This early part of the book gives some biographical detail about me and my experience in ministry as of the time of writing, in 2017.
I will unpack in more detail who I am and my background, throughout the book, but for now here’s just a sketch to give you an idea of who Andy Poultney is. I was born and raised in Romford, on the borders of east London and Essex – the town’s most famous children are sporting legends Steve Davies and Tony Adams, and 2011 X-Factor winners, Little Mix (“Who?!”) – a son to Arthur and Mavis, and brother to Sandra[1]. Born in 1968, that makes me 49 as I begin writing, but given how long I anticipate it taking me to complete this, I’m going to just keep rounding that up to 50.
Regular church attendance at Main Road Baptist was part of my life from the outset, but I would say I ‘become a Christian’ when I was 15. Having very much under achieved at school I began working for a Christian Charity aged 17. Linsey and I started dating (did I really just use that word?), around the same time, and we threw ourselves into church youth group activities together from that point. Although we wouldn’t have used the word then, we seemed to have an instinctive desire to want to grow as ‘disciples’, which led us to attend Spring Harvest and similar events. By April 1989 I was working in the accounts department of an advertising agency in west London and Linsey was working for a merchant bank. It was into that ordinary and ‘small’ context that God first called me into ministry – maybe that’s why it felt so significant. Despite the hiatus of thinking through the implications of saying yes to God’s call to ministry, Linsey and I did get married, I was 21 and she was 22 – gosh, we were young. We even had a mortgage and our own home by then too – such different times!
In sharing that coffee with John it made me realise how grateful I am to Linsey for saying ‘yes’ to that first big question of my calling (see ‘Who am I?’). We have had to wrestle through many subsequent issues and questions as we’ve worked it out, but it’s because of that first ‘yes’, and the ‘I do’ on 27th May 1989, that we’ve been able to resolve them, and press into more of what God has had for us. From the outset she has supported me, and in the last few years it has increasingly become a joint calling. There is no way I would be doing what I’m doing if it hadn’t been for her encouragement and backing. The idea of ‘family on mission’ has shaped and defined us. Without wishing to sound too clichéd, there’s something very ‘fresh expressions’ about her. And really, this is our story. Most of the time I will talk of ‘I’ here, but there will be times when I say ‘we,’ as it will make more sense. Whether I do so explicitly or not, this is very much our story. Poultney two became Poultney four when we were blessed with the joy of twin children, Joel and Keziah. They are both passionate, articulate, feisty, funny and mighty young adults. Again, how did they get to be in their early twenties so very quickly? From babies to teenagers to young adults – I’m incredibly proud to be their dad.
Following some years of processing it, the call at Spring Harvest initially led me into youth ministry. I became a trainee youth worker at my home church (1992-1994), was employed as Youth Minister at The Church of the Good Shepherd (1994-2005), then Youth Adviser to the Bishop of Barking (2005-2014), which evolved into me becoming Young Vocations Champion for Chelmsford Diocese (2014-2017). A passion for working with young people and young adults has been a hallmark of my ministry from the outset. So much so that in many ways it has also been the focus of my ordained ministry.
I was eventually caught by the idea of ordination through the new designation of Ordained Pioneer Ministry and was part of the initial cohort of students to train at St Mellitus College. I was the first to be ordained as a pioneer in Chelmsford Diocese in 2008, and whilst employed as Youth Adviser started a Fresh Expression which became Deeper Network Church (header picture). Much of the learning from this experience I’ll share later, but for now, to say it sadly but rightly ended as a church in May 2017.
Pioneering, as well as youth ministry, has also been a feature of my ministry, even before it was a recognised term. Establishing and leading Deeper for ten years was certainly the most significant way (in terms of length of time, risk and intensity), in which I have pioneered. But alongside that, for the last three years (2014-2017), I have been leading Encounter – also both youth and pioneering in focus. Encounter was the umbrella term for my work as Young Vocations Champion. My role was to help people under the age of thirty to explore God’s call on their lives, especially in contemplating ordained ministry. The high profile part of that was a discipleship gap year involving young adults living in community with myself and Linsey, in a house purchased and adapted for that purpose by the diocese. Again, I’ll share some of my learning from this in Reimagining Pioneering, but the initial pilot project also ended in August 2017.
[1] I’m planning to cite names of particular people throughout the book. For friends and family I’ll just use Christian names. For those who are, or have been, in public ministry I’ll give their full name. Most of the names are unlikely to mean anything to you but to me they are more than names. They are encouragers, counsellors, supporters, banner wavers, cheerleaders, fellow pilgrims, ragamuffins, family, extended family, and friends. They are more of the ‘unknowns’, but their names are worth saying out loud because of the way they have, and are shaping and helping me. You will have your own in your journey, celebrate them.