Our Leadership

The gospel ministry of Emmanuel is led by elders and facilitated by deacons, but the ministry is carried out by the members of our church.

Our Elders

Richard Hargrave

I was born and grew up in Bournemouth where my family attended Southbourne Methodist Church but Christianity meant little to me and I didn’t go to church while I was at Kent University studying Accounting and Economics. However, despite this apathy towards the Christian faith, when it came time to join a firm of Chartered Accountants I was drawn towards a Christian firm in the City of London where I trained and worked for seven years before joining a City client as Finance Director.

I was saved by the grace of God when I was 31, having been witnessed to by a work colleague and I was particularly challenged by two books – “Mere Christianity” by CS Lewis and “Born Again” by Chuck Colson – and by the faithful preaching of the Word at Bessels Green Baptist Church near Sevenoaks. Through these means, I was convicted of my sin and my need to repent, be baptised, and follow Christ.

I currently work in reinsurance and have been married to my darling Nicky since 1990 and we have 6 children and 7 grandchildren.

In my spare time, I enjoy photography, cooking and gardening. I have also almost completed my studies for a Master of Arts in Theological Studies (Lay Leadership) with Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

Greg Tarr

I am new to the south-west of England, having spent most of my life in the south-east. I grew up in Sutton, South London, and became a Christian and was baptised aged 15. My parents shared the gospel with me, and took me to a church where the Bible was clearly taught. I also attended summer camps which were times when I thought more deeply about where I stood before God. Through many different people, God showed me that just having knowledge about him would not save me, but I had to put my trust in Jesus so that my sins could be forgiven.

I spent 4 years studying Computer Science at the University of Oxford which was a time of significant spiritual growth. I understood more of the implications that faith in Jesus had for everyday life, and had a better grasp of the biblical storyline and Christian theology. I had several leadership opportunities, including serving as President of the Christian Union.

I then moved to Guildford to work as a software developer, and it was there where I first started to consider whether I should pursue theological training. After opportunities to test my gifts in the church, I moved to Louisville, Kentucky in 2019 to complete a Masters of Divinity degree in Christian Ministry. The intention was always that I would return to the UK to serve as a pastor, and I heard about the idea of a new church in Exeter a year or so after I graduated. I care passionately about the cause of the gospel in the United Kingdom, and the health of churches, and so it is wonderful to have the opportunity to use my theological training and experience of healthy churches to serve Emmanuel Baptist Church.

In my spare time, I enjoy mountain biking, skiing, walking, running, and watching Crystal Palace. In Exeter, I'll be mainly found in coffee shops, the cinema, Saturday morning's Parkrun, and perhaps watching Exeter City play!

Jonathan Worsley

With family roots in the North-West and over a decade of living in Sussex and then Cambridgeshire, I was often dubbed ‘a posh northerner’ by friends. But, more important than any geography, I grew up with the great privilege of having Christian parents who took me to church.

One evening, in November 1993, after hearing a talk at our church youth group, I became convinced of God’s rule and was burdened by my pride as a 10-year-old boy. That night, I ran home and ran to Jesus Christ. I was baptised a few years later.

In 2001, I left home to study Biological Sciences at the University of Birmingham. However, it was here that I really studied the Bible. As a teenager my faith was fledging, but I started to read God’s Word with a great hunger at university. Through this, coupled with the patient mentoring of older wiser Christians, I came to see the depths of God’s love and what it necessitated. In the words of Isaac Watts’ famous hymn, “Love so amazing, so divine - demands my life, my soul, my all.”

As a result, after my undergraduate degree, I worked for City Evangelical Church as a student worker. I then completed a PGCE and briefly worked as a prep school teacher in Birmingham, before moving to Washington DC, in 2009, to work as a Pastoral Assistant at Capitol Hill Baptist Church. In Washington, I met my wonderful wife, Sarah, and we got married in 2011. Shortly after, I returned to London to study theology at Oak Hill Theological College, before pastoring a small Baptist church in south-west London whilst working as the managing editor of Evangelicals Now.

In 2020, I had the opportunity to serve Edgefield Church, Nashville, USA with some dear friends in Sarah’s home town. But increasingly convicted of the great Gospel need in England, I have now returned to the UK and to Exeter (with Sarah and our three children). It is my great honour to serve Emmanuel as Senior Pastor.

On Elders: The Bible teaches that each local church should be led by a plurality of godly, qualified men called elders. The apostle Paul lays out the qualifications for elders in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. Here it is clear that elders must be Christ-like and able to teach the Bible faithfully. Passages that evidence a plurality of elders in one local church include Acts 14:23, Acts 20:17, 1 Timothy 4:14, 1 Timothy 5:17, and James 5:14. God gifts churches with elders so that the church can be fed faithfully from God’s Word (Jn. 21:15-17). The elders don't rule the church (the church members are finally in charge), but they do lead the church and guide its members (1 Tim. 4:16; 1 Pet. 5:3, Heb. 13:7). As metaphorical shepherds, they also protect the flock from attacks of false teaching (Acts 20:27-29; 2 Tim. 4:3-4; Tit. 1:9).

Our Deacons

Deacon of safeguarding

Yet to be chosen by the congregation

Deacon of
music