Stephen and Julia Derbyshire first moved to City Gates Christian Centre (then known as Ilford Elim Church ) from Merseyside in 1992 when invited to take on the leadership of this growing Church in Ilford, Essex. They have seen the ministry grow steadily, but the vision they have for City Gates goes beyond what has already been accomplished. Pastor Steve has a passion for the lost souls and desires many more to receive the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life found in Christ. He also desires for City Gates to be an influential light for the Kingdom of God . This is the mandate they live by, and the background behind the vision and dreams we undertake at City Gates.

Pastor Stephen Derbyshire

Stephen’s roots lie in St Helen’s in Merseyside. Although brought up in a Christian home, during his teenage years he became heavily involved in the local drug scene. Soft drug experimentation eventually led to him being registered as a heroin addict.

However his parents never gave up on him. They continually prayed for Stephen and in September 1975 he became a Christian at the age of 19.

In 1976, Stephen met Julia at a Christian conference and they married the following year in October 1977. Having a desire to serve God in full time ministry, they moved to Surrey where Stephen attended Elim Bible College . After graduation they returned to minister at Stephen’s home church – St. Helen’s Elim Church in Merseyside, where they spent over 10 fruitful years, before being invited to Pastor City Gates.

Stephen believes his greatest accomplishments as Senior Pastor so far include building up City Gates, releasing leaders and developing many outreach and ministry opportunities for church partners. “We all have a part to play to serve the Body of Christ and to extend the Kingdom of God .” On a personal note, his greatest accomplishments include, “having a good marriage with Julia and raising great kids.”

Stephen enjoys running marathons, having competed in the Great North Run, the London Marathon and the New York Marathon. In between training and running, Stephen loves to spend time walking or going out for dinner with Julia.

Stephen’s philosophy and advice for you: “Do all things well!”