Gerry Straker
Pastor and Elder
As Elder, Gerry is jointly responsible with Jon, John, Dan and Steve for leading Church by the Bay according to God's Word the Bible. As Pastor, he is the main Bible teacher. His full-time job is to teach, pray and train others.
Gerry is married to Catherine and they have a son, Jack, and three daughters, May, Izzy and Phoebe. The Straker family have lived in the West End since July 2008 and love living in Morecambe.
Gerry trained at Oak Hill Theological College and was Assistant Pastor at Moorlands Church, Lancaster for 3 years. Before training for the ministry, Gerry worked for St John’s Lindow in Cheshire and in university administration.
Gerry used to play a lot of sport, and still attempts running, cycling and football.
Steve Sammons
Assistant Pastor and Elder
As Elder, Steve is jointly responsible with Gerry, Jon, John and Dan for leading Church by the Bay according to God's Word the Bible. As Assistant Pastor, his full-time job is to teach the Bible, pray and train others.
Steve is married to Erin, and they have a daughter Esther and son Ezekiel. They both answered Jesus' call to repentance in their first years at university. It was there that they got to know each other training for ministry just before Steve moved over to Morecambe.
Having spend a few years working in admin and loving life by the sea, they went to London for three years to train for full time ministry at Oak Hill College. In his leisure time, Steve loves to be outdoors, whether in the garden digging out weeds or in the surrounding countryside with an OS map in hand.
Jon Lindsay
Elder
Jon is jointly responsible with the other elders for leading Church by the Bay according to God's Word the Bible.
Jon is married to Hannah, and they have three children. Jon became a Christian after moving to the North West in 2003. Jon and Hannah spent a number of years in Lancaster as members of Moorlands Church, where he spent two years in ministry training.
They have lived in Morecambe since 2009, and they love this town! Jon and Hannah are passionate about growing the church through God's spoken word. In his spare time, Jon is a primary school teacher, which he thinks may just be the second best job in the world. He enjoys cooking, making music, and being outside - ideally all at the same time.
John Sullivan-Tailyour
Elder
John is jointly responsible with the other elders for leading Church by the Bay according to God's Word the Bible.
John is married to Pam and they have 3 sons, Jonah, Joel and Jesse. John teaches secondary school Maths. He is from Devon and spent a lot of his childhood outdoors, hiking and exploring. John became a Christian as a teenager at a youth and families camp and since then His love for God's Word, hearing it and teaching it has continued to grow. His all time favourite movie is The Last of the Mohicans but he likes The Proposal too!
Becca Holden
Administrator
Becca is responsible for the administration at Church by the Bay. Her office days are Mondays and Thursdays.
Becca was born in the North West and has spent most of her life here, bar a brief spell in Chesterfield. She was raised in a Christian home and is very thankful to God for it. She became a Christian in her teens.
Becca is a massive Bolton Wanders fan and is one of only a handful of people who still owns a season ticket! Aside from football, she loves to spend time with friends and enjoys watching cricket, rugby league and the occasional crime show. Her main task as administrator is freeing the staff team up for more word ministry.
Jonathan Ash
Deacon for Finance
Jonathan is our Deacon for Finance - he works in the office on Thursdays.
Jonathan grew up in the area, and studied Astonomy and Maths at Sheffield University. After most of his life at Moorlands Church, Jonathan joined the launch team of Church by the Bay. Jonathan enjoys watching films and is a classic Dr Who fan.
Mike Haslam
Deacon for Welcome
Mike is one of the deacons at Church by the Bay helping to plan and organise the welcome team.
Mike is married to Wendy and they have three grown-up children - Lucy, Shem and Duncan.
They moved to Morecambe in 2020 from Gillingham, where they had been members of St Mark’s Church for thirty-seven years. Taking early retirement after twenty-one years in the chemical industry, six years as a teacher and ten years as a children’s worker for a Christian charity, he is a keen follower of sport, loves books and is a cruciverbalist (crossword solver!).
Andrew Steventon
Deacon for PA and Tech
Andrew oversees and organises the PA and Tech team at Church by the Bay. He is responsible for ensuring all the technology on a Sunday morning works well.
Andrew is married to Bethany and they have two boys and five cats. They married and moved to Morecambe in 2011 when Church by the Bay was first planted. Andrew served as a Trainee at Church by the Bay, gaining lots of experience to help with his role.
He now works as an engineering technician and tries to use those skills to keep things sounding good on a Sunday. He likes a strategy game or two and enjoys being outside with the family.