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Our Trustees


World Sports Ministries is overseen by our group of Trustees. You can read more about them, by clicking on the bars below.
Jon Webb-Peploe - Chair of the Board
Jon Webb-Peploe

Jon has supported World Sport Ministries in various guises since 2008, taking on the role of Chair of the Board from Graham Massey in 2024. Married to Tash, with 3 grown up children, home is in Bath, England. We are a sports mad family, enjoying playing, trying and watching most sports. Jon is a Bath rugby supporter and the 2024/25 season shows miracles do happen.

Jon grew up in a Christian family, which he is very thankful for, yet his journey has been his own, following Jesus through the many ups and downs of life, including cancer both personally and among family and friends.

Jon has worked for Apple the past 7 years and is currently responsible for the Managed Service Provider Channel in UK&I. Prior to Apple, Jon held sales, business development, strategy, marketing, operations and product management roles at Cisco, Motorola, BP and a pharma start up, PHI; and in between set up and developed 2 small businesses.
Graham Massey - Trustee
Graham Massey picB

Graham Massey is an experienced business leader with over 40 years’ experience in business, brand, and organisational development.

As co-founder of The House, a purpose-led business, brand and culture consultancy, he helps organisations unlock their potential by connecting purpose, vision, and values to meaningful action.

Imaginative, pragmatic, and outcome-focused, Graham loves working with leaders to explore what’s possible - clarifying what is and what could be, and then helping to close the gap between the two. His work centres on building healthy cultures where people and purpose thrive together.

An accredited consultant with the Barrett Values Centre and a coach, Graham uses cultural values assessment tools to generate data-driven insights that guide leadership and organisational development and growth.

Earlier in his career, he worked in the hotel and entertainment sector, latterly as a main board director for a leisure PLC.

Graham is married to Catherine and lives on a hillside next to a national park, west of Budapest, Hungary. He has two daughters, a stepdaughter, and two dachshunds. A lifelong ‘Baggie’, he remains a passionate West Bromwich Albion supporter.

Graham was appointed as a Trustee in 2015.
Alison Sturgess-Durden - Trustee
Alison SD B

Alison is a director of health tech company Mayden. She brings a wealth of management experience to World Sports Ministries from a career in the public and private sectors, as well as having served previously as a councillor on her local parish council and as a member of her church PCC.

As a trustee of WSM, Alison provides particular support on matters of employment and organisation.
Tim Jones - Trustee
Tim Jones B

Tim is founder and director of Our house AP an alternative provision focused on looked after children for the city of Bath which he set up with his wife in 2024. This built on the couples 20 years of fostering with Bath council something they still continue to do with the help of their 3 boys and dog. Prior to this he worked in the pharmaceutical marketing for 25 years for several global companies.

Tim also has an broad experience with working with small companies and organization's to make them financially sustainable, these include working with a small health care laundry product, founding and running a gym in Bath and Swindon, managing his parents farm when his father passed away, founding a supported housing project with his wife which now runs 5 homes for young mums.

Tim has been finance director for Mercy in Action helping it to grow in projects and turnover. He is also involved with other small charities helping them to survive and thrive.

Tim enjoys competitive squash and recently took up wing foiling with his boys.
 

Operations Team


This team helps facilitate the WSM vision with oversight and developmental work that seeks to help start and support ministry locally and beyond.
Grant Sheppard – Founder & CEO of WSM
Grant Sheppard

I love Jesus as He completely changed my life for the good and love my family too!

Next comes sport, particularly cricket and so it’s with great joy that I can combine these passions and seek to grow God’s family in and through the amazing gift and platform of sport.

I founded WSM because I literally found it from God when He revealed to me what He wanted to begin! It’s an honour to love Him, love people and make a real difference, Spirit, Soul & Body in people’s lives in communities throughout the world.

My sporting hero is Ian Botham whom I had the pleasure to watch and play against once! 
Akeel Yousaf (Bristol & International Lead)
Akeel Yousaf

My name is Akeel Yousaf, born in Pakistan, sport playing a central role in my life from an early age.

Cricket was my passion, and I had the privilege of representing Pakistan Under-19. I moved to the UK in 2002, I became involved with World Sports Ministries (WSM) in 2005. I was deeply inspired by WSM’s vision and purpose of reaching people for Christ in & through sport. I have a strong passion and compassion for serving people and communities, and my heart is firmly rooted in mission.

Over the years, I have participated in numerous mission trips serving with WSM. My gifting lies in planting teams, and training and equipping like-minded sports leaders.

My mission is to serve God wholeheartedly and make a lasting impact through sport and faith.
Izzy Moore (Bath & Leadership Development Lead)
Izzy Moore

About me:
I have always loved sport, growing up playing a wide range of sports and continuing that passion today through CrossFit. For the past four years, I’ve worked for a non-profit in the United States that reaches and disciples at-risk youth through fitness, combining physical training, mentorship, and faith-based teaching. Previously, I worked as a secondary school teacher in Plymouth, and I’ve also been involved in sports-based mission work in Australia and South America, which strengthened my heart for ministry and my belief in the power of sport to build relationships and share faith.

Why I Choose to Serve God Through WSM
I choose to serve God through WSM because it aligns with my calling to mentor, disciple, and support youth and adults alike who need encouragement and hope. WSM provides an opportunity to use my experience in coaching, Biblical teaching, and program development to further God’s work and impact lives beyond myself. Serving through WSM allows me to put faith into action—meeting practical needs while pointing youth and families toward Christ. I believe God uses ministries like WSM to build community, restore purpose, and transform lives, and I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of that mission.

Favourite Sporting Hero
Tricky one… probably Rich Froning!
Georgia Van Tonder - Administration Lead
Georgia

Georgia is originally from Bath and has lived between the UK and South Africa for many years. She now lives and works from Cape Town. Beyond work, my heart is for people, especially children. For over 10 years, my husband and I have run youth groups wherever we've lived, welcoming and mentoring the next generation. With 23 years of marriage and two incredible sons, I count my family as my greatest success—and living out my calling as the greatest honour.

Why you choose to serve God through WSM
With my passion for every person to hear the saving message of Jesus, it is an honour to be able to serve God through the work of WSM.  To see and hear of the incredible work that our Teams do, across the globe, is truly inspiring.  As an administrator, I may not be on the ground, doing the work, but I find great joy in handling the 'back office', so others can focus on front-line impact.

My favourite sporting memory
When South Africa won the Rugby World Cup in 1995 and Nelson Mandela presented the William Webb Ellis Trophy to Francois Pienaar (the SA Captain at the time). 
Edith Meriam (Prayer & Fundraising Lead)
Headshot

Edith has worked with children and young people since the age of 16 across a range of settings, including churches, schools, and charitable organizations. With a background in Psychology, she brings compassion, creativity, and a heart for serving others to her work and ministry. She is deeply passionate about walking alongside children, young people, and adults—offering care, encouragement, and faith-based support—helping them grow in confidence and recognize their God-given potential.  

Why you choose to serve God through WSM
Through WSM, I am passionate about using sport as a platform to encourage others and reflect God’s love through my words and actions. I love seeing how sport can teach valuable life lessons such as teamwork, perseverance, discipline, and resilience—lessons that align closely with biblical values and help individuals discover a deeper sense of purpose. Serving through WSM allows me to combine my faith and passion for people, creating spaces where others can grow in confidence, recognize their God-given potential, and experience God’s love in action.
  
Your Favourite Sporting Memory or hero
Watching India win the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup
Christiaan Van Schalkwyk (Finance Lead, courtesy of Kingsgate)
CVS - Headshot

Christiaan is a qualified ICAEW Business and Finance Professional (BFP) and Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA), having achieved his Chartered Accountant status in 2018 following the successful completion of his SAICA traineeship with Moore Stephens. With over seven years of experience in financial oversight, he has held key roles, including Finance Manager and Group Director of Finance, within private equity. Christiaan has a proven track record in building and developing high-performing finance teams, implementing robust internal controls, and managing software integrations and team mergers, ensuring seamless financial operations and governance.

Why you choose to serve God through WSM
I appreciate the organisation’s culture and its commitment to reaching children with the message of the gospel through sport, a mission that resonates deeply with me as a sports enthusiast.

Your Favourite Sporting Memory or hero
I have always admired Rafael Nadal. While he may not be the most traditionally graceful or classical tennis player, his exceptional work ethic and relentless determination are truly inspirational.
 

International Core Mentors


Within our partnering network, we serve and support hundreds of teams and leaders; to do this, we have an amazing team of Core Mentors that give of their time to not only faithfully grow their own ministry, but help others with theirs also.
Joseph Mwaura Gitau – Country: Kenya
Joseph Mwaura Gitau

I am married to Vero and we are blessed with pretty daughters.

We live in Naivasha, 1 hour 30 minutes away from the capital.

I am the Founder and Director of New Hope Sport Centre whose mission is to serve and share the Greatest Message of Hope in Jesus Christ with vulnerable and underserved young people, their families and communities through sports and play.

Why a core Mentor?
I strongly believe in reproducing myself and developing leaders, passing on the baton and seeing others serving in their spheres of influence and becoming the best version of themselves.

My favourite sporting memory.
In August 2024, our Under 13 participated in the Nairobi International Tournament. The morning after we bowed out of the tournament, I did a devotion on Philippians 2:4, " Everyone should look not to his interests, but rather to the interests of others." After our time of devotion we walked to the field and noted that it had been littered all over, I asked the young people in our team if we would walk around the field picking up the trash as a way of living out the scripture that we just read in the morning. What followed was a great testimony of serving others /competitors.

- Khetwayo Banda
Pastor Iranzi Fiacre – Country: Burundi
Pastor IRANZI Fiacre

I am a husband of one wife and 4 children.

I received Jesus Christ in 1994, I started preaching through sports games in 2010 via my ministry called Jesus Gospel Center of which I am the legal representative. It is a ministry that began as a result of evangelization Via Sports games. I will have my Master's Degree in Theological Studies in 2026. We have 20 people whom I supervise in evangelisation through Sport, 11 teams, 4 among these teams are very well functional. We also have 4 teams of young children categorized according to age groups including little girls. It is mainly in Football Games and a little in rafting.

I am interested in coaching as I am also a result of mentoring others including World Sport Ministries, so helping others for me will be a great opportunity to help others be much more effective in winning as many souls as possible in these last days through Sport Ministries because Jesus said the harvest is great therefore Reapers must also increase.

- Nadeem Yousaf
Name: Buddha Lama – Country: Nepal 
Buddha Lama

I serve as a deacon at Mahima Baptist Church and am married to Manju Rai.   We have one son, Mathayeus Lama.  My passion for sports—including coaching and refereeing at the 2017 International Wheelchair Basketball Tournament in Nepal—opened the door to ministry among people with different abilities ( disabilities) and able-bodied youth. Through TotalFit training, defense training, wheelchair friendship games, and multiple sports tournaments, we build relationships and share the gospel using our “pray, play, and say” disciple-making model in 15 locations.

Why you chose to become a Core Mentor
- To develop myself, lead by example and support others. I want to become a mentor to guide others and help them grow . And to develop myself while helping others improve . As well I enjoy supporting people and make a positive impact.

My Favourite Sporting Memory 
One of my special sporting memories is winning first place in a table tennis tournament, while a student I coached won second place in a junior competition. Because of this, I became known in Bible colleges and also mentored MDiv and MRE classes. Later, in 2017, I coached the national wheelchair basketball team in Nepal and served both as a coach beforehand and as a referee during the international wheelchair tournament. Many players knew me as “the Christian referee,” and some even waited to meet me. This was a great blessing and encouraged me to continue moving forward in sports ministry.
 

- Todd Pruitt
Dr William Lovelace-John – Country: Guinea
Dr. William Lovelace John

Dr. William Lovelace John is the Founder and Senior Pastor of Impact International Mission, Guinea.

The Chief Chaplain Officer and Head of the Military and Paramilitary Chaplaincy Corps of Guinea, an Entrepreneur of Lovelace Consulting and Investment, which he has established also in Sierra Leone and Liberia. He is a Sports Mentor for ReadySetGo for Guinea and also Sports Mentor and Facilitator for Guinea for World Sports Ministries. He is married to one wife and has three children, all boys. His passion is making disciples for Christ through sports and training and he is actively involved in evangelising and training in different countries in the African region.

Why you choose to become a Core Mentor:
An effective leader has to reproduce himself and train others to grow and become a good and effective leader. That's why I decided to reproduce myself in others and share my experience and train and guide them throughout to become good and effective leaders.

Your favourite sporting memory:
My favourite sporting memory is when I first served as a volunteer at the African Cup of Nations in Accra, Ghana with the International Sports Coalition now Sports Movement in 2008. I was assigned at the dressing room of Guinea and Ivory Coast and Christ used me as an vessel to save three high profile professional footballers who accepted Christ as their Lord and personal saviour ( Pascal Feindeno and Ibrahim Bangoura of the Guinean 2008 Team and Solomon Kalou of the Ivorian Team). We exchanged contact details and I continue in prayer and encouragement for their spiritual growth and maturity.

- Sawado Nshmymana
- Daniel Laiser
Ruel Mangyan Penalozan – Country: Philippines
Ruel Mangyan Penaloza

Presently, I’m pastoring a 35 year old church here in our city. I took over the pastorate when I retired from my work in the largest Evangelical group in our country way back in 2020 as an Administrator. Aside from pastoral work, I am also involved as a Youth Coordinator in our ministerial fellowship composed of 60 churches. Being passionate in my sports that is running, I was able also to start a Strength and Conditioning class among professionals with an average age of 29-45.

Why I chose to become a Core Mentor:
I have been in a long distance relationship with WSM since way back in 2015, while I was still a member until now of PCEC Sports Commision. The Lord placed in my heart through sports ministry to reach out to communities as an entry point for evangelism and discipleship. For now, I have to cascade this passion of discipleship, to whom the Lord has chosen to be involved in the ministry.

My Favourite Sporting Memory
I will never forget the opportunity the Lord has given me to attend a 3-week East Asia Sports Leadership School in South Korea in April 2018. An invitation was sent to me and I readily grabbed the offer, knowing that this would enhance my knowledge in sports ministry. It took me some time after passing the written exams and personal interviews before I was accepted. I was the only delegate from the Philippines and out of 12 trainees I was the oldest at the age of 61. There were 6 from South Korea, 3 from Malaysia, 1 from Mongolia, 1 from Tanzania and me from the Philippines. On April 17, 2018 in Oryun Vision Village, Gapyeong, South Korea the Lord spoke to me and I dedicated my life that I will serve Him through sports and play.