The Mathetes Trust is an independent UK charity whose purpose is to promote Christian discipleship. The Mathetes Trust is directed by Roger Morgan.
Canon Roger Morgan – Director and Chair of Trustees
Roger was formerly a mathematician in the Engineering Department and head of the Management Studies department at Cambridge University. Whilst in Cambridge he built up a ministry among students and townspeople, and worked in partnership with Daniel Cozens of Through Faith Missions, planning and leading parish missions all over the country. Roger then spent 24 years in parish ministry, serving first as vicar of St Columba’s, Corby and then as vicar of Holy Trinity, Leicester. During his time at Holy Trinity he built up a staff team of 10, planted a new church, developed a multimedia outreach programme, and established a network of cell groups involving over 600 people. During this time he and Alison founded the Rooted in Jesus discipleship programme which is now part of the ministry of the Mathetes Trust. Roger is the author of many of the books you will find on our Publications page, and he also leads our EQUIP ministry which provides support for church leaders within the UK. He holds Permission to Officiate from the Diocese of Bath & Wells.
Roger is a Life Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and in his spare time enjoys chess, walking and cricket (the armchair variety). He and Alison live in Somerset and have three grown up children.
Revd Dr David Archer – Director, Rooted in Jesus
Formerly an Earth Observation scientist, David’s doctoral research led to extensive experience working and travelling throughout Africa. He subsequently read theology at Cambridge University, and is a keen Bible teacher with a heart for Christian discipleship. He is passionate about mission and evangelism, serving on teams both in the UK and overseas, and is particularly interested in how the gospel relates to contemporary society.
David has been involved with Rooted in Jesus for a number of years, leading teams primarily to South Sudan, and in April 2025 he was appointed as the Director of Rooted in Jesus, succeeding Alison Morgan on her retirement. This is a half-time post on secondment from the Diocese of Oxford, where David will continue his ministry as Rector of St Mary’s, Purley-on-Thames for the other half of his time. He will be supported by Associate Minister Aidan Jones.
David is a longstanding member of our EQUIP ministry, and also has a deep interest in the Holy Land with experience of leading a tour to Israel and Palestine. David is married to Amelia and they have three children. He is a keen golfer, plays badminton regularly, and whenever he has the opportunity likes to travel and experiment with photography.
Daniel Head – Trustee
Dan is a 45-year-old husband and father to a 12-year-old son. He is trained counsellor specialising in addictions and recovery, and he has a long-standing passion for integrating psychology and theology. He is currently in his second year of training for ordained ministry in the Church of England.
He previously had the privilege of leading a Christian drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre in Berkshire, and he is now involved in developing a new Christian detox centre in Shropshire. His commitment to God’s mission has also taken him overseas, including recent work in South Sudan where he delivered a Christian Counselling course at The Episcopal University of Juba.
Discipleship has always been central to Dan’s calling, and it continues to shape both his ministry and his contribution as a trustee.
Revd John Lee – Trustee
John currently works for the Diocese of York supporting new initiatives in mission and in the revitalisation of congregations. He was rector of a city church in York for 17 years up to 2019, having previously been a curate in South London and an associate minister at Holy Trinity Leicester, working with Roger and Alison for 8 years: this led him into joining and leading several Rooted in Jesus teams.
John has had the privilege of accompanying a number of people as they have explored their vocational journeys into ordination from within his congregation and as an assistant DDO. For several years he was part of the team running a leadership program for clergy in the diocese. Supporting and encouraging church leaders, particularly those with a pioneering calling, has been a growing part of his ministry.
John is married to Nicola who is an artist; they have three grown up daughters and clutch of grandchildren.
Peter Needle – Trustee
Peter grew up in a working class atheist household in Lincoln. His career at Midland Bank led him to move to Leicester where he met members of Roger and Alison’s church, Holy Trinity, and subsequently became a Christian aged 23. He has a passion for healing, evangelism and prophecy. Following a prompt from God in 2009, Peter left the work of banking and ultimately set up Segura, a business focussed on bringing ethical supply chain traceability to the retail world. Peter is currently President of that business and advises a number of other tech related enterprises as a board member. He is married to Tracy and they have two grown up children, Ben and Lottie.
Having joined Roger on a couple of missions in the past, Peter was delighted to travel to Kitale, Kenya in 2022, for a Rooted in Jesus follow up conference, an experience he describes as challenging, but incredibly faith-building.
Revd Dr Alison Morgan – Associate
Alison has a PhD from Cambridge University and prior to her ordination in 1996 worked as a university lecturer; she is the author of an internationally recognised work on the poet Dante. Following ordination Alison worked for many years alongside her husband Roger in parish ministry, first in Corby and then at Holy Trinity Leicester, where she oversaw the church’s ministry of prayer for healing and joined the UK charity ReSource as a thinker and writer.
Alison is the author of many books and course materials, but she is best known for The Wild Gospel, now on its third printing. Her most recent book is World Turned Upside Down – The Psalms & the Spirituality of Pain (BRF 2023). She is the editor and former Director of our Rooted in Jesus discipleship programme for Africa, and author of the various training materials which are used to introduce and support it. She continues to serve as one of our Rooted in Jesus team leaders.
Alison holds Permission to Officiate from the Diocese of Bath & Wells. In her spare time she enjoys ornithology, walking and spending time with family. Alison’s website is www.alisonmorgan.uk.
Canon John Benson – Associate
John is a retired priest living in Stockport. Before retirement, he spent 20 years in the Diocese of Singapore where he served as Vicar of St George’s Church, Dean of Cambodia, Director of Training, Dean of Laos and finally as the Vicar of the Chapel of the Resurrection. He continues to make regular visits to Singapore to help with training the clergy. John’s ministry in the UK focuses on preaching, teaching, mentoring and writing. John is married to Anita and they have two grown up daughters and four young grandchildren. Anita has been involved in parish ministry with John – particularly in helping people to discover the relevance of God’s Word in small groups. John holds Permission to Officiate from the Diocese of Chester.
ADMINISTRATION
Eva Greenford – Mathetes Trust Administrator
Eva is responsible for the smooth running of the charity and has day to day responsibility for the Rooted in Jesus discipleship programme which is overseen by David Archer. Originally born in the Czech Republic, Eva has lived and worked in Oxfordshire for many years. She is an active member of her local church, loves helping in a local food bank and has many interests including reading, gardening, swimming, travelling, crafting, painting and drawing.
Sue Whitehead – PA to Roger Morgan
Sue is PA to Roger Morgan and the administrator for our EQUIP programme. She has lived in Somerset all her life, has been a member of various Anglican churches and is currently a member of her local Methodist church, along with her husband and family. Sue also works part-time for the Diocese of Bath and Wells as an Administrator. She is a keen amateur musician and plays the flute and piano. She works for the Mathetes Trust on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons.
MINISTRY TEAMS
Our two ministry teams are composed of a wide range of people who travel with and for us on mission.
1. Rooted in Jesus
We have two Rooted in Jesus teams. Our prayer team consists of about twenty dedicated intercessors who support each of our missions in prayer, and our ministry team helps us to deliver the training conferences which introduce and support the Rooted in Jesus discipleship programme within a diocese or denomination in Africa.
Some 280 people have taken part in Rooted in Jesus teams to date. We have a core group of about thirty team leaders, mostly Anglican ministers experienced in the use of small groups within a church context. They are supported by a much wider group of team members – clergy, lay ministers, youth leaders and teachers. A growing number of team leaders and members are drawn from African dioceses where the programme is already in use. We work closely with our African partners, Bishop Stanley Hotay in Tanzania, and Revd Bruce Woolley in South Africa.
To find out more about our Rooted in Jesus partners and teams visit the Rooted in Jesus website.
2. Mission and Ministry in the UK
Within the UK we have a small team of people involved as leaders or team members on our missions and prayer weekends. Each of our church missions involves a small team of people, lay and ordained, who are willing to travel in order to share their faith with others. We also have a growing group of lay ministers who travel with us to help with prayer weekends and mission preparation events.
If you would be interested in joining one of our teams or inviting us to work with you, please do get in touch.
The Mathetes Trust 