Meet

OuR team

We have a dedicated staff and eldership team to help
“prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the whole body might be built up”. (Ephesians 4:11)

staff

Andy Palmer – Minister

Andy is blessed to have been raised in a family that knows and loves Jesus, but only really got going for the Lord in his early 20s. After university, he worked for a number of years with students at Christchurch Durham, before going on to serve as a men’s worker at St. George’s Dagenham. Having trained at Oak Hill Theological College, he went on to serve St. John’s Downshire Hill, where he was ordained as a minister in the Church of England. He is married to Hannah, and has three children – Chloe, Caleb and Levi.

Jonny Burgess – Assistant Minister

Jonny came to Balham in 2019 after four years of teaching the Bible in the Gambia with Crosslinks, before which he spent seven years in youth ministry in the UK. God used prayerful parents, Christian schoolteachers and summer camps to bring him to new life in Christ. He loves the sea, music of all kinds, and his two beautiful girls: his wife Beth and daughter Clemmie.

Julia Stroud – Women’s Worker

Jules loves the outdoors. Previously an outdoor instructor and more recently a primary school teacher, she has now come on board as a full time women’s ministry trainee. She’s keen to teach and encourage our women to help grow each other in godliness and maturity in Christ.

Lizzie Clarke – Children’s & Youth Worker

Lizzie joined CCB as a single woman in 2007 having been at university in Durham. She in now married Tom with three children (Ezra, Robyn and Emily). The family love the outdoors to enjoy God’s creation and best of all climbing trees! Lizzie is trained as a secondary school maths teacher but now enjoys serving children of all ages by teaching them that knowing and loving Jesus gives the certain hope of life with him forever!

ELDERS

Gordon Reid

Gordon is married to Phoebe, who works in social care. He works as a Partner in a firm of Solicitors in Guildford. He was one of the founding elders of CCB. He enjoys fine wine, tennis and holidaying with his wife.

Christian Fielder

Christian is married to Helen. They have two daughters; Sian and Jessica. He is a management consultant by profession. His strategic insight and organisation has been hugely helpful at CCB, but also within the wider Co-Mission network of churches. Christian was converted through the ministry of Dundonald Church and became an elder at CCB a few years after we launched. He and Helen were founding members at CCB. They were single in those days. There are all sorts of hidden benefits to church planting!

Mark Taylor

Mark and Lee and their children, Jacob and Barnaby, have been coming to CCB since 2006. Loving the area and CCB, they derive much encouragement from the ever evolving congregation and forging a number of formative friendships, and, God willing, will be long term residents. During the week Mark works for a small brokerage/tech company and joined the eldership team in the summer of 2015. When not sat at his desk, he’s happiest sat on a bike saddle, occasionally cycling to boot.

Colin Hall

Colin heads up the music team having taken 2 years part-time to be trained in music ministry. He’s passionate about equipping and training our music team to better encourage our church to sing wholeheartedly in response to all God has done for us. Colin is also an Elder and is married to Andie, with two sons, Rowan and Robert. The rest of his working week he is a typographic designer with a love of the great outdoors!

James Sole

James loves the Lord and also spreadsheets … oh and his wife and daughter. James also has half an eye on those to left CCB to go to another country to tell other about Jesus. He’s great.