OPAL UK
Meet Our Team
OPAL's day-to-day ministry in the UK is undertaken by a small but dedicated team of staff members and volunteers. Ian Smith helps with finance, and Ruth Christie works to support OPAL with administration. Matteo is our Shipping and Distribution Supervisor, and Stuart Smith is Operations Manager. Ian Shaw is Head of Ministry. If you would like to make contact, or arrange for one of them to visit your fellowship or speak at an event, please contact us.
Our Ambassadors and Trustees
Geoff Ruston
OPAL Ambassador & Trustee
After a career of 13 years with the National Westminster Bank, Geoff worked with Gospel Literature Outreach in Motherwell for 26 years in various capacities including holding responsibility for their wholesale depot, bookshop and other business activities. For a number of years he acted as GLO treasurer and was regularly involved in literature evangelism in Europe. For many years he was a local church elder and missionary secretary. As founder members with others of OPAL in 2003, he and his wife Janet have devoted the past 17 years to developing the ministry. They have rejoiced to see its growth, and will in 2021 assume a non-executive ambassadorial role. 'We praise God for the many who have been reached with the gospel and for Christians who have been built up and encouraged in the faith through the work of OPAL'
John Lewis
OPAL Ambassador & Trustee
After a career in industry, John has spent the past 35 years in Christian publishing and book distribution. He worked firstly in UK with STL/Paternoster, and then in USA with OM Literature who later merged with the International Bible Society now known as Biblica, where for a number of years he headed up a division distributing Bibles and books into the Majority World. Since retiring and now back in the UK, he and his wife Cynthia devote most of their time to supporting OPAL's publishing initiatives, as well as serving as an Elder in Peebles Evangelical Church.
OPAL Trustees
Ian Burness
Chair of Trustees
Ian grew up in Aberdeen, Scotland, and trained as a medical doctor. For 11 years he worked in the local churches among the Luvale people teaching the Bible, and ran a mission hospital on the Zambian/ Angolan border. After returning to the UK, Ian served as General Director of the mission organisation Echoes of Service until 2015. Ian is married to Margaret, and they have three children and eight grandchildren.
Richard Harknett
Trustee
Richard served in cross-cultural ministry in Peru for 11 years. Currently he works part-time with Echoes International and part-time with GLO Europe equipping, training, and stimulating an interest in missions. Richard is married with two children and lives in Bishop’s Stortford.
Elizabeth McQuoid
Trustee
Elizabeth is the Commissioning Editor for Keswick Ministries. She has written a number of Bible study guides and edits a daily devotional series. Elizabeth served as a trustee of the Keswick Convention for ten years. She lives in Aberdeen where her husband Jeremy is the teaching pastor at Deeside Christian Fellowship, and they have three sons.
Iain Jamieson
Trustee
Iain studied theology and law in Scotland, before working as an Assistant Liaison Officer at Buckingham Palace where he led a small weekly prayer meeting with other members of staff. Iain is married and is now based in Scotland as a commended worker, and preaches in various churches throughout the UK.
Geoff McIlrath
Trustee
Geoff serves as elder with Castlereagh Fellowship in Belfast. He writes accessible gospel literature and his 'Why?' series of booklets are used widely around the world. He is the author if the OPAL publication 'Knowing the Good News'.
Helen Crookes
Trustee
After 36 years teaching Classics, in retirement Helen has got involved as a volunteer with Myrtlefield Trust. She has compiled and edited two daily devotionals selected from the works of David Gooding (Bringing us to Glory and Changing us for Glory) and is currently working on his biography . She is involved in leading women’s Bible studies in Crescent Church of which she has been a member for almost 50 years and also serves on the music and catering teams there.
OPAL Associates
Ian and Marilyn Campbell
OPAL Associate
Ian and Marilyn oversee the running of our store in Chingola Zambia. For twelve years they served as missionaries in the former Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) before moving to Zambia in 1999. They are also involved in prison visitation, running Emmaus courses, and youth work. Ian and Marilyn are developing a new ministry centre in Lusaka. They have two daughters and three grandchildren.
Kelvin Samwata
OPAL Associate
Kelvin acts as an ambassador for OPAL by promoting the work in Zambia and beyond. He has a busy preaching ministry and serves on the board of a number of Christian organisations and schools. He is married to Joyce and they have four children.
OPAL Council of Reference
Dr Joshua Fitzhugh – Myrtlefield Trust.
Mr Alan Gamble – retired senior Scottish lawyer.
Mr Pieter Kwant – International Programme Director, Langham Literature.
Dr Stephen McQuoid – General Director of Gospel Literature Outreach.
