Who's who in the Alliance
General Director, Executive Directors, and National Directors
Department Heads
General Director: Joel Edwards
An ordained minister in one of the UK’s major Caribbean denominations and an honorary Canon of St Paul’s Cathedral, Joel blends black and white together without making grey. Crossing cultural divides and coping with ‘daily culture shock’ since he arrived in the UK from Kingston, Jamaica at the age of 8, Joel has become one of the foremost protagonists within the Christian church scene. As such, he serves on a number of faith, government and public agency advisory groups. A respecter of diversity, he is also passionate about unity within the church. But unity with a purpose; to see real change for real lives and real communities.
Joel was a Probation Officer for 14 years and the senior pastor of a local church for 10 years before becoming the first black general director of the Evangelical Alliance in 1997.
Public Policy Executive Director: Dr R David Muir
Dr Muir has an MA in Political Education and Public Policy from London University and a Ph.D in Theology from King’s College, London. He taught history and politics at London University and Caribbean Studies at the London Metropolitan University where he is a Visiting Fellow.
David was a member of the Government’s Policy Action Team and a senior lecturer at London Metropolitan University. He has advised the Home Secretary on Citizenship and integration and served as deputy chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority.
David joined the Alliance as Public Policy Director in 2005.
Finance and Operations Executive Director: Helen Calder
Helen Calder is a business graduate who worked in the glass and brewing industries for 12 years, rising to senior management level.
Following a call to use her management skills in the Christian sector she spent a year studying theology at St John’s College Nottingham before being appointed as Director of Administration for All Souls Church, Langham Place.
She has been a trustee of a number of other Christian charities and has worked for the Alliance since 1999.
Executive Director: Churches in Mission: Krish Kandiah
Before joining the Alliance in September 2007, Dr Krish Kandiah was the Director of the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics and Tutor in Mission and Evangelism at Wycliffe Hall. He was also a member of the Oxford University Theology faculty.
Krish has worked with students in the UK with Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship, and in Albania with the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, before becoming pastor of a multi-cultural church in Harrow. Krish is passionate about helping the church relate relevantly and faithfully to contemporary culture and about global, multi-cultural and church-based mission.
Krish is married to Miriam and has three primary aged children and two foster babies. Krish has a keen interest in movies, photography, rock music and Liverpool FC.
Read Krish's Blog at:
National Director, Wales: Elfed Godding
Elfed Godding joined Evangelical Alliance Wales as General Secretary in September 1999. Prior to that he and his wife Jackie served for 18 years in two pastorates.
A graduate of Moorlands and the Nazarene Theological Colleges Elfed enjoys the challenge of serving a wide evangelical constituency in Wales!
Since taking up the position of General Secretary, Elfed has travelled extensively throughout Wales communicating the vision and mission of the Welsh Alliance.
Elfed and Jackie have two adult sons and live in the City of Cardiff. In his spare time Elfed enjoys reading, distance running for charity and visits to the cinema.
National Director, Northern Ireland: Stephen Cave
Stephen is married to Nicola and they have three children - Ben (b.1997), Maddi (b.2001) and Levi (b.2005). His first job on leaving University was as a primary school teacher in Carrickfergus, a town to which they have returned as a family. Prior to joining the team in January 2001, Stephen was pastor of Ballycrochan Baptist Church in Bangor.
Stephen's responsibility is the oversight of the Alliance's work in NI, as well as serving on the UK leadership team. He spends much of his time working with member organizations - encouraging and promoting strategic partnerships that will better serve the church, representing the Alliance in wider networks, speaking in churches, either preaching or representing the work of the Alliance, lecturing regularly at Belfast Bible College evening classes and working on events that seek to resource church leaders better in the challenges of ministry.
National Director, Scotland: Rev Fred Drummond
Fred assumed the key role of National director of Scotland in July 2006, taking the baton from Rev Mike Parker who has moved to Cyprus to be part of the leadership team of an international, interdenominational mission agency working in the Middle East (MECO).
Fred Drummond, 44, is minister of Perth Riverside Church and is on the board of the local YMCA. He says, "I am excited by the opportunities and challenges that I have been called to at this stage in my life. I'm looking forward to working with a wide range of evangelicals in Scotland."
Read Fred's Blog at: 2getherscotland.blogspot.com
