Meet our team!
Behind the scenes and on the front line, our staff and volunteer team work together to help Citygate Church thrive. Get to know the people who serve our church family and discover the different roles they play.
Strategic Leadership Team
The SLT is responsible for turning direction into action. They think about how our vision takes shape, grows, and holds up under pressure—setting priorities, making key decisions, and making sure the right structures, people, and resources are in place.
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Russ White
Russ has served at Citygate since university, starting in the Youth team. Following a significant encounter with God in his 20s, he developed a passion for evangelism, joined the leadership team to shape outreach, and has been lead elder since 2017, focused on community impact and supporting those exploring faith.
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Tim Francis
Tim was called in his teens to serve as an overseer in the church and has spent over 30 years in church leadership across Bedford, Lewes, Torquay, and Bournemouth. He has helped shape Citygate’s pastoral culture, drawing on a lifelong passion for discipleship and supporting people through life’s challenges. A gifted communicator, he is passionate about seeing God’s word transform lives.
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Sean Theunissen
Sean joined Citygate Church as a student while studying accounting and began serving on drums. His passion for worship led him to oversee the worship ministry in 2006, and he joined staff in 2008 to use his finance and operational skills. After recognising a call to eldership in 2018, he now helps lead worship, develops young worship leaders, and oversees the songwriting group.
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Priscilla Roxburgh
Priscilla has nearly 20 years’ experience leading communications for NGOs and charities and now heads up Citygate’s social action initiatives. She has led worship since her teens, spoken at conferences, and trained worship teams. She also oversees leadership development, helping remove barriers and supporting underrepresented groups into leadership pathways.
Elders
Elders carry the spiritual responsibility for Citygate Church - they safeguard the integrity of our church, guide where we’re going, and make sure we stay faithful to God and His Word.
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Russ White
Lead Elder
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Tim Francis
Southbourne, Teaching and Pastoral
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Sean Theunissen
Bournemouth, Operations and Worship
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Lanre Yusuf
Bournemouth & Prayer
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Peter Roxburgh
Poole, Leadership Development & Life Groups
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Zac Dixon
Southbourne
Site Leaders
Site leaders are responsible for the health, discipleship and culture of a specific site community. They help our vision come alive locally with wisdom, care, and sensitivity to the people they’re serving.
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Sean Theunissen
Bournemouth
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Lanre Yusuf
Bournemouth
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Zac Dixon
Southbourne
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Sarah Dixon
Southbourne
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Peter Roxburgh
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Priscilla Roxburgh
Our staff team exists to support and strengthen the life of Citygate Church. By equipping leaders, developing ministries, overseeing operations, and providing practical resources, they help ensure that our vision is lived out consistently across every area of church life.
Our Staff Team
Operations and Venue
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Karen Priest
Operations Administrator
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Andy Watkins
Production Manager
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Xander Rigby
Production Assistant
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Jon Lotriet
Venues & Business Manager
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Kerry Simmons
Venue & Events Co-ordinator
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Tim Butcher
Maintenance Assistant
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Rosa Trout
Maintenance Assistant
Community Hub
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Sue West
Community Hub Manager
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Berni Pickering
Casework Team Manager
Kids, Youth and Students
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Talitha Forster
Kids and Families Worker
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Stacy Gilchrist
Youth Lead
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Katie Thorn
Student Lead
Communications
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Nat Ellerby
Communications and Engagement Manager
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Benji Nagel-Smith
Communications Assistant
Finance
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Kirsty Christopher
Finance Manager
Arch Coffee House
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Mia Dawe
Arch Coffee House Manager
Pastoral
We also have a team of people who can help if you are struggling in any way. If you feel you need some support, please email pastoral@citygate.church
Trustees
Our church trustees help care for the church’s property, finances, and legal responsibilities. They focus on the practical side of church life—managing buildings, budgets, insurance, and gifts—so everything runs smoothly and stays in line with the church’s mission. They serve as good stewards, ensuring the church’s resources are used wisely to support its ministry.
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Jim Salway
Legal
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Mark Truesdale
Chair & Strategy
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Sean Theunissen
Finance & HR
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Russ White
Strategy
Find out more about Citygate Church
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Our vision
Our vision is to see lives transformed, every day, across the bay. We are transformed by His grace, to bring his kingdom transformation to the lives and the culture around us.
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Get connected
Here are some of the different ways that you can get connected with our church. We hope we can encourage you to take the next steps in your faith, as well as help you to get to know people at Citygate.
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Our talks
Every Sunday we upload the talk from our morning meeting so you can listen back or share them with your friends and family. You can also also find us on Apple Podcasts.