New Team Member
Introducing: Claire Bateman, Operations
Claire got to know SOMA when her husband Tim came on the Turning the Tide mission in Ireland and she joined our intercessors community to cover the trip in prayer.
The role will bring together her passion for mission and an impressive organisational ability.
Claire Bateman will join SOMA UK in January 2025 as Operations Officer. Claire has previously worked for a City Council as well as for Gas Street Church in Birmingham, and comes with a wealth of project management and training experience. Claire is a graduate of both the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics and Oxford University. Short-term mission has been a big part of her faith-journey.
Claire writes: “I am married to Tim and have three young children: Louisa, John and Isaac. I love spending time outdoors whether climbing up a mountain or walking through the nearby woods. I am passionate about seeing lives transformed by Jesus and am part of the team at St Peter’s Farnborough where my husband is the vicar. 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.”
This role will be critical for SOMA as we look to develop our META Youth project, learning cohorts, work alongside the international SOMA family and continue to bring back olive branches of hope from around the world to revitalise the UK church. The panel were deeply impressed by Claire's grasp of the vision of SOMA, her love for SOMA’s focus on prayer being central to mission and our commitment to a radical dependence on God. She demonstrated a compelling passion for global mission, the church, and seeing lives transformed by Jesus.
We could not be more pleased with this outcome and as Kevin Roberts, Chair of Trustees, says; “We are blessed’.
