Mel Lacy was invited to become the first Executive Director of Growing Young Disciples in late 2017. Having been involved with the Growing Young Disciples conference for many years, as well as being significantly committed to both doing and training others to do children’s and youth ministry, she was thrilled to accept the invitation.
Mel has been doing children’s and youth ministry in various ways, countries and contexts for over twenty years. She has had extensive experience in church based children’s and youth ministry and has, more recently, been the Director of the Children’s and Youth Ministry Course at Oak Hill College. She remains passionate about theological training for those in children’s, youth and family ministry and is now on the faculty of Crosslands, heading up the Youth and Children’s Ministry track.
Right from her early ministry days Mel has given much of her free time to serving in various children’s and youth ministry ventures. She was instrumental in establishing a movement in Ireland called Soul Truth, has served at the Keswick Convention in the youth ministry for many years and has also been involved with the youth ministry at Word Alive for over 15 years.
Mel was the author of the New City Catechism Curriculum, published in 2018 by Crossway in partnership with The Gospel Coalition. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with friends, or being on or in water!
Caz joined the Growing Young Disciples Team in 2021 and is now the Director of the Academy. After many years in further education and a MSc in Occupational Therapy, she worked as a ministry trainee at Carlisle Baptist Church whilst training on the NWGP Ministry Training Course. Keen for further theological training she studied Theology (for Children’s and Youth Ministry) at Oak Hill College, before working as Families Worker at Church by the Bay in Morecambe for 3 years. Caz has been involved with training others in families, children, and youth ministry for 7 years both in the local church and at larger training events.
Caz is married to Ben, Assistant minister at Trinity Church Chester, and they have a 2 year old, Anna. Together they are preparing to move to North Wales to plant a church with the IPC.
Jane Watkins joined Growing Young Disciples as Director of Mentoring in January 2022. She was Head of Children’s Ministry at Above Bar Church, Southampton, for over fifteen years, having previously been a teacher. She loves working with children’s and families workers and volunteers, as well as parents, to encourage and equip them in their roles. She benefitted greatly from Growing Young Disciples conferences and training over many years, and is grateful for individuals who encouraged and equipped her in her role. She sees it as an immense privilege to now be in a role where she can encourage and equip others.
Jane is studying for the Crosslands MA in Christian ministry. She is married to Tony, and they have three adult sons.
Peter joined Growing Young Disciples in September 2021. Prior to this, he spent 12 years in local church ministry in Northern Ireland working with children, young people and families. He is passionate about helping local churches to raise the next generation for Jesus and is particularly burdened to help people teach the Bible creatively and clearly to children and teenagers. Peter has taught on youth ministry at Union Theological College in Belfast, Moorlands College (NI), Irish Baptist College and is currently a tutor with Crosslands Seminary.
He holds a Bachelor of Divinity degree and a Masters in Theology, both from Union Theological College in Belfast. He is married to Linda, Dad to Tobias and Eden and in his spare time enjoys reading, playing golf, good coffee and watching his beloved Leeds United!
Johnny joined Growing Young Disciples in January 2023. Since 2000, he has been involved in full-time ministry to children and young people, working for various organisations and churches throughout Northern Ireland. For 13 years, prior to joining GYD, he served in St Elizabeth’s Church (Belfast), first as Youth and Children’s Worker and then as Associate Minister. Johnny is also the Chairperson of the Irish Youth Convention, an organisation which desires to see generations of young people, across the whole island of Ireland, raised up to be disciple making disciples of Jesus Christ.
Johnny loves encouraging and equipping others to open up the Bible with children and young people. He particularly enjoys working alongside volunteers, within the local church, supporting and training them as they seek to communicate the good news of God’s Word to the next generations.
Johnny is married to Susanna, Dad to Lois and Joel, and in his spare time enjoys time on his motorbike, Paddleboarding, drinking coffee and cheering on the mighty Liverpool FC.
Roz joined Growing Young Disciples as Director of Operations in July 2022, she is loving her role and being part of the team. Prior to this she worked at Keswick Ministries for almost 10 years, being responsible for donor relations and donations, including managing the ‘Gift Processing Team’ during the 3 weeks of Convention.
Roz moved to Cumbria from Biggin Hill, Kent in 2007, she is currently living in Whitehaven on the West Coast and has been actively involved in her local church since becoming a Christian in 1998, mainly through youth ministry and latterly being Head of Finance and is currently serving as a Trustee.
Roz has 4 adult children and enjoys spending her spare time with them, her grandchildren and friends. Also walking the rugged coastline with her dog, a Bedlington-Whippet, and is often found foraging for seaweeds and other coastal delights, which she particularly enjoys doing on warm summer days!
Emma joined the team as Executive Assistant in 2024. Prior to that she worked in the charity sector before enjoying several years at home with young children. Before joining the team she worked in both primary and secondary schools.
Having understood her need for Christ at a young age, she is passionate about teaching the Bible well to children of all ages. She loves being on the team and loves a spreadsheet. She will usually be the one who answers your emails and phone calls when you contact GYD.
Emma is married to Ross, a Rector in the Church of Ireland, and has 3 lovely boys who make life a lot of fun! She enjoys good coffee, quality time with friends and being by the sea.
Tim started life at a young age and was a lost child until Jesus found him wandering aimlessly as a teenager. Since then, he has studied theology, danced ballet, cared for the homeless, worked as a journalist in the Middle East, and along the way started The Good Book Company. At church he led the youthwork for many years and then graduated to 3-6-year olds. He still loves writing, performing, Bible teaching and visiting battlefields. Tim’s wife, Kathy, is less keen on all those things, but they still enjoy a good walk and listening to audiobooks together. They church in Wimbledon but run outreach ministries in their local suburb. Three adult daughters do their best to keep Tim’s hair grey and threaten to bankrupt him by demanding lavish weddings, none of which have been announced yet, but feel free to drift along if one pops up—everyone else will be there.
Debbie was converted at university and has been a member of St John’s in Knutsford ever since. She qualified as a solicitor and has worked as a lecturer at the College/University of law in Chester, then Manchester for over 30 years. She has been involved in church governance locally and nationally for many years, through church councils and finance committees, as well as the General Synod of the Church of England. At work she has led student groups of the Lawyers Christian Fellowship and in church she thoroughly enjoys teaching in children’s groups on a Sunday and bible study youth groups midweek. Debbie has been a trustee and secretary of GYD since it formed.
Tim has been part of Growing Young Disciples since it was formed as a charity in 2017. Tim previously worked with KPMG in their audit department but now serves as associate minister at Holy Trinity Platt Church, Manchester where a major part of his responsibility is working with undergraduates. He is passionate about Youth and Children’s ministry and sees how important great biblically rich youth work especially as people go to university. In his spare time he enjoys: reading (especially a good novel or history book), taking walks in green space, or watching cricket.
Tim’s responsibilities with GYD involve working with other trustees to fulfil good governance and he has a particular role in overseeing the financial status of the organisation.
Stui has been involved in youth and children’s ministry for over 20 years, serving as a volunteer in his local church and on the children’s team at national conferences like Keswick and Word Alive. He has also been involved in training youth and kids workers, teaching modules on the Children’s and Youth Ministry Course at Oak Hill College and leading a talk group on the South West Gospel Partnership ministry training course.
Stui is the pastor of Sladebrook Church in Bath. He is married to Katherine and is Dad to their 3 children.
David Johnston is a retired Presbyterian minister. He served successively in Waringstown for eleven years and Hamilton Road, Bangor for twenty-five years. David retired towards the end of 2019 and currently serves as a preaching associate in Dundonald Presbyterian Church on the outskirts of Belfast. David is married to Olive. They have four married children and eight grandchildren and live in Bangor. David is the current Chair of the Northern Ireland Ministry Assembly. He is also on the board of Partners in Service which supports the work of the Delhi Bible Institute and has been a regular visitor to India.
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The Forge is an online training and resource platform from Growing Young Disciples. It exists to strengthen and support children’s, youth, and family ministry leaders. It is more than a content library. It is a place of sharpening and growth, where gospel depth meets practical wisdom for real-life ministry.
It is for anyone involved in discipling the next generation. Whether you are a full-time youth pastor, a Sunday school volunteer, a church leader, or a parent who wants to think more deeply about gospel-shaped ministry with young people, The Forge has been built with you in mind.
You will find biblically rich training videos, downloadable resources, safeguarding templates, risk assessments, leadership tools, and teaching materials. There is also an online community space where you can connect with others, ask questions, and find encouragement.
The subscription is yearly. You can pay £200 up front, or spread the cost with monthly payments of £20. Either way, you are signing up for a one-year commitment. After that, you are free to cancel at any time.
The subscription covers your whole church team, so anyone involved in children’s, youth, or family ministry can access the training resources and downloads.
Each subscription comes with one named community member. But we know that some churches have more than one key leader involved in children’s, youth, or family ministry. That is why we offer up to three named users per church to access the Forge community area.
This allows your team to grow together without turning the space into a free-for-all. If you need more individual sign-in permissions because of a larger team or unique circumstances, just get in touch and we will sort it out for you.
No. A subscription gives access to your local church team only. Resources must not be shared, copied, or distributed to anyone outside your church. If content is shared beyond these terms, access to The Forge will be withdrawn. We take this seriously in order to protect the integrity of the platform and ensure fairness for all.
Yes. The Forge is a living platform, not a static archive. New resources are added throughout the year, including training videos, downloadable tools, and leadership materials. We are always listening to what churches need and developing fresh content in response.
Yes. This is one of the most common requests we receive. The Forge includes a growing set of short, practical training videos with built-in discussion questions and leader notes. They are ideal for use in monthly or termly team meetings.
Yes. If your church is facing a particular challenge or needs support in a specific area of ministry, we would love to hear from you. The Forge exists to serve the local church, not to replace it. We are here to help.
Yes. While the platform is built on a conservative evangelical and reformed theological foundation, it is designed to serve churches across a wide range of denominations. The resources are biblically faithful, pastorally wise, and practically adaptable.
We would be happy to show you around. Send us a message and we can arrange a preview or talk through how The Forge could serve your team.
