Acts 29 is a diverse, global family of church-planting churches characterized by:
Acts 29 stands in the tradition of historic evangelical confessionalism. While we believe it is vital that the elders of each of our churches determine where they stand on doctrines of second importance, we do wish to make known our convictions on the following five theologically-driven core values:
Acts 29 will ensure that we are known for:
Acts 29 will succeed to the extent that it:
Jay Bauman
Co-Network Director | Latin America
Jay Bauman pastors Igreja do Redentor, a church plant in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as well as Union Church, an English-speaking congregation. Jay founded Restore Brazil, a ministry devoted to church planting, pastoral training and mercy ministry. He lives in Rio with his wife Luciane and his two daughters, Sophia and Olivia.
Francisco Bendfeldt
Co-Network Director | Latin America
Francisco began his ministry as a teenager and during the last 20 years has preached in several countries around the world. He is the lead pastor of Casa de Libertad in Guatemala City and has a passion to reach others with the Gospel through church planting. He lives in Guatemala with his wife Carol and his 4 children.
Adam Ramsey
Network Director | Australia & New Zealand
Adam is the Lead Pastor of Liberti Church, a gospel-centred family of churches on the Gold Coast. He is deeply passionate about preaching the gospel and struggles to keep his voice at an 'appropriate' decibel when doing so. He loves being married to Kristina, wrestling his five kids, and equipping church planters.
Brian Howard
Network Director | US West
Brian Howard has over 20 years of proven leadership experience as a leadership coach, non-profit executive, church planter, lead pastor, and business owner. Brian holds a Master’s degree from Talbot School of Theology, has been married for 21 years to the love of his life, and has four children.
Brian Lowe
Network Director | US Southeast
Brian Lowe has a degree in Biblical Studies from Reformed Theological Seminary. He planted Exodus Church—now grown to 2 congregations—after 16 years with student ministry. Brian’s heart is to be involved in Jesus’ mission through developing church planters. Brian is blessed with a wonderful wife, Cheryl, and four children.
Dusty Thompson
Network Director | US South Central
Dusty Thompson planted Redeemer Church in Lubbock, Texas in the fall of 2007. Redeemer has a vision to plant 20 churches in the US and send 20 teams internationally to work among unreached peoples by the year 2020. He is married to Amy and they have two sons.
Kevin Peck
Network Director | Emerging Regions
Kevin is the lead pastor at the Austin Stone Community Church and the Acts 29 Emerging Regions Network Director. He received a M.Div from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a D.Min in Leadership at Southern Seminary. He is the joyful husband of Leslie and father to Ellie, Halle, and Ivey. 
Bryan Laughlin
Network Director | US North Atlantic
Bryan Laughlin is the lead pastor of Remnant Church in Richmond, VA, where he lives with his wife and four children. He is an experienced pastor and planter with a heart for the Gospel and church planting. He has served many years in the local church, training and equipping leaders for Gospel ministry. 
Noel Heikkinen
Network Director | US Midwest
Noel pastors at Riverview Church, a rapidly-growing, multi-site church in the Lansing, Michigan area where he lives with his wife Grace and their four children (Emma, Jesse, Ethan, and Cole). He also serves as Chairman of the Board for Reliant Mission and (more importantly) the local baseball league.
Dwight Bernier
Network Director | Canada
Dwight and his wife, Jessica, live in Montréal with their four children. In 2011 they began Church 21, a multi-location church in the province of Québec. Dwight has a great desire to see churches planted all throughout Canada. He enjoys baseball, running, reading, U2, and playing in the city with his family.
Philip Moore
Network Director | Europe
Philip Moore is married to Rachel and they have 5 children. In 2006 Phillip moved to France to pastor a church in the Paris area. Since then, by God’s grace, the church has planted 3 daughter churches and trained and sent a couple to plant a church in the centre of Paris. He is now the Acts 29 Network Director for Europe.
One Mokgatle
Network Director | Southern Africa
One, his wife Confidence and their daughters Amara & Keeya, live in Pretoria, South Africa. He leads Rooted Fellowship; a Gospel Centered, Disciple Making and Transcultural church, planted from a partnership with LIG.punt & Bryanston Bible Church. One’s desire is to see more churches planted in Pretoria and beyond.
Jen Baxter
Personal Assistant to Steve Timmis
Jen moved to Sheffield in 2000 to study at university. In 2003 she began working for Steve Timmis as his assistant. She is currently involved in a church planting team who are seeking to plant a church on the Manor, an area unreached in the city of Sheffield.
Steve Johnson
Finance Director
Steve Johnson, originally from Whythenshawe, UK, began working for Acts 29 as Chief Financial Officer in 2016. Steve is a Chartered Certified Accountant who has ten years financial experience working in the engineering and manufacturing sectors. He is married to Naomi, has three children, and enjoys cycling and excel. 
Matthew Spriggs
Head of Assessment
Matthew Spriggs co-planted The Crowded House in Loughborough, UK in 2003. Since then he has been a bi-vocational pastor working in academia (engineering) and for Acts 29. Matthew served as Acts 29 Assessment Coordinator for Europe before stepping into this role. He is married to Becks and has four children.
Genevieve Hales
Assistant to Head of Assessment
Genevieve moved to Sheffield in 2014 where she studied History. After falling in love with the city, she decided to stay. Genevieve joined Acts 29 in 2019 to serve as Assistant to the Head of Assessment Matthew Spriggs.
Susie Newhall
Operations Director
Susie was born in India and moved to the UK aged 13. She studied hospitality management before specialising in HR in which she has over 25 years’ experience including talent management, leadership development, engagement and organisation development. She lives in Leeds with her husband Andy and their two teenagers.
Tim Brown
Communications Manager
Tim grew up in Manchester, England. His enjoyment of photography from a young age has evolved into a passion for videography, editing and capturing stories of churches that point people to God. He is married to Sarah and they are part of a church plant in the east of Sheffield.
Josh Boot
Creative Lead
Josh was born and bred in Sheffield. Joining the family in early 2015 to assist with media needs of Acts 29, he has worked closely with the CEO and is now part of the Marketing team as Creative Lead. He also runs a photography company and got married to Jo in July 2015.
James Ayers
UK Office Coordinator
James studied English Language at university and began working for Acts 29 Europe in 2013 as a research assistant. In 2015 he took on a new role working on developing Acts 29's new website, database and general IT. He married his bride, Wendy, in August 2014.
Amy Tyson
Research Assistant
Amy moved to Sheffield in 2002 to study English Literature. She got involved in The Crowded House, met and married Adam, and they lived on the Manor until 2013. Adam, Amy and their two sons now live in Bakersfield, California, where they give abundant thanks for air conditioning.
J. Tyler Deaton
US Conference Coordinator
J Tyler Deaton serves as the Assessment Coordinator and Operations Director for Acts 29 US Southeast. He is also the US Conference Coordinator. Tyler has served in full-time ministry for six years and is married to his wife, Lesley. They have been married for eight years and have three children, Addison, Eli, and Henry.
Ann Hastings
Donor Relations Manager
Ann has a B.S. in Communications from Abilene Christian University. She previously worked at The Village Church, ServingHIM and has ten years sales experience in the hospitality industry. Ann married Tyler in 2006, they have two children. She is a member of The Village Church and is the Director of Women's Bible Class.
Tony Merida
Acts 29 Content Director
Tony Merida is the founding pastor of Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, N.C. Tony has an extensive itinerant ministry, and has written several books including The Christ-Centered Expositor, Ordinary, and Orphanology. He is happily married to Kimberly, and they have five adopted children.
Ben Hansen
Content Editor
Ben was born and raised in Minneapolis. He moved to Sheffield in 2015 to join a church planting team working with an unreached people group from the Middle East. Ben works with Tony Merida and The Gospel Coalition on developing the blog and podcast. He is married to Natalie.
Doug Logan
Co-Director of Church in Hard Places
Doug Logan has been involved in urban ministry for nearly 20 years. In 2011 he planted Epiphany Fellowship of Camden with his wife, Angel. They have three adult sons & three grandchildren. He is the founder of the On the Block Collective, and author of 'On The Block: Developing a Biblical Picture for Missional Engagement'.
Mez McConnell
Co-Director of Church in Hard Places
Mez McConnell is the senior pastor of Niddrie Community Church. He spent four years working with street children in Brazil and planted the Good News Church. He is the director of 20Schemes, a church planting and revitalization initiative in Scotland. Mez is married to Miriam and has two daughters, Keziah and Lydia.
Matthew Spandler-Davison
Operation Manager of Church in Hard Places
Matthew is originally from Stonehaven, Scotland. He is a graduate of the University of Aberdeen and was awarded a doctorate by The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. Matthew is married to Tracy and has two daughters. He is a church planter and the pastor of Redeemer Fellowship Church, in Bardstown, KY.
Ronell King
Event Coordinator
Ronell, her husband Darret and three children live in Linden, Johannesburg. She studied Interior Design & Décor and had her own business before going full time into ministry in 2009. Ronell is eager to see church planting teams flourish for sake of furthering the gospel and glorifying his name. 
Chris Pymm
Information Systems and Website Development Manager
Originally from Walsall, England, Chris studied Industrial Design & Technology at Loughborough University, but had a passion for the web from an early age. Chris has over 10 years experience as a web developer and joined Acts 29 in 2018. He is married to Jess, and they have a beautiful daughter Leah.
Robin Scothern
Project Coordinator
Robin Scothern leads Peak Trinity, a new rural church plant in the Peak District (located in the north of England). He is married to Claire and is dad to Grace, Harry and Theo. Robin joined Acts 29 in 2019 to serve as our Project Coordinator.
Aharon Logan
Marketing and Communications Assistant
Aharon was born to an inner-city church planter and has been raised in the ministry his entire life. For three years he worked as an executive assistant for a Presbyterian church in New Jersey. He now serves Acts 29 both centrally and in the Church in Hard Places team.
Chandra Howard
US Office Coordinator
Chandra has been a part of the Acts 29 family for twelve years. She has been married to Brian for 23 years and is the mom of four teenagers. Chandra planted a church with her husband in 2002, has served as the marketing director for Context Coaching, and currently serves as the US Office Coordinator for Acts 29.
Natalie Hansen
Finance Assistant
Natalie was born and raised in southeast London. She moved to Sheffield in 2011 to study at university, and she’s now part of a church plant in the north of the city. Natalie provides administrative support for the central Finance Team. She is married to Ben.
David Moss
Assistant Director of Operations
David and his wife Heather recently moved to Bakewell to be part of a new Acts 29 church plant called Peak Trinity. He had previously spent 15 years as Church and Centre Manager at Chessington E.C (King’s Centre). His passions are Walking Football and admin.
David Pinckney
Co-Director of Rural Collective
David Pinckney is a second generation rural pastor, living in Chichester, NH with his wife Sharon. They have 5 children (Stephen, Joel, Jed, Isaac & Abby) and planted River of Grace in Concord, NH in 2002. He also serves with Small Town Summits and The Gospel Coalition of New England.
Robert Manda
Co-Director | Rural Collective
Robert is a lead pastor of New Life Church, in Lilongwe, Malawi Africa. He is married to Sheila and the Lord blessed them with two children. He is deeply passionate about preaching the gospel and training rural pastors and is the founder of Pastoral Training Institute of Africa.
Acts 29 is a family of church-planting churches that stands in the tradition of historic evangelical confessionalism. While we believe it is vital that the Elders of each of our local churches determine where they stand on doctrines of second importance, we do wish to make known our convictions on the following five distinctive theological foundations.
Additionally, we hold to the The Lausanne Covenant Statement of Faith.
We believe the gospel is the good news of what God has graciously accomplished for sinners through the sinless life, sacrificial death, and bodily resurrection of his Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, namely our forgiveness from sin and complete justification before God; this gospel is also the foundation for our confidence in the ultimate triumph of God’s kingdom, and the consummation of his purpose for all creation in the new heavens and new earth.
This gospel is centered in Christ, is the foundation for the life of the Church, and is our only hope for eternal life; this gospel is not proclaimed if Christ’s penal substitutionary death and bodily resurrection are not central to our message.
This Gospel is not only the means by which people are saved, but also the truth and power by which people are sanctified; it is the truth of the Gospel that enables us to genuinely and joyfully do what is pleasing to God and to grow in progressive conformity to the image of Christ.
The salvation offered in this gospel message is received by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone; no ordinance, ritual, work, or any other activity on the part of man is required in order to be saved.
(Mark 1:1; Luke 24:46-47; John 3:16-18; Romans 1:16-17; Romans 1:18-25; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; 2:2; 15:1-4; 2 Corinthians 4:1-6; 9:13; Galatians 1:6-9; Ephesians 1: 7-10; Colossians 1: 19-20; 2 Timothy 1:8-14; 2 Peter 3: 11-13 Jude 3-4; Revelation 21:1-22:21)
We affirm that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, not on the basis of foreseen faith but unconditionally, according to his sovereign good pleasure and will.
We believe that through the work of the Holy Spirit, God will draw the elect to faith in his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, graciously and effectually overcoming their stubborn resistance to the gospel so that they will most assuredly and willingly believe.
We also believe that these, the elect of God whom he gave to the Son, will persevere in belief and godly behavior and be kept secure in their salvation by grace through faith.
We believe that God’s sovereignty in this salvation neither diminishes the responsibility of people to believe in Christ nor marginalizes the necessity and power of prayer and evangelism, but rather reinforces and establishes them as the ordained means by which God accomplishes his ordained ends.
(John 1:12-13; 6:37-44; 10:25-30; Acts 13:48; 16:30-31; Romans 3:1-4:25; 8:1-17,31-39; 9:1-23; 10:8-10; Ephesians 1:4-5; 2:8-10; Philippians 2:12-13; Titus 3:3-7; 1 John 1:7,9)
The Holy Spirit is fully God, equal with the Father and Son, whose primary ministry is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ; he also convicts unbelievers of their need for Christ and imparts spiritual life through regeneration (the new birth).
The Spirit permanently indwells, graciously sanctifies, lovingly leads, and empowers all who are brought to faith in Christ so that they might live in obedience to the inerrant Scriptures.
The model for our reliance upon the Spirit and our experience of his indwelling and empowering presence is the Lord Jesus Christ himself who was filled with the Spirit and entirely dependent upon his power for the performance of miracles, the preaching of the kingdom of God, and all other dimensions of his earthly ministry.
The Holy Spirit who indwelt and empowered Christ in like manner indwells and empowers us through spiritual gifts he has bestowed for the work of ministry and the building up of the body of Christ. Although there are different understandings in our network of the nature and function of these gifts, we all recognize that they are divine provisions central to spiritual growth and effective ministry and are to be eagerly desired, faithfully developed, and lovingly exercised according to biblical guidelines.
(Matthew 3:11; 12:28; Luke 4:1, 14; 5:17; 10:21; John 1:12-13; 3:1-15, 34; 14:12; 15:26-27; 16:7-15; Acts 2:14-21; 4:29-30; 10:38; Romans 8:9; 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:7-13; 12:28-31; 14:1-33; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Galatians 3:1-5; Ephesians 1:13-14; 5:18)
Download our position paper: Complementarianism & Preaching
Both men and women are together created in the divine image and are therefore equal before God as persons, possessing the same moral dignity and value, and have equal access to God through faith in Christ. Men and women are together the recipients of spiritual gifts designed to empower them for ministry in the local church and beyond. Therefore, women are to be encouraged, equipped, and empowered to utilise their gifting in ministry, in service to the body of Christ, and through teaching in ways that are consistent with the Word of God.
Both husbands and wives are responsible to God for spiritual nurture and vitality in the home, but God has given to the man primary responsibility to lead his wife and family in accordance with the servant-leadership and sacrificial love characterised by Jesus Christ. This principle of male headship should not be confused with, nor give any hint of, domineering control. Rather, it is to be the loving, tender and nurturing care of a godly man who is himself under the kind and gentle authority of Jesus Christ.
The Elders/Pastors of each local church have been granted authority under the headship of Jesus Christ to provide oversight and to teach/preach the Word of God in corporate assembly for the building up of the body. The office of Elder/Pastor is restricted to men.
(Genesis 1:26-27; 2:18; Acts 18:24-26; 1 Corinthians 11:2-16; Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 5:22-33; Colossians 3:18-19; 1 Timothy 2:11-15; 3:1-7; Titus 2:3-5; 1 Peter 3:1-7)
The church has a clear biblical mandate to look beyond its own community to the neighborhood, the nation, and the world as a whole; thus mission is not an optional program in the church but an essential element in the identity of the church.
We are called to make Christ known through the gospel and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to bring his lordship to bear on every dimension of life.
The primary way we fulfill this mission is through the planting of churches that plant churches and the training of their leaders. Our aim is that Jesus Christ would be more fully formed in each person through the ministry of those churches God enables us to plant around the world.
We also believe we are responsible neither to retreat from our culture nor to conform to it, but with humility, through the Spirit and the truth of the gospel, to engage it boldly as we seek its transformation and submission to the lordship of Christ.
(Isaiah 52:7; Matthew 10:5-25; 28:18-20; Luke 4:18-19; 24:46-47; Acts 28:31; Romans 10:14-15; 2 Corinthians 10:4-5; Galatians 2:10; Ephesians 3:10; 4:11-16; 2 Timothy 4:1-5; Hebrews 10:23-25; 1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-10)
We will be a family of church-planting churches.
That is why Acts 29 exists. Our focus is not simply on our own congregations, but on the work of God through the gospel of Jesus Christ, making his name famous to the ends of the earth. In the DNA of all Acts 29 churches should be a deep and driving desire to see churches planted across the world, all of which are defined by theological clarity, cultural engagement and missional innovation.
We are a family of churches that are theologically aligned and philosophically diverse, and we pray that the Spirit would keep us all deeply submitted to the word of God and walking in a glad submission to the Spirit. Acts 29 is not a theological club where churches and church planters gather around theological alignment without the desire or resolve to plant other like-minded churches. At our core, we are a church-planting family. May the Spirit draw those who share this passion so we see myriads of people who are far from him, reconciled to him through Christ.
We will be known for holiness and humility.
Our desire is that our family will be comprised of godly, sacrificial and mature men and women:
We desire to be faithful servants who love Jesus deeply and are quietly training, coaching and planting churches that will train, coach and plant more churches. We will continue to have our flaws and blind spots, but our deep and abiding hope is that regardless of what is said of us – even by our enemies – it will have to be said that we are men and women who deeply and desperately are invested in the Kingdom of God and are walking in holiness and humility.
We will be a radically diverse and global community.
It is a joy and privilege to be involved with and learn from brothers and sisters from different cultural, ethnic and economic backgrounds. We also want to press into and learn from those who differ from us in practice, philosophy and culture; especially those from different parts of the world. Our desire is to find the Spirit of God working among us so much so that we see more of his glory in and through a bold ethnic harmony that reveals God’s infinite worth and the power of the gospel in a visual and captivating way.
Ethnic harmony and global diversity are integral to what it means to be explicitly Christian. The Scriptures teach that there are two races—the race of the first Adam and the race of the Last Adam. It is only ‘in Christ’ that we are able to realize this identity. Our different cultures carry individual history, traditions and legacies, but the gospel transcends them and captures them for Christ, making us a new people, the family of God. We continue to value what is good and right in our cultures while gladly submitting to our new family as adopted sons and daughters – co-heirs with Christ Jesus.
We will pray for conversions through evangelism.
“I need to tell you about Jesus, when do you want to do that?” Words as simple as those can affect eternal change, bringing the spiritually dead to life in Christ. Witnessing the salvific work of the Holy Spirit creates in us an insatiable desire to see more and more of the same. This is why we are serious about evangelism and praying for conversions.
This can not simply be realized by preaching sermons that are evangelistic, but rather it is a holistic approach to evangelism. We desire churches filled with those who model personal evangelism by sharing the gospel as boldly in their neighborhoods as they do in their congregations. We desire churches filled with those who long and yearn for salvations and experience godly frustration when they are not happening. We desire churches filled with those who believe in the sufficiency of the Scriptures and in the power of the Spirit to break the hearts of the most hardened of people in their cities. We desire churches filled men and women who see their relationships with neighbors, co-workers and friends as opportunities to love supremely by praying for and sharing the best news in the universe with them. We desire churches filled with men and women who love the saving work of God so much that it would lead them to the ends of the earth, proclaiming and living out the gospel until all that will know, know.
May the Spirit protect and guide us, and may he draw many to Jesus, not only in our churches but also in and in all those churches where Christ is preached, loved and served.
Unit 11 Westbrook Court, Sheffield, S11 8YZ, UK
Tel: 0114 2676704
23052 Alicia PKWY, Suite H #621, Mission Viejo, CA 92692
Tel: (+1) 949-771-4664
