Contributors

Jonathan Tremaine Thomas was raised in the southern foothills of western North Carolina as a fifth generation “preacher’s kid”. After earning a B.S. Communications at East Carolina University and pursuing an M.A. in Intercultural Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary; Jonathan was commissioned by Bethel World Out- reach Center as a missionary and youth minister to the most violent neighborhoods in America. With a passion for the next generation, he has pastored youth and young adults in various contexts since 2003.

As a movement mobilizer, Jonathan has spearheaded extensive strategic prayer and missions initiatives including Azusa Now LA, Awaken The Dawn, OneRace Stone Mountain, The Send, and Pray On MLK. Today, he pioneers prayer fueled holy activism, reconciliation, and community transformation initiatives in cities around the world as the President of Civil Righteousness, Inc. Recently completing his assignment as the Justice and Mercy Fellow at Bridgetown Church, he currently serves on the Board of 24-7 Prayer USA, and as Senior Advisor to New Room with the Seedbed movement.

He currently splits time between Ferguson, Missouri and Portland, Oregon with his wife Mollie and their daughter.

Jackie has been working with the poor in Hong Kong for over 50 years and has seen remarkable results as lives are changed, healed and restored through finding relationship with Jesus and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Most of her work is with drug addicts, prostitutes, the homeless, young people and street children. She speaks worldwide on the plight of the poor of the earth.

Pete is one of the founding convenors of the Wildfires Festival. KXC is an Anglican church in the heart of central London serving God’s purposes to make all things new. Along with his wife, Bee, Pete Hughes planted the church in 2010, establishing a community with the simple vision to recklessly give themselves away to God, each other, and the people of King’s Cross and beyond. Pete is a highly-regarded figure in the UK church, who has written a book on joining God’s story of recreation, called ‘All Things New’.

As one of the founding convenors of the Wildfires Festival, a powerhouse of creativity, leadership and teaching, Rachel is the Lead Pastor of Gas Street Church with her husband, Tim. She is passionate about communicating the liberating power of God’s truth and seeing His Kingdom come in Birmingham. Rachel has a background in television and media, and worked for the BBC in London before joining the staff at Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) where she led the Creativity & Arts Department while also raising four young children. More recently, Rachel has pioneered a national ministry to empower women called ‘The Orchard’.

As one of the founding convenors of the Wildfires Festival, Ness is a true champion of women in leadership and is the Team Leader of Open Heaven, a church in Loughborough which was planted with friends in 1993 when they graduated from university together. Open Heaven is now one church with multiple expressions and has sent out a number of church plants. Ness is the Pioneer UK Leader and relentlessly empowers and raises up other female leaders. She is married to Rich who heads up Fusion, the national student movement.

As one of the founding convenors of the Wildfires Festival, Ken is primarily passionate about Jesus and about people, particularly the emerging generation entering the workplace.

With over 40 years’ experience in investment banking, he now runs his own consulting firm. In 2016, he was nominated as one of the top 5 deal advisors of the last 20 years in Europe. Ken has written four books, God at Work, Know Your Why, Strange Kingdom, and Joseph of Arimathea. He is chairman of the boards of Worship Central, the Lambeth Trust, and the Reconciling Leaders Network, and is regulalry asked to speak and preach across the country.

Pete Greig is the increasingly bewildered founder of the 24-7 Prayer movement, Senior Pastor of Emmaus Rd, and a leader at Waverley Abbey. He is an Ambassador for Tearfund, a member of The Order of the Mustard Seed, and a co-host for the Lectio 365 daily devotional. Pete’s latest book is How to Hear God: A Simple Guide for Normal People.  

Nick and Becky Drake are the founders of Worship for Everyone, a movement that seeks to unite all ages in worship. They are both on staff at Gas St Church in Birmingham, and they have 4 children, who joined them throughout lockdown in a weekly Facebook live show, ‘Family at 4’, which reached tens of thousands of households. They continue to write and release music and have recently published two books: Why Worship? and Worship for Everyone. 

As one of the founding convenors of the Wildfires Festival, Tim is best known as the worship leader and songwriter behind songs such as ‘Here I Am To Worship’, ‘Happy Day’ and ‘The Way’. He has a desire to see people encounter God and be fully equipped as worship leaders, so that the local church can be empowered. As a result of this, he pioneered Worship Central – an international movement of worship leaders and musicians. Tim is also the Lead Pastor of Gas Street Church alongside his wife, Rachel, and they have four children.

Sammy Greig serves alongside Pete as Senior Pastor of Emmaus Rd, parent to two adult sons and owner of Crumble the dog. Having lived for many years with her own chronic illness, she now runs her own private counselling practice helping clients process past trauma. Pete and Sammy split their time between a barge on the River Wey and a cliff-top retreat on the Isle of Wight where they host and mentor leaders from around the world.

The driving prophetic force behind King’s Cross Church, Bee Hughes, along with her husband Pete, leads KXC in the heart of central London – a community pursuing God’s redemptive purposes for the city with courage, compassion and creativity. She is a strong advocate for raising up women into leadership, and for fuelling faith in families and children. Bee is one of the founding convenors of the Wildfires Festival.

Believing everything we do should be woven in worship, Gas Street Music is a worship community based at Gas Street Church in Birmingham, with the shared focus to wholeheartedly lead people into an encounter with Jesus.

Rich has championed the central role of local churches in student mission for over 25 years, inviting a generation to ‘a call less ordinary’. He leads Fusion, which is a movement passionate about student mission, seeking to equip students, serve churches and develop student workers all across the world. Rich is married to Ness, Team Leader of Open Heaven and Pioneer UK Leader.

Rose Nannies are a specialist event-nannying agency working across London and the South East. They attend all kinds of events, providing age tailored creche set-ups and excellent quality childcare for little ones under their care. Their team are all DBS checked, first aid trained, experienced and super friendly!

They are beyond excited to be hosting the 0-2s space at Wildfires 2023. They’ll be bringing along their creche, and will be crafting, singing, playing, laughing, and even baby-bathing (!) throughout the festival. They can’t wait to meet you and your little ones soon’

Sam grew up in Scotland and moved to Guildford in 2017 during his gap year. Since then he has worked as one of the Children Pastor at Emmaus Road. He is passionate about creating safe spaces where children can be themselves, have fun, and encounter God. Sam is one of the leaders hosting Blaze, the 5-7’s children’s venue at Wildfires.

Claire lives in Guildford, where she works as a Kid’s Pastor at Emmaus Rd. She is passionate about kids feeling welcome and wants each child to know that they belong in God’s family. She is so excited to be one of the Blaze leaders again this year and can’t wait to see kids continue their journey with Jesus.

Rachel loves helping children encounter God’s love and experience His presence in their daily lives. She lives in Aldershot and has been part of Emmaus Rd since 2013 and as one of their Kids Pastors since September. She is super excited about being one of the leaders to head up Blaze, the 5-7s venue at Wildfires, this year and cannot wait to help the kids make friends, have fun and get to know more about Jesus!

Marisan is proudly serving as the Kids Pastor at Emmaus Rd in Woking. Originating from South Africa, Marisan and her family relocated to the UK eight years ago. Her commitment lies in creating a welcoming and inclusive space for families within the church community, serving with a passion for nurturing the growth of children and families. She’s on a purposeful quest to amplify joy, spiritual growth, and connection within Emmaus Rd’s thriving kids church! Beyond her pastoral duties, she’s a part-time strategy consultant, and takes pleasure in engaging with art, literature, the occasional half marathons, and embarking on enriching adventures with her family.

Hello! I’m Charlotte, currently a degree student and a children and families intern at Yeovil Community Church! When I’m not writing theological essays or having the privilege to co-lead children’s groups, you will probably find me on a walk accompanied by my dog, a camera and friends! I am passionate for children to feel known, vauled and safe whilst encountering God in beautiful ways. I believe that God uses even the littlest in mighty ways which I can’t wait to see this summer!

Jo is the Kids Champion for Kerith Community church where she inspires and supports the kids coordinators alongside children and families across all the Kerith sites to become passionate followers of Jesus. She is married to Steve and they have three children, Tom, JJ and Sam. Jo has been involved in children’s and family ministry for over 20 years creating programmes, running schools teams and leading kids and holiday clubs for churches and a large annual Christian festival. Alongside her current work, Jo is also a freelance children’s curriculum writer and co-author of The Lightbringers as well as the safeguarding trustee for The Resources Cupboard.

Josh is Youth Director for 24-7 Prayer and Wildfires Festival. Josh travelled the world for over a decade performing and preaching the gospel in various bands. Now, with a burning heart for revival, he continues to fire up young people to be all-in for Jesus. Josh was captivated by the Vision Poem and Red Moon Rising in his journey to joining 24-7 Prayer. He lives in Manchester with his wife and three kids and attends Ramp Church. He loves good food, proper coffee, and Manchester City.

Tanya is the Emerging Generations Pastor at Trinity Church Nottingham. Over the last two years, Tanya has poured her heart into seeing revival among the youth and is passionate about seeing young people come alive through encounters with Jesus. As such, she has set up ministries such as Fuel, a Nottingham-wide youth event. Tanya is also part of the Orchard team and is excited about pioneering a new youth stream this coming October. 

Ruth leads the Youth Ministry at Kerith Community Church. She is a passionate lover of Jesus leading a team of Youth Volunteers to build a community of young people who encounter Jesus and grow to become like him.
Ruth has been working with kids and young people for almost two decades. She lives in Langley with her husband Isaiah and two daughters.

Dan is married to Marina and father to Grace. He is the Co-Team Leader for Nxt Move Europe, one the Senior Leaders Leader at Life Church Lancashire and one of the directors of The Way. He is passionate about seeing unity across the Church and a generation of leaders unite around the mission of Jesus. He also loves; music, Burnley FC and coffee.

Joel is head of youth and evening service pastor at EmmausRd Guildford. Joel has been working with young people for over a decade and has a degree in youth work and theology. He is passionate about discipleship, worship and helping young people encounter God and discover who they are!