From Everywhere to Everywhere

A conversation with Phil, our new National Director

Phil, it’s been great to have you join us as our new National Director this autumn! Tell us a little bit about yourself…

Hi, I’m Phil! I’m married to Liz, who is a children’s nurse. We’ve been married for nearly 19 years, and have two children who are currently thirteen and nine. I grew up in a Christian family. Both of my grandfathers, my dad, and one of my uncles were all Baptist ministers. It’s funny – my dad and my grandad both studied economics at university, which is what I did as well. And so there were many questions from family and friends – when would I be joining the family business? As if economics was just another word for theology. But once I entered the work arena, I actually worked for several years in the UK in international development.

But then as a family, we very much felt a call to go overseas. We were sent by another mission agency to their partner organisation in Asia – an organisation that Interserve also works with. We were there as a family for six years before the political situation meant we had to leave the country. Since then, my family have been based back here in the UK, but until recently I was splitting my time between the UK and leading the organisation in our previous country of service, spending about a third of my time there.

What led you to apply for the role of National Director?

I worked very closely with a number of Interserve Partners in my previous role. We had Interserve colleagues from the US, New Zealand, Australia, Great Britain and the Netherlands. I’ve always appreciated how Interserve partnered with that organisation, and was also impressed by the care and support that they have showed their Partners, often in challenging circumstances. So when my previous role came to an end, I was encouraged by a few people to explore whether God might be calling me to the National Director role here with Interserve. And after the application and discernment process, I’m very pleased to be here now!

What are you most looking forward to about your new role?

I think there’s a couple of things. One thing that really interested me with the role is the crossover between mission overseas and also mission here in the UK. Working in this intersection between the two is something that I’m really excited about. I very much see my role as an enabling role, supporting others to use the gifts that God has given them for His glory. It’s amazing when you think about it – God could do mission in any way He chooses, but He chooses so many times to partner with us. So I’m excited to see what that looks like on the ground, whether that’s here, in my previous country of service, and everywhere in between.

I’m also really excited to be joining the global fellowship of Interserve – I think that’s one of the Interserve’s real strengths. In my previous role, we sometimes had our board meetings here in Birmingham at the Interserve offices. One time when I stayed here there was a South American couple and some short-term On Track volunteers staying here, having an experience of mission here in the UK, improving their English and being a part of the work that was already taking place here, preparing them to go and serve in a team in North Africa.

So that’s just one example of this sort of global mission and partnership, of God’s people being sent from everywhere to everywhere. Interserve’s international fellowship is a real strength and something I’m looking forward to being part of.

What can we pray for you and your family this autumn?

I’d love prayer for stamina, and that my brain can absorb as much information as possible in these early days! And also that I can hit the ground running. There’s a lot of decisions that have to be made, a lot of important things that are already happening, and important discussions as well. So I’d appreciate prayer for that. Please also pray for us as a family – I was telling someone the other day that my longest commute in the last eleven years has been a 10 minute walk! Now I’m at least an hour’s drive from the office, and there’s some practicalities in terms of fitting in work and commuting around my wife’s nursing shifts and the kids’ schooling, which will mean a little bit more time apart as a family. So please pray for us as a family adjusting to that.

Any final words of wisdom for us?!

I was speaking recently at a church about the missionary William Carey. When he agreed to go to India, he described his work as ‘a mine of opportunity’, but said he could only go into the mine if there were people who were holding the rope. There were many people supporting the work that he did through prayer, finances and more. And I know that’s also very true now for us at Interserve. The only way that we can do this work is because of the supporters who enable it. So I’m very much looking forward to working with Interserve, and hopefully getting a chance to interact with many of you as we partner together in God’s mission!

• Help us to share this post