Pastors & Elders

LEWIS ALLEN
LEWIS ALLENPastor
Lewis, Sarah and their five children moved to Huddersfield in 2010 after 12 years’ pastoral ministry at Gunnersbury Baptist Church, West London. Lewis is a keen student of Theology, and in his spare time is researching for a doctoral degree at Oxford University. The Allens love living in the town, and enjoy walking in the hills with their dog, and Lewis loves running and fly-fishing.

Lewis has published several books on Christian living and ministry, which you can see here.

DAVID DENT
DAVID DENTAssociate Pastor
David is a small town Australian who moved to England in 2009 chasing his then girlfriend, now wife, Joanna. They have 4 children together. David has previously worked in retail, as a cement renderer, and in various other things. Prior to coming to Hope Church he worked as an assistant pastor in Oxford and, before that, he studied theology at Oak Hill Theological College.
In his spare time he enjoys playing sports, improving his garden, or bbq-ing with friends.
PAUL THOMSON
PAUL THOMSONElder
Paul is married to Gill and they have three sons, two of whom are married with children, whilst the third lives and works in Oxford. Paul works as a consultant with schools across the North of England and is delighted to preach in churches across the same region. He hangs on to the hope of keeping fit at the gym and loves to study hymns and their writers.
GRAHAM POWELL
GRAHAM POWELLElder
Graham is married to Debra and they have two grown up children, a son and a daughter who live and work in Oxford and Cambridge respectively. Graham grew up in a Christian home and committed his life to Christ over 40 years ago in his mid-teens. Graham is retired and enjoys walking and watching most sports.

Deacons

SHARON SWEETING
SHARON SWEETINGDeacon
Sharon is married to Steve, and they have a Son and Daughter. Sharon grew up in Almondbury and having moved away for several years, returned home to Huddersfield. Sharon is a Physiotherapist and has worked for over 30 years in the NHS. She enjoys reading, walking, travelling and spending time with family.
STEPHEN SWEETING
STEPHEN SWEETINGDeacon
Stephen is married to Sharon, they have a son and daughter. Stephen was brought up in Castleford and later moved to Bristol. He served as a mechanical engineer in the Royal Air Force, worked as a manager on the railway and estates at Sheffield University before retiring. He loves all things that are sport related, DIY, travelling and has recently taken up photography, sketching and painting.
KELECHI OKEGBE
KELECHI OKEGBEDeacon
Kelechi has been at Hope church since September, 2016 and a deacon since late 2018. He is currently a research student at the University of Huddersfield School of Computing and Engineering. Kelechi was saved at age 7 when a family friend explained the gospel to him at home. He is happily married to Wendy and they live in the town. Kelechi works part-time as a Maths and Engineering Tutor for foundation year and international year one students , and previously worked briefly as a science teacher in Nigeria and did an Engineering internship at Moventas here in Huddersfield. His hobbies are running, reading and listening to good music. Kelechi can be found on a typical Sunday setting up or packing down after service.
STEPHEN SHARPLES
STEPHEN SHARPLESDeacon
Steve is married to Sara and they have two grown-up children; a son who lives locally and a daughter who is married and lives in Ulverston. Steve made a personal commitment to trusting Christ as his Saviour when in his teens. Steve and Sara moved to the Huddersfield area from Bolton in 2017 after Steve started a new process software engineering job at the Nestlé factory in Halifax where they make Quality Street. He has also been a member of the Good News for Everyone charity (Gideons) for over 20 years and is an active member of the Huddersfield branch. Steve is heavily involved in church IT and audio/video technology.
STEPHEN ROBINSON
STEPHEN ROBINSONDeacon
Stephen is married to Naomi, with 3 young children. He works as a design engineer for a medical device company in Leeds and lives just south of Huddersfield. He used to be a keen rock climber and snowboarder (when he had the time!) and is now a keen cyclist. He has a passion for interfaith dialogue, apologetics and house renovations.
IRENE FIRTH
IRENE FIRTHDeacon
Irene is married to David and with a step-son called Michael. Although born in Scotland, she’s moved from place to place for much of her life before putting roots down in Huddersfield some 24 years ago. Having become a Christian a year earlier, she left her then occupation as a croupier in a casino, recognising it to be incompatible with real Christian growth, and moved ‘up North’ from Cardiff.

Irene enjoys both reading and audio books, contemplating God in creation, sharing good food with David and friends and a glass of red wine!

THOMAS ACKIE
THOMAS ACKIEDeacon
Thomas was saved at the age of 10 at a Christian Summer Camp in Northumberland. He is Married to Nicole and enjoys traveling and will talk at length about pretty much any sport that exists. His favourite hobbies include (but are not limited to) wearing hats, procrastinating about writing personal bios and renovating old houses.
JOHN WAITE
JOHN WAITEDeacon
John has been at Hope Church Huddersfield since 2016. John is from Huddersfield and has lived and worked in the town all of his life. John became a Christian after reading a Bible and coming to know the glory and victory of Jesus Christ. John is married to Helena, with whom they have two children. He enjoys spending time with family, getting outdoors and watching his beloved Leeds United.