People

SOMA Staff

  • National Director

    Richard came to SOMA UK from parish ministry in London and Wolverhampton. He is married to Nicola and they have three children. He came to faith on a short-term mission trip to Romania in 1995 and has travelled since then in Africa, Asia, Europe for missions and supporting Christian workers.

    In the UK he speaks at churches, conferences and retreats around the country. He runs a popular blog: In previous roles he has been a Regional Director for New Wine England and a Fresh Expressions Advisor for Lichfield Diocese.

  • Operations Officer

    Claire Bateman joins us in January 2025 from the public sector and will bring a passion for mission combined with operational efficiency and experience.

    Claire is married to Tim and they have three young children. She is passionate about seeing lives transformed by Jesus and is part of the team at St Peters Farnborough where her husband is the vicar.

    Claire writes: "I am excited about the opportunity to work with SOMA UK because their mission of bringing hope and renewal from the global church to the UK is something I’m passionate about. The chance to apply my operational skills to support God's purposes through SOMA and help equip and strengthen the global church is incredibly exciting. I can’t wait to be part of the team."

  • SOMA Ireland

    Henry has 19 years of ordained parish experience before stepping out in faith to focus on leading SOMA Ireland and operating as Secretary for SOMA International.

    We work closely with Henry for coordinating shared missions overseas as well as on projects and programmes in the UK and Ireland.

    He is married to Helen and has four grown up boys.

  • Meta Youth Lead

    Stu set up META Youth through SOMA UK in 2022 to inspire 16-19s in bible knowledge, discipleship and cross-cultural ministry. In the summer of 2023 he led his first SOMA | Meta Youth mission to Zgharta Lebanon, followed by Rwanda in 2024.

    Stu is married to Susie and they have two children. He has been a church planter and parish vicar and now works for GIANT as a senior partner and leadership consultant helping influential leaders at key moments of transition.

  • META Youth Leader

    Lydia has been helping run META Youth from the outset, supporting the shaping of the programme and working alongside the young people. She is passionate about helping young people develop and grow in their faith.

    Lydia is married to Ben and lives in Eastbourne with their two daughters. She is a leadership consultant, helping to unlock the potential of people and loves to bring this knowledge into the world of the youth too.

Trustees

  • Chair of Trustees

    Kevin is married to Anne and lives in Shrewsbury, where he was a Vicar and Rural Dean before moving to be Archdeacon of Carlisle and then Director of ReSource, through to his retirement in 2021. Kevin has led SOMA UK teams over many years and is delighted to be chairing the Board of Trustees for a season and to be supporting Richard and his staff.  

  • Jenny has been involved with SOMA UK for around 15 years and a Trustee for most of those. Her first career was as a commercial property solicitor. She then moved into the overseas development sector as an advocacy specialist and has recently retired. She has been on numerous SOMA teams and loves the connection with Christians in the Global South.  

  • Wayne co-leads B&A Church in Bristol. In addition to serving as a trustee of SOMA, he Is a trustee of the George Muller Charity, and Chaplain to Bristol Rovers FC.

  • Ken, a Canadian, was a missionary to Sierra Leone before moving to the UK with his family to continue serving leaders in Africa through short-term visits.  He has led multiple SOMA missions in East Africa and Sierra Leone, and particularly enjoys taking teams to “the places less visited.”

  • Rachel heads up a podcasting and coaching business and advises SOMA on many operational and production matters.

  • Claire is a qualified accountant with 25 years’ experience in local authorities, including as a Director for Finance for 6 years.

    Claire feels privileged to be able to support SOMA as a trustee and longs to see SOMA's dreams become a reality.

     

  • Jules has been Executive Director for UK Churches Administrator Network, New Wine England and Operations Director for St Stephen’s Twickenham. She is now head of People and Operations for the Bible Reading Fellowship. She is married to Paul and has two children.

  • Sarah is married to Rhys and has three children. She is based in South Wales where she is involved in local church and community ventures. Sarah is a chartered accountant and is delighted to be supporting SOMA as Clerk to the Trustees

National Leadership Team

Patron

Our Patron is Bishop David Williams, the Bishop of Basingstoke. He has long been an enthusiastic part of SOMA, taking part in our vital intercession work and participating in a SOMA mission to DRC. He grew up in Uganda, still has relatives in East Africa, and has a particular commitment to DRC Congo. He has been Bishop of Basingstoke since 2014, and is also the emissary of the Archbishop of Congo.