Eden Staff

Julian Hardyman, Pastor

Julian was born near Windsor in 1964. Brought up in a Christian family, he became a Christian through the Christian Union at his secondary school. He read English at New College, Oxford, also serving on the CU Executive Committee, and then studied at the London College of Printing before working in the printing and publishing industries. This included more than two years working for the notorious Robert Maxwell, though Julian did get all his pension contributions back in the end.

In 1991 after working as Production Manager at IVP, the Christian publishers, he joined the staff of Cornerstone Evangelical Church, Nottingham as Church Manager and Pastoral Assistant. From 1993-1996 he studied at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Chicago, USA for an M.Div. After graduation in 1996 he joined the staff of Eden as Associate Pastor.

Julian was appointed as Senior Pastor of Eden in September 2002.

In 1989 he married Debbie, who is a community dentist. Their three children were born in 1993, 1995 and 2000. Julian enjoys gardening, country walks, painting with acrylics, political biographies, and opera. He is a member of the Board of IVP. In 2006 he published his first book, Glory Days: Living the whole of your life for Jesus which can be bought from IVP.

Marvin Wong, Associate Pastor

Marvin joined the Eden staff in September 2003 as Pastoral Assistant, and was subsequently appointed Assistant Pastor a year later. In September 2007 he was made Associate Pastor. Prior to coming to Eden, he read Theology at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. Born in Malaysia in 1970, he grew up in sunny Brisbane, Australia where he attended high school and university. Marvin studied accounting and finance at Queensland University.

In 1994, he went on to (not so sunny) Leeds for an M.A. in politics and economic development. From 1995 to 1998, he worked as a financial consultant for a business advisory firm in Kuala Lumpur before going on to to serve at Graduates' Christian Fellowship, Malaysia.

He married Yin Ling, an obstetrician and gynaecologist, in December 2002. Back in Malaysia, they both worship at First Baptist Church, Petaling Jaya. Marvin likes to read, play sports and looks forward to taming his little garden with his wife.

Genevieve Jennings, Pastoral Worker

Genevieve comes from London and studied English Literature and Italian at Leeds University. After graduating, she worked as a Technical Author for five years at a computer company in Dunstable. It was there that she heard the gospel for the first time, becoming a Christian in 1984. She subsequently joined a local church, West Street Baptist Church, and attended the Bible College attached to it.

She went to Japan in 1991 with Worldwide Evangelisation for Christ (WEC International) and, after studying Japanese for two years, worked in evangelism and pastoral care. She lived in Hikone and in the university city of Kyoto, which is the cultural capital of Japan. When back in the UK, she was on the staff team at West Street.

Genevieve likes art exhibitions, reading, swimming and coffee-shops and, above all, knowing Jesus!

Ruth Tricker, Administrator

Ruth is a qualified teacher and has taught in a primary school in Calne, Wiltshire and also English as a Foreign Language to both adults and children in Portugal. She was involved in everything from cleaning to cooking in a conference centre in Seaton, Devon and at Wycliffe Bible Translators in High Wycombe she did administration, conference centre work and looked after international volunteers. Most recently she has worked for the Jubilee Centre, Cambridge and in administration and finance for Romsey Mill Youth and Community Centre in Cambridge.

Ruth took up her post as church administrator in July 2004, having previously served the church as a deacon. Her brother David is one of Eden's elders.

Ali Campbell Smith, Church Assistant

Ali was born in Epsom, Surrey in 1984 and spent most of her childhood there, apart from 2 years living near San Francisco. Having been brought up in a Christian family, she became a Christian at a fairly young age. After finishing school in 2002 she spent 8 months living in rural Kenya, working with the local church there and teaching music and football in a primary school. On her return to the UK she spent 4 years studying chemistry at Cambridge University, before becoming a church assistant.

In her free time Ali enjoys cycling, photography, reading and playing the piano and the guitar.

Solveig Taylor, Church Assistant

Solveig was born in Oxford in 1983. When she was six, her family moved to India where she spent the next eight years at an international school in the Himalayas. At 14 she moved back to Oxford, where she became a Christian through attending St. Ebbe's church youth group. She did a gap year with BMS World Mission working in two churches in Southern Italy and then came to Cambridge to study German and Russian. In her third year she went to Kazakhstan to teach English and study Russian.

When she is not busy trying to remember where she left her bike, Solveig enjoys meeting up with friends, listening to music and above all, drinking tea.