The Light College Lecturer Biographies
All our lecturers are passionate about their faith and approved by the University of Chester, with a wide range of experience and practical knowledge.
They can be emailed via tutor.[forename]@lightcollege.ac.uk
Rev Chris Duffett
Chris has a wealth of experience in Chaplaincy, having served as Peterborough’s City Centre Chaplain for 10 years, and is currently one of the Bardsey Island Chaplains. Chris’ passion is in Theology, Culture and the Arts, and he also serves at Cliff College lecturing on Pioneering and Fresh Expressions and at Waverley Abbey College lecturing on Chaplaincy. Chris is a former president of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and an author of 4 books, his latest a novel on the life of his hero Philip the evangelist. He is an evangelist and artist, and the original founder of The Light Project.
Rev Glyn Jones
Glyn is the co-principal of The Light College. Glyn lived for many years in France before returning to the UK to establish a college of evangelism. He holds a Masters in Applied Theology and is currently conducting doctoral research in how non-churched people find faith. Glyn describes himself as an ‘everyday evangelist and storyteller’. He has published a book of short stories and lectures in history and culture.
Rev Gareth (Gaz) Thomas
Gaz has undergraduate degrees in both Theology and Philosophy. He has spent some time as a secondary RE teacher and as a University Chaplain, and has had various roles with The Light College and Collective where he is currently the Academic Manager for the BA programme of studies. He has a particular interest in new monasticism, the thought of Thomas Merton, and the apostolic life of prayer and holistic mission. Gaz is an Anglican Minister and Third Order Franciscan, and enjoys the outdoors, travel, pilgrimage, reading, film and spending time with family and friends.
Ali Boston
Ali is the Undergraduate Programme Manager and a lecturer at The Light College. She has two married children. Her husband Andy is self-employed and they both work from home. Ali became a follower of Jesus at 14 years old after hearing God speaking clearly to her. She loves teaching and empowering students to be the best they can be, and to follow Jesus into what he has for them. Ali co-led a church plant for 15 years and has been an airport chaplain at EMA for nearly a decade, sharing the Good News in creative and pioneering ways. Ali enjoys swimming, collecting thimbles, Pilates and reading. She doesn’t like liver or hot curry.
Rev Simon Goddard
Simon was involved in starting an ecumenical fresh expression of church near Cambridge, before serving for 4½ years as a regional minister for the Eastern Baptist Association. Now he is director of RiverTree, through which he offers a portfolio of ministries. This includes being one of the national Pioneer Ambassadors for the Baptist Union of Great Britain, and being part of the Fresh Expressions leadership community. He is team leader for fx resourcing, he project managed the launch of the free Godsend app (equipping people to start fresh expressions of church) and is now responsible for facilitating the resourcing of the fx movement in the UK. He is married to Lisa, and both of them are Third Order Franciscans. He also happens to be the co-author (with Chris Duffett) of the book ‘Big Hearted: the Gospel of Simple Words and a Large Heart’.
Rev Dr Robert Beamish
Robert lives with his wife and children in North Wales where he is the minister of Prince’s Drive Baptist Church, a community-minded charismatic evangelical church, and a chaplain at a school. Having studied at Oxford, Winchester and Manchester universities, and most recently earning a doctorate in Theology & Ministry from King’s College London, Robert has academic interests which now major on preaching and practical theology. Robert has found it a great joy being part of the Light College, teaching evangelistic communication on the BA course and he was formerly the link tutor supporting those training for ordination as Baptist ministers. He is also keen on drinking good wine, winter sports and hanging out with his family, preferably all three activities at the same time!
Rev Jacky Bone
Originally a primary school teacher, Jacky went on to study at the London. School of Theology and then St Mary’s University College, gaining a BA in theology and an MA in Chaplaincy studies. For 25 years she was part of the charismatic renewal movement leading and planting churches affiliated to the Pioneer network of churches. Following her theologoical training Jacky spent 15 years as the lead Chaplain for YMCAs in London, working with those in housing need, in gyms and sports facilities, community cafes and in youth and children’s work. During this time she became an accredited Baptist Minister leading a local Baptist church alongside her Chaplaincy work. She is now working as a pioneer minister and evangelist in Wintey, Oxfordshire, in a Baptist-Anglican partnership, reaching out to a new housing estate.
Dr Karl Moller
Karl teaches Theological Approaches to Mission Strategy. Having been Vice-Principal of the All Saints Centre for Mission and Ministry, Principal of Initial Ministerial Education at Cumbria Christian Learning, and Senior Tutor at the Lancashire and Cumbria Theological Partnership, he has many years of experience of preparing people for Anglican lay and ordained ministry. Karl has also worked as Course Co-ordinator for the Open Theological College, as Research Fellow at the University of Gloucestershire, and as Senior Lecturer at the University of Cumbria. Karl has taught widely in biblical studies, theology, spirituality, and Judaism, and has published a range of articles (mainly) on the Old Testament and co-edited four books on biblical interpretation. He is the author of A Prophet in Debate: The Rhetoric of Persuasion in the Book of Amos (2003), Reading Amos as a Book (2014), and The Song of Songs: Beautiful Bodies, Erotic Desire and Intoxicating Pleasure (2018). Karl’s latest book, Jonah’s Story, Our Challenge: Reading a Biblical Narrative for Today’s Church and World, will be published by SCM Press.
Abi Lycett
Abi worked as a Pioneer Evangelist with The Light Collective in Chester where she was involved in planting fresh expressions of church, developing evangelistic projects and working with young people. Before undertaking studies with the Light College herself, Abi was a part of the organisation Youth With a Mission for a number of years, where she was actively involved in discipleship, mission and evangelism in a variety of different countries and contexts.
Philippe Ndabananiye
Philippe committed his life wholeheartedly to Christ at 15, was baptised at 17 and has been an active member of his local church, Whetstone Baptist Church, ever since. In the following 15 years, the Lord gave him many opportunities to serve His people locally and overseas in short-term cross-cultural mission trips. In church, he recently devoted a decade to nurturing a post-Alpha small group and working with the associate pastor as a cluster leader for 5 emerging groups of new believers. Philippe served on a discipleship team set up to help encourage and resource the discipleship of the whole church family through the small group network.
Gareth Cheesman
Gareth started working with the Light Project in 2004 as a volunteer Youth Worker in Chester. He was a student at the University of Chester studying Youth Work with Applied Theology. Working for the Light Project was his first job after university, heading up a network of community youth clubs across Chester supported by The Light Project and local churches. Gareth joined the Light Project lecturing team in 2011 and has taught a variety of modules, with a common theme of serving the communities we live in practically. He has a strong passion for critical reflection as a key way for all learners to develop and grow. Since first training in youth work, Gareth has specialised his work to focus on relationships and sex education for young people with the Christian charity www.acet-uk.com. He recently completed a Masters degree in Public Health with the University of Chester.
Dr Shirley Lucass
Dr Lucass’ BA in Theology and Religions led to Masters in Jewish Studies and a PhD looking at whether Jesus could be considered to be the Messiah from a Jewish point of view. Shirley published this with Continuum as The concept of Messiah in the Scriptures of Judaism and Christianity. However whilst researching this she came to see how central kingship was as a means of understanding Jesus and his role and wrote her next book entitled Christ the King (The Messiah in the Jewish Festivals).
Rev Carolyn Skinner
Carolyn Skinner is the founder and CEO of Third Space Ministries, a charity which seeks to demonstrate the love of God in leisure industries through chaplaincy and team outreach. She is passionate about helping people find faith in Jesus, and equipping Christians for evangelism. She loves to be where people are least likely to expect a ‘God encounter’. She has had experience of working as a chaplain at international sporting events, local gyms, in the music industry, and in strip clubs. She is one of the tutors on the Pioneer Chaplaincy and Mission course.
Carolyn lives in London, and outside of her work can often be found going for a run, drinking coffee with friends, or sitting in the sun with her flip flops on!
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