Leadership and Staff Teams

Please find below an introduction to our church leadership and members of staff.

Leadership Team

Darren Cooke - Pastor		Mark Corcoran - Chair of Trustees
Our Pastor Darren is an experienced and dedicated educator who has made it his life’s mission to support individuals in their personal growth and development. Darren is happily married to Emily and together, they have been blessed with three beautiful children – Joshua, Elizabeth, and Hannah. Above all, Darren is deeply committed to empowering people to live out the values of Jesus in their everyday lives. He firmly believes that every individual has the power to spread the message of hope and love to the world, and he is dedicated to helping others discover their unique purpose and calling in life. Email Darren		Mark comes from a family of musicians and can still be heard many Sundays playing his double bass at church. He is also part of a local accordion, guitar, bass trio that tours throughout the local community. Professionally, Mark is both a doctor and a lawyer. He no longer practices either, but continues to have a role as a GP appraiser and chairs a BMA committee. He is also a trustee of the Bulgarian Partners Trust. He is also father to two sons and a daughter, and grandfather to six children who are a delight to Mark and his wife, Barbara. Mark is the Chair of the Leadership Team. Email Mark


Tina Edwards - Trustee		Gillian Doel - Trustee
Tina is a recent arrival to Lymington. She and her husband Simon started a journey to move here a few years ago. They discovered LBC online and loved seeing a variety of people leading, bringing their own distinct gifts. Tina is now retired but worked in marketing, focusing on communication and running teams to deliver this, mainly in IT services companies. As well as the Leadership Team Tina is part of the Worship Team and facilitates a small group. She has also joined the ‘Open the Book’ team, part of Lymington ‘Churches Together’. Email Tina		Gillian and her husband Andy are long-term members and their now-adult children grew up in LBC. She is a retired chemical engineer, spending most of her career in management in a large multi-national organisation, including working abroad. She loves to travel and likes to laugh. Since retirement she has been serving in the background at LBC on the flightdeck and working on Governance (policies, procedures & risk) and administration systems. She joined the Leadership Team in 2025. Email Gillian


John Hilbourne - Treasurer		Jim Anderson - Trustee
John and his wife Jane moved to Lymington in 2022, shortly after his retirement. He had spent the previous 40 years working in the IT industry, latterly managing complex IT projects in the Oil & Gas industry. They have two grown up children. John joined the team of trustees in April 2024 and became Treasurer in September of the same year. When not dealing with Finance he can be seen playing clarinet in the Worship Team. Email John		Jim, his wife Fi and children relocated to Lymington in 1997 as part of a career decision, both quickly becoming active members at Lymington Baptist Church. Jim was an Engineering Construction and Project Manager, working for 44 years in the Petro-Chem, Energy, Defence Shipbuilding and Mechanical Construction Sectors throughout the UK and in Europe. Now happily retired from that role, Jim works part-time as the CAP Debt Centre Manager at LBC, helping people in our community who are struggling with the burden of unmanageable debt. Additionally, he is a Governor at a local school and still loves playing piano accordion having started at a young age. Jim and Fi have a son, daughter and 4 grandchildren. Email Jim


Nick Tsouli - Trustee
Email Nick

Staff Team
Lizzie Coyston - Youth Worker		Fiona Greenhill - Operations Manager

Hey, I’m Lizzie and I’m the Youth Worker here at the church! I absolutely love spending time with teenagers—getting to know them, having a laugh, and walking with them as they explore faith and life. I’m married to Mikie, and when I’m not hanging out with young people, you’ll probably find me baking, playing board games, or watching a good movie with friends. I’m all about real conversations, building relationships, and creating spaces where young people feel seen, valued, and loved Email Lizzie		I joined LBC in early 2024 having moved to Pennington from London the summer before. I joined the staff team in May 2025. When I’m not working at LBC, supporting the team and building processes, I work as a Coach, Consultant and Trainer in the arts sector. Otherwise, you’ll find me renovating my house, out for a long walk, gardening or lost in a book. Email Fiona

Barry Whitlock - Administrator		Jim Anderson - CAP Debt Centre Manager

I joined Lymington Baptist church in 2010, was baptised with my wife Jan in 2011. The Church office is a great place to work and I really enjoy administrating and working with the systems in IT. Previously I worked as a voluntary debt administrator in Lymington CAB for five years. My last paid job was as a Manager in a Training Centre in New Milton helping students learn IT and getting them back into work. I have always been a people person and receive great satisfaction from helping them in any way I can. I thank the Lord for all the people I work with and our great Church family. Email Barry		Jim, his wife Fi and children relocated to Lymington in 1997 as part of a career decision, both quickly becoming active members at Lymington Baptist Church. Jim was an Engineering Construction and Project Manager, working for 44 years in the Petro-Chem, Energy, Defence Shipbuilding and Mechanical Construction Sectors throughout the UK and in Europe. Now happily retired from that role, Jim works part-time as the CAP Debt Centre Manager at LBC, helping people in our community who are struggling with the burden of unmanageable debt. Additionally, he is a Governor at a local school and still loves playing piano accordion having started at a young age. Jim and Fi have a son, daughter and 4 grandchildren. Email Jim

Planning your Visit

A Warm Welcome

We’re so glad you’re here. Whether this is your first time coming to a church or you’re just curious, you’re really welcome. LBC is a place where people from all walks of life come together to explore faith, ask questions, and find community. You don’t need to know anything about the Christian faith, church, or have your beliefs figured out—we’re here to walk with you, not judge you. Come as you are, and let’s discover together what it means to be loved by God. We know for many, coming to church may feel quite intimidating. We understand this and so the information below is specifically for those planning a visit, so that you know, beforehand, what to expect on a Sunday morning.

Where and When

We meet at the Church (details here) for our Sunday Service starting at 10.15am. For your first visit, we recommend arriving 5 minutes early to ensure you can find somewhere to sit before the service begins - but don't worry if you're late, as there's always space for you.

What to expect when you arrive

When you arrive, you will be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team who will be wearing a Welcome lanyard. They will be very happy to help with any questions you have and will make sure you know where you are going. They can show you around and will help you find a seat. They can also provide information about the church and what goes on in the week if you'd like to find out. You can access our main downstairs space by turning either left or right when you enter. Some of our seating is upstairs on the balcony. If you find the large number of people downstairs intimidating, upstairs can give you more space.

Accessibility
There is wheelchair access alongside designated wheelchair spaces, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival of any particular needs you have and and they will endeavour to help you. We have a small car park for Blue Badge holders and those with access needs - we recommend coming a little earlier if you need parking on site as the car park will fill up.
There is a pay and display car park around the corner on Emsworth Road and on Sundays there is free on-street parking on the surrounding roads.

Our Service

Every Sunday morning, we come together to pray, praise God and be in community together. Our services normally last about an hour and a half. We start with prayer and singing, which is in a relaxed and contemporary style, and share some news about what’s happening around the church. You do not have to join in if you feel uncomfortable doing so.

Children and young people stay with us for the first part of the service before going to their own age-specific groups. You can find out more about these groups below. If your child is nervous about being separated from you, then they are welcome to stay in the service. We may then spend a little more time in prayer or worship, or listen to something that is going on in our community.

We then spend about 25 minutes with a talk based on the Bible and what it teaches us about God and ourselves. We sometimes do this systematically, journeying through a Bible book week by week but sometimes we follow a series of themed sermons. The service ends with worship and with the return of the children and young people, and we then always like to make plenty of time for conversation – washed down with complementary hot and cold drinks.

A group of people chatting and drinking coffee

What about my kids?

We have a great programme lined up for kids of all ages:

MiniKidz (for Reception to Year 2)
LiveKidz (For Years 3 to 6)
RS2 (For Years 7 to 9)
Young people (Years 10 +) stay in service
Rooted is our weekly discipleship group for young people in school years 7–13 who want to grow in their faith and deepen their relationship with God. They meet every Sunday evening during term time from 6:00–7:30pm.

The children's group activities are age-appropriate. They can expect a friendly welcome and a mix of Bible stories, testimonies, prayer, music, craft, drama, fun games and free play. The children join us again shortly before the service finishes.

A lollipop house on a picture of stones on the left. On the right a broken lollipop house on a picture of sand.

Get in touch with us to plan your visit

If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you.

Name:

Telephone:

Email Address:
Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.

A white man with dark hair and wearing a black top is smiling at the camera

Darren Cooke - Pastor

We hope that you will feel at home with us.

Best Wishes

Darren.