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Christians In Action UK

Elders

Leslie Leeder

 

Les Leeder was born in Brighton in 1942. His parents were members of the “Church Army”, which was a ministry of the Church of England similar to the “Salvation Army. At the age of 5, the family moved to Southall where Les grew up. When he was 17, Les gave his life to Jesus through the witness of his friends in grammar school, then went on to Sheffield University and completed his degree in physics and math. 
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Les came to Christians in Action in 1969 to train as a missionary and ended up working on the staff as a teacher in the college. He was a student when Christians in Action relocated from Lancaster Road in S. Norwood to our present offices on Melfort Road in Thornton Heath. Les was part of the ministry during its early years of growth and was involved in training and sending missionaries to Europe, Africa and India. He was also here during the purchase of our church building in Addiscombe, Croydon.

 

Les is a gifted teacher and has been a very faithful minister for well over 40 years. He managed the finances for the entire ministry for many years and has been a trusted counsellor to many. Although he is semi-retired now, he still serves as an elder in the C in A church and is loved and respected by many.

Loren Rowe

 

Affectionately known as “Brother Rowe”, Loren Rowe is a native of Jamaica and worked on a farm in Jamaica during WW2. At age 19 he was recruited to help the British army’s “Man Power” programme and served in a factory that produced bombs for the allied forces. After the war ended, he returned to the farm, then became seriously ill, and through his illness came to know Jesus as Saviour. 

He committed his life to service and was given great boldness to witness. Soon afterwards he went to Atlanta Georgia to train for 3 years in a bible college and afterwards was moved by God to come to London (this was during the “Wind Rush” era in the 50’s). Brother Rowe was involved in planting several churches in London before eventually meeting Elgin Taylor and was instrumental in the founding and development of Christians in Action UK.

 

Brother Rowe has been a long-standing entrepreneur, having run a bakery and a travel agency. His love for children was clearly seen as he developed a huge Sunday school ministry in the Brixton area for many years. He is a man that is greatly respected throughout the Christian community in London and abroad and as a long-standing elder his wisdom and experience is a tremendous asset to our leadership team.

Tex Trim

 

Tex is from Trinidad and was raised in a Christian family. He committed his life to Christ and was baptized in 1980 at the tender age of 10. After completing his A levels (diploma) he decided to join the army in 1994. At the time he thought that this was his definite career move, but God had other plans for him.

He left the army in November of 1999 then came to London to pursue a career in accounting, but once again God had something else in mind. He began attending Christians in Action church when God began to speak to him about serving in ministry. He found his bride Mosun, was married in 2004 and by 2006 was appointed as an elder in the church.

 

As well as his pastoral duties, Tex serves as our chief bookkeeper and is the overall administrator of the ministry of Christians in Action UK.

Matthew David

 

Matthew is a south Londoner whose parents migrated from Guyana.   Like Timothy in the bible, he received his Christian foundations from his mother and grandmother who took him to church regularly as a boy. As a musician, Matthew’s first taste of playing an instrument was with the recorder in primary school, and later had regular piano lessons at the age of 10 (at the enormous cost of £1 per hour). 

He eventually committed his life to Christ and was baptized at age 19. It was right around that time that his Sunday school teacher encouraged him to join a Christian band, which he remained with for 10 years. Matthew struggled to find the church that God wanted him to serve in, so the band and the influence of his teacher kept him close to God during those important years.

 

Matthew came to Christians in Action through his love for basketball. He came to one of the training sessions, eventually visited the church and found his place to serve. It was right at this time that he married his wife Samantha, who was also a member of the band. Matthew is the leader of our worship team and has been instrumental in the development and installation of our audio/visual equipment. 

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