John & Lesley Tellis

Our History and Work.

I (John) was born in Scotland to a Greek/Scottish non-Christian family but soon afterwards we moved to South Africa where I grew up. Lesley was born into a South African Christian family.

My parents became Christians after hearing the Gospel from Biblical Ministries Worldwide Missionaries sent to South Africa in the early 80s and while I grew up in a 1st generation Christian home, I was far from convinced this was a good choice for me. In my teens and early twenties, I was a very rebellious young man who was determined to find happiness in other ways. However, after testing the World I came to realise that the World has nothing to offer but lies. I begged the Lord for forgiveness as I watched Him (on a Gospel video) being crucified for my sin, on a cross and taking the wrath of God for my sin on Him. 

Lesley on the other hand has a gentle soul that did not need convincing and put her trust in Jesus at a young age and has not looked back since.

After we met and got married on South Africa, we had two girls and while they were still little, we decided to move back to Scotland. Once we arrived back, I opened up a business (In the 2008 recession!!!) and commitment our ways to the Lord. It was at that time the Lord began to work on our hearts and give us a new heart for Ministry and the Gospel. We were asked by Carrubbers (our home Church at the time) to be part of a new church plant in Wallyford and immediately said yes.

A few years later we joined Biblical Ministries Worldwide and have continued to minister here for a total of 12 years now (2023)

I have a passion for teaching the Bible - A gift from God and Lesley is gifted with a heart to serve asking nothing in return...and a supernatural level of patience!

Since the main focus of our lives became the advancement of Jesus’ kingdom in Scotland, life has been a mixture of very rewarding, and very hard. the Lord has and is still teaching us to be persistent, to endure, to trust, to be patient. 

We are so blessed that we have been able to work as a servant to the Lord in the east of Scotland where He alone has built up a Church of about 130 on a Sunday. This is a Church of significant size in a post-Christian Scotland, and we are excited to see what He will continue to do.