Doug Harris
Regular guest presenter on talkGOD Thursdays at 1pm on Genesis (SKY 772)
In 1981, watching 100’s of Jehovah’s Witnesses going to their convention at Twickenham Rugby Ground, Doug Harris was challenged to get involved in reaching out to those in the cults.
In the last 26 years the work of Reachout Trust has grown from a local outreach to one group to an international work reaching out to all those involved in the cults, occult, new age and all holding to non-biblical teaching. Through all the means at their disposal, especially the very active website (www.reachouttrust.org), it is estimated that Reachout now helps over 100,000 people each year.
The principles that Reachout Trust work under is not that, “Christians alone are right” but that there might be a better way to the one the other group is relying on. Doug has studied the Bible for nearly 40 years and the foundation for the comments made are always the Scriptures.
Each year Doug takes between 60 and 75 seminars informing and training those to get involved in the ministry, as well as undertaking a number of TV and radio interviews.
He is the author of several books on the subject of the cults including the standard British work on the Jehovah’s Witnesses, entitled The Jehovah's Witnesses - their beliefs and practices; the work on Apologetics entitled, Should Christians Apologise?; and the book that ensures you are always a state of Always Being Ready
Doug has been a Christian since 1963 and is married with three grown up children. He is an elder at a local Christian Fellowship.
Paul Taylor
Regular guest presenter on talkGOD once a month on Tuesdays at 2pm on Genesis (SKY 772)
Paul Taylor was born in the Lancashire town of Ashton-under-Lyne, in the North of England, in 1961, and grew up in the neighbouring town of Stalybridge. He learned to play the piano early in life, and was educated at Chetham’s School of Music, Manchester. However, an interest in science took him to Nottingham University to read chemistry, and from there he graduated with a BSc in 1982. He then took a year's Post-Graduate Certificate in Education so that he could become a schoolteacher. He taught science in state schools for 17 years, eventually becoming a Head of Department, and gaining a Masters degree in Science Education at Cardiff University.
Paul became a Christian in his late teens. Shortly after this, he had a Saturday job in a Christian bookshop in Ashton. It was there that he first noticed a booklet by a group of Christians who did not believe in the theory of evolution! This was a complete shock to Paul, because he could not conceive how people could fail to believe in what he thought was established scientific fact. However, the bookshop manager persuaded him that it made scientific sense to believe the Bible's account of creation in Genesis, and sent Paul home with such books as Evolution or Creation by Professor Enoch, The Genesis Flood by John Whitcomb and Henry Morris, and Morris' The Genesis Record. Now convinced of the truth of Genesis, and, therefore, of the whole Bible, Paul began to propagate these views, writing articles for his church magazine.
As a schoolteacher, Paul frequently challenged pupils to think through the issue of origins for themselves, rather than accept evolutionary orthodoxy. These teaching methods, particularly as Paul began developing curricula, frequently brought him into conflict with more evolutionary-minded staff.
Paul's writings include two books. The Six Days of Genesis arranges contemporary creationist thinking into biblical order as a commentary of Genesis chapters 1 to 11. Truth, Lies and Science Education is an analysis of scinece education in the Western world, and in the UK in particular.
Paul joined the staff of AiG (UK/Europe) in August 2005 as a writer and speaker. He is now our Head of Media and Publications. Paul is a regular contributor to the AiG website and Answers Magazine and is busy writing numerous articles, many of which are published in various Christian magazines. He has also taken over the role of editor for our Answers Update. Paul is also an engaging speaker. Paul and his wife, Geraldene, have five children between them.
David Aldous
Regular guest presenter on talkGOD weekly on Wednesdays at 1pm on Genesis (SKY 772)
David was born in
Bristol the
United Kingdom in 1952. He has been a professional actor since 1988 when after appearing in an amateur film called “Self Service” he won the LeHeheden Trophy for best acting performance in a competition that was world wide. He won the same trophy a year later for his performance in “Undercover”. The following year he won the Lilly Rose Bowl for the best acting performance in “Time and Time Again”
His career has so far been mostly television and film although he has made two professional appearance on ‘stage’ in the west-end smash hit “A Slice of Saturday Night” and “Tango”. David’s television credits include ‘Casualty’, ‘The Bill’, ‘Peak Practice’, ‘Soldier Soldier’, ‘London’s Burning’, ‘Crimewatch’, ‘999’, ‘The Legacy of Reggie Perrin’ and ‘Close Relations’.
David presents a weekly radio programme for ‘Premier Radio’, Christian radio for
London; called ‘Passages of Life’ which he devised. He also produces three different radio programmes for Premier. With his work for ‘God TV’ presenting a programme called ‘In Depth’ and the various voice overs he does, David’s life is very full. David has formed a production company called Such and Such Productions and has just completed his first film as director and producer called ‘The Church without Walls’, a 26 minute documentary made for different TV networks around the globe. David is a committed Christian and is married to Jane. They have 4 children.
Ron Matsen
Regular guest presenter on Cross Talk and Cross Reference weekly on Fridays on Genesis (SKY 772)
Pastor Ron Matsen has been involved in full time Christian ministry since 1976 after accepting a full-time position on staff at Maranatha! Music, in Southern California. As the Director of Concert Evangelism over the next four years, Ron was responsible for the organization and oversight of all of the outreach events associated with the Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa involving Maranatha! Music.
During Ron's involvement with Maranatha! Music he met Malcolm Wild from England. Ron worked with Malcolm to establish a missionary organization devoted to ministry in Europe called Spirit Wave Ministries. By the early 1980's Spirit Wave Ministries had sent many Ministry Teams to the United Kingdom, Holland, and Germany. Malcolm Wild is currently the pastor of Calvary Chapel Merritt Island. This association forged a relationship and influence that would create within Ron a deep love for the people of Europe.
During the '80s Ron decided to leave the full-time staff position at Maranatha! Music and seek independent employment which would then allow him to pursue more missionary type opportunities. This association forged a relationship and influence that would create within Ron a deep love for the people of Europe. During the '80s Ron decided to leave the full-time staff position at Maranatha! Music and seek independent employment which would then allow him to pursue more missionary type opportunities.
1987 was the year of dramatic changes for Ron and his family as they moved from the busy suburbs of Southern California to the quiet Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. The IBM Corporation had offered Ron a position as a management consultant at their Owego, New York facility. This seemed the perfect opportunity to launch out and start in a fresh new ministry direction. In 1988 Ron began a home Bible Study group that grew into what is now Calvary Chapel of the Southern Tier near Endicott, New York.
For the next four years Ron served as the senior pastor of this new fellowship while working full time at IBM. In 1991, IBM offered Ron an opportunity to relocate to Portsmouth, England. The Lord had now opened a door for Ron and his family to live and minister in the land that they fell in love with during the early '80s. After a year of integrating into the local Christian community, Ron was encouraged by some of the evangelical pastors to start a fresh new work of God. During the spring of 1993 Ron began a home Bible study that has now grown into another Calvary Chapel fellowship, which serves the greater Portsmouth area. Pastor Ron is now a full time pastor. He lives in Portsmouth area with His wife, Marcie, and their children.
Bob Mitchell
Regular guest presenter on talkGOD first Tuesday of the month on Genesis (SKY 772)
When Bob Mitchell was 16 he was an avid movie fan. With a choice of 6 cinemas in his home town he went to the cinema at least 3 times a week. Then one evening he went to see the Hollywood movie "King of Kings" starring the late Jeffrey Hunter as Jesus. Hunter's performance so captivated Bob that he went back to the same movie 5 times in the next week. Bob pondered "If that dynamic performance is simply a man's expression of Jesus, what is the real Jesus like? He has to be better than any Hollywood actor." This set Bob on a search that would change his life forever.
Knowing absolutely nothing about church times Bob and two friends approached a little Pentecostal church at 8:45 p.m. on Tuesday December 18th 1962. As they did so the congregation were just leaving with the Pastor Ben Edge.
Faced with 3 long haired teenagers in leather jackets and drainpipe jeans the pastor thought the worst and asked what they wanted. Bob told him they had heard of healings being performed in the church.
Ben Edge sized them up in a moment, took them into the church followed by the congregation and gave them the gospel. All 3 boys gave their lives to the Lord that night. Eight months later Bob was baptised in water and in the Holy Spirit.
Some time later Bob drifted away from the church and fell into the Occult for 7 years writing articles on UFOs and getting involved more deeply in the Occult.
Finally while making plans to visit a well known UFO sight the Lord spoke to Bob out of the blue, not audibly but in his heart. The convicting power of the Holy Spirit was so powerful that in a moment Bob fell to his knees in front of his workmates and rededicated his life to the Lord, praying a silent prayer for forgiveness and renouncing all involvement with the Occult.
Since his initial conversion Bob has had an ardent interest in prophecy and since the Lord turned his life around after backsliding his interest has grown into a desire to share what the bible says about the days in which we are living and to present it with the gospel.
As Bob often says, " You can know all about prophecy, but if you do not know the Lord Jesus you are still lost."
Bob has now studied the subject of end time bible prophecy for over 30 years and travels around the UK and to the USA, wherever he is invited, speaking on end time events and giving the gospel of Jesus Christ in churches and conferences .