Meet our team!

We have a dedicated team of full and part time staff who help keep Citygate Church up and running. If you have a question about a particular aspect of church life, why not find the relevant contact on this page and drop them an email. They’ll be more than happy to answer any questions you might have.

Strategic Leadership Team

Citygate's Strategic Leadership Team helps shape the vision and strategy of our church. They work at keeping the church dynamic, listen to God’s direction, and ensure we continue to have a positive impact on our community. They are also responsible for raising and empowering leaders and making sure the people and pathways are in place to help everybody actively grow in their faith.

  • Russ White

    Lead Elder

    Russ has served at Citygate since he moved here after studying Physiotherapy at university - starting off by helping with the Youth team. After a significant encounter with God in his 20s he discovered a heart for those who don’t yet know Jesus and joined the leadership team, helping them to develop strategies around evangelism. Russ was appointed lead elder in 2017 and has a particular heart to positively impact the community around us. You’ll often find him chatting to and befriending those setting out on their faith journeys.

    russ@citygate.church

  • Tim Francis

    Elder - Teaching and Pastoral

    During his teens God spoke to Tim about become an ‘overseer’ in the church. He’s spent the last 30 years in full-time church leadership in Bedford, Lewes, Torquay and now Bournemouth. Over past few years Tim has helped Citygate to build a healthy pastoral culture, something he’s passionate about after years of helping and discipling people through life's ups and downs. A gifted communicator - which developed during his first job as a secondary teacher - Tim loves to see the living word of God transform peoples lives.

    tim@citygate.church

  • Sean Theunissen

    Elder - Operations and Worship

    Sean joined Citygate Church as a student while studying for an accounting degree. Starting off by playing drums, his passion for worship meant he was asked to oversee the worship ministry at Citygate in 2006. He joined the staff team in 2008 to use his finance and operational skills before recognising a call to eldership in 2018. Sean has never lost his passion for worship and continues to raise young worship leaders and lead our songwriting group.

    sean@citygate.church

  • Lanre Yusuf

    SLT - Prayer

    Lanre joined Citygate Church in 2017 after following a calling from God and relocating to England with his family. Before this move, Lanre served as an associate pastor in his local church in Nigeria, where he oversaw the church operations and prayer team. Lanre is deeply passionate about prayer and firmly believes in its essential role in the life of every believer and the church. In addition to his ministry involvement, Lanre works as a Human Resources professional.

    lanre@citygate.church

  • Priscilla Roxburgh

    SLT - Leadership Development & Social Action

    Priscilla has nearly 20 years of experience spearheading communications strategies for a range of NGOs and charities. At Citygate she uses this background to head up our social action initiatives. Since her teens she’s lead worship in different contexts and cultures, has regularly spoken at worship conferences and trained worship teams. Priscilla works with our elders on developing strategic plans around our vision, and co-leads on leadership development. Having discipled young women since her early 20s, she carries a special emphasis on nurturing and raising female leaders.

    priscilla@citygate.church

  • Peter Roxburgh

    SLT - Leadership Development & Life Groups

    Since 2017 Peter has helped develop leaders in global organisations and is currently working with the Florence Nightingale Foundation to develop leadership skills in nurses and midwives. He also uses this background to serve Citygate, co-leading with Priscilla on developing and equipping leaders across church life. Peter has a great heart for hospitality and loves to speak to new people, he’s led vibrant Life Groups that have raised leaders and multiplied. Peter has regularly spoken across cultures and is on our teaching team at Citygate.

    peter@citygate.church

Southbourne Leadership Team

  • Zac Dixon

  • Sarah Dixon

  • Ben Thompson

  • Ali Thompson

Operations and Venue

Community Hub

Kids, Youth and Students

Communications

Finance

Arch Coffee House

  • Our vision

    Our vision is to see lives transformed, every day, across the bay. We are transformed by His grace, to bring his kingdom transformation to the lives and the culture around us.

  • New here?

    Here are some of the different ways that you can get connected with our church. We hope we can encourage you to take the next steps in your faith, as well as help you to get to know people at Citygate.

  • Our talks

    Every Sunday we upload the talk from our morning meeting so you can listen back or share them with your friends and family. You can also also find us on Apple Podcasts.