churches in several places, conservative and charismatic, they have respect for the greatness of Christ’s body. Experience of the powerful Presence of God and His Hand at work created a hunger to see more of that in the life of the Church.
D G Weir
DG is a born and bred Arranach and local business owner, also involved in the life of Arran Baptist Church with his wife Charlotte.
Andy Hall
After graduating from London Bible College in 1986 Andy worked with Youth With A Mission (YWAM); serving in evangelism, church planting and training project all over the UK. From 1997 he worked as the National Evangelist for YWAM England following four years as the director of an inter-church Bible School in Guildford, Surrey, which aimed to train up pioneer evangelists and church planters.
The family moved to Scotland in 2001 when Andy was appointed as National Director for the work of YWAM in that nation. In 2007 he stepped down from this role and out of YWAM to concentrate on a full time teaching and preaching ministry alongside churches and their leadership teams. He currently lives and ministers in Yorkshire.
Maggie Lane
Maggie is a retired Church of Scotland minister, who served the parish of Kirkliston for over a decade. With husband Brian, they started attending Gillespie Memorial Church in early 2020. Maggie, with her prophetic gifting, deep prayerfulness and desire to share the saving grace of the atoning cross of Jesus, brings alive the Word of God in her preaching and ministry.