Mark Prentice

Mark was appointed in 2013 to lead the work at St John the Baptist Church in the English city of Ipswich, following the nine years he gave to the All Souls Clubhouse in London.

"I don't think I can remember a time after I became a Christian in my mid-teens when I didn't also know I was called to preach". With that in mind Mark left Northern Ireland where he had been born and bred (thanks Mum!), and went to study theology at Exeter University. He has since been back to college twice, studying part time at London Bible College while employed as a youth worker in South London, and then at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford while training for ordination.

"Two deeply significant things happened to me while I was at Wycliffe. I began to read some old Puritan works while researching for a paper, which staggered my heart, my mind and my soul. They left me with a passion for the heritage they have left the Church, for their profound insights into God and his Word; and they revolutionised my thinking about what it was possible for God to do when his Word was preached faithfully!"

...and the other significant thing? During his time at Wycliffe, Mark also met Liz, and they were married shortly after Mark began his Curacy at Holy Trinity, Tulse Hill. Together they used to lead short term mission teams to places such as Kenya and Mexico - but that was in the days before Samuel and David put in an appearance! For the foreseeable future, family visits to London Zoo is as exciting as it gets!

However, Mark still manages to enjoy reading (mostly old theology!) sport (more watching than playing these days), playing the guitar, and conjuring : "The conjuring helps with school assemblies!"