meet the guest authors

Charles Osewalt is a husband, father of four children and former elder at Redeemer Church NYC. He has worked in schools for the last twenty years as principal in the Morrisanna section of the Bronx. He formerly worked as a content and curriculum specialist for Stewardship. He tweets at @charlesosewalt

Mike is Stewardship's former Chief Executive. Follow Mike on Twitter: @MichaelJONeill

Sarah Clayton once looked after promotions and events at Stewardship and is passionate about giving.

Steve Pierce was born, raised, educated, ordained and employed in Liverpool and is the Director of Learning and Stewardship for the diocese of Liverpool. He supports, of course, Everton.

Sarah-Jane used to work for Stewardship as part of the Charity Formation team and as part of the Business Development team. 

She enjoys baking vegan cakes (and eating them!), and is working towards a single use plastic-free house (one room at a time). 

Rob Chidley is a professional copywriter and published author.  Read his blog here: http://authorwriterblog.wordpress.com

Away from writing, he likes growing things in the garden, making jam and learning British Sign Language. His current favorite BSL word is ‘tractor’.

Sam Gibb is a twenty-something whose passion is to present the message and teachings of Jesus to lads in a way that makes sense to them. He writes a regular column in Sorted Men’s Magazine and works for All Souls, Langham Place in London. Sam is also a Stewardship recipient!

Matthew is a Senior Associate at Anthony Collins Solicitors. He specialises in Employment Law with a focus on Equality and Diversity matters, advising both commercial and charitable clients. Matt spends most of his spare time looking after his two sons. He is Chair of Trustees of Oasis Church Trust, Birmingham.

AoG UK Pastor, former addict, armed robber, drug dealer & convict. Now a follower of Jesus Christ, husband, father, evangelist and author of 'Unreachable'.

http://www.hopecorner.co.uk

Ken has worked in senior positions or the Charity Commission over the last decade as their Principal Information Accountant (Charity Register maintenance and development), and closely involved in the redesign off the “new” (2008) Charity register. His earlier experience at the Commission included charity investigations, leading the Liverpool team of accountants, reviewing the quality of charity accounts, researching aggregate information from the accounts and overseeing the helpline for financial advice. He is now a full time charity consultant. For over 20 years now Ken, and his wife Ruth, have been members of City Church Liverpool, which is an independent Pentecostal church. They have two married daughters and three grand children.

Mike is the Director of OSCAR, a support service for Christians involved in mission. Prior to setting up OSCAR, he worked as a pilot with Mission Aviation Fellowship in Madagascar and Uganda. He is married to Cheryl and they have two teenage children.

 The Reverend Joanne Cox, Evangelism in Contemporary Culture Officer for the Methodist Church, and member of the Hope Leadership Team. This article is adapted from HOPE for Harvest a new resource book from HOPE, the national mission movement which encourages churches to do more, together, in mission in words and action.

Lucy worked as a giving services advisor for Stewardship. She studied Zoology at University and is passionate about environmental stewardship and conservation. She blogs regularly on conservation issues and wildlife on tumblr, or you can follow her on twitter @lucylloydslater.

Alice is a Communications Officer for More Than Gold with a passion for social justice and Jesus. Having graduated university with a degree in Journalism and English Language, Alice now uses her skills to help churches use the opportunity of the 2012 Games to engage with their communities. In her spare time she loves to see her friends and family, and is currently planning her wedding in December this year.  

 The Mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to needy children around the world and, together with the local Church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Now in it’s 22^nd year, Operation Christmas Child sends over 1 million gift-filled shoeboxes each Christmas from the UK. This year worldwide, the charity hopes to send its 100^th millionth shoebox to a child in need.

www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk

Jo was part of the giving services team at Stewardship. She studied at the London School of Theology. She loves music, travelling and is passionate about ending human trafficking.

A former House Parent in a British boarding school, where, with his wife, he looked after 50 teenage boys. He now runs Restore Hope, a charity dedicated to inspiring hope and helping those in need. James is also a founder of the Me & My Dad series - designed to support, encourage and inspire fathers. He lives in Buckinghamshire with his wife and their two boys (Arthur, 4yrs & Samson, 8yrs). They also have an adopted son who's just turned 19yrs.

Carl is an ordained minister in the Church of England. He has served until recently in planting a church in Brighton.  His ministry in Cuba began through contacts made in his secular work which involved selling agrochemicals across Latin America.

Steve Pierce was ordained in 1985 and served parishes in Liverpool followed by six years as a diocesan Stewardship officer in the Diocese. Steve spent four years at Stewardship resourcing a biblical perspective on personal finance and generous giving and is now Director of Learning and Stewardship in the diocese of Liverpool. He has recently published his second book, Beyond the Collection Plate: income streams for churches.

Heather Tomlinson is a freelance journalist who has written for a wide number of Christian and secular publications, and on her blog.

www.homefreed.co.uk

http://www.leedsvineyard.org 

@FlowersDavid

Jo Swinney is an author, editor and speaker. She is Director of Communications at Christian Publishing and Outreach and lives in Bath with her husband and two daughters. www.joswinney.com @joswinney

Luke Larner is a Chaplain to the poor, marginalised and excluded in Luton, and is currently studying part-time for a degree in theology, mission and ministry with the Church Mission Society. Also a member of God's Squad Christian Motorcycle Club, he is passionate about reaching un-churched people from a variety of backgrounds. www.theroadsidemusings.com

Follow him on Twitter: @lucaslarner

Joel Leakey is a freelance writer based out of Northern Ireland. You can follow him on Twitter at @joelleakey, but he warns you it's mostly puns.

Alan has an accounting background having worked in “the City” for more years than he cares to mention. He now works as an advisor and consultant to a number of Christian churches and charities seeking to help them better understand and embrace their finances.

On a good day, you might find him on out on his bike or at White Hart Lane cheering on his beloved Spurs.

Nell Goddard is a writer at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. She graduated in theology from Durham University last summer, and now lives in Central London with her family. You’ll find her blogging over at alianore.co.uk.

Executive Director, LICC

As chief vision-caster Mark is always looking for fresh ways to inspire people with a grasp of the gospel and its implications for the whole of life. His role is hugely varied – one day delivering an inspirational talk, on another day spending time with key leaders, and on yet another he’ll be feverishly penning a new book. He does a reasonable imitation of Rowan Atkinson and a terrible one of Sean Connery, making his wife wish it were the other way round and his children wish he wouldn't do either. He also loves reading, dancing and people.

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Jessie was previously Stewardship's bright and enthusiastic Campaign's Assistant. She loves hummus, good coffee and photography.

Kato is a missionary in the Sub Saharan country of Botswana. He is also an author and freelance writer whose cyber mission is to eliminate mediocrity in web copy. A Christian market freelance writer extraordinaire, he loves turning lacklustre websites and blogs into enthralling spectacles through hypnotic content that turns visitors into subscribers. Check out his “Boost Blog Special” and brace yourself for a traffic jam!

Jennie Pollock is a freelance writer and editor. She lives and worships in central London, a gift for which she is forever thankful. In her spare time she loves exploring the city's culture, dancing, providing hospitality... and curling up with a good book and a cup of tea. She blogs at jenniepollock.com and tweets as @missjenniep

Taryn is a full-time faith missionary, along with her husband Peter. She spends her days revelling in being a mum and writes songs in her spare time! They are all available for free download at https://music.prescott.ws/ 

Abby King is a teacher and writer living in Birmingham. She writes to find light in the dark, beauty in the chaos and peace in the storm. She teaches to change the world, one little life at a time. Her work is regularly published in Teach Primary Magazine.

Ife is a growth-pursuing, conversation-craving, adventure-embracing, moment-cherishing, people-loving British Nigerian gal born and bred in London. Though she studied and started out as a Civil Engineer, she now works as a Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Value Project Coordinator, helping the engineering consultancy she works for better contribute to the long-term wellbeing and resilience of individuals, communities and society in general.