In Depth:  obituary

1939 – 2021

Matthew Hill became widely known as Home Secretary of the Spanish Gospel Mission and did much to raise the profile of the Mission amongst churches.

Born in the New Forest, he was converted in his teenage years and his life was Christ-centred from that point onwards. It was not long after leaving school that he was accepted to study at Birmingham Bible Institute and on leaving there, he (and Jean, who he had known from their teenage years and who he had recently married) left for the unknown territory of Stockton-on-Tees to take over the running of the Quayside Mission. This was a place of refuge for the homeless and a gospel ministry was also carried on there.

While Mary Gladstone’s name may not be widely known, the fruit of her labours is clearly evident.

As a new Christian at Cambridge, she and her friends befriended an unconverted fresher, Helen Roseveare, later to become one of the foremost missionaries of the 20th century.

Robin Dowling, a well-known former Grace Baptist pastor, missionary and theologian, departed to be with Christ on 31 July 2020.

He will be sorely missed as a much-loved husband, father and grandfather. He served his generation in the ministry of the gospel from the 1970s till fairly recently. Coming from Bristol, he was well known amongst churches there when he took on the pastorate at Salem Baptist Church in Kew, Richmond, Surrey in the late 1970s. He immersed himself in encouraging Grace Baptist Churches, serving the Association of Grace Baptist Churches (South East).

If it is scandalous that so many Reformed churches have abandoned psalm-singing, David Preston has left them without excuse. His meticulously-crafted metrical versions provide an accurate and truly poetic text of all 150 psalms.

Many are in print, while others await a discerning publisher. Has his Psalm 84, ‘O LORD of hosts, how lovely is your dwelling place’ (to the Londonderry Air) any serious rivals?

On 14 July 2020, our dear brother in Christ Peter Maiden met his Saviour face to face. With his passion for exegetical preaching and his shepherd’s heart, Peter leaves a legacy of sharing God’s truth with love and compassion that will live on within world missions.

As the International Director of OM from 2003 to 2013, Peter emphasised the spirituality of OM team members and the importance of God’s word permeating the entire life of Jesus followers. While leading a life of total surrender to Jesus, in both his public and personal life, he demonstrated a quiet steadiness coupled with a visionary passion for seeing the lives of people around the world changed by Christ. Under his leadership and guidance, new ministries developed as part of OM’s growing holistic approach to mission.

David Ide went to be with the Lord on Friday 12 June. David was born into a difficult family situation with an absent father. His family were also Exclusive Brethren and, as a young man, he and a number of others left. These trials all inflicted painful wounds. Yet David’s faith was resilient, and these early experiences created a deep humanity.

David married Marion and they had two children, Julian and Joanne. He then made a successful career in building. Indeed, for a while, David’s office was a Rolls Royce. Yet over time he became more interested in Christian work. He was very involved in setting up Friends International, and he and Marion entertained up to 100 students at a time at their home.