Alan McWilliam
Alan McWilliam is a Church of Scotland minister who has led Whiteinch Church of Scotland since its inception in February 2000. Working with the Church’s New Charge Development section has allowed him to help develop the multi-congregational model in Whiteinch. Alan studied at Trinity College, Glasgow for his B.D. and recently has completed his M.Th. in Applied Theology at Spurgeon’s College, London, where he was supervised by Stuart Murray Williams. His dissertation was “Let Glasgow Flourish – Creating and implementing a contextually appropriate Church Planting strategy for Glasgow”. Alan is currently the Convenor of Glasgow Presbytery’s Mission Strategy committee which deals with ways of resourcing the Church of Scotland in Glasgow to reach the million people that live there. Alan is married to Diane and has two sons, David and Steven who along with their Dad are Rangers mad. One of Ala n’s aspirations is to see a Church planted into both the Ibrox and Celtic Park crowds.

Peter Neilson
Peter Neilson has been a minister in the Church of Scotland for over 30 years, as a parish minister in Mount Florida in Glasgow, an Adviser in Mission and Evangelism, an Associate Minister in the city centre ministry of St Cuthbert’s in Edinburgh, an latterly the support person for New Charge Development (Church of Scotland speak for church planting!). For the past year he has been operating as a freelance Mission Consultant, including contributing to the development and delivery of Invest.

He is author of “Church on the Move – a new church for a new generation in a new Scotland” and co-author with David Currie of “You’re an Angel – being yourself and sharing your faith.” He was Convener of the Special Commission which produced the “Church without Walls” report pointing to the need of significant transitions in the church for the 21st century.

During his time in Edinburgh he pioneered new patterns of Christian community in the business community and among night clubbers. Following his time in support of the new churches, he has committed much time to supporting those who are exploring new patterns of church life for our times – whether they carry the name “church plant”, “fresh expressions” or “emerging church” or simply aim to create space for new people to have access to the Good News of Jesus Christ. He enjoys investing in “Invest” as one key strand in supplying leadership for these new ways of being church for the coming decades.

Keith Short
Keith Short leads Barnton Baptist Church and is the Senior Leader of the Scottish Network Churches, with 25 years experience in full time leadership, working both in evangelism, church planting and leadership training. Before moving to Edinburgh, he was Senior Pastor at Bishopbriggs Community Church, Glasgow for 17 years; prior to that he was in leadership at Yeovil Community Church, Somerset for 8 years.

Keith has a heart for unity and longs to see the church renewed and revived with many people turning to Christ in Scotland. He is married to Becky who is the Admissions Officer at the International Christian College in Glasgow. They have three grown up children and three grandchildren.

Penny Sharp
Penny Sharp is the Course Co-ordinator for the Invest church planters’ training programme. Church planting caught her attention in 1992 when attending a series of seminars by Bob Hopkins of ACPI. Brought up in the Anglican tradition and experiencing much of the renewal that was happening at the time, Penny and her family had moved to Scotland in 1992, and since then God has given her the opportunity to draw on a variety of church experiences from which she has gained considerable understanding of church structure and leadership.

Trained as a Christian Counsellor, she has observed through experience and research that the invaluable call, vision and gifting of church planters needs also the balance of character, personal awareness and development to maintain momentum over the long haul. Her current involvement gives her the opportunity to work with the Invest participants in these vital areas.

Penny is married to Mike and they have a married son, Ben, and a daughter, Miriam-Joy. Penny and Mike’s favourite place is somewhere on the Islands off the West Coast of Scotland which you can only reach by ferry!

Her longing is to see men and women equipped to lead a multiplication of churches of different sizes, shapes and designs, which, being culturally relevant, are reaching the people of Scotland in today’s world with the radical truth of Jesus Christ.