MA Staff

Andy Kingston-Smith
Postgraduate Programme Director

Andy grew up in Chile and started working life as a solicitor. He then spent three years as a missionary in Bolivia with his family until they returned to the UK where he embarked on a master’s degree in Global Issues in Contemporary Mission. In 2008, Andy joined the faculty of Redcliffe College lecturing and co-ordinating the programme on justice issues in contemporary mission. In 2015, he joined the staff of ForMission as Postgraduate Programme Director. Andy contributed to and co-edited the book Carnival kingdom: biblical justice for global communities, has co-written a newly-published training programme on biblical justice with International Justice Mission, and contributed to the Justice Bible, which was published in 2016. He is co-founder, with Carol, of the jusTice initiative and they both write a blog viewable at Justice, Advocacy and Mission.

Elise Kwok
Programme Administrator

Elise is from Hong Kong and now lives in Birmingham. She received her BA (Hons) Degree in Accountancy and MS Degree in Finance from the City University of Hong Kong, an MA Degree in Family Counseling and Family Education from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and an MSocSc Degree in Counseling from the University of Hong Kong. She is a fellow member of ACCA, a CPA of HKICPA, and an associate fellow of the Hong Kong Professional Counselling Association.

Elise is interested in education and other than her teaching job in a community college, she also completed a life education project called “The last words of 100 persons” to help people learn the skills of “How-to-live” before thinking of “How-to-die”.

John Baxter-Brown
MA Tutor

John Baxter-Brown, or JBB as he is usually known, works part-time as Senior Advisor in Evangelism for the Theological Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance, and lectures and tutors in mission and evangelism at universities and colleges. He has previously worked as Consultant to the World Council of Churches (on evangelism), World Vision International (on Church Partnerships) and Compassion International (on children and youth in mission). Throughout his ministry he has worked in evangelism, youth and children’s work, theological education and training, and ecumenism, at local church through to global levels. He has edited and authored numerous books, chapters, journals and articles. JBB gained his bachelors degree from London Bible College (now London School of Theology), and earned his MTh from Oxford University. He is married with two teenage daughters and two dogs and lives in Wiltshire.

Rob Burns

MA Tutor

Rob moved to Wales in 2000 after founding and leading two successful sports ministry organisations in the USA over an 11 year period. He currently has a number of roles. He is founding director of Missional Links Wales, a core partner for writing, course design and facilitation with ForMission College on the MA Missional Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship pathways, and also a partner with Evangelical Alliance, Wales. He trains coaches with Coaching4Clergy and teaches and preaches regularly in churches across the whole of Wales.

Rob holds a Master’s degree in Divinity, a post graduate diploma in Missional Leadership and a post graduate certificate in Coaching for Leadership. He is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC – ICF) and held an ‘A’ football Licence for many years, working as a professional youth coach in the USA.

Rob is passionate about leadership training, coaching, and mentoring people who are looking for direction, encouragement and purpose. He is married to Jenny and they have three adult lads, each one “both taller and far more handsome” than him.

Jeff Fountain
MA Tutor

Originally from New Zealand, Jeff is a naturalised Dutchman living in central Amsterdam with his Dutch wife Romkje. They have three married sons and eight grandchildren. He received his Bachelor’s in history from the University of Auckland, worked as a journalist on the NZ Herald, and then on staff with IVF (TSCF) in NZ, before moving to Canada and eventually to The Netherlands in 1975. Jeff was European director of YWAM (1990-2009) and started the Schuman Centre for European Studies in 2010. He chaired the Hope for Europe network, organised the HOPE.21(2002) and HOPE.II (2011) congresses in Budapest, and the State of Europe Forums held annually since 2011 in the capital of the country holding the EU presidency. He and Romkje have led Heritage Tours almost every summer since 2005, firstly on the Continent and more recently in Ireland and Britain (moving online during the covid pandemic). Jeff specialises in the influence of Christianity on the European Union, having written the Robert Schuman story in Deeply Rooted (2010), now translated into nine languages.

Nicole McKeever

MA Tutor

Nicole is a former ForMission student, having received her MA in Missional Spirituality from the college in 2019. She is currently studying for her PhD in Applied Theology at London School of Theology, looking at food poverty in the UK. She has previously worked with and led various ministries at a local church level, including children, youth, student and women’s ministries.

Nicole also holds an MA in Medieval and Early Modern History, with a focus on religious literature and medieval eschatological iconography. Her theological interests include missiology (with a particular interest in food, community and poverty), biblical studies, church history and systematic theology. She lives in London and enjoys making the most of the wide variety of restaurants available as she considers herself a terrible cook.

Carol Kingston-Smith
MA Tutor

Carol works as a freelance writer, speaker and mentor. Following a childhood in Brazil (Wycliffe Bible Translators), various short term mission trips in Europe (Operation Mobilisation), a brief career in public health nursing (inner city Manchester) and a term of mission service in Bolivia (Latin Link), Carol completed her Masters at Redcliffe College with a special focus on liberation theology. She joined the Redcliffe faculty (2008-2013) and taught various discipleship and contextual mission modules on both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and innovated and established the Justice, advocacy and reconciliation masters stream there. Together with Andy she developed and delivered a course on the biblical theology of justice in India in partnership with International Justice Mission and co-edited the book Carnival Kingdom: Biblical justice for Global communities (2013). Carol has contributed articles to various journals and co-writes a blog justice, advocacy and mission. She is currently a trustee for Faith2Share, a collaborative global missions network and has four teenage and young adult children, enjoys walking, reading, films and nature.

Ewen Robertson
MA Tutor

Ewen did his first degree, in history, at Reading University, and then worked full time with Campus Crusade for Christ (now called Agape in the UK) for two years amongst university students. Later he trained as a careers adviser and then worked for ten years in a Careers Company in Essex, initially as a careers adviser but from 1994-98 as Staff Development Manager for the organisation. Since 1998 he has been involved with Global Horizons, a trust overseeing a group of churches in the UK and USA and involved in global mission, outworking his dual passions for education/training with overseas mission. From 2001 to 2004 he was on the leadership team of New Life Church Dunstable and also worked as a part-time adult careers adviser and careers adviser at Cranfield and Luton Universities. From 2004 to 2009 he was Principal and Director of Training for the Bible College of Wales in Swansea and from 2009 to 2013, Director of Development for Trinity School of Ministry. Over the past twelve years he has made several trips to India, predominantly to teach and train church leaders and Bible college students. He has also been involved in similar work in South Africa, China, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Mongolia. His ministry has been enhanced by part-time study at Regents Theological College from 2004-2006 to obtain a MTh in Applied Theology and through undertaking part-time doctoral studies in the fields of theology and missiology, with the University of Wales from 2009 to 2014. He was awarded his PhD in 2014. Ewen enjoys playing tennis, jogging, fell walking, cooking, gardening, fine art appreciation and listening to a wide variety of music. He also enjoys films and the theatre.

Bev Thomas
MA Tutor
Bev has a wealth of experience working for and leading various prominent organisations like the Evangelical Alliance, Christian Socialist Movement and Youth for Christ. She is an ordained minister with the Evangelical Free church, a trustee for the Christian Evidence Society and a member of UK Government Advisory Group for the 2007 Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade in the British Empire. Bev is a tutor and trainer at Birmingham Bible Institute and New Testament Church of God, UK. Bev has a MA Divinity (Honorary Degree) from Birmingham Bible Institute and is currently studying a Doctorate in Practical Theology with Anglia Ruskin University.