If we are serious about Independent churches working together to reach Britain for Christ, we have to recognise that the UK is made up of distinctive nations and regions. That’s why we have members of our ministry team who focus their work in specific areas of the UK.
We also encourage church leaders to build fruitful gospel relationships across towns, cities and regions. One way we are seeking do this is through our programme of Local Conferences. You can find a conference near you on our events page – the following year’s conferences are added each December.
Local Directors
One of the ways the FIEC is providing help to churches is through ‘Local Directors’. These are men, experienced in church ministry, who can give time to the leaders and churches in a specific region of the country. This allows a level of support on the ground which the FIEC central team has not been able to provide.
They can offer support and advice to pastors and churches or catalyse partnerships at the local level. We see this as a key way leaders of FIEC churches can be strengthened and work together to reach Britain for Christ.
We have so far appointed Local Directors in the regions below, and are exploring more regions across Britain to serve in a similar way:
- Essex (Simon Medcroft)
- Hampshire and Dorset (John Samuel)
- London (Johnny Prime)
- North Wales (Ben Midgley)
- Scotland (Andy Hunter)
- South Wales (Gareth Lewis)
- Suffolk (Mark Howson)
- West Midlands (Paul Mallard)
- Yorkshire (including Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, and the Humber) (Daniel Grimwade)
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Andy Hunter
Andy is FIEC's Director for Scotland and North of England. Before joining FIEC, Andy worked for Greenview Church in Glasgow for nine years, prior to which he trained at Oak Hill College in London. -
Daniel Grimwade
Daniel is FIEC's Director for Yorkshire, helping and serving churches in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, and The Humber. -
Mark Howson
Mark is FIEC's Director for Suffolk, supporting FIEC churches and pastors across the county. -
Gareth Lewis
Gareth is FIEC's Director for South Wales. He was previously senior minister at ChristChurch Harpenden for 30 years. -
Paul Mallard
Paul is FIEC's Director for the West Midlands and the chair of FIEC's Theology Team. He retired as pastor of Widcombe Baptist Church in Bath in 2022. -
Simon Medcroft
Simon is senior pastor at Danbury Mission in Essex and serves as FIEC's Director for Essex. -
Ben Midgley
Ben is the pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Mold, in North East Wales, and FIEC's Director for North Wales. -
Johnny Prime
Johnny is FIEC's Director for London, developing relationships with FIEC churches and church leaders in London, galvanising the work and ministry of the gospel in the city. Previously, he served for 21 years as pastor of Enfield Evangelical Free Church. -
John Samuel
John is FIEC's Director for Hampshire and Dorset, having retired from ministry in 2023 with nearly 40 years of church ministry experience.
Scotland
We have a Scotland Director (Andy Hunter) who works to serve Independent churches in Scotland. We also partner with Edinburgh Theological Seminary on the Certificate in Independent Church Ministry.
If you would like to stay up-to-date about our ministry, events and churches in Scotland, you can subscribe to our Scotland News & Prayer email.
London
There are more than 75 FIEC churches within the M25 in London and we work to encourages them to forge strong relationships with one another. We recognise the strategic importance of London, so have a London Director (Johnny Prime) to help support churches in the city.
We want to foster and grow a sense of togetherness in the gospel among our London churches while recognising that growth in Independency in the English capital is part of our national ambition to reach Britain for Christ.
If you would like to stay up-to-date about our ministry, events and churches in London, you can subscribe to our London News & Prayer email.
This page was last updated on 01/07/2025. Spotted an error? Please get in touch.