About Us
Leadership
Elder - Mike Roper
I
was born in Southport, Lancashire and brought up in Croydon in Surrey
but my roots are very much in Kent. Although I was brought up in a strong
Christian family I turned my back on God when I left home in the early ‘70s
and went to the University of Reading to study Agriculture. I lived the
life of a student of that era to the full.
God, however, did not turn His back on me. When my life fell apart and I realised where I was heading, in desperation I turned to Him on my knees in my student accommodation and, by His amazing grace, He forgave me and gave my troubled conscience peace. Slowly my life came back together again as I embarked on the Christian journey and began to follow Christ. It’s been a roller coaster life of challenge, excitement and sometimes deep pain ever since but I can testify that God has never left me through thick and thin.
I’ve since travelled the world with my job in the livestock and meat business – working in Nepal, the Far East, Germany and many other European countries. It’s been a real thrill to meet up with followers of Jesus Christ nearly everywhere I’ve travelled, some facing persecution. I currently work as a policy manager at Defra in Westminster on livestock and meat trade issues.
I’m married to Alison who is a regional day services manager of a Kent based Christian charity delivering programmes for people suffering from drug and alcohol abuse. We have three great grown-up sons and a lovely daughter-in-law.
We’ve served God in a number of churches over the years – in Abingdon, Schleswig, Milton Keynes, Dunstable, Aberdeen and now Trinity in Tenterden where I became an elder in 2002. It’s wonderful to see Christ building His Church in preparation for His glorious return to earth.